|
|
independent publishers guild
|
|
Search
|
Top Tips for Publishers
|
Know who your customers are.
Do you know who you're hoping to sell your book to? The clearer you are about who will buy before publication, the more likely you are to succeed. So if your answer is "Everyone will be interested", be careful. It's very difficult to appeal to everyone, and you're probably more likely to appeal to no-one. Think about your target reader in as much detail as you can - age, gender, interests, affluence - having a clear picture of them will help you get the initial publishing idea right, as well as design, marketing, price and promotion.
Know how you're going to reach them.
Once you've clarified who your books are for, you need to have a plan for letting them know about them and buy them. It's all very well to know that your typical reader is a 43 year old, wine-drinking, dog-loving, football fan, but if you haven't found out how to sell to them, what advertising media would be suitable, where you might get the books reviewed, what sort of shops might sell your books, you'll find it hard to get your message to the right place. So before you start spending money on producing any books, check out that it will be possible and affordable to reach your market.
Identify the Unique Selling Point of your book.
So why is the book that you've set your heart on publishing any different from the 47 other titles on the same subject which are currently swelling your local remainder shop's stock? With thousands and thousands of books published every year, most of which make no money at all, what's so good about yours? You need to be quite clear about what's going to make this book work in the face of all the odds, and what the benefits are to those mid-life, boozy, doggy Beckham fans you've identified as customers.
|
|
|
|
|
Know that your authors know what they're talking about.
Maybe you're thinking of publishing your own book in which case you're completely certain they do (aren't you?), so ignore this question! If not, what makes you so sure that your authors are on the ball, and not about to make you look a touch foolish with their conviction that Boris Johnson is an international synchronised swimmer or that Prince Philip is a fluent Chinese speaker. Get someone else to have a look at their manuscript and give you a second opinion.
Know who your competitors are.
Yes, they're the publishers who are keeping the remainder bookshop in business, publishing glossy titles, with a slick marketing team, and cheery PR agents. Can you really compete with them? Will they be able to see you off with their financial resources and knowledge of the market? What are the chinks in their armour? Can you identify mistakes that they make, and could you avoid them yourself? If you think they're doing a brilliant job and have covered every angle, keep your publishing virginity or you might get hurt.
Cost everything carefully.
You're going to need some money to get this book published, but how much? You'll need to budget for design, editing, typesetting, proofreading, printing, distribution, marketing, sales commission and royalties, so before you start spending any money at all, find out how much the whole thing will cost. Most suppliers will be happy to provide you with an estimate for the work needed. You should be able to identify potential service suppliers from the IPG membership list, and other relevant pages on this web site. When you've got all the costs in, add them up and decide whether you can afford to spend that much. Publishing is a cash-hungry business and it will take you some time to recoup what you spend on your first book(s).
|
|
Be realistic about your financial expectations.
Now that you know how much it's going to cost, you'll be wondering how quickly you'll sell that first print run and start making a profit. It can look very easy on paper, and spreadsheets seem to manage to make every project more profitable than the last. Beware! It's easy to fool yourself about how many copies you'll sell and how quickly. Be cautious, don't think of a number and double it, cut the figure you first thought of in half instead, and probably halve it again. You may not get back magically to the number you started with, but it will much closer to reality.
Set a price which works for the market and which makes money for you.
Setting the price of your book is easy, but setting it so that it hits the market right and makes you some money is very difficult. You may be inclined to fool yourself and set a high price to generate the income you need, or to set a low price which you think will work for your customers, but which would require sales of 100,000 copies before you broke even. It's a difficult balancing act, and you need to compare the prices of other similar books to gauge the appropriate level. Do this before you've committed to publish the book. It's too late if you've already spent thousands of pounds. (See pricing)
Work with suppliers who know what they're doing.
Obvious, isn't it? But the printer you've met in the pub can be very persuasive about his book printing skills, as can your cousin who's sure she's going to be a first-rate proofreader. If they haven't done this sort of work before, don't let them make their first mistakes on your baby. The IPG has a list of associate supplier members, which is one place to try. If you know other publishers, ask them who they work with. And when you've made contact with a supplier, make sure that you feel comfortable working with them.
|
|
Make sure that bookshops and libraries know about the book and can order it.
The first thing you'll need is an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This is a unique number which will identify your title to anyone who searches for it in a booktrade database of titles. You can get one of these from the ISBN Agency. You'll then need to make sure that you let the two major title databases know about your book: Whitakers and Book Data. Once your book is on these two databases it will be possible for bookshops, wholesalers, Amazon and libraries anywhere around the world to locate it, order it and supply to their customers. You'll also need to decide on how you will arrange to invoice and send your books out to customers. You could do it yourself from your garage, and many people do, or you could sign up with a specialist distributor who could do it for you. There are a number of suitable distributors, some of whom are IPG supplier members.
Enjoy!
Why else would you do it? If it's to make lots of money and you succeed, you'll be one of the very few. But publishing has an attraction which draws people in, and which often delights once they're on the inside. It can be fun, mainly because it's largely about working with other people and about ideas, and it can be incredibly satisfying to see that book on the shelves in your local bookshop. It's not all launch parties and author tours, in fact it hardly ever is, but it beats investing in Premium Bonds.
|
|
|
|
|
