What Does It Take to Be a Publisher?

Publishers come in all sizes, from huge New York houses to one-man bands who form their own companies to “publish” one or two books. In between are what is called independent or “indy” publishers who cater to certain specialized niches. Assuming the big ones are well versed in their craft and the indy publishers are expanding their education through the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), I am going to focus on small, less experienced publishers.

Just saying you are a publisher is not enough to make you one. Most authors who decide to self-publish often have no idea what is involved in the process or what the requirements of the job are. To clear up any misunderstanding on this issue, the board of directors of IBPA drafted a checklist for publishers, posted it on its Website, and summarized it in an article in the IBPA newsletter. Added to that list are several important tasks suggested by author and self-publishing expert, Dan Poynter. Some are the responsibility of any publisher; others are implemented in concert with the author.

Technical Aspects

• Have manuscript edited and copy edited by two different editors before it goes into design.
• When the book is complete, send it out for review to peer reviewers. Take their critiques to heart and make changes.
• Have page proofs proofread by a different editor.
• Send out review copies of galleys to appropriate publications and reviewers. Mark them as Reader’s Copies. (Don’t send a printed book.)
• Secure an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and an EAN bar code from R.R. Bowker.
• Apply to the U.S. Copyright Office for a copyright.
• Develop a business plan with a budget,
• Create a contract that spells out what the author does and what the publisher does.
• Deal with appropriate, industry-related vendors.

Printing & Distribution

• Get competitive quotes from printers (Be sure they are all bidding on the same specs), and choose the one that best meets your author’s needs, including, but not limited to, price.
• Research all options on digital printers, POD companies, and offset printers (for more than 1,000 book).
• Decide how you want to handle storage and distribution. You can do both if you have room and time, but choosing a professional distributor and fulfillment house may be a better alternative. (LightningSource, which deals only with publishers, is owned by Ingram, which is the largest distributor in the country. Most POD companies print and send books when they are ordered. Larger print orders usually require a distributor and fulfillment services.)
• Go over the printed books with a fine-tooth comb for appearance, quality, pages, printing—in short, everything. Don’t settle for less than perfect. The author assumes final responsibility by signing the printer’s release form.

Promotion

• Write a marketing plan. In its simplest form, a marketing plan starts with an overall goal for what you want to accomplish, strategies for how you plan to do it, and specific tactics or actions you will take, with target dates and estimated costs.
• Create a promotional piece, bookmark, or brochure.
• Put together two mailing lists—one for regular mail and one for e-mail. You should already have one, but this is the time to hone and add to it.
• Develop a Website before the book is published to build an author platform and interest in the book.
• Create a blog to build interest for the book’s topic and keep readers informed of the author’s progress.
• Request testimonials to include in the book, on the cover, and in promotional materials.
• Do a promotional mailing to snail-mail and e-mail lists to announce publication of the book.
• Set up a “media room” on your Website so that media people can find the information they need in a form they can use.
• Encourage author to write articles on the book’s subject; submit to print publications and on-line article sites. There are countless such sites, but the undisputed leader of the pack is ezinearticles.com.
• Explain to author that book promotion as an ongoing, full-time job. The more promotion, the more successful the book will be.
• Work with author to develop fresh ways to repackage the content; develop “spin-off” products (CD, DVD, reports, mini-books, Podcasts, eBooks, Website content).

There are many books and Websites on publishing and self-publishing. This list covers the basics. As a publisher, you should work closely with your authors to produce a quality book and let the world know it exists.

No substitute for "face time"

The Internet is a fabulous connector of people. The world truly does become smaller when total strangers can view a video or Google a phrase and find the perfect person to provide just the service they need. My business would not exist without the World Wide Web. My only regret is that I don't have enough to time to surf all of the Web and social networking sites I'd like to.

My clients come from everywhere, and quite often our relationships are restricted to e-mail and phone calls. Despite the limitations of electronic communications, we do become close. This past weekend, however, I was reminded of how important it is meet my authors in person. It is a truly magical experience after all the disembodied conversations we have shared.

