Publisher's "Victims"

Blogging to help the author from the publisher's perspective.

Publisher's "Victims" - Blogging to help the author from the publisher's perspective.

Tag Archives: business

Branding, Marketing-Authorship Business-Part 3

If you think along the lines that publishing is a business, then let’s be candid here and say that just publishing will not make you any money.  Some will argue that unless you are in complete control of the product including buying the ISBN number, then you are truly not self-publishing.  I know some authors who would disagree. As a matter of fact, yesterday I was at the Empire State Book Festival and spoke to one author who stated that she publishes with several publishers because she wants to be in control of what gets published and how it looks. I also heard publishers state that self-publishing with a vanity publisher is not the same as it use to be because the definition of self-publishing is changing.  Yesterday, I heard publishers state that the new definition of publishing is now, not whether or not you own the ISBN number, but whether or not you’ve gone with a traditional publisher or not.

So with that being the new definition, let’s expand some more on the fact that just self-publishing a book does not make you money.  You have to brand yourself, market your product and create more products that will bring you money. I love reading the ads claiming that people can make money just self-publishing and when you divulge into it, it’s bullcrap.  It’s not as simple as publish, make money and all is well. You have to brand yourself, market your product and create more products around that one. Branding yourself includes doing speaking engagements, doing book signings, writing articles about your books topic, etc.  Marketing your product includes creating a marketing plan, affiliate marketing, joint-venture marketing, etc.  Creating more products include creating workbooks, e-books, online training programs.

Regardless of whether you are a fiction or non-fiction writer, the fact still remains that authorship is a business. The writers who’ve done well understand this fact. They understand that they have to brand themselves as experts in their field, or brand their publishing companies. They also understand that they have to market their product and don’t rely on anyone else to market it the way they should. They also understand that they need to create extra products in addition to their books and so they do.  When you start to look at authorship as being a business then you will do much better than those that don’t. Regardless of whether or not you self-publish or traditional publish, authorship is still a business and your success is vital on you understanding this.

The Business of Authorship-Part 2

Now that we’ve started you off with the basics of authoring, let’s continue to part two and try to visualize you, the author as the CEO and business owner…

You’ve created the product (wrote the book)
You are now a company (Sole proprietorship) and your company is responsible for not just having created the product, but branding your company, marketing your product and eventually selling your product.
Your begin marketing your product by getting it to your first customer (the editor)
They take a look at your product and decide whether or not it needs revising or is ready for mass selling.
If the customer likes what you’ve created, they begin spreading the word (talking to the publisher)
The publisher is now your second customer
They also decide whether to buy (accept your product) and how much to pay you for your product (advance)
If thye like your product and have bought it, then they begin spreading the word (marketing your product and you the business owner)
Eventually, word gets around and not only has the editor and publisher become your customers, but so have the Internet visitors, bookstore visitors, or grocery store shopper.
Now let’s say you are working with a freelance editor, not necessarily associated with the publishing house, the point still remains that they are your first customer. An agent is not your customer, but your business partner. Regardless of where and who the editor works for, after receiving and reviewing your product, they will spread the word. Either to a friend or via their resume (I edited so and so’s manuscript).
The agent is your business partner. They get a cut of your profits (80/20) once your product is out on the market. As a business owner, know that having a partner works as long as you two are on the same page.
But isn’t a customer someone who buys something from you?
Not necessarily. First of all, not every editor gets paid as some do editing for free. Second, even if they are paid, in the business world a customer is Customer – Groups or individuals who have a business relationship with the organization–those who receive and use or are directly affected by the products and services of the organization. Customers include direct recipients of products and services, internal customers who produce services and products for final recipients, and other organizations and entities that interact with an organization to produce products and services. [GAO]-http://www.ichnet.org/glossary.htm.
Another way to look at it is this: When a company gives you a gift card worth a certain value ($25, $50,etc)for example or even wants you to participate in a focus group, they pay you. You are the companies customer (gift card) and you are going to be the buyer or customer that helps make the product better (focus group). Paying your customer is sometimes the cost of doing business.
As you can see, being an author is serious business, but it is indeed a business. Thinking of it this way should make it easier for you to not just create a brand for yourself, but market your product and the company behind it (you).

The Business of Authorship

In response to my other post this week, I was asked to go into more detail about authorship being a business.  To make it clearer, I’ve broken it down two ways: Traditional Publishing and Self-Publishing.  Most authors now-a-days are self-publishing, so we will start there.

Self-Publishing
You complete your manuscript (Product)
You spend money to have it packaged and printed and now you’re ready to introduce it to the world (Customers)
The customer buys it (Sale made)
You recoup your printing cost (Break even)
You made more than you put out (Profit)

Traditional Publishing with Agent
You complete your manuscript (Product)
You find an agent who you hope to have introduce your work to the publisher (Angel investor)
The agent finds the publisher who then gives you a contract stipulating they publish you, they market you, they invest in you and they put your product out in the market (Venture-capitalist)
Publisher gives you an advance (Loan)
The customer buys your product (Sale made)
Publisher recoups their advance (Break-even)
You make more than the Publisher puts out (A royalty)

Traditional Publishing without Agent
You complete your manuscript (Product)
You send your manuscript out to a publisher hoping they accept it (search for venture capitalist)
One does and provides you with a contract which guarantees you put no money out (secured venture capitalist)
Publisher gives you an advance (Loan)
The customer buys your product (Sale made)
Publisher recoups their advance (Break-even)
You make more than the Publisher puts out (A royalty)

So, as you can see, Publishing and Business go hand-in-hand.

This is only the beginning of us trying to explain to you how authorship being a business works.

Look for more blogs to come!

Pre-school Publishing

There is a harsh reality about being an author that most authors don’t want to admit: authorship is a business.  Yes, you can dream and imagine a world of creativity, but if you have any hopes of becoming a successful author, you must realize that authorship is a business.  Once, you’ve decided that you want to be published or even self-publish yourself, you must! must! must! put on a business person’s hat.

What do you mean authorship is a business?

Most writers come into the publishing arena believing that they’ve written the next best thing since sliced bread. They are looking for someone to believe in them and their book and they don’t want to put in the hardwork necessary to make their book a success.  Most authors are lazy: They want to submit their book to a publisher, get the book published and expect the publisher to either do the rest or just tell them what they want them to do, so they can go do it.  They don’t want to create a marketing plan, promote or work on distribution for THEIR book, nor do they want to take any initiative to go out and about to bring their book in front of customers. 

Personally and professionally, I’ve never understood this sort of thinking.  Your book is your baby.  Your baby gets accepted to a great pre-school.  Do you stop teaching or raising your baby because they’ve gotten accepted to this school or do you continue to nurture and teach your baby?  It’s the same concept.  To think that just because your book is or has been published means that your job is done is absolutely ridiculous. 

Whether you like it or not, the reality is that-it is your job to keep nurturing your book.  Nurturing by ways of promoting and marketing it.  The publisher, like the pre-school, is only going to do so much.  As for believing in you-the publisher, like the pre-school, believes your baby has potential or they wouldn’t be bothering.  Now how much potential is between you and the publisher. 

Just like your baby is not the only child in the pre-school, your book is not the only one being published by the publisher.  If you want your baby to stand out, there are certin things you have to work on with your baby to make that happen.  In the world of publishing, it’s marketing and promotions.  So, when I hear writers complain about what the publisher isn’t doing for their baby, I wonder about their parenting skills.

What kind of parent are you?

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