Start your own publishing company! IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Jennifer Fishberg Visit IAPCollege.com IAP CAREER COLLEGE® GUIDE TO BECOME A BOOK PUBLISHER by Jennifer Fishberg ISBN: 978-1-897286-79-1 Copyright Notice: This IAP Career College guide is copyright © by IAP Career College. All rights reserved. IAP Career College has the exclusive right under the U.S. Copyright Act (Title17, U.S.C. §106) to make and distribute copies of IAP Career College guides and to make derivative works based on these guides. No part of any IAP Career College guide may be reproduced, revised, or distributed in any form or by any means (including photocopying, recording, or online) without our prior written permission. Unauthorized copying of all or part of a IAP Career College guide constitutes copyright infringement and may result in legal remedies including an injunction, statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringement, and possible criminal prosecution. 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Click on the arrow to the right or left of the percentage and you can adjust the size. A size of 100% will be comfortable for many readers. If that looks too big or small on your screen, adjust the size up or down to find the best size for you. IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Contents About the Author..............................................................................8 Acknowledgements..........................................................................9 1. Introduction...........................................................................................10 1.1 The Book Publishing Business.....................................................12 1.1.1 What Is Independent Publishing?.....................................12 1.1.2 Industry Trends and Statistics...........................................15 1.2 Benefits of Being a Book Publisher.............................................17 1.3 Inside This Guide..........................................................................20 2. Getting Ready........................................................................................23 2.1 Skills and Knowledge You Will Need........................................23 2.1.1 Writing Skills........................................................................24 2.1.2 Computer and Technology Skills......................................25 2.1.3 Research Skills......................................................................27 2.1.4 Interpersonal Skills..............................................................29 2.1.5 Business Skills......................................................................31 2.2 Learning by Doing........................................................................34 2.2.1 Work in a Bookstore............................................................34 2.2.2 Publishing Internships........................................................36 2.3 Learn From Other Publishers......................................................40 2.3.1 Information Interviews.......................................................40 2.3.2 Join Associations..................................................................43 2.3.3Work with a Book Shepherd or Publishing Coach.........47 2.4 Educational Programs .................................................................48 2.4.1Publishing Degrees, Certificates, and Seminars..............49 2.4.2 Other Types of Degrees......................................................52 2.4.3 Business Degrees and Courses..........................................53 4 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 2.5 Resources for Self-Study...............................................................54 2.5.1 Books.....................................................................................54 2.5.2 Websites................................................................................56 3. Starting a Publishing Business..........................................................60 3.1 Should You Start Your Own Publishing .................................... Company?......................................................................................60 3.1.1 Working with a Self-Publishing Company......................61 3.1.2 Starting Your Own Publishing Company........................64 3.2 Choosing Your Niche....................................................................65 3.3 Choosing a Company Name........................................................72 3.4 Your Business Plan........................................................................74 3.4.1 What To Include In a Business Plan..................................75 3.4.2 Start-Up Financial Planning...............................................82 3.4.3 Business Plan Resources.....................................................91 3.5 Where to Find Start-Up Financing..............................................92 3.5.1 Getting Prepared..................................................................92 3.5.2 Equity vs. Debt Financing..................................................94 3.5.3 Borrowing Money................................................................95 3.5.4 Finding Investors.................................................................98 3.5.5 Government Programs.....................................................100 3.6 Choosing Your Location.............................................................102 3.7 Legal Matters................................................................................105 3.7.1 Your Business Legal Structure.........................................105 3.7.2 Business Licenses...............................................................112 3.7.3 Taxes....................................................................................114 3.7.4 Insurance.............................................................................116 Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 5 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 4. The Publication Process....................................................................120 4.1 Finding and Developing Material for Publication..................122 4.1.1 Writing Your Own Books.................................................122 4.1.2 Working with Authors and Literary Agents..................124 4.1.3 Previously Published Work.............................................130 4.1.4 Contracts and Royalties....................................................135 4.1.5 Subsidiary Rights...............................................................137 4.2 Registering Your Material..........................................................138 4.2.1 ISBN Numbers...................................................................138 4.2.2 Barcodes..............................................................................139 4.2.3 Copyright............................................................................141 4.3 Printing Your Books....................................................................144 4.3.1 Offset Printing....................................................................144 4.3.2 Digital Printing and Print-On-Demand (POD).............147 4.3.3 E-Books...............................................................................148 4.4 Hiring Staff and Freelancers......................................................152 4.4.1 Employees versus Contractors........................................152 4.4.2 How to Find Freelance Help............................................154 4.4.3 How to Find Support Staff...............................................160 4.4.4 The Interview Process.......................................................161 4.4.5 References...........................................................................162 5. Business Operations and Finances..................................................164 5.1 Pricing Your Books......................................................................165 5.1.1 Guidelines...........................................................................165 5.1.2 Retail Pricing Formulas....................................................166 5.1.3 Profit Margin vs. Percentage Markup............................167 5.1.4 Standard Discounts...........................................................169 6 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 5.2 E-Commerce.................................................................................172 5.2.1 Accepting Credit Cards....................................................173 5.2.2 Accepting Payment Online..............................................174 5.2.3 Order Fulfillment...............................................................175 5.3 Getting Your Books Into Bookstores and Libraries................177 5.3.1 Working with Wholesalers and Distributors................177 5.3.2 Amazon and Other Online Retailers..............................182 5.4 Financial Management...............................................................187 5.4.1 Bookkeeping.......................................................................187 5.4.2 Financial Statements and Reports...................................190 6. Marketing Your Books.......................................................................198 6.1 Marketing Tools...........................................................................200 6.1.1 Printed Materials...............................................................201 6.1.2 Your Website.......................................................................207 6.1.3 Social Media ......................................................................214 6.2 Marketing Techniques................................................................218 6.2.1 Advertising.........................................................................219 6.2.2 Free Publicity......................................................................223 6.2.3 Contests and Awards........................................................235 6.2.4 Networking........................................................................237 6.3 Promotional Events.....................................................................238 6.3.1 Book Signings.....................................................................238 6.3.2 Presentations......................................................................241 6.3.3 Trade Shows.......................................................................243 Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 7 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher About the Author Jennifer Fishberg is a freelance writer based in New Jersey. She holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Rutgers University and a B.A. in psychology from Douglass College/Rutgers University. Jennifer has counseled students and alumni on resume writing, networking, job search strategies, and other career planning and development issues at Rutgers Office of Career Services, where she worked as a graduate intern. Her background also includes extensive experience in the publishing field, where she managed research content for numerous guidebooks on education and career-related topics including scholarships, summer programs for kids & teens, services for students with learning disabilities, and executive education programs. Jennifer is also author of the IAP Career College Guide to Become a Career Coach and IAP Career College Guide to Become a Virtual Assistant. Jen offers professional resume writing services through her website, Career Karma, at www.careerkarma.net. 8 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Acknowledgements Thank you to the following experts (listed alphabetically) for generously sharing book publishing industry information or business advice in this IAP Career College guide. Opinions expressed in this guide are those of the author or editors, and not necessarily those of experts interviewed for this guide. • Kimberley Debus • Florrie Binford Kichler • Tag and Catherine Goulet • Sandra Poirier-Diaz • Sam Hendricks • Linda F. Radke Publisher, Mélange Press A division of Word Alchemy, Inc. www.melange-books.com Co-Founders and co-CEOs, FabJob, Inc. http://fabjob.com President, Smith Publicity, Inc. www.smithpublicity.com smithpublicity.blogspot.com Publisher, Extra Point Press Author, Fantasy Football Basics and Fantasy Football Tips www.extrapointpress.com President, Five Star Publications, Inc. www.FiveStarPublications.com • Leland F. Raymond • David Hooper Publisher, CyPress Publications http://cypresspublications.com www.MusicMarketing.com • Shel Horowitz • Jacqueline Church Simonds Author, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers Book Shepherd / Marketing Consultant www.frugalmarketing.com/ publishers.shtml Co-Owner, Beagle Bay, Inc. http://www.beaglebay.com • Hallie Warshaw Publisher and Creative Director, Zest Books www.zestbooks.net • Tina Jordan Vice President, The Association of American Publishers (AAP) http://publishers.org Copyright © IAP Career College President, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) www.ibpa-online.org • • Roger S. Williams Literary Agent, Publish or Perish Agency http://publishorperishagency. blogspot.com iapcollege.com • 9 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 1. Introduction Congratulations on taking the first step toward starting your own book publishing company! Do you dream of seeing your own works in print, or providing an outlet for other new or underrepresented voices? Do you have a mission or cause to promote through your books, or a personal experience to share with the world? Does the prospect of collaborating with editors and designers, networking with literary agents, and becoming an entrepreneur intrigue you? It’s all part of the exciting world of book publishing. While people from many different backgrounds are drawn to the publishing profession, if you’re considering taking on this challenge requiring equal parts left and right brain, chances are you’ve harbored a lifelong love of the written word. Perhaps you’re the creative type who spent more of your childhood in the local library with your nose in a Beverly Cleary or Judy Blume book than on the playground. 10 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Or maybe you discovered your passion for books later in life wandering the dusty stacks of used bookstores seeking out of print titles. Perhaps you’ve been called upon in your current job or in your personal life to use your writing gift to provide information or entertainment to others. Or maybe you just love reading dynamic books that teach you something new or make you feel connected to the world in a way you hadn’t before. From whatever direction your calling came, publishing is an exciting and rapidly changing field and books remain a powerful medium of communication, whether in print or electronic format. A means to, as author E. M. Forster famously said, “Only connect”. New technology, such as e-readers and print-on-demand, is challenging many of the traditionally held beliefs about what kinds of books can be successful, and redefining what it means to be an author and a publisher in the digital age. The ease of getting a book printed has leveled the playing field, removed roadblocks, and enabled new authors and publishers who have never before had this kind of access to reach an audience eager for fresh perspectives and specialized niche topics. But publishing can also be a confusing maze, and there’s no shortage of companies out there looking to take advantage of this fact, more interested in opening wallets than in opening doors for would-be authors and publishers. For this reason, it’s important to be armed with the facts as you begin to plan and implement your new venture. That’s where this guide comes in! We’re aware that there are many books on the market about “selfpublishing”, each with a very definite point of view about just what self-publishing means and exactly how it should and shouldn’t be done. Many of them are excellent resources, and there is a wealth of wonderful information to be gained from the experiences of their authors. You’ll find a few of the best mentioned in this guide. However, if you’ve already done some research on self-publishing, you’ve probably also realized that there is a lot of contradictory advice out there. Remember, none of these folks have your exact goals, needs, budget, personal taste, skills, or knowledge base, and vice versa. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 11 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher So, while we conducted interviews with many experts in the field who generously shared their wisdom -- from independent publishers to literary agents, publishing services providers, publishing coaches, and book marketing professionals -- it is the goal of this guide not to prescribe which one way is best, but rather to provide you with a clear roadmap of your options as you begin this journey. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each so that you can avoid the pitfalls along the way and make the most informed decisions about what works for your unique situation. You will also gain an understanding of how to leverage your skills and experience to tap into a niche market, how to develop new skills to make your books more marketable and competitive, and where to find the resources you need to help you grow your business. In this chapter, we’ll begin with a brief overview of the publishing industry, including traditional publishing, independent publishing, and self-publishing. We’ll also examine how current trends, including the increasing demand for e-books, are changing the face of the industry at a pace that would make anyone’s head spin. This chapter also includes a look at some of the potential rewards you can expect as a book publisher. So let’s get started! 1.1 The Book Publishing Business 1.1.1 What Is Independent Publishing? If you’ve already begun doing research on the publishing industry, you may be confused by the differing ways in which you’ve seen certain terminology used – “self-publishing” for example, or “print-ondemand (POD) publishing”. Before we go any further, let’s bring some clarity to these important definitions as they will be used throughout this guide. Self-Publishing Highly respected publishing professional and President of the Independent Book Publishers Association, the leading professional organization for self-publishers and indie publishers, Florrie Binford Kichler, offers the following definition of self-publishing: 12 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher “A self-publisher is one who establishes his or her own company in order to create, distribute, market and sell a book that he or she has authored. A true self publisher follows all the business precepts of publishing including maintaining professional standards in editorial, production, finance, marketing, sales and promotion.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, IBPA and Publisher, Patria Press This is one point on which the experts all largely agree – the key factor here is creating your own company. While you needn’t handle every aspect of the business yourself -- in fact, most experts advise against attempting this -- you maintain ownership of the rights to your selfcreated or acquired material, and ISBNs belong to you as the publisher of record. ISBNs are explained in greater detail in chapter 4, but in short, this is a unique and internationally recognized identifying number assigned to all books. Subsidy Publishing, Vanity Publishing, and Print-On-Demand (POD) Much of the confusion lies in the widespread use of the term “selfpublishing” as a synonym for “vanity publishing” or “subsidy publishing,” which it is not. This confusion is generated both by companies offering author services and by some of the mainstream media. Many companies, such as Xlibris, iUniverse, and Trafford offer “self-publishing services” or “author services” or “POD publishing” (not to be confused with POD printing, which we’ll look at in greater detail in chapter 4). In reality, these are all terms used for subsidy publishers that enable authors to see their work in print for a price. These companies offer a range of editorial and design services – a onestop-shop of sorts. However, marketing prospects for these titles are slim and most of the books end up being purchased by the authors and their family and friends. In some cases, this may be a perfectly viable option. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these services and many, such as Lulu and CreateSpace, offer good value for what they provide. It is simply a case of caveat emptor. We will examine this option in more detail in section 3.1 for those readers who may want to publish only a single title with limited reach – something to preserve for friends and family, for Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 13 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher example. However, the majority of this book focuses on how to start your own book publishing company. Independent Publishing Independent publishing shares many commonalities with selfpublishing, but Tina Jordan, Vice President of the Association of American Publishers, the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry, offers this distinction: “Self-publishing is typically defined by a singular author publishing their own title or titles, with the assistance of organizations which provide publishing services. Independent publishing is more typically defined by an independently-owned company publishing multiple titles from multiple authors with an existing infrastructure of services inclusive of editorial, sales, distribution, marketing, publicity.” — Tina Jordan, Vice President, Association of American Publishers (AAP) An independent publisher is more likely than a self-publisher to maintain office space outside of the home and a permanent staff, albeit typically a small one, as they are usually juggling the publication of more than one book and author at a time. Self-publishers tend to be more of a one-woman or one-man show, recruiting the help of freelancers to keep costs down and most likely working out of a home office. Indies versus “The Big Six” The major players in book publishing today are referred to in the industry as “The Big Six”. These are the large, mainstream publishing conglomerates with a long history in traditional publishing and many smaller divisions and imprints under their umbrellas. The larger publishing houses of course have larger budgets, but also tend to be less willing to take risks on untried authors or non-mainstream content. They are far less likely to accept unagented and unsolicited manuscript submissions. The current Big Six are: • Hachette Book Group (formerly Warner Books) 14 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • HarperCollins • Macmillan • Penguin Group • Random House • Simon & Schuster Independent (or “indie”) publishers tend to focus on a specific niche market that may be overlooked by the larger mass market companies, just as self-publishers do. By virtue of the smaller scale on which independent publishers function, they are able to provide more individual attention to lesser known authors and tend to be more open to non-traditional content and new authors. Historically, independent publishers have made up a relatively small percentage of the book market. Today, however, with readers’ increased interest in a diversity of niche topics and embracing of new formats and technology that allow greater access to the marketplace, independent publishing has surged in popularity. Most of the information in this guide will be relevant to those interested in starting a small independent press, as well as authors interested in starting their own company to self-publish their work. Chapter 4 includes a section on working with authors and literary agents, as well as other sources of material for publication for those would-be publishers who are not writers and wish to publish works by others. 1.1.2 Industry Trends and Statistics R.R. Bowker, producer of Books In Print (a subscription service used by many libraries as well as booksellers) monitors publishers and collects statistics. In a 2015 ‘state of the industry’ report published at Bowker. com, they report that self-publishing grew by over 21% just from 2014 to 2015! And reported current trends as follows: • More writers taking advantage of traditional publishing houses and self-publishing Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 15 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Libraries and booksellers seeking opportunities to offer more self- published content • The number of self-published authors topping prominent best- seller lists is on the rise According to statistics compiled by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), book sales in the U.S. were estimated at $27.78 billion in 2015. This figure represents 2.71 billion units, comprising all types of books: hardback, paperback, audio, and e-books. E-books peaked in 2013 with sales of $3.24 billion; in 2015, sales were $2.84 billion. Despite the continued dominance of The Big Six, new publishers continue to join the ranks in growing numbers. Estimates vary, but according to ISBN data, there are probably at least 100,000 publishing companies in the United States alone. The E-book Market According to AAP, e-book sales have plateaued, but other industry analysts are more cheerful on the topic. From NPR’s late 2015 interview: The big picture that they [traditional industry sources such as AAP] present is based on the sales of essentially 1,200 publishers only. And the assumption in traditional circles is that, well, that must surely represent the vast majority of book sales - 85 percent, 90 percent. And in the print world, that’s definitely true…But that’s not true for e-books especially self-published e-books, most of which are sold by Amazon. And Amazon does not report sales figures...According to Author Earnings, the e-book market is thriving, but traditional publishers’ share of it has slipped to about one-third. According to Pew Research, the percentage of U.S. adults who’ve read a print book in the last year has declined moderately in the last five years, from 71% in 2011 to 65% in 2016, while the percentage who’ve read an e-book has increased from 17% in 2011 to 28% in 2016. In every case—whether you’re looking at the number of publishers (and lowered barriers to entry into publishing) or the dollar amount of 16 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher sales or the format of delivery—there’s plenty of room in the publishing industry for more players and more reading! 1.2 Benefits of Being a Book Publisher Whether you’re seeking a new full-time career as an independent book publisher or just looking for a part-time venture as an outlet to get your writing into the marketplace, starting your own publishing company has many potential benefits. Making a Positive Impact on Others Many self-publishers and independent book publishers are drawn to the industry because they have a mission – a sincere desire to use their life experiences, knowledge, and/or career skills and expertise to help others with informative nonfiction works; or a knack for producing or finding the kind of writing that can touch others in some way, entertain, or provoke thought and conversation about an issue. Most successful indie publishers and self-publishers choose a very specific niche area that has some personal meaning to them. The ability to get your message out in book form, whether through your own writing or working with authors who share your vision, allows you to reach a large audience and make a difference in the quality of their day to day lives through your books. Think about books you’ve read that have made a real difference to you – whether it was teaching you a computer skill that helped you land a new job, or just providing a laugh after a tough day. Books contribute a great deal to people’s lives and to the world, and being a publisher allows you to be a part of that. In addition, if you’re publishing the work of other new authors, you have the ability to make a very direct impact on their lives, helping to make their creative vision a reality and perhaps making someone’s lifelong dream of seeing their work in print come true. Independent publisher Kimberly Debus of Mélange Press, which publishes both fiction and nonfiction, counts seeing the look on a new author’s face upon handing them their first freshly printed book as among the most rewarding aspects of what she does. “It is at that Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 17 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher moment that the ‘watch this space’ sign comes off the billboard, as it were, and the book has entered the world,” Debus explains. Creating a Lasting Legacy “The closest comparison I can give for the feeling I get when I first receive a title from the printer is the joy of seeing a child born. After months of gestation, your creation has come into the world.” — Leland F. Raymond, Publisher, CyPress Publications Seeing your books on the shelves of your local library, in bookstores, or on websites like Amazon can be quite a thrill. But publishing a book can also be a way to leave an imprint on the world and potentially reach future generations as well. Creating something tangible like a book enables you to preserve something that represents who you are and what you care about to the world. Creativity and Independence The creative freedom to choose the types of books you publish, to manage both the content and the design, and to collaborate with talented and interesting people who take pride in the work they do provides an opportunity for the independent and creative-minded entrepreneur to shine. This type of business also offers the flexibility to create a schedule that fits your lifestyle. The ability to maintain control and independence – over your business and the type of work you publish -- is what attracts many people to the idea of publishing their own books. Book publishers may choose to work independently and retain complete creative and financial control over their final product, or may choose to hire a trusted staff or team of freelance professionals and experts to handle areas along the way where they lack expertise. There are also many associations and consortiums that help small publishers compete with larger companies by providing education, services, and a cooperative approach to marketing. As a publisher, you also have the freedom to choose a niche in which you have a particular interest. You can use the connections and 18 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher knowledge you already have, or use the opportunity to learn about a new subject you’ve always had an interest in. The options are unlimited. Challenge and Variety “Running a book business, like any business, takes commitment, smart business sense, and the ability to understand what cultural, education and entertainment-driven content will inspire new and existing readers. And of course a little bit of luck, or magic dust is always helpful.” — Tina Jordan, Vice President, Association of American Publishers (AAP) Running a book publishing company provides the opportunity for an ongoing education. Because publishers may be required to wear many different hats at different times, from marketing and PR pro, to budgeting whiz, and creative artist, and because the publishing industry is evolving with the speed of light as new technologies are incorporated, keeping up to date on emerging trends and constantly updating skills is important. Attending professional conferences and trade shows, taking continuing education courses, and networking with other publishing professionals are all part of keeping your skills sharp and staying connected. While there is a lot to learn along the way, author and publisher David Hooper warns that new publishers shouldn’t let themselves become overwhelmed by the challenges or let the perfect become the enemy of the good: “Do it. Get your stuff out there and make an impact on people. Don’t worry about it being perfect. Write it, bring in a pro to edit it, and put it out. It can be polished, but it’s never perfect.” — David Hooper, MusicMarketing.com In terms of running your own business, there is the added task of keeping up with new marketing techniques and getting the word out about your titles, as well as interacting with distributors, authors, the media, and customers. For those who are easily bored with the same old day to day routine, being an independent book publisher offers a continued opportunity for learning and variety. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 19 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Income Potential In addition to having more creative freedom than you would if you published your work through a traditional publishing house, you’ll also keep a greater percentage of the financial rewards as publisher. Authors working with a traditional publisher might expect to receive royalties of about 6 to 15%, depending on the type of book (hardcover, trade paperback, etc.), with 7.5 to 8% being about average for a paperback. Subsidy publishers will also take a significant chunk of your profits, in addition to the upfront fees. Publishing is no get rich quick venture, and you probably won’t make a mint on your first title. But while wholesalers, distributors, and retail outlets may require a significant discount in order to carry your independently published books, you can still come out ahead by utilizing effective and economical marketing techniques and knowing where your budget is best spent for maximum impact. Flexible Start-Up Costs Print runs, hiring freelancers, distributors, and launching marketing campaigns; let’s face it -- it can be a potentially expensive and risky proposition to start a book publishing company. While it’s important to go into this business knowing you’ll need to have a budget to spend in order to make a real go of it, there is also plenty of opportunity for cost savings. The good news is that publishing offers a great deal of flexibility in terms of start-up costs – there are many tasks you can do yourself in order to save money. Publishing e-books and POD printing can also save you some money up front and on inventory storage costs. Working with a professional association to market your books collaboratively can provide additional cost savings, as can working from a home office. 1.3 Inside This Guide The IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher will take you step-by-step through the process of publishing a book, whether you’re interested in publishing your own writing or the work of others. The guide is arranged as follows: 20 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Chapter 2, Getting Ready, will help you discover the many opportunities, both formal and informal, that exist for learning and practicing the skills you’ll need to be a successful book publisher, from writing to business skills. This chapter covers suggested areas of study for those interested in pursuing a college or university degree or certificate program in publishing, how to learn from other publishers, and lots of free resources to help you learn at your own pace. Once you understand the basic skills you’ll need to develop, Chapter 3, Starting Your Publishing Business, explains the importance of choosing a niche and how to choose the right one for you. You’ll also find practical business plan resources and suggestions on how to find financing, as well as information on the key legal points to consider as a new publisher and business owner. Being a successful publisher doesn’t necessarily mean doing everything yourself. Chapter 4, The Publication Process, will provide you with information on where to find material if you’re not a writer, and how to hire the right people to help you produce your books. This chapter also covers how to register and protect your material, and examines your various printing options. We’ll also help clear up some of the confusion about POD, and discuss the pros and cons of e-books. Starting a new business venture can be exciting, but the financial aspects can also be intimidating, especially for the more creatively inclined. Chapter 5, Business Operations and Finances, will provide you with guidelines for pricing and selling your books, including selling online through your own website, through online retailers like Amazon, and how to get your books into brick-and-mortar bookstores. Once you’re selling your books, you’ll need to know how to handle your finances, so we’ll cover the basics of financial management as well, including basic bookkeeping and Title P & Ls. You don’t need a degree in marketing or a big publicity budget to create a buzz about your books. Chapter 6, Marketing Your Books, offers lots of ideas on how to reach out to the target market you identified in Chapter 2. There are many free and low cost options for designing and hosting your web site, and writing and distributing press releases – this chapter will show you where to find them. Chapter 6 will also offer some tips on how to make the most of book signings and trade shows, and help take the anxiety out of networking. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 21 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Each chapter also contains relevant practical advice from the many publishing experts, who generously shared their time and insights with us, including small press owners, successful self-publishers, heads of professional publishing associations, literary agents, and experienced book marketing pros. You will learn what challenges and rewards you can expect to face as you grow your business, and what steps you can start taking today toward becoming a book publisher with the thriving business of your dreams. 22 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 2. Getting Ready Even if you don’t have experience in the publishing field, the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed as a book publisher can be learned. In this chapter, we’ll begin by examining some of the important skills you’ll need. You will discover how to enhance your existing skills, learn where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and how to gain a wealth of new abilities to help you reach your publishing goals. 2.1 Skills and Knowledge You Will Need Publishers need to use a variety of skills to produce, sell, and distribute quality, marketable books. The skills required will vary somewhat depending on the type of publishing you plan on doing, whether you plan on writing your own material, and what aspects of the business you plan on sending out to freelancers. But no matter your goals or skill level, a solid foundation in the basics will provide you with the confidence you need to dive into the publishing pool. As you will read in this chapter, the skills you need to succeed as an independent book publisher may seem overwhelming at first, but they can be learned. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 23 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher If you already have relevant experience working with or for one of the larger publishers either on staff or as a previously published author, or working in another profession requiring writing, marketing, sales, management, design, or computer skills, entering this career will be even easier for you. So let’s take a look at the specific skills and knowledge that can help you succeed in independent publishing: • Writing and editorial skills • Computer and technology skills • Research skills • Interpersonal skills • Business skills • Marketing skills Later in this chapter you’ll find plenty of resources to help you develop these skills through education and self-study. 2.1.1 Writing Skills Marketing skills will only get you so far if you’re not starting with a great book product. Yes, an attractive cover and prime spot on the shelf at Barnes & Noble can help get you noticed, but if a potential customer picks up your book, flips through the first few pages, and it doesn’t “grab” them with great writing, you’ve just lost a reader -- and a book sale. If you want people to read your work, you’ve got to give them content that’s worth their investment of time and money. Some people seem to have a natural gift with the written word. They keep us spellbound with their storytelling, or laughing and crying with their characters. Or maybe they take seemingly complex or dry topics and make them entertaining and memorable. If this sounds like you, congratulations – you can probably skip this section! If not, don’t despair. You needn’t be Elizabeth Gilbert to craft a great read. But it will take some work to hone your skills. The type of writing skills you’ll need will depend on the type of material you’re planning to publish, and your role in the process. 