Rob (yes, that's his real name) and I met for the first time last Friday when I picked him up from the airport. We greeted each other like long-lost relatives and spent the weekend sharing meals, great conversation, and long hours of working on his book. I taught a writing class on Monday night, and Rob graciously agreed to share his experiences as a new author with my students.

They were enchanted. I could have explained for weeks on end what Rob conveyed in one short hour. No amount of theory is as real or convincing as hearing someone share what he has learned, often the hard way, on his way to becoming a published author.

In today's world, people—especially young people—spend a disproportionate amount of time talking to each other over the airwaves. They may think that's real communication, but from the perspective of someone who grew up having to share a phone with my whole family, it is a poor substitute for standing in the same space and actually looking at the person I'm talking to.

Ten Questions to Test My Book Idea

I will never again make light of my suggestion to potential authors that they begin by answering ten short questions about their books. If I am going to write a book of my own, I have no choice but to accept the same challenge. The questions may be short, but the process of answering them has been longer and tougher than I realized. The good news is that the answers will take me a long way toward a completed book proposal.

1. Why are you writing this book?

• To reflect on my life as a writer which began with little more than a vague goal—to write—and developed into a successful career as a feature writer, editor, corporate communicator, author, and book coach
• To show aspiring writers that if they really want to make writing their life’s work, with a little talent and a lot of determination, they can achieve any goal they set for themselves
• To illustrate the process outlined in my previous book, How to Write a Nonfiction Book; From Concept to Completion in 6 Months by planning and writing a book on my blog.

2. What is your book about?
This book is a memoir of my life as a writer—40 years of learning, growing, and reinventing myself to meet the changing needs of the marketplace.

3. How are you qualified to write this book?
I am an editor, ghostwriter, teacher, writing coach, and the author of 14 books, including How to Write a Nonfiction Book: From Concept to Completion in 6 Months, Going Solo: How To Survive & Thrive as a Freelance Writer, and The Invisible Author: Confessions of a Ghostwriter.

My passion is working with writers at all levels to convey their messages through books. In addition to coaching prospective authors, I have taught classes in nonfiction book writing at local universities and community colleges. My articles have been published in corporate and university publications, the trade and national business press, and on 25 online article sites. I have also written audio, video, and print training programs on a wide variety of topics.

As the owner of a creative consulting firm for the past 20 years, I have worked with organizations in both the private and public sectors on projects ranging from annual reports to websites. My 40-year career has included marketing communications, public relations, training, magazine writing and editing, and lecturing.

4. Why is this an appropriate and timely topic? Why this book, now?

This past year has been rough in terms of the recession, thousands of layoffs, a staggering jobless rate, people losing their homes, and a general feeling that the American dream is not as bright or shiny as it once was. Yet, my unlikely career is a Cinderella story of knowing that I wanted to be a writer and going for it, one step at a time. There seems no better time than this to tell that story.

5. Who are your target readers?
Someone asked me years ago what I wanted to do and my answer was help writers write. The answer hasn’t changed. My target audience comprises writers, no matter where they are in their careers —learning, aspiring, working, or succeeding. This is not a book aimed particularly at women, but it is one woman’s story of what it takes to “make it” before, during, and after the women’s movement.

6. How will they benefit? Why should they read it? What will they learn?
This is a writer’s chronicle of a career that began modestly and developed in ways the author could never have predicted. The lessons the book teaches through its reminiscences and humor include the following:

• If you know what you want to do, don’t let anything or anyone stop you from doing it.
• With a little talent and a lot of moxie, you can be whatever you choose to be.
• Set attainable goals that stretch you; as you achieve each one, set another one immediately.
• Writing is not a competitive sport; don’t be threatened by other people’s success
• Seek mentors; then become one.
• Be generous with your talent; remember that it’s a gift; pass it on.
• Know what your values are; let your writing reflect them.
• Don’t lose your sense of humor.
• Ask yourself from time to time if there is something else you would rather do; if you can’t think of anything, keep writing.

