Book Publishing for Entrepreneurs
There was a time when it had been relatively simple to get a book published. You took a great idea to an agent, the agent sold the concept to a publisher, and soon you could call yourself an author. Unfortunately the market has shifted. Unless you're a star or come to the table with an eager audience of book consumers, most publishers won't even blink your means no matter how nice your idea.
As a result of of this shift in the industry, a lot of and a lot of writers are turning to self-publishing. Some big success stories have emerged from the trenches of previously unknown authors who took management of their publishing destinies. "What Color is Your Parachute?" by Richard Nelson Bolles, "The Celestine Prophecy"? by James Redfield, and "The One Minute Manager" by Ken Blanchard and Spenser Johnson, all started out as independents. Even the infamous Amy Fisher turned to print-on-demand for her recent memoir, reportedly thus that she might retain management over the content and promotion whereas retaining a bigger percentage of the profits.
Self Publishing Options
If you are considering publishing a book yourself, you have got 2 primary options: self-publishing and print on demand (POD). Basic self-publishing involves establishing your own publishing company, contracting a cover designer, laying out the interior of the book and getting an International Customary Book Number (ISBN). Once all the setup is complete, you can then have the book printed by a book binding company--sometimes in very massive quantities (3000+) at a value per book ranging from $1.00-$5.00. Once the book is printed, you would like to get the book listed with the web book sellers and with the large distributors if you want your title to have a chance of making it into the massive bookstores.
POD corporations charge a set-up fee starting from $350-$a thousand and most will layout the book, assign an ISBN range, print books on an as-required basis (no major quantity purchases are required), and get them into the inventories of the key distributors and online booksellers.
Depending on your goals, POD or ancient self-publishing can allow you to rework your manuscript into a hardcover or trade paperback in a matter of weeks. It will take a year or a lot of for a huge-name publisher to transform a manuscript into a book, and author royalties are surprisingly low. Publishing yourself offers you management over the time to promote and can additionally lead to hefty profits. Here are some extra concerns:
Self-Publishing Professionals
-You retain management over all rights.
-Individual book cost is low, resulting in a higher profit margin.
-Once you founded your publishing company, it is a bit easier to print subsequent books.
Self-Publishing Cons
-You have got to try to to all the work: establish a publishing company, purchase an ISBN, get the cover created, layout the text, get listed with distributors, etc.
-Startup costs can be high since you sometimes have to buy a giant quantity of books.
-Revisions will be expensive if you haven't yet sold the bulk of your initial inventory.
Print-On-Demand Professionals
-Startup costs are lower since you simply pay a set up fee and for the copies you need.
-Updating the book is simpler since you won't have lots of overstock copies in your store room.
-Most POD corporations will get your title listed with distributors and book sellers.
Print-On-Demand Cons
-Profit margin is lower since the POD firms take a percentage of sales.
-Some contracts will be restrictive with rights and terms (contracts should be rigorously reviewed).
-Reputation: The big bookstores do not yet regard POD books as having a lot of credibility.
Lessons Learned from the Publishing Industry
You may still need to investigate selling your idea to a massive publisher, and you should. The method of pitching a book idea to agents and editors can teach you a lot about the publishing industry. The first query you may be asked is; "What's your platform?" Agents and publishers want authors with a prepared-made audience of book consumers and if you don't have a national presence with speaking engagements or alternative notoriety, your probabilities of being published the ancient way are slim.
But don't let the pitching method kill your dreams. The lesson to be learned from the publishing professionals is that you need to own a manner to promote and sell your book. Before you even take into account publishing yourself, develop a selling plan. Determine who will buy your book and how you may reach your audience. If you know how to market your ideas, and use the resources at your disposal (how-to books and publishing websites), you'll create your own self publishing success story.
Author Resource:
Constance Price has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Publishing, you can also check out latest website about
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