24 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Begin by assessing your current strengths and weaknesses. Have you written in the style or genre before? If you’re writing fiction, do you have an understanding of character development, story structure, and how to create realistic dialogue? If you’re writing nonfiction, what is your area of expertise or personal experience with the subject matter? Do you have the ability to translate this topic to your intended audience in a way that will be meaningful to them? If you’re looking to work with authors rather than publish your own books, then you’ll need to polish those business writing skills. Things like effective marketing copy for book jackets and advertising will be essential, even for the more business-minded types who are less interested in the creative side of publishing. You’ll also need to be able to recognize good (and marketable) writing when that golden manuscript comes across your desk. If your creative writing skills are a little rusty, The Write-Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate Your Writing by Bonnie Neubauer and A Writer’s Workbook: Daily Exercises for the Writing Life by Caroline Sharp are two great tools to help you go from just reading about writing to actually practicing it. The books contain lots of thought-provoking and challenging exercises, perfect for getting your feet wet or getting your writing muscles back into shape. You will find many additional resources for honing your writing skills throughout this chapter, including formal writing courses, online workshops, and a list of books and websites in the Resources for Self-Study section. 2.1.2 Computer and Technology Skills Computer skills are important in just about every profession these days. For a self-publisher or would-be small press owner, however, a comfort level and facility with technology can provide a distinct advantage and significant cost-savings as you begin your publishing venture. A thorough understanding of database and financial management software will allow you to take advantage of time-saving technology that may help streamline your business operations. And the more techsavvy you are, the more control you can maintain over the creative aspects of the publication process. Things like: Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 25 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Typesetting For the imaginative writer used to leaving the practical printing side of the business to others, this word may conjure images of wooden blocks, Gutenberg, or ink-covered folks yelling “stop the presses”. These days, fortunately, the process is a little more high tech -- think “interior design” of the book, including things like font and placement of images. It may sound simple, but good typesetting is an art form. While you’ll probably never remark “hey, what a wonderful typesetting job!” as you sit down with your Harry Potter novel, if it weren’t done properly, you’d notice. Cover Design We’ll skip the obvious quip about covers and judgments here, but yes, it is one of the most important elements in determining whether or not someone picks up your book, and whether they decide to purchase it. You’ve only got about 10 seconds at most to capture a reader’s attention with your design and make them want to read more. You may have a masterpiece of a novel on your hands, but if people aren’t tempted to pick it up off the shelf by the cover art and style, a great piece of writing may go unnoticed. Software Knowledge Of course no one is an expert in every software program, but a solid grounding in the fundamentals is a good place to start. This includes knowledge of: • Word Processing (e.g. Microsoft Word) • Spreadsheets and databases (e.g. Excel, Access) • E-mail programs (e.g. Microsoft Outlook) • Bookkeeping software (e.g. QuickBooks) • Adobe Acrobat (Standard or Professional) If you plan on doing some of the production work yourself, such as the aforementioned cover design and typesetting, it might also benefit you to consider learning: 26 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Adobe InDesign • Adobe Photoshop • QuarkXpress • Microsoft Publisher There is no arguing that good book design, including the interior as well as the cover, is an art form unto itself and a professional can take this to another level for you. If you do decide you’re up for tackling the typesetting yourself but aren’t interested in investing in a costly program like InDesign just yet, one compromise to consider learning is TeX. This is one of the most widely used typesetting freeware programs and it can be used to achieve professional-looking results. You can learn more and download it free here: http://miktex.org. Knowledge of Online Media There’s no denying the growing impact of social media and blogs on the publishing industry. A working knowledge of popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and how to use them to reach your book’s target audience can provide an enormous benefit for small publishers with small budgets. More information on internet marketing is presented in chapter 6. If you want to brush up on your computer skills or increase your knowledge base by learning new software tools, one of the most comprehensive and highly recommended resources around is Lynda. com. This user-friendly, subscription-based online library currently contains over 42,000 video tutorials by expert trainers. You can learn everything from Access and WordPerfect to SQL, Dreamweaver, and more specialized and complex software as well. For $25 per month, far less than most individual online training programs, you can take as many tutorials as you like. Discounted annual plans are available as well. See www.lynda.com for more information. Other similar sites include www.udemy.com and www.coursera.org. 2.1.3 Research Skills No one has all the answers. But a good writer and savvy independent publisher knows where to find them. If you are planning on writing Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 27 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher and publishing your own material, nonfiction or even fiction that contains elements outside the realm of your own personal experience, good research skills are essential in creating, producing, and marketing your books. Even if you’re planning to acquire manuscripts from other authors, you’ll need top notch research skills to keep up with new publishing and marketing trends to be a successful publishing entrepreneur. The Internet puts an enormous amount of resources at our fingertips. It’s fast and convenient. However, it can also be overwhelming to sort through all the information and determine the legitimacy and value of sources. For all of the useful information on the Internet, there is at least an equal amount of misinformation. Evaluating web resources requires a keen eye, critical thinking skills, strategy, and above all, common sense. A few questions to ask yourself in evaluating a web source are: • Who is the intended audience? • Who is sponsoring the web site? Is it a government agency or reputable organization? Is the main purpose of the site to sell something? • If there are statistics listed, are they current and can they be verified through another source? • Does the information seem biased? • Is the information well organized and the site easy to navigate? The University of California, Berkeley library’s website offers some additional useful advice on evaluating web sources. This information can be found at http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/evaluating-resources. Don’t forget, however, that the Internet is not the only source of information out there. Reference librarians at your local library are always happy to assist you in finding information and can be a wonderful resource for you in many capacities as you begin your publishing journey. In fact, give them a question that really tests their “mental database” of books and publishing and you’ll likely make their day! Good research skills are required in many different careers, so you may have already developed some techniques that work for you, and 28 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher some favorite web sites that you have found reliable. If not, you are beginning to hone your research skills now as you explore a potential new occupation as a publisher. If you need to brush up on your basic searching skills or want to learn more advanced search techniques, The Extreme Searcher’s Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher by Randolph Hock, and Mastering Online Research: A Comprehensive Guide to Effective and Efficient Search Strategies, by Maura Shaw are two excellent books on the subject. 2.1.4 Interpersonal Skills As an independent publisher, you will not only need to have organizational and marketing skills, but you will also need to work effectively with many people including your customers, employees, contractors, suppliers, and everyone else you do business with. As a result, your interpersonal skills (i.e. your skills in dealing with other people) will be one of the key factors in ensuring that you are successful in this business. Following are some key interpersonal skills and why they can be so helpful to you in the publishing profession. Listening While listening seems like an easy skill to master, most of us experience challenges in at least one of the following areas involved in listening: paying attention, understanding, and remembering. You can become a better listener by focusing fully on someone when they are speaking. Here are some ways to do that: • Don’t interrupt the other person. Hear them out. • Keep listening to the other person, even if you think you know what they will say next. If you make assumptions, you may miss the point they’re making. • Ask questions in order to clarify what the other person has said. Take notes if necessary. • Don’t be distracted by outside interference. Loud noises, the other person mispronouncing a word, or even an uncomfortable room Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 29 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher temperature can break your concentration and distract you from the conversation. • Give feedback to the other person. Nod occasionally; say things like “I see,” and smile, if appropriate. Let them know you’re listening. • Use paraphrasing. In other words, repeat back in your own words your understanding of what the other person has said. It can help alleviate misunderstandings later on. If this is a skill you want to improve, there are numerous books on the subject of honing your listening skills and one of the best is Listening: The Forgotten Skill: A Self-Teaching Guide, by Madelyn Burley-Allen. Helpful free advice is available online at www.businesslistening.com. Verbal Skills Clear communication is essential because you will need to explain your store’s sales or return policy, and you will need to describe to customers your current inventory. When making sales, customers can become frustrated if they find it difficult to understand what you’re saying. To improve your verbal communication skills, ask friends or a vocal coach for feedback on any areas that could be improved, such as: use of slang, proper grammar, or altering your tone of voice to eliminate any harshness. An inexpensive digital voice recorder (available from any office supply store; for example see www.staples.com/Voice-Recorders/ cat_CL140515) will allow you to find out how you sound to others. Reading Non-Verbal Messages In addition to hearing what people say, a skilled business owner also notices non-verbal communication (tone of voice, facial expression, body language, etc.). These signals can give you valuable clues about what the other person is thinking. For example, did a customer fold their arms when you made a particular suggestion? If so, they may be communicating that they disagree, even if they don’t actually say so. Although body language can’t tell you precisely what someone is thinking, it can give you clues so you can ask follow-up questions, even as basic as “How do you feel about that?” 30 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher If you want to improve this skill, you can find some excellent advice in the book Reading People, by Jo-Ellan Dimitrius and Wendy Patrick Mazzarella. 2.1.5 Business Skills If you are well prepared for being a business owner, the better the chances are that your venture will be a success. It’s crucial to know where your business stands financially at all times. While you don’t have to learn it all, staying on top of your accounting will help you avoid finding yourself in the awful position of being out of cash to pay your bills or replenish your inventory. Earning a degree, diploma, or certificate in business can be helpful in running your own business. However, a formal business education is not necessary to run a publishing business. There are many successful business owners who are self-taught and have never studied business. Others have taken a course here and there but do not possess a degree. However, the skills you learn in business classes can come in handy. Running a successful independent publishing operation requires an overlap of a variety of business skills. Aside from a knowledge and expertise about the books you sell (and training employees to be knowledgeable as well), you will need to know about: • Business planning • Financial management • Merchandising • Operations management • Inventory management • Hiring and supervising employees and freelance contractors • Marketing and sales TIP: Your local college or university may offer these and other business courses. If you are not interested in attending courses at a school, or you don’t have the time, another option that can easily fit into your schedule is distance Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 31 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher learning. Traditionally these were called correspondence courses and the lessons were mailed back and forth between student and instructor. Today, with the help of the Internet, there are many online courses available. To help make sure you are dealing with a reputable school, be sure to check their accreditation status with reputable accreditors such as the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC; formerly Distance Education and Training Council) at www.deac.org. Avoid diploma mills and bogus accreditation agencies; see https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_unrecognized_higher_education_ accreditation_organizations for helpful information. The more you can keep your expenses down while building a solid customer base to build sales volume, while at the same time turning over inventory frequently, the more financially successful your publishing venture will be. For some of these tasks, it will make financial or practical sense to hire employees or contractors to help you, such as editing or proofreading. There are also existing self-publishing companies that provide an array of services for the creatively inclined who want to see their work in print with minimal oversight of the operational details, and distribution companies that will handle your inventory management and order fulfillment. These options will be discussed in chapters 3 and 5 respectively. Keep in mind, though, that in general, the fewer people you need to hire to help you manage your business, the lower your overall costs of running the business. Developing business skills takes time, so be thorough, and don’t be in such a rush that you neglect to fill in any gaps in your knowledge or skills. “As far as the day-to-day operations of the business, I think any sales and marketing experience helps. Just because you wrote something doesn’t mean people will be interested. It helps to understand what makes people buy and what people want. When you do, you’ll sell a lot more books and make a lot more money.” — David Hooper, Author, Publisher, and Marketing Expert, MusicMarketing.com Experience you have in retail or marketing, even in non-publishing capacities, can be helpful, and there are a number of ways you can develop your skills and knowledge in all of these areas. In this chapter, 32 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher you’ll find specific ideas to help you increase your experience and knowledge of running a publishing business. You’ll also find detailed advice throughout the remaining sections of this guide. You will probably find reading the entire guide before you launch your business helpful, but you can quickly identify particular areas you may want to focus on by reviewing the table of contents. For example, section 5.4 provides advice on financial management, covering everything from budgeting to bookkeeping to building wealth, and section 3.4.2 gives you advice about start-up financial planning. Even though marketing is covered in the last chapter, you’ll want to start considering your marketing plan early on in the process. Distribution arrangements, covered in section 5.3, should also be made prior to your book’s publication. All of these sections provide website links to online resources to help you find further help in these areas. One tool for helping you to focus on what business skills are involved in being a business owner is business planning. Section 3.4 looks in detail at how to develop a business plan to get your business up and running by outlining and clarifying what products you will offer, deciding how you will finance your business, creating a market plan, etc. In addition to addressing these important business issues, a business plan will also help you to understand some of the other basic “hard” skills required of a business owner, such as marketing and accounting skills. Resources SBA The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a leading U.S. government resource for information about licensing, taxes, and starting a small business. You can find a range of resources including information on financing your new business, business plans and much more at www. sba.gov. SCORE The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is an organization of U.S. volunteers who donate their time and expertise to new business owners. You can find information on taxes, tips for starting your business, or even find a mentor who will coach you and help you Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 33 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher maximize your chances of succeeding as a new business owner. Visit them at www.score.org. Canada Business Services for Entrepreneurs This Canadian government website offers information on legislation, taxes, incorporation, and other issues of interest to Canadian business owners or those who do business in Canada. For more information and a list of services they offer visit their website at http://canadabusiness. ca. 2.2 Learning by Doing Launching and building a successful publishing business will require that you wear many hats. Even if you decide to hire freelancers or staff to fill some of the essential roles you’re less interested or skilled in, you’re still likely to find yourself juggling many diverse tasks. While studying on your own and taking courses can provide you with the proper foundation knowledge necessary to understand the publishing world, working directly in an environment where you can utilize the skills you plan to use in your business can provide an equally important component of your publishing education. People from diverse employment backgrounds are also discovering that their unique experience and perspectives in their areas of personal or professional interest may actually give them an edge in developing unique material for publication. It may also add to an author’s reputation as an “expert” in a chosen niche, which will help enormously when it comes to book marketing. This section provides a variety of ideas and resources to help you build your experience, develop your knowledge by doing, and add to your credentials. 2.2.1 Work in a Bookstore This can be a valuable way to learn much-needed customer service and sales skills while gaining first-hand experience with what types of books sell and why (for example, how much do things like book placement and covert art impact sales? Does the store stock works by independent publishers? How are these books treated in comparison? What makes a successful in-store author appearance or book signing?). 34 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Working for a time in a bookstore will give you valuable insight into pricing merchandise, what sells (and, equally important, what doesn’t), how to deal with customers, how to arrange merchandise to its best advantage so that it looks attractive to buyers, and exactly what it takes to keep a store running smoothly on a day-to-day basis. This knowledge can help give you a sense of what book retailers are looking for when selecting inventory and, depending on the connections you make, might even give you an edge in getting your published works a shot at shelf space down the road. First decide if you’re more interested in targeting the large superstore chains like Barnes & Noble (http://stores.barnesandnoble.com) or Books A Million (www.booksamillion.com/storefinder), or small independently run bookstores. The larger stores will likely have a more diverse inventory and broader customer base, but don’t overlook small indie bookstores. They can provide an advantage in terms of opportunities to get to know the owner and learn about the ins and outs of the business, and may be more willing to take a chance in stocking your books once published. The American Booksellers Association website provides an indie bookstore search that allows you to enter your zip code and find independent booksellers near you: www. indiebound.org/indie-bookstore-finder. Visit the store you’d like to work in as a customer whenever possible before applying for a job so you can get to know the owner or manager (and the store) a little. Remember, it will help if the owner recognizes you because you have been there before. Never phone or write a letter; face to face works much better. Here are some suggestions for introducing yourself and what you can do for a prospective employer: • Explain that you are interested in learning about retail book selling. • Tell them if you’ve had any previous selling experience (whether it’s shoes or ice cream). • Think of some extra service you could offer, such as creating window displays or offering your computer expertise. • If no job is available and you really love the store and want to work there, volunteer to work for free. Small indie bookstores Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 35 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher with a specialized niche market would be good candidates for volunteering since they probably won’t have the budget of a larger chain store. You are also more likely to be able to talk to the owner who sets the hiring rules. It could pay in the long run. Finally, when applying for a job in a bookstore ensure that your demeanor, personality and dress reflect the qualities that you would be looking for in an employee. These characteristics are outlined in more detail in section 4.2 (“Hiring Staff and Freelancers”). 2.2.2 Publishing Internships An internship is a short-term, entry-level position that gives you handson work experience. As an intern you would go to work for a company at regularly scheduled times (although you might work as few as eight hours per week) and carry out tasks assigned by your supervisor. The main difference between an internship and a regular job is that most interns are not paid. Some internships may include a small stipend to help cover things like travel expenses, but certainly not enough for the average person to quit their day job. Although you will likely be volunteering your services to a company, you get practical work experience that can be very helpful once you start your own publishing business. As an intern you can also make valuable industry contacts, learn the intricacies of the publishing world, and build your credentials. You can offer your services for as little as a week; however, you will have the opportunity to learn more if you can arrange a longer internship. 36 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Interns Over 40 Even if you are not a student or recent grad, the current economic climate has created an increase in career-changers of all ages who recognize the potential value of an internship. It has become far more common in recent years to find interns in their 40’s, and even 50’s, looking to start over in a new field and learning the ropes from the ground up. While accepting such a position may represent a bit of a blow to the ego for this segment of the population, particularly for those coming from a successful high paying career in another field and used to calling the shots, it’s all in your perspective— and the rewards can be worth it. In her article for the Huffington Post entitled “Executive Interns—Reinventing Yourself After 40,” entrepreneur and former intern for New York City’s NPR station, WNYC, Linda Franklin discusses some of the unique challenges and benefits of being an intern over 40: www.huffingtonpost. com/linda-franklin/executive-interns----rein_b_180830.html. If you’re a part of this growing segment of the population and are intrigued by the idea of an internship, check out the Interns Over 40 blog at http://internsover40.blogspot.com and a Today Show video at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29789616 for more information and inspiration. Many college and university career services offices also provide free or low-cost assistance for alumni, so investigate what your alma mater has to offer in terms of help with securing an internship. Finding an Internship If you are currently enrolled at a college or university, your educational institution may arrange internships programs for students. (These may also be called “work-study” or “co-op” programs.) Begin by checking with your school’s career services office for guidance. A counselor can help you with your internship search, and your school may even sponsor an internship fair. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 37 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Online you may be able to find publishing internships posted at the websites of the major publishing houses (see chapter 1 for a list of The Big Six), major career sites such as CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com, and sites specifically for internship programs. Here are some of the top sites where you can begin your publishing internship search: • Bookjobs.com www.bookjobs.com/search-internships • Mediabistro.com www.mediabistro.com/joblistings • MonsterTRAK www.monster.com/jobs/q-summer-internships-jobs.aspx • Career Rookie www.careerrookie.com • Internweb.com www.internweb.com • InternshipPrograms.com www.internshipprograms.com Another option, particularly if you are not a student, is to set up your own internship. First decide which companies you would like to work with. Then start calling. If it’s a large company, you can ask their human resources department if they have an internship program. If they do have such a program they will tell you how to apply. If you want to work with a small company, ask to speak with one of the owners. Ask the receptionist, or look the company up on the Internet first, to find out the owner’s name. Whether you get through to the owner, or speak with someone else in the company, explain that you would like to volunteer your services as an intern. While you might think any company would jump at the chance for free labor, some companies are so busy the owner may feel they don’t have time to train an intern. So be prepared to sell yourself, using your interpersonal communication skills. Explain why you will bring value to the company. 38 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher One thing that most companies need is help doing the tasks that no one else wants to do. If you are willing to answer telephones, make photocopies, run errands, do the filing – in other words, if you are willing to do “whatever it takes” to help them out – say so. If someone is interested in having you intern for them, they will ask you to come in for an interview and may ask to see your resume and portfolio. In many ways, applying for an internship is similar to applying for a job. Making the Most of an Internship Once you have an internship, do a first-class job with every task you are given, even the menial tasks. Everyone “pays their dues” when they are starting a new career, and those who do it with a positive attitude can make a great impression. Look for any opportunities to get actual book marketing or editorial experience or attend events, such as trade shows—even if it means working a few more hours than you originally agreed to. Volunteer to help out whenever you can. Be someone who does such a great job that you will be missed when the internship is over. Here are some other tips for making the most of your internship: • Don’t forget to ask questions. If you are unsure about a task you have to complete, or even if you’re just curious about some aspect of the publishing business, ask your supervisor. It’s their job to supervise you, but they can also be a valuable source of information, as well. • Work on what interests you. If a project comes up that you would like to work on, ask your supervisor if you can get involved. • Get organized. Keep records of your work. Consider starting a journal of your internship activities, and try to document every project you work on for your portfolio. Keeping track of everything you’ve learned can help you when you start your own publishing venture. • Set up evaluation sessions with your supervisor. This gives you a chance to ask about projects or assignments and get feedback on your performance. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 39 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Learn what the other employees in the company are responsible for. This will give you an idea of other types of jobs in the publishing industry. • Attend professional association meetings. Your company likely belongs to at least one; ask your supervisor about attending a meeting. • Keep a list of networking contacts. At the end of the internship, ask your supervisor for a written letter of reference. If you have done exceptional work, you may even get a job offer from the company you interned for. 2.3 Learn From Other Publishers One of the best ways to learn about the publishing industry is by speaking with people who are currently doing the type of work you are interested in doing. In this section you will find a variety of ways to connect with people in the publishing field. 2.3.1 Information Interviews Information interviews are another effective way to learn about publishing. An information interview is defined as a brief meeting with someone who is working in a career you are interested in learning about. Ask your network of contacts if they know anyone who works in the publishing industry. This might include people who have successfully started their own small press or self-published their own books. You may also want to consider expanding your information interviews to other professionals in larger publishing houses who can provide perspectives on the many areas involved in book production— especially valuable information may be obtained from anyone who works in marketing or promotions. Think beyond those who do exactly what you want to do. Remember, many people have input along the way from manuscript to finished book product and all of their feedback is potentially valuable. Meeting with agents, wholesalers, and distributors can all add to your knowledge base. If possible, go beyond getting a name and telephone number. Instead, ask the individual 40 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher who personally knows the publishing professional to make the initial contact, explain that you are learning about the publishing industry, and see if you can call or e-mail them to ask a few questions. If no one in your network knows anyone who works in publishing, you can easily find many helpful publishing experts online who are willing to provide information and answer questions for someone starting out. You’ll find a list of online forums later in this chapter. Another good place to begin is to join one of the many publishing-related groups on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). You’ll need to begin by creating your own LinkedIn profile if you haven’t done so already. Then just click on “Groups Directory” and do a keyword search on “publishing”. You’ll find over 1,000 groups so look for one that is open to new publishers (and/or writers and authors if you have creative questions) and that matches your chosen niche as closely as possible. The Authors, Writers, Publishers, Editors, and Writing Professionals Group is one helpful LinkedIn group with a very active discussion list that you can join. The Ebooks, Ebook Readers, Digital Books and Digital Content Publishing Group also provides a useful forum for those interested in electronic publishing. Another great source of information is your local library’s copy of Literary Market Place, a weighty reference guide published annually by Information Today, Inc. that includes over 12,000 listings with contact information. This is an extremely useful reference, but purchasing your own copy will currently run you approximately $300. If you have the budget, you may want to invest in this as it’s probably something you’ll refer to often. If the cost is prohibitive or you just need short-term access, another less expensive option is an online subscription for $19.95 per week. More information can be found here: www.literarymarketplace. com. Although you are conducting an “information interview,” it’s usually best to avoid using that term when you first call. Many professionals assume someone who wants to set up an information interview is actually looking for a job, not simply looking to learn about the profession. So they may decline to meet with you if they do not have any current job openings. Instead, say that you are studying the publishing industry and politely ask if you can arrange to meet with them for 20 minutes to learn about Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 41 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher the career. People are much more likely to agree to a meeting if they know it won’t take too much time. Be prepared that the publishing professional may not be available for a personal meeting but may be willing to answer questions on the phone or by email. If they make such an offer, take them up on it! If you’re sending an email, you’re more likely to get a response if it is limited to only a few key questions. It’s important to remember that while some people are generous with their time and encouraging to newcomers, others may simply be too busy to meet with everyone who wants career advice. People in this profession are generally a friendly bunch and very willing to share their knowledge and experience. Many of them have come to publishing from a variety of different careers and educational backgrounds. However, if someone you contact says they don’t have time for a meeting, politely ask if they know anyone who might be available to talk with you. If not, thank them for their time and move on. If the person agrees to a personal or phone meeting, arrive (or call) on time, dressed professionally, and come prepared with a list of questions. Following are some questions you might ask: • How did you get started in publishing? • What professional experience did you have prior to starting your business? (If the person runs their own company) • What do you enjoy most about your work? • What do you wish you had known when you were first getting into publishing? • What are some of your best marketing tools? • Can you suggest any ways that I might utilize my experience in (mention your employment background) finding a niche market? • What is a typical day of work like for you? • Based on a quick review of my experience to date, what training or experience do you think I should pursue next? • What has been the impact of new developments in technology on your business? 42 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • What are some growing trends you see in the field? • Who handles your printing / editing / distribution and are you happy with them? • What advice do you have for someone just getting started as a publisher? • Is there anyone else you can refer me to who might be willing to meet with me? • Which professional associations, websites, or publications should I look into? TIP: While owners of small publishing businesses may be willing to speak with you, be aware that some of them may not be eager to help if you plan to start a competing business in the same niche market. However, if you are going into a niche they do not serve, they might be willing to answer questions about their business such as which marketing techniques they have found most effective. If you want to make a good impression, it’s usually not a good idea to stay longer than agreed without permission. Let the person know when the 20 minute time limit is up, say you know they are busy, and offer to leave. If they don’t have another appointment, they may be happy to extend the meeting. Thank them for their time and any referrals they were able to provide. After the meeting, send a thank you note or e-mail to the person you met with and, if someone referred you, thank that person as well. Making a good impression in an information interview could lead to future opportunities such as a mentoring relationship. 2.3.2 Join Associations Professional Associations You don’t need to wait until you are an established business owner or experienced author or publisher to join a professional association. In fact, you shouldn’t! Professional associations are one of the best sources for learning, both through networking with other independent Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 43 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher publishers and through varied educational offerings from free newsletters to members-only programs and discounts on services. Below we will take a look at a few professional associations you can join as a beginning self-publisher or independent small publisher, and the types of benefits you will receive. This is a great way to increase your visibility and network with other small publishers, as well as gain credibility, especially if you are relatively new to the field. There are literally hundreds of professional publishing associations and organizations aimed at specific niches and regions. You can find links and descriptions for many of these groups here: www.bookmarket. com/pubassn.htm. The following associations are the most well-know among independent publishers and were the most widely recommended by our experts. If the above list seems too overwhelming right now, consider joining one or more of the following to begin with, as your budget allows. The IBPA in particular was almost universally recommended by those we spoke with as a “must join” due to the myriad benefits for new publishers and inclusive, supportive attitude. As fiction and nonfiction publisher Kimberley Debus of indie Mélange Press put it, “They’ve all been there, and everyone who belongs to the IBPA recognizes there is room for all of us.” Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Website: www.ibpa-online.org This is one of the leading professional organizations for independent publishing professionals in the U.S., Canada, and abroad, including self-publishers, print and electronic, with over 3,500 members. They also offer the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award (in 50+ categories; see http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com) annually for excellence in small and independent publishing. Among the membership benefits: monthly newsletter and bi-weekly e-newsletter filled with advice and industry trends, access to marketing programs and book fair exhibits, educational offerings (including their popular annual 2-day Publishing University), and networking opportunities with regional affiliate organizations. Also offers discounts on many publishing-related services from marketing and publicity to distribution and fulfillment. As of the writing of this guide, dues for U.S. and Canadian members 44 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher are: $129 (publisher member with 1-9 employees); $189 (non-publisher member with 1-9 employees). Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network (SPAWN) Website: www.spawn.org Membership includes access to members-only market update section of website, seminars and workshops (including pre-recorded teleseminars available online) taught by industry professionals, access to membership directory for networking, access to SPAWN table at book fairs for display of your books (additional fee), and many other resources. Members may choose to participate in the organization’s discount group health insurance plan. Membership dues: $75 per year. IAPO International Association of Professional Book Publishers IAPO International Association of Professional Book Publishers is a membership organization created to provide education and business development services for people working as, or studying to become, a professional Book Publisher. Benefits for Members Numerous benefits including: discounts on the Book Publisher Certificate Courses with IAP Career College; quarterly newsletter with practical advice to help you achieve greater success in your career; additional discounts on thousands of products and services for both business and pleasure including: restaurants, hotels, computers, movie tickets, books, flowers, cell phones, gifts and much more from popular companies such as Target, Sears, Disney, FabJob, Toyota, Dell, Sprint, and many more. Plus, you may display the seal of membership of the IAPO International Association of Professional Book Publishers on your own website and marketing materials. Join the growing IAPO Professional Book Publisher community today and start accessing all of the benefits membership offers. Visit IAPO International Association of Professional Book Publishers for more information about benefits and membership fees, and to join. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 45 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Online Communities “I’ve learned much of what I know about publishing through reading books on publishing and through trial and error, but my errors have been minimized by the sound advice provided by fellow members of the publishing discussion groups.” — Leland F. Raymond, Publisher, CyPress Publications Another good source of acquiring information from experts is through online message boards. Other online communities include: • Publisher’s Forum www.pub-forum.net • Nathan Bransford – Literary Agent: The Forums (Click on “All Things Publishing”) http://forums.nathanbransford.com • Absolute Write Water Cooler http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php • The Book Marketing Network http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com • Stack Exchange for Writers http://writers.stackexchange.com Business Organizations You can also join a number of excellent organizations designed for business owners to learn and network in an organized setting. One excellent resource is your local Chamber of Commerce. Chambers usually have an annual fee and are set up to aid the local businessperson with a variety of business-related issues. Members attend local meetings and can also take part in events designed to help them be more successful. Through these connections you may event find out about part-time or full-time job openings. 46 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher To find the Chamber near you, visit www.officialusa.com/stateguides/ chambers. In Canada, visit www.chamber.ca. 2.3.3Work with a Book Shepherd or Publishing Coach “A lot of folks make the mistake of only thinking with their heart when making publishing decisions, but you have to remember that this is a business. A lot of times we’re too close to the project and we need an objective point of view.” — Linda F. Radke, President, Five Star Publications, Inc. A “book shepherd” (long-time self-publishing expert, the late Dan Poynter, is credited with coining the term) is a consultant who helps to steer newbies through the sometimes confusing landscape that is the publishing world. These consultants generally have many years in the book publishing business under their belts (they may be former agents or editors from major publishing houses), and BlackBerrys chock full of many valuable industry contacts as well. According to an article entitled “Book Shepherds: Who Are They? What Do They Do? Should You Hire One?” on the blog SellingBooks.com, the shepherd can also play the role of coach and mentor, providing advice and guidance in addition to direct assistance with the process. A good book shepherd or coach will gain an understanding of your unique publishing vision and where your passions lie, in addition to assessing practical issues such as your skills and budget. They will help you to navigate some of the potentially more intimidating aspects of the process, such as book design, printer brokering, distribution, and publicity — ensuring that all your ducks are in a row (and in the right order!). If you have the desire to learn the ins and outs of the business on a oneon-one basis, hiring a book shepherd may be an option for you. Keep in mind, though, that it will cost you in the range of $100 an hour--so unless you have a large budget for your start-up operation, it pays to take your time learning as much as you can on your own and exploring the many free and low-cost resources provided throughout this book, through online forums, and professional publishing associations. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 47 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher If you decide to seek the services of a professional book shepherd, be sure to thoroughly check their credentials. Check out advice from sources such as found at the links below. It may also be helpful to get recommendations from other publishers you’ve met through your networking efforts. • www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/07/an-authors-guide-to-book- birthers-book-shepherds-and-other-consultants • http://sanfranciscobookreview.com/authors-want-publishing- help-get-book-shepherd • http://selfpublishingexperts.com/how-to-choose-a-book- shepherdmentor • www.copyediting.com/questions-for-a-book-shepherd-author- editor-jacqueline-simonds 2.4 Educational Programs Unlike some professions such as accounting or engineering, there are no specific educational requirements required to become a book publisher. However, there are a number of educational credentials that can help pave the way by giving you a solid foundation in the concepts and skills necessary to be successful in the field: • Publishing degree and certificate programs • Other types of degrees • Business courses Each of these educational opportunities will be covered in this section. In the section that follows, you will find other ways to learn about publishing through self-study. NOTE: Information about courses and other educational programs is provided for the convenience of readers and does not represent an endorsement. Only you can decide which educational program, if any, is right for you. 48 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 2.4.1Publishing Degrees, Certificates, and Seminars According to our experts, only a very small percentage of people working in the publishing industry actually hold degrees in publishing and it is by no means a prerequisite for starting your own publishing company or successfully self-publishing your work. These programs can be costly, and experience gained through internships was mentioned much more frequently as the key to learning about the industry. However, networking opportunities with fellow students and professors can be valuable. There are also many skills to be learned in such programs, particularly with the increasing role of the internet and new technology in book publishing. Below we offer some suggestions on how to find the right program for you. University-Based Degree and Certificate Programs A master’s degree in publishing can certainly help give you an edge over the competition if you are interested in obtaining a paying job in the publishing field. Some schools, even offer master’s degrees in publishing in a completely online format for those who require a high degree of flexibility. If a master’s degree isn’t in your 5-year plan, or your budget, a certificate program might be for you. For instance, check out course offerings at sites like these: • Simon Fraser University http://publishing.sfu.ca/publishing-workshops • Emerson University www.emerson.edu/professional-studies/certificate-programs/ literary-publishing • Western State Colorado University www.western.edu/academics/graduate-programs/publishingcertificate-0 Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 49 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • New York University www.scps.nyu.edu/academics/departments/publishing/ academic-offerings/summer-publishing-institute.html • DePaul University www.depaul.edu/university-catalog/colleges-and-schools/ class/departments/writing-and-publishing/Pages/certificate-inpublishing.aspx Two good places to begin your search for master’s degree and certificate programs in publishing are: • GraduateSchools.com, which currently lists 62 programs: www.gradschools.com/programs/communications-publicrelations/publishing • Bookjobs.com, which currently lists 28 programs: www.bookjobs.com/publishing-programs Publishing Courses and Seminars “There are many resources for parties interested in navigating the field of publishing. The Independent Book Publishers Association (formerly Publishers Marketing Association) provides many ongoing seminars to educate and inform those new to the business.” — Tina Jordan, Vice President, The Association of American Publishers (AAP) Even if you don’t wish to obtain a degree or certificate from a college or university, the professional associations listed in the previous section and other online educational opportunities can provide a shorter and less costly alternative. International Association of Professions Career College The International Association of Professions Career College, also known as IAP Career College, was established by the publishers of the guide you are reading and a team of respected academics with the aim of offering the finest certificate programs for non-traditional careers. They offer a Book Publisher Certificate Program which uses the guide you are now reading as a textbook. 50 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher This part-time 6-week course is open to students anywhere in the world and is offered online, allowing you to earn a Book Publisher Certificate from the comfort of your own home. Registration gives you an all-inclusive package consisting of: access to the comprehensive, self-directed online Book Publisher Certificate Course, help from a Faculty Member who can provide you with personal teaching assistance and career advice, and a beautiful professional Book Publisher Certificate upon successful completion of the course. When you register for the course, you will also have the option of becoming a member of the IAPO International Association of Professional Book Publishers and enjoying its many benefits. Visit the Book Publishers Certificate Course page on the IAP Career College website for more information about benefits and fees, and to register. Some other ideas include the IBPA 2-Day Publishing University, providing access to expert consultation, workshops, and an opportunity to learn new skills. Costs for the 2017 University ranged from $295 to $475. More information can be found here: www.publishinguniversity. org. “I am a big supporter of the IBPA Publishing University held before each year’s BEA (Book Expo America). [Disclosure, I have co-taught courses for this.] Whether you are a complete newbie or have some titles under your belt, there are courses for you. You can get more info in a couple of days than you could in months at a university. I am not disparaging university publishing courses. But IBPA’s focus is about boots-on-the-ground publishing.” — Jacqueline Church Simonds, Co-Owner, Beagle Bay, Inc. Writer’s Digest online offers a variety of webinars for those with limited time and budgets. As you might imagine, these focus primarily on various aspects of writing and related technology for those interested in creating and publishing their own work Check out live webinars at www.writersdigestshop.com/browse-by-product/seminars/ live-webinars and be sure not to miss the free webinars at www. writersdigest.com/free-book-webinars. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 51 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 2.4.2 Other Types of Degrees Book publishers may hold associates, bachelors, or masters degrees in a wide spectrum of fields including, but not limited to: • English • Communications • Journalism • Media Studies • Creative Writing • Marketing • Public relations • Graphic design Your local college or university may offer these and other business courses. If you are not interested in attending courses at a school, or you don’t have the time, another option that can easily fit into your schedule is distance learning. Traditionally these were called correspondence courses and the lessons were mailed back and forth between student and instructor. Today, with the help of the Internet, there are many online courses available. To help make sure you are dealing with a reputable school, be sure to check their accreditation status with reputable accreditors such as the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC; formerly Distance Education and Training Council) at www.deac.org. Avoid diploma mills and bogus accreditation agencies; see https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_unrecognized_higher_education_accreditation_ organizations for helpful information. While there is much to be learned from studying all of these fields, and many others, that can be of use to a book publisher, there is no particular advantage to holding one degree over another in terms of establishing your business according to the publishers we spoke with. A lot depends on the work experience and skills you’ve accumulated, and your choice of publishing niche. A seemingly unrelated degree 52 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher might serve you well--for example, if you have a degree in veterinary science and choose to write and publish books on animal care. Many people end up working in industries that have absolutely nothing to do with the field in which they hold their degree. 2.4.3 Business Degrees and Courses Earning a degree, diploma, or certificate in business can be helpful in running your own business. However, a formal business education is not necessary to run a publishing business. There are many successful business owners who are self-taught and have never studied business. Others have taken a course here and there but do not possess a degree. However, the skills you learn in business classes can come in handy. Depending on which of your skills you would like to develop, consider taking courses on topics such as: • Advertising • Basic Accounting • Business Communications • Business Management • Entrepreneurship • Merchandising • Retailing Your local college or university may offer these and other business courses. Through the continuing education department you may be able to take a single course on a Saturday or over several evenings. If you can’t find a listing for the continuing education department on the college’s website, call the college’s main switchboard and ask for the continuing education department. They will be able to tell you about upcoming courses. Your local Chamber of Commerce may also offer training courses and seminars for new business owners. Many also offer consultations with retired executives and business owners who are well-qualified to offer advice. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 53 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 2.5 Resources for Self-Study This section provides information about books, periodicals, and websites that can help you get a book publishing education. 2.5.1 Books Amazon.com lists more than 227,000 books on the subject of writing alone – and thousands more on the various business and creative skills you might use as an independent publisher, but of course you do not have the time to read them all! So here is a selection of excellent books you may want to start with. Look for them at your local library, browse through them at a local bookstore, or order them online. Writing • The Elements of Style: The Original Edition, by William Strunk, Jr. (Originally a self-published book by the way!) • Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by Natalie Goldberg • Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writer’s Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University, by Mark Kramer (ed.) and Wendy Call (ed.) • On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, by William Zinsser Reference • Writer’s Market, by Robert Lee Brewer (New edition available annually) Legal • Kirsch’s Handbook of Publishing Law: For Authors, Publishers, Editors and Agents, by Jonathan Kirsch 54 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers, by Lloyd J. Jassin and Steve C. Schecter • Kirsch’s Guide to the Book Contract: For Authors, Publishers, Editors, and Agents, by Jonathan Kirsch • Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to the Legal Issues of Self-Publishing, by Helen Sedwick Marketing • Sell Your Book Like Wildfire: The Writer’s Guide to Marketing and Publicity, by Rob Eagar • How To Market A Book, by Joanna Penn • Promote Your Book: Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author, by Patricia Fry Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 55 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, by John Kremer Book Design • On Book Design, by Richard Hendel • Book Design, by Andrew Haslam • Bookmaking: Editing, Design, Production, by Marshall Lee • Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students, by Ellen Lupton Publishing Operations • Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers, by Thomas Woll • The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It Successfully, by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry • Published: The Proven Path From Blank Page to Published Author, by Chandler Bolt • APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book, by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch 2.5.2 Websites If you type “book publishing industry” into a search engine, you will have literally millions of websites to choose from. So here’s a short list of the best websites for getting started learning about being an independent book publisher and enhancing your skills on your 56 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher own. You will find more resources on many of the web sites listed throughout this guide. The following additional sites either provide detailed information, or links to detailed information, on numerous aspects of book publishing. Publishing Industry Information & Statistics • Publisher’s Weekly – Up to date industry news and book reviews Keep up to date on the latest publishing news and trends, award announcements, author interviews, book reviews, and the bestsellers. A standard in the publishing industry. www.publishersweekly.com • Independent Publisher – Online magazine for the independent publishing industry Lots of useful articles and industry news. Subscribe for free and you will be added to their e-mail distribution list to receive regular updates. www.independentpublisher.com • American Bookseller’s Association – National nonprofit trade association for booksellers Includes resources to support independent publishers, including a publisher partner program to help get your books into the independent bookselling market. Under the “Indiebound” tab, click on “publisher resources”. You’ll find more information to help keep you current under the “News and Resources” tab. www.bookweb.org • Book Industry Study Group – Conducts and publishes industry studies and statistics Includes industry news, discussion papers, statistics, and links to other useful resources. http://bisg.org • Shelf Awareness – They describe it best: “Daily enlightenment for the book trade” Stay on top of, and gain insight into, the latest industry news. www.shelf-awareness.com Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 57 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Writing • Writer’s Digest – A long-time staple for writers everywhere Connect with other writers on their forum and read many practical articles about the craft of writing, as well as advice on the business side. Everything from blogs to contest listings. Also available in print. www.writersdigest.com • The Writer Magazine – Another must-read for new authors Practical articles and advice on writing. Subscription required for access to their searchable database of over 3,000 publishers, publications, and contests. Also available in print. www.writermag.com • Writing.com – Online community, advice, and feedback from other writers Appropriate for writers of all genres and skill levels. Allows you to share your work through an online portfolio and interact with your fellow authors. Free membership required. www.writing.com • SheWrites.com – Services and support for women writers of all levels and genres Offers an assortment of forums, groups, courses, contests, and blogs by, for, and about women writers and editors. Great, supportive environment staffed by writing and editorial pros with great credentials and a variety of backgrounds. www.shewrites.com Other Self-Publishing Resources • Publishing Perspectives http://publishingperspectives.com • The Creative Penn www.thecreativepenn.com • Bookworks www.bookworks.com 58 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Createbook www.createbook.org • Self-Publishing Resources (SPR) – Established by SPAN founders Marilyn & Tom Ross This web address is pretty self-explanatory! You’ll find publishing industry news and statistics, a free newsletter, and many useful articles on all things publishing. www.selfpublishingresources.com Magazines and Trade Publications • ForeWord Magazine – Trade journal published 6 times annually highlighting trends in indie publishing www.forewordreviews.com • Editor & Publisher www.editorandpublisher.com • Independent Publishing www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/ • Publishing Executive www.pubexec.com • The Bookseller www.thebookseller.com • Writer’s Digest www.writersdigest.com • Publisher’s Weekly www.publishersweekly.com Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 59 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 3. Starting a Publishing Business Now that we’ve looked at ways to develop your skills, it’s time to look at how to go about actually making the decisions and taking the beginning steps necessary to set up and start your book publishing company. This chapter of the guide will walk you step-by-step through the process. The first step is deciding whether you actually want to start your own publishing company. 