7. How will you reach them? Where are they likely to buy this book?

At Borders or Barnes & Noble? On line? In the grocery store? Those all sound good to me. It will be available on my own website, on Amazon.com and Kindle, in major and independently owned bookstores, possibly book catalogs, at the “back of the room” during presentations, and any specialty store I can convince to sell it.

8. How big is the market? How many potential readers are there?

Aspiring and working writers read …

• Writers magazines (Total circulation: 166,460)
• Articles on writing at the major online article websites
• Writers blogs
• Women's magazines (Total circulation: 30,510,960 )
• Social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn [WritersWorld], Twitter, Gather)

9. What else is out there on this subject? How is this book unique, special, important?

• Six autobiographies by Maya Angelou
• The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman
• The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds by Peter Bowerman
• A Dangerous Profession: A Book About the Writing Life by Frederick Busch
• The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
• Memoirs of a Delta Favorite by Ellen Gilchrist
• The Writing Life by Ellen Gilchrest
• The Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg
• Old Friend From Far Away by Natalie Goldberg
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• Wounds of Passion: A Writing Life by Bell Hooks
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Bird By Bird by Annie Lamott
• Writing About Your Life: a Journey Into the Past by William Zinsser

What sets this book apart from these and many other memoirs is that it is by and about a working writer who spent the first half her career in magazine journalism and corporate communications and the second half trying to master running a one-woman business. It is not about being a novelist or a poet; it is not on how to write or to make a lot of money as a freelancer. Rather, it is a light look at a long love affair with the unglamorous side of the writing life.

10. How will you help to promote your book?

• Dedicated website (www.WriteANonfictionBook.com
  
• Online articles (ezinearticles.com, http://searchwarp.com, http://Top7Business.com/, http://www.amazines.com/, http://www.articlecity.com, and others)
• Social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn [WritersWorld], Twitter, Gather)
• Articles in writers' magazines (The Writer, Writers' Digest, Writers' Journal)
  
• The Writing Life blog
• News & Views (monthly newsletter)
  
• Presentations on all aspects of nonfiction writing
  
• Writers blogs (request link exchange or guest blogging opportunity on copyblogger.com, writetodone.com, mashable.com, problogger.com, etc.)

Writing Out Loud

I am sitting in my office staring at my desk. Well actually, I can’t see my desk. All I can see are file folders, opened mail, unopened mail, projects in various stages of completion, scribbled notes to myself, books, and computer equipment. It’s a mess, and I am on overwhelm. No doubt about it; I have a few too many plates in the air.

Yet, instead of trying to figure out what I can eliminate, I am musing over the impossible, completely irrational notion of trying to juggle one more plate, and not just any plate. This one is more like a platter. I have been struck by the desire to write another book—not a ghostwritten book for someone else, but a book for me. I have obviously lost my mind, but that doesn’t make me banish the idea to the recycle bin so I can concentrate on earning a living and managing my life.

The problem with wanting to write a book is that it’s like an itch that will drive me crazy until I finally give in and scratch, which in this case, means thinking through the questions I ask every would-be author who tells me he has a great idea for a book. Like my students and coaching clients, I don’t want to suffer through the preliminaries. I don’t want to complete the mandatory sentence, “My book is about …” I don’t want to answer ten questions that will tell me whether my idea is viable. I don’t want to organize little file folders on my hard drive before I do anything else. I just want to plunge in and start writing. What that tells me is, if nothing else, this could turn into a great exercise in empathy.

Why is the itch so persistent? What is so enticing about this particular idea that I must write it? And who am I hoping will read it? I don’t know the answer to the first question. Perhaps it is just the right time to do it. The right time, of course, has nothing to do with having time; it is more about knowing I am ready to write and making time. What I have discovered over the course of my writing career is that when I’m ready, there simply is no stopping it from pouring out.

I’ve been playing around the edges of this idea for what seems like years. My book will be a memoir of my life as a writer—40 years of learning, growing, and, reinventing myself to meet the changing needs of the marketplace. (OK, that takes care of the dreaded sentence!)