3.1 Should You Start Your Own Publishing Company? Obviously if you’re reading this guide, you’re at least thinking about the possibility of starting your own book publishing company. It’s important to do some self-evaluation, however, before making this decision. You’ll need to start thinking about your short- and long-term publishing goals and how best to reach them – should you work with one of the existing “self-publishers” such as Amazon’s CreateSpace or Lulu, or start your own publishing company? 60 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Deciding which route is right for you is an important decision that only you are qualified to make. Factors such as your desire for creative and legal control over your material, the extent of your budget, amount of time you’re willing to invest, facility with marketing, personal and professional goals, and tolerance for risk should all play a role in this important decision. 3.1.1 Working with a Self-Publishing Company After reviewing all that is involved in starting your own publishing company, you might decide that it’s too much work to do it all yourself. In that case, you might choose to work with a “self-publishing company” (also known as an “author services company” or “POD publisher” – not to be confused with a POD printer, which you may still choose to use upon starting your own publishing company). While they can be an economical choice in some instances, costing as little as a few hundred dollars up front, they are, in essence, subsidy publishing (also called “vanity publishing”). Companies such as iUniverse, Xlibris (both now owned by AuthorHouse), Trafford Publishing, and Amazon’s CreateSpace will handle most of the work for you for a fee using their own in-house team of editors and designers. This can seem appealing at first. Especially since little up front cost is involved if you just want to print copies of your book as ordered and don’t sign on for the “extras”. Some even allow you to create your book for free in exchange for a cut of the profits. And royalties for the author are usually higher than you could get through a traditional publisher. But what is the author really getting? Are there any profits to split? While the precise definition of “self-publishing” can be somewhat murky depending on who you ask, and the term is often misused, it is important to distinguish subsidy publishers from true self-publishing or independent publishing. In order to publish your work with a subsidy publisher you don’t need to create your own company or do much of the hands-on work other than creating and uploading your manuscript in a Word document. However, bear in mind that these companies don’t earn the majority of their profits by selling your books, but rather by selling their services to you as the author. The package of services and fees vary by company and usually provide some options in terms of the level of service you can choose (for example, whether you want professional editing done by them). Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 61 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Pros • Low cost compared to starting a company and utilizing POD technology limits the amount of money you have to invest up front for printing. • Working within an established system means less of a learning curve. • These companies maintain a staff of designers and editors so you don’t have to solicit bids if you need help in these areas. • Allows you to focus your efforts on your writing. • Authors generally get a higher percentage royalty than the standard 10-15% offered by traditional publishing houses and these rates are climbing. Cons • The ISBN number, in most cases, is registered to them as the publisher of record rather than to you as the author. • The publisher often retains rights to anything they provide to you, such as cover art. • While royalties may be higher than with traditional publishers, book sales are usually limited unless the author already has a fan base or does extensive marketing (averaging 100 to 200 copies – mostly to the author according to industry reports). “Deluxe” all-inclusive packages can be expensive (those including manuscript analysis, marketing and PR can cost you upwards of $25,000). • Some contracts may contain hidden extra expenses. • Lack of credibility, at least within publishing circles, comes along with having the names of these companies listed on your book as publisher (which, fairly or unfairly, typically means not getting reviewed or having access to certain markets like brick-andmortar bookstores). 62 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Limited distribution and marketing (if any) of your books. • Lack of quality standards or gatekeeping. The downside of POD technology as a whole is that printing fewer copies means a higher cost per unit (with traditional offset printing, discounts are typically offered based on the size of the print run with more copies printed equalling a lower per unit cost). Between this cost and the company taking a percentage of the revenue generated from every book sale, this means you have to set a higher price for your books in order to make any sort of profit. A high-priced book can be prohibitive unless you are offering something others are not – it’s difficult to compete with other similar but lesser-priced titles. There are many stories out there of people who have used this method and been perfectly happy with the results. Whether this is the option for you depends on your personal and professional goals. Fans of this publishing method argue that these companies provide access to the publishing market for people who would not otherwise have the ability to publish a book. Opponents challenge that the ease of publishing a book this way has led to a glut of low-quality, error-filled books that reflect poorly on true independent publishers who strive for quality. Is this just sour grapes from a flagging traditional publishing industry, or a legitimate concern for writers seeking new publishing venues for their work? Probably somewhere in between. If you’re interested in turning a profit or building a true business, this is probably not the option that will give you the best chance of success. But only you can decide which method is right for you. The benefits and ease provided by using an existing self-publisher may be a good fit for many people’s needs, and while they don’t represent the norm, there are certainly success stories out there. Consider, for example, New York Times bestselling novel Still Alice by Lisa Genova. Genova originally published the book for $450 using iUniverse and marketed it herself. She later sold it to Pocket Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and received a 6-figure advance. If you are an author with the goal of publishing a single title with limited copies, are looking to market your own book with an eye Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 63 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher toward attracting a major publishing house to the rights, or are just looking to get your work into print without starting a company and are not motivated by profit, this might be an option to consider. Lulu and CreateSpace are both well-reviewed by many authors who consider publishing a hobby or just want to create something for friends and family (see www.lulu.com or www.createspace.com for more information). We do not endorse or recommend any one service over another as your own needs may vary. Be sure to research self-publishers carefully before deciding which (or if) a particular company may meet your needs. At press time, some thought-provoking recent articles may be found at: • http://fortune.com/2016/12/30/amazon-kindle-digital-self- publishing • www.entrepreneur.com/article/275550 • www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2016/05/05/which-is-better- self-publishing-or-traditional-publishing • www.writehacked.com/writing/createspace-lightning-source- lulu-where-should-you-self-publish-your-book-the-ultimateresource • www.toptenreviews.com/services/home/best-online-book- publishing-companies/index.html • www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/pod • www.dailykos.com/story/2015/1/8/1355957/-Self-publishing-101- Why-Indy-Publishers-are-Smart-to-Use-Two-Printers-and-NotJust-One 3.1.2 Starting Your Own Publishing Company Of course, you can always start from scratch and create your own book publishing company. That way, you can have complete control over every step of the process and make sure that your book or catalog of books is everything you want it to be. The information in the rest of this chapter will show you how to do just that. Starting a true DIY (do-ityourself) independent publishing company takes far more effort that using an existing service. However, it also comes with greater potential 64 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher reward in terms of control, creativity, and profit. If you’re interested in publishing multiple books, developing a series, or publishing the work of other authors, this might be the option for you. “Total control of the publishing process is the only way to do it once you learn the ropes. Not only do you determine when to publish, how to market and what the finished product looks like, but you keep all of the profits as well. With my first book, Fantasy Football Guidebook, I opted to allow another publishing firm to publish it. I was very happy with the process, but learned that sharing the profits with another company was not in my best interest. So if you have the desire, time, and energy, running your own publishing business can be more profitable and fulfilling.” — Sam Hendricks, Author and Publisher, Extra Point Press Creating a book that’s indistinguishable in quality from those produced by the Big Six is no easy task – but if you’ve decided to start your own company, that doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. Many tasks can, and should, be outsourced based on your skill set and budget. In the next chapter we’ll address your options for printing your book in more detail. Or, with the rising popularity and cost-effectiveness of e-books, whether you want to print them at all! In the previous chapter, we examined some of the skills you might need to call upon as an independent publisher. As you read through this chapter, begin to assess your publishing goals and budget. Consider which tasks you want to take on and how, and where you’ll need creative or business help (e.g. typesetting or fulfillment). Remember to be honest with yourself as you consider your comfort level with risk and need for control. 3.2 Choosing Your Niche “Are you a lizard-lover? A gemstone collector? An expert on hiking in Tibet? The number of niches is infinite and nobody fills them better than independent publishers. When considering a niche, consider this--you must have an interest in it--and so must others.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 65 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher The first thing to consider while you’re in the planning stages for your business is what types of books your company will focus on. This is called your “niche” or specialty. Do you have a passion for poetry or bookshelves filled with literary anthologies? Are you dedicated to social justice causes or women’s issues? Fascinated by French translations or books relating to a particular culture? As a small, independent publishing entity, a specialized niche can help you create a name for yourself and set you apart from the long list of independent publishers. In the current economy, as book sales from the large traditional publishers aimed at a broad general audience have flagged, many self-publishers and indie start-ups have found success by instead narrowing the scope of their niche, looking for untapped markets and underrepresented topics and voices. If you’ve ever sought information on a particular topic and found it lacking, chances are someone else has too. Browsing the Categories “Non-fiction titles are always quite successful, and business, current affairs, and inspirational books are generally popular” — Tina Jordan, Vice President, Association of American Publishers Your niche may include strictly fiction or nonfiction titles, or may encompass both of these as related to a specific category or topic. Some examples of broader potential categories to get you started thinking in terms of market include: • Animals/Pets • Art history • Biography • Business • Career • Children’s Illustrated • Computers/Technology 66 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Cooking • Education • Gender Studies • Health/Wellness • Historical Fiction • Home & Garden • Humor • LGBT • Literary Fiction • Memoir • Military • Mystery/Thriller • Photography • Poetry • Politics • Religion/Spirituality • Romance • Science • Science Fiction/Fantasy • Self-help/Psychology • Sports • Travel • Writing • Young Adult Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 67 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher For other ideas, browse the list of categories on Amazon.com, considering each in light of what experience and specialized knowledge you may have to contribute. Keep in mind where your writing skills and interests lie as well. Some categories may work best as strictly nonfiction, while others lend themselves to both fiction and nonfiction (sports, for example). Fiction vs. Nonfiction “Unless your last name is King, Meyers or Patterson, fiction is definitely a tough sell. Whereas a niche nonfiction publisher has a built-in ‘hook’ to promote his [or her ] book (such as building birdhouses), fiction by its very nature usually has a more general appeal, making it much more challenging to pinpoint an audience.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, IBPA Our experts almost universally agreed on this point and the numbers back them up. Nonfiction outsells fiction by a margin of 2 to 1. Publishers of nonfiction will have a much more direct path into the marketplace, particularly with a well-defined niche and expertise in your chosen field. It is far more difficult, even for the large traditional publishing houses, to predict what will make a successful fiction title (unless it’s attached to a big name author with a built-in loyal following) because the target market is harder to narrow down. Still, if fiction is your passion and you’re starting with quality manuscripts (your own, or the work of other authors), there are several things you can do to help ensure success. One of our experts offered the following suggestion on developing fiction projects with an eye toward marketing: “If a fictional work deals with a topic in the news, the author can leverage the expertise gained researching the topic and present themselves as an expert to interview, thereby gaining exposure that could prompt book sales.” — Leland F. Raymond, Publisher, CyPress Publications One of the most often cited examples in the fiction category is Richard Paul Evans’ The Christmas Box, an extremely successful selfpublished work of fiction. Certainly this is the exception rather 68 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher than the rule. For every Christmas Box (published in 1993; see www. richardpaulevans.com/index.php/books/the-christmas-box) there are thousands of other self-published works of fiction that are never purchased or read by anyone besides the author’s friends and family, so it is important to go into this endeavor with realistic expectations. You’ll find many lists of supposedly self-published successful fiction titles on the Internet designed to get your hopes up, but many were published so long ago that the publishing industry was an entirely different place – many other such stories are pure mythology. Still, for those able to think outside the traditional box, digital novels appropriate for the Kindle, Apple’s iBooks, or other e-readers appear to be growing in popularity and provide a whole new market for forward-thinking small fiction publishers. A more recent publishing phenomenon is the ‘Fifty Shades’ series by E.L. James (www.eljamesauthor.com); you may already be aware that the original book in the series began as a self-published ebook. For more on the history of this series, check out articles such as: • www.bbc.com/news/business-35482345 • www.huffingtonpost.com/bethany-sales/fifty-shades-of-grey- publishing_b_3109547.html • www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/18/fifty-shades-of-grey- the-series-that-tied-publishing-up-in-knots • www.businessinsider.com/fifty-shades-of-grey-started-out-as- twilight-fan-fiction-2015-2 • www.adweek.com/galleycat/fifty-shades-of-grey-wayback- machine/50128?red=as It is impossible to provide a full list of potential niche areas. Niches areas are only limited by your own creativity and are constantly evolving. And, due to the speed in which trends come and go in the publishing world, it is not advisable to choose a niche strictly because it’s “hot” at the moment. Certainly keeping up with trends is important in terms of individual books, and we’ll examine this more below in our discussion of market research. But keep in mind that the process of building a publishing catalog and an enduring company with a true mission, as opposed to a single title, requires sincere dedication to and Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 69 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher interest in your niche and the readers you serve, and an ability not only to observe trends but to anticipate them. “My own observations of the world around me (especially culture) influence the direction I go. This is how I determined that Fantasy Sports (particularly Fantasy Football and Fantasy Baseball) needed some books