Every time one of my students says, “I want to write about my life or my unique experience,” I take a deep breath and wonder who will read it and why they would want to. I have to ask the same question of myself. Who is the audience, and what is the benefit? It’s a tough question, but so are the other nine I ask every student and potential client. When we add up the answers, we have an abbreviated book proposal. Besides being able to explain what their books are about, most of my students really resist the whole idea of writing a proposal. They argue, they stall, but eventually they realize they are going to need it for at least a dozen reasons.

I seem to be addicted to writing about writing. My last two were on how to survive and thrive as a freelance writer and how to write nonfiction book in six months. In the first case, I have survived (and pretty much thrived) for four decades; in the second, I honestly have written books within that six-month window. But I’ve never done it in public, so to speak, with people looking over my shoulder.

So, this will be a first-time experiment in which I will try to “talk the talk and walk the walk” (I’ve never liked that saying). I am going to sit here with my book next to the computer and go through the process of planning, writing, publishing, and promoting my nonfiction book just as I teach others to do it. And I am going to do it on my blog, The Writing Life.

Why in heaven’s name would I do something so crazy? First, because I can’t figure any way to juggle one more plate, so I’m going to combine book-writing time with blog-writing time. Second, if I am going to keep telling people to trust this process because it works, I have to prove it. Well, I don’t have to, but, frankly, I find it irresistible to try. And, third, every author needs a support system, and I am hoping you will be mine as I venture into the uncharted territory of writing out loud.

The Friends of Bobbi Bookshelf

I have a shelf in my bookcase for books written by friends, with a special section for those I played a role in bringing to fruition. In some cases, I was a book coach; in others, an editor; and in a few, a ghostwriter. The number of books on my shelf is growing, which thrills me. When there were only a few, I would pack them all up and take them to my classes to use as examples of everything from great design to self-publishing disasters. These days I have to spend a lot of time choosing the perfect books from my growing stash.

I am so proud of the authors who took their wonderful books from concept to completion and would like to introduce some of them to you.

Kim Wolterman (pictured above at her book launch) is the author of Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed(room)? Researching a St. Louis County Missouri Home*, which is hot off the press. This book is a step-by-step guide to removing the frustration and putting the fun into researching the history of any home. An indefatigable researcher, house historian, and multi-talented quilter and artist, Kim is also an EzineArticles.com expert author on house history research.

Dressing Nifty After Fifty: The Definitive Guide to a Simple, Stylish Wardrobe* is the brainchild of Corinne Richardson, a retired attorney who writes extensively, consults with clients, and hosts workshops on the many ways to simplify and organize one’s life and possessions. Dressing Nifty After Fifty shows women how to create the ideal, quintessential wardrobe that works 24-7.

From Red Star To Spangled Banner: My Journey to Become a True American* by Dale Attila Fogarasi is a 30-year odyssey that takes the author of this moving memoir from Communist-ruled Hungary to Mark Twain’s America. Retired after a 50-year career at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, Dale’s intensely personal saga chronicles his life between the ages of 17 and 47, when he became a citizen of his adopted country.

* Just a coincidence or uniformly good taste? Whatever the reason, these three books were all designed by book designer extraordinaire, Peggy Nehmen.

Pamela J. Vaccaro, MA, CSP, is a professional speaker, former history teacher, and nationally recognized resource on managing time and attention. Beyond The Ice Cream Cone: The Whole Scoop on Food at the 1904 World’s Fair combines Pam's love of food history with culinary memorabilia and showcases her talent as a researcher and writer.

It’s Your Life, Choose Well: Thoughts on living a happier, healthier, saner life now—not someday, by Kathleen Keller Passanisi, is a collection of gentle, mental nudges designed to help readers make simple, pleasurable choices that can improve their physical, mental, emotional, social, vocational, and spiritual health. Kathy is a seasoned health care professional, an internationally recognized speaker and humorist, and a lifetime achievement award winner in therapeutic humor.

There are more books in the works by my friends and favorite writers. As soon as the ink is dry, there will be a follow up to this blog post.