to guide others. Next, use Amazon.com to find out what books are in the niche and the quality and price points of other works.” — Sam Hendricks, Author, Fantasy Football Basics and Fantasy Football Tips Among our experts who addressed this topic, there was almost universal agreement. Choose something you’re passionate about. Choose something in which you have expertise. And then do your homework! You may find it helpful to examine Newpages.com’s extensive list of indie publishers, an alphabetical compendium that also provides links to the publishers’ websites and a brief summary of their niche. You may see some topics that pique your interest or, notice some that are not well-represented or mentioned at all: www.newpages.com/ books/publishers. Conducting Market Research “Most new publishers spring into the business expecting that their book(s) will be instantly recognized as groundbreaking, fabulous, lyrical and tremendously informative. In point of fact, the book industry is like most businesses – it is not a meritocracy. Many really awful books get launched up the New York Times bestseller list. Many dreadful authors receive undue praise. It’s not fair. But what in life is? The only way to succeed in publishing is by knowing your market – who your audience is (and no, it’s never “anyone who likes to read”), and being relentless in getting your book in front of them.” — Jacqueline C. Simonds, Publisher, Beagle Bay, Inc. Initially, as you consider what niche to fill, remember that the simplest approach is to choose subject matter that you are familiar with. As you compile your list of potential niche areas and conduct the initial phases of your market research, begin to think about ways you can capitalize on what you already know. While you may want to stick with what is familiar at first, be sure your niche also allows your company room to grow in terms of expanding offerings down the line. Over time you will 70 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher likely find some books are more profitable for you, and you can modify your offerings as you learn more about what your customers want. To help you choose your niche you’ll need to do some market research to give you an idea of trends in book sales and competing titles. You’ll need to determine: • Is there a need or desire for what you plan to publish? • Who is your target audience and what appeals to them? • What competing books, if any, are currently meeting this need? • How well are similar books selling? • Will sales comparable to similar titles be enough for you to generate a profit? • If not, what type of added value might you provide to increase sales? • What will differentiate your book from the others in your subject area and what new perspective or expertise can you bring to the table? • Does your subject matter lend itself to creating a series? • What types of outlets (other than bookstores) might carry a book like this? (Kitchen goods stores, for example, if you’re publishing cookbooks) One good place to start is by studying other successful titles similar to the one you are planning to publish. Don’t be afraid to ask bookstore owners for their advice. You may hear that sales of certain types of books are booming, while some genres may be losing popularity. Of course your local bookstore only gives you a snapshot, and not necessarily a representative one depending on where you live. Fortunately, some of the best tools for doing market research can be found online and are easily accessible. Among the wide variety of sites offering sales figures for books, check out: • http://rankforest.com • http://authorearnings.com Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 71 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • www.salesrankexpress.com • http://selfpublishingadvice.org/amazon-sales-rank-taming-the- algorithm • https://authorcentral.amazon.com • www.betterbooktools.com/analyze-amazon-best-seller- categories-in-seconds-with-category-hunter 3.3 Choosing a Company Name If you decide to start up your own book publishing company, choosing a name may be one of the most important decisions you make for your new business. Most experts seem to agree that using your own name (e.g. Deborah Frank Publishing if your name is Deborah Frank) is a mistake, particularly if you will also be authoring your own material. This is likely to brand you as an amateur in the industry, and make it obvious that you are self-publishing your work. Ideally, you want something catchy that will garner the attention of your desired market while clearly indicating it is a professional publishing operation and not just someone with a few boxes of books in the garage. If you have the financial resources, you could hire a naming professional to help you choose the right name for your company. Known as name consultants or naming firms, these organizations are experts at creating names, and can help you with trademark laws. TIP: Business names don’t have to be trademarked, but having them trademarked prevents anyone else from using the same name. Trademark laws are complicated, so if you think you want your company name trademarked it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer with expertise in that area. Most people starting up a new publishing company, however, don’t have the money necessary to hire professional name consultants. The cost of these services can start at a few thousand dollars. Instead, to come up with a name yourself, consider your niche and what types of customers you are trying to reach. You might even hold a brainstorming session and enlist family and friends for suggestions. If somebody comes up with a really good one, you’ll probably know it right away. Here are name samples from a few of the independent publishers we 72 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher surveyed. Consider what each name below tells you about the type of books they publish. • Extra Point Press • Five Star Publications • Altruist Publishing Ultimately you are the person who will need to live with your business name. It should be one that you feel great about. It should feel like it fits and it should make you happy. It’s important that your business name not resemble the name of another similar business offering similar services. For one thing, prospective clients may confuse the other business with yours and go with your competitor’s services instead of yours. In addition, if you do use a name too similar to another business that was in business first they will have grounds for legal action against you. Before officially registering your business name, you must conduct formal fictitious names and trademark searches. (The fictitious names database is where non-trademarked business names are listed.) A trademark database lists all registered and trademarked business names. In the U.S., the essential place to start is with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. You can hire a company to do a name search for you, or conduct a free search yourself at the PTO’s website at www.uspto. gov/main/trademarks.htm. In Canada, information on trademarks is found at www.ic.gc.ca and the default database for name searches is the Newly Upgraded Automated Name Search (NUANS) at www.nuans.com. There is a $20 charge for each NUANS search. You can also hire a company such as Arvic Search Services (www.arvic. com) or www.biznamesearch.com to help you with name searches, trademarks and incorporating your business for a fee. Check online for “corporate registry services” to find other companies. In most jurisdictions, once you have chosen your business name you will also have to file a “Doing Business As” (DBA) application, to register the fictitious name under which you will conduct your business Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 73 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher operations. The DBA allows you to operate under a name other than your own legal name. Filing a DBA usually takes place at the county level, although some states require that you file at the state level, publish your intent to operate under an assumed business name, and sign an affidavit stating that you have done so. However, in most cases it’s usually just a short form to fill out and a small filing fee that you pay to your state or provincial government. You can find links at the SBA.gov website to the appropriate government departments where you can file your business name at www.sba.gov/starting-business/choose-register-your-business. In Canada, visit www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/page/2730. 3.4 Your Business Plan “A proper business plan is essential, which includes all elements of expertise in the field, including the acquisition of content, rights, editorial acumen, as well as sales, distribution, marketing and publicity expertise. All of these elements need to be fully integrated cohesively throughout the business process.” — Tina Jordan, Vice President, Association of American Publishers Many business owners fail not because their business ideas weren’t great but rather because of their lack of planning. A business plan is a detailed breakdown of every aspect of your business, including its location, sources of start-up funding, aspects of financial planning and an in-depth description of your proposed business. A good business plan serves two purposes. It’s your guide (one that can be used and modified as necessary on an ongoing basis) for how you want your company to progress and grow. Your business plan also serves as a sales tool should you decide to seek outside funding for your business. A business plan is essential in meeting with your bank manager or other lending institution. They need to know you are a good risk before they loan you money. A business plan tells them that you are prepared and know where you’re going. 74 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Additionally, a well-thought out plan will help you to identify any factors that will affect your profits and your competitive advantages. A business plan will allow you to step back from your excitement about starting a business, and take an objective look at your plans. A good plan will help you over the rough spots by identifying where you might have slow cash flow during certain seasons (e.g., during the summer when many people are away vacationing). A well-prepared plan will help you learn who your customers and competition are, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your business, and to recognize factors that could affect the growth of your company. You shouldn’t treat your business plan as if its contents are written in stone, however. There are many reasons why you’ll want to keep upto-date with your business plan. As your business changes and grows, for example, your business plan probably will need some tweaking to reflect new goals and changing customer purchasing patterns. (You might find that certain types of books sell better than others as you move forward.) Your business plan description will need to change if you branch out into a different product niche, begin negotiating subsidiary rights, taking on work from outside authors, or modify your business model based on evolving publishing technology and printing methods. In the next section, we’ll guide you through the various elements of your business plan and how they fit into the overall conception of your new enterprise. 3.4.1 What To Include In a Business Plan A business plan can be a simple description of your business concept or a detailed report, including graphs and charts of potential growth. A typical business plan should include the following items. You will learn more about a number of the important items, such as marketing and store operations, later in this guide. Cover Page The cover page should list your name, home address, phone number and any other contact information you wish to provide. This is an often-overlooked, yet essential, piece of the business plan. If you are Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 75 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher presenting your plan to investors or the bank, they must know how to contact you. Executive Summary This should be an upbeat explanation of your overall concept. Think of the paragraphs on the backs of book covers. An executive summary encapsulates the major contents of your business plan just as the paragraphs summarize the plot of a book. You want to sell your idea, so you need to keep it positive. You should write the Executive Summary after the rest of the sections are completed (except, of course, the Table of Contents). The Executive Summary is the synopsis of your business vision. It should be concise and explain the major contents of your business plan. Be sure to include the following important points: • Business start date and location • Financial objectives for the year • Commitment to resources (inventory, facilities, staff) • Products and services • A strong closing statement Table of Contents Make it easy for your investors by including a Table of Contents so they can easily turn to specific items such as your profit projections. A Table of Contents, although it’s the first thing to appear in the plan, should be the last thing you write. That way you already have all the content and page numbers in place. Description The description of your business should cover the products and services you plan to offer and be as specific as possible. You can also include industry information about other book publishers in your niche market. 76 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher In this section of your business plan, you will include the following: Products and Services: What type of books you will be offering to customers and in what formats (audio books, e-books, print, etc.); any additional product lines or services you hope to add. Customers: This is the section to give an overview of who you think your typical customers will be. Goals: What would you like to achieve by starting your publishing company? To establish yourself as a specialist in a certain sector of the industry? Expand your company to a larger operation with an increased number of titles published per year within five years? Describe your business goals in this section. Unique Features: What will separate your company from others? What strengths will your business have over other similar independent publishers in your niche? What previously unfilled product or service area of the industry are you filling? This will also be a part of your marketing section. Management: In this section describe the business’ ownership and explain its legal structure, whether or not you intend to hire employees or freelance help, and what training you will offer to them. Start-Up Costs: Lenders are particularly interested in how much you need to get your business running. Provide an overview of your financing requirements, including your own investment contribution, and any additional sources of working capital; explain your business registration, licenses, and insurance. This will be only a summary description. More in-depth descriptions and details about finances will follow in your financial section. While you should include some details about all of the items above, remember that the business description section provides only an overview. This is to give readers of your business plan a quick summary of how the store will be set up, your starting financial position, and an overview of the management and operation of your store. Some parts will obviously overlap with the more detailed information provided in the other sections. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 77 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Legal Structure The next section to include is how your business will be set up from a legal standpoint. Here you will describe the legal structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation. This section may be included with the description of your business, or you can include it under a separate heading. Like other parts of your business plan, you can rearrange the sections or group them together. (You’ll learn more about business legal structures in section 3.7.1 a little later in this chapter.) Location If you will not be working from a home office and have not already chosen a location, then explain the type of space you wish to lease or purchase (including for storage and shipping), and why you think it is a good location. If you need help finding a location, contact a local realtor to find out what is available for lease. If you have already chosen a location, then describe it and detail the positive points about where it is situated and why the site will be a good one for your business. Your Market Who are your potential customers and why? Use statistics from the market research you did in determining your niche to show you have done your homework. All businesses compete for customers, market share, and publicity. So it’s smart to know who your competitors are and exactly what they’re doing. To provide services that are different and better than those of your rivals, you need to evaluate your competitors’ books, how they’re promoting them, who is buying them, and other information. Competition List your competition. While it may not be a good idea to list every single competitor, it is a good idea to list a couple of the toughest ones. This will show the bank or investors you have realistic expectations about your business and are aware of what you need to do to survive. 78 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Inventory and Pricing Here, you will explain how you plan to acquire material to publish, whether you are writing it yourself or acquiring manuscripts from other authors (unpublished works, reprints, or foreign translations). List any suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, and sales representatives you plan to work with (figuring in discounts offered by your distributors), and what items you will need for the daily operation of your business. You may have to estimate prices, so your homework on other publishers in your category and what they charge for similar books will be invaluable. Book pricing is a more complex endeavor than pricing other types of merchandise for retail as a significant amount of discounting often takes place, some of which you have little control over. The prices you charge for your books, and the profit per copy you earn, will depend on many factors including supply and demand, your format (whether you sell only e-books, trade paperbacks, hardcover books, or mass market paperbacks), your printing method and size of print run, and the outlets through which you will be selling. Some outlets, including most brick-and-mortar bookstores, will only accept books they can return (basically a consignment deal), and many afford the publisher surprisingly little control over the actual book price set. This is beginning to change within the e-book market as publishers have pushed back against retailers like Amazon and Apple which had previously set standard rates for all e-books. For print books, one formula suggests pricing your book at approximately 8 to 10 times your cost for production, distribution, and marketing -- but this may not always work out realistically depending on your competition’s prices and discounts required by your distribution channels. See section 5.1 for more about how to determine prices and track profitability for your books, both print and digital. Marketing How will you determine your target market and then get the word out about your books? Be detailed here. List specific marketing campaigns you plan to use, sample press releases, any trade shows you plan to attend, and potential reviewers for your books. (To learn more about marketing see Chapter 6.) Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 79 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Management and Staff This section should highlight your background and business experience. This is also a good place to explain your passion for the type of books you will be publishing and any expertise you have in the subject matter or connections within the industry. You are selling yourself in this section. List any type of business background, from working in retail to relevant classes you have taken. This section also includes information about staffing. It is unlikely you can do all the work yourself. Even if you do not plan to hire others right away, you should have a contingency plan in case you are ill, or some other catastrophe strikes. At the very least, you should make it clear you have several family members or friends willing to step in and help in case of an emergency. If you do plan to hire staff, then state that here, and mention your projected labor costs. Your Financial Plan The financial section of your business plan will include your financial projections, break-even analysis, a projected profit and loss statement (also called an income statement), and information about your personal finances. Your financial projections include both your startup costs and your operating costs. The startup budget includes all the costs necessary to get your business up and running. Operating costs are ongoing expenses, such as advertising, utilities, rent and so forth. You can find more information about creating these budgets in section 3.4.2. List expected profits and/or losses for at least the first year, but preferably for three years. You will want to break this down on a monthto-month basis. Show where the money is going and how much you expect will come in. It is advisable to account for estimated returned books as well (averaging 20%, though this may be considerably higher). If the business plan is for a loan, explain how much you need to borrow, why you need that much (exact uses of money), and where you plan to obtain it. Your financial management plan also should address the accounting system you plan to use. Many small business owners conduct their own 80 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher accounting, using software such as Quicken (www.quicken.com) or QuickBooks (http://quickbooks.intuit.com), while others hire someone to set up a system. The Extras In addition to these major areas, your business plan should include the extras mentioned earlier: A Cover Sheet This identifies your business and explains the purpose of the business plan. Be sure to include your name, the name of the business, and the name of any partners, if applicable. Also include your address, phone number, email address, and other relevant information. Table of Contents This goes just under your cover sheet and tells what’s included in your business plan. Use major headings and subheadings to identify the contents. Executive Summary Basically, this is a summary of your business plan. It should summarize everything you’ve included in the main body of the plan. Financial Projections This is an estimate of how much money you’ll need to start your business, and how much you expect to earn. Remember to support your projections with explanations. This is the bottom line that most banks and investors will want to see. This will include start-up budgets, an estimation of revenue and expenses and a projection of when profitability will occur. See section 3.4.2 for more on this topic. Supporting Documents If you will be seeking start-up funding, you’ll be expected to include financial information. This may include your personal (and business, if applicable) tax returns for the past three years, a personal financial statement (get a form from your bank) and a copy of a lease agreement if you will rent office space. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 81 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 3.4.2 Start-Up Financial Planning Financial management is crucial to running a successful business. Depending on your needs and goals, a start-up publishing operation can require an investment of thousands of dollars for large offset print runs, or can require relatively minimal investment up front. If you’ll be utilizing cost-saving new technologies with stand-alone e-books or POD printing, you’ll not only save on printing costs, but also require zero space for inventory storage and, in the case of e-books, no shipping costs or distribution fees. Though economical, there is a downside to consider, including increased per copy print costs for POD. These options will be discussed in more detail in chapter 4. If you’ll be working from a home office, at least initially, leasing office space and hiring staff won’t need to be budgeted for in start-up costs. Every business has expenses, however, so one of the first important questions you should find an answer for is how you will finance your operating costs until you turn a profit. Expenses may include things like purchasing a block of ISBN numbers, hiring freelancers for book design, indexing, or editing and proofreading, shipping supplies and postage costs, marketing, distribution, and fulfillment costs and so on. In addition, you’ll need to decide how much you want to save for unexpected expenses, and how much you will put back into the business to finance growth. Budgeting Basics If you have ever sat down and calculated how much money you’ll need for something like the family vacation by figuring out what your income and expenses are, you already know how to budget. The most difficult part of budgeting for a business is that, unlike when you work for a steady paycheck, it’s more difficult to project your expected income after you pay all your expenses out of your revenues. To clarify the situation in your business plan you will need to determine, as best you can, both your start-up costs and your operating costs. The start-up budget will include all the costs necessary to get your business up and running. Your operating costs will be all of the ongoing expenses once the business is in operation. In your planning, be clear about where the money is going and why, and explain how you came to your conclusions. 82 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher The good news is that there is no such thing as a “typical budget” when it comes to publishing; you’ll likely find options to suit your needs, whatever your budget. Unlike starting a retail operation, producing books can be done with relatively little financial investment. In fact, with the right skills and “do it yourself” attitude, combined with digital technology, you can produce an e-book at almost zero cost. On the other end of the spectrum, you could invest in a high-end cover designer, an offset print run of 2,000 or so books and launch a full-scale marketing campaign, which might run you in the range of $10,000 to $25,000. More likely, your needs will fall somewhere in between. Here are some things you should consider when completing your revenue forecast and financial projections: • Market trends and cycles • Any prepublication book sales • Varied sources of revenue • Subsidiary rights sales (such as book clubs) • Unexpected events (such as equipment breakdowns, personal illness, etc.) • Cost for storage space (if not using a fulfillment company) • How will you monitor your cash flow? Use the following to estimate your start-up expenses and your monthly operating expenses. Note that even if an item is listed below, that doesn’t mean you have to budget for it. You may not need it, or you may already have it. You should also consider if there are expenses not on this list that will apply to you. We have not included the potential cost of hiring outside help on this list of expenses. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 83 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Start-Up Expenses Item Low High Office furniture (see checklist later in this section) _______ _______ Computer _______ _______ Color printer/copier/scanner (separate or all-in-one) _______ _______ Office software _______ _______ Design software _______ _______ Business phone line installation fee _______ _______ Telephone _______ _______ Office supplies _______ _______ Stationery _______ _______ Business cards _______ _______ Printing (brochures or other marketing materials) _______ _______ Website setup costs (design, domain name, etc.) _______ _______ Business licenses/fees _______ _______ ISBN number(s), barcodes, or other book registration services _______ _______ Professional consulting (lawyer, accountant) _______ _______ Other (list each item) _______ _______ TOTAL _______ _______ You can get a good idea for the cost of many of these budget items by browsing business supply websites. You may also want to get an idea of the going rates for hiring quality professional editors, proofreaders, and book indexers through the Editorial Freelancers Association website (keep in mind these rates will vary enormously among freelancers depending on their level of experience): www.the-efa.org/ res/rates.php. When writing your business plan, be realistic. It is better to overestimate costs and underestimate profit. If you make more than expected in your first few months to a year, then so much the better. You will be in great shape! 84 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Monthly Operating Expenses Your monthly operating expenses include both fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs remain the same from month to month regardless of the amount of work you do (examples include rent and membership dues), while variable costs may vary from month to month (examples include travel and taxes). To estimate monthly variable costs, start by estimating a yearly total than divide that by 12 for a monthly average. Monthly Operating Expenses Item Low High Salaries or fees for freelancers _______ _______ Benefits _______ _______ Rent (or portion of mortgage) _______ _______ Office supplies (see checklist later in this section) _______ _______ Telephone _______ _______ Internet service _______ _______ Postage and courier _______ _______ Travel expenses including mileage _______ _______ Insurance costs _______ _______ Membership dues _______ _______ Printing materials _______ _______ Marketing expenses _______ _______ Web hosting _______ _______ Magazine subscriptions and professional literature _______ _______ Training and conferences _______ _______ Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 85 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Legal and accounting services _______ _______ Banking expenses _______ _______ Entertainment _______ _______ Taxes _______ _______ Other (list each item) _______ _______ TOTAL _______ _______ Take any bills, that occur either quarterly or yearly, such as insurance and taxes, and divide them by 4 (quarterly) or 12 (yearly) to find out how much you pay for those expenses each month. Creating a monthly budget will help you plan for your first year in business. After the first year, you can then build a budget for year two based on what you actually spent during your first year. Your monthly budget will also help you determine what costs you need to cover before you start making a profit. Your own costs may vary widely from those of other small publishers, depending on what you currently have and what you plan to do with your business. For example, your rent might range from $0 if you have a home office to $1,000 per month for leased office space. Supplies and Equipment Following are checklists of typical office equipment and supplies required for a book publishing business. Keep in mind, however, that many offices are now going green and limiting the amount of paper supplies they use. This is not only good for the environment, but also for your wallet. Keeping as much of your business electronic as possible also means less space required for storage. You can learn more about how to set up an ecofriendly office through the U.S. government’s Green Business Guide: www.sba.gov/managing-business/runningbusiness/green-business-guide. 86 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Furniture and Equipment Checklist Bookcases for reference material Chair(s) Computer and software Printer/copier/scanner Desk (one or more) Filing cabinet Lamps and lighting Storage shelves Work table Supplies and Small Equipment Accordion files Binders Brochures Business cards Business stationery Calculator Cell phone Day planner or PDA Envelopes (all sizes) File folders File labels Index cards Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 87 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Mailing labels • Mailing envelopes Paper Paper clips Paper cutter (for trimming brochures, postcards, etc.) Pens, pencils, markers, and erasers Post-it notes Postage stamps Rubber bands Ruler Stapler and staples Tape Most of the large retail office supply chains can set you up with everything you need for your office at a reasonable price. • Staples www.staples.com • Office Depot www.officedepot.com • OfficeMax www.officemax.com With annual and average monthly figures projected, you can now take a look at where the money is being spent and make some informed decisions about how to cut back on some of the expenditures in order to grow profits. Coming up, we’ll show you how to calculate a breakeven point for your business based on the projections you have already made for your operating expenses. 88 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Sales Projections Before you can start your budget, you must arrive at some reasonable monthly sales projections. Many business decisions will be based on the level of sales that you forecast, so if you’re too optimistic, you might find your business in trouble. As mentioned earlier, it’s always best to be conservative in your estimates. Alternatively, if you underestimate the amount of sales, you might make decisions that hold back the growth of your business, such as deciding on a less-than-perfect store location because the rent or building purchase price is cheaper. A certain amount of “guesstimating” is required, but you can learn as much as possible about your market beforehand in order to make the estimates more accurate. One way to figure out how much you will need to sell to make a profit is to figure out the average cost of your items. Once you have done a little research on who your distributors will be, you can go ahead and contact them to get more information about your initial costs. Calculating Your Break-even Point Break-even analysis is a good way to find out how much you must sell in order to cover your costs. (You can compare the result with your projected revenues to see how they match up.) This is without profit or loss; profit comes after the break-even point. Figuring out your break-even point involves a fairly straightforward calculation. You must, however, have all the figures ready in advance before you can get an accurate number. In addition, in order to calculate the break-even point, you’ll first need to break out fixed (non-controllable) costs like rent from variable costs like supplies. You should also be aware that this number does not represent the amount of sales you need to make in order to “break even” for the year. This number is for you to determine at what point during the year, given a certain amount of sales, your earnings will begin to outstrip your expenses. If it comes early in the year, you will be in great shape. If it comes late in the year, you may need to make some changes in order to show a profit for the year. This formula can also be applied to monthly sales and expenses to show you where you reach the breakeven point during the month. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 89 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Sample Break-Even Point The formula is: Break-even point = Total fixed costs ÷ (1 – total variable costs ÷ revenues) Let’s say your business has fixed expenses of $22,200 for lease payments and $8,000 for loan costs (totaling $30,200) during the first year. The rest of the budget expenses are variable costs, totaling $63,325. Based on revenues, variable costs are 56% (or in other words, for every dollar in sales, 56 cents is variable costs). Here’s how to calculate your break-even point. Break-Even Point = Fixed costs $30,200 divided by (1 minus variable costs $63,325 divided by revenues $112,500) 30,200 ÷ (1 - 63,325 ÷ 112,500) 30,200 ÷ (1 - 0.56) 30,200 ÷ 0.44 Break-Even Point = $69,000 (rounded) So in this example, your business will have to earn gross revenues of about $69,000 each year in order to break even. This company is operating at 112500/69000 or 163% of break-even, meaning it is profitable. With these figures determined, you can now look at ways of reducing your variable costs as well as increasing your revenues to try to widen the gap between gross revenues and your break-even point. It’s also a good way to see if your projected revenues are realistic when balanced against known expenses. Of course you’ll more likely be dealing with much smaller figures, at least starting out! And if you’re just looking to self-publish one book, don’t spend too much time getting caught up in calculations like this. This information is presented for your information as your business grows and expands – it’s always good to be prepared! 90 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 3.4.3 Business Plan Resources SBA The SBA offers help with business start-ups and has a variety of programs and services for the small business owner. The site also has links to sample business plans, a business plan workshop, an interactive business planner and more. Visit www.sba.gov/business-guide/planyour-business/write-your-business-plan. SCORE A non-profit organization, SCORE has volunteers who provide counseling and mentoring to new business start-ups. They also offer an outstanding free business plan template, available in Word or PDF formats, and an online workshop on how to “Develop a Business Plan,” as well as many other tips and resources. Visit www.score.org/ resource/business-planning-financial-statements-template-gallery. Canada Business Network You will find a wide range of information at http://canadabusiness. ca/business-planning, including a step-by-step guide to walk you through starting your new business. Business Plan Pro Software If you want help creating a professional business plan, another option is to buy business planning software from PaloAlto Software (www. paloalto.com). The standard version of Business Plan Pro is available for $99.95; the premier version is $159.95. Business Plan Pro offers a step-by-step guide to creating a business plan, as well as 500 samples. Sample Business Plan Here are a couple of sample business plans for publishing businesses: • www.bplans.com/business_analysis_publishing_business_ plan/executive_summary_fc.php Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 91 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • www.bplans.com/magazine_publisher_business_plan/ executive_summary_fc.php At the pages above, you can see the executive summary; scroll to the bottom of the page to find links to other areas of the business plan. 3.5 Where to Find Start-Up Financing This section covers sources of start-up financing, and what you’ll need to present to lenders in order to apply for funding. As a small publisher, you may not need a great deal of financing to begin with, depending on your scope of operations. This information is presented for those whose publishing plans are on a larger scale. Additional advice on all aspects of financing your business can be found at the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/starting-business/business-financials and www.sba. gov/starting-business/finance-your-business. In Canada, visit http:// canadabusiness.ca/managing-your-business/day-to-day-operations/ managing-your-finances. 3.5.1 Getting Prepared When looking for funding, you must first be well prepared before approaching any potential loan or investment sources. You will need the following things: • A Business Plan: As you learned in the previous section, a business plan is the document that lenders will review to decide whether or not to give you a loan. This document is absolutely necessary for banks or other lenders, and even if you are getting the startup money you need from a rich aunt, you should prepare your business plan and present it so the person lending you money can see that you have a clear and organized plan. (If you haven’t read it already, see section 3.4 for advice on creating a business plan.) Your financial statements are a particularly important part of your business plan. • A Personal Financial Statement: This should be prepared as part of your business plan. It is important because you need to have a clear picture of your own financial state to know exactly where 92 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher you are financially before you begin. This financial statement will tell you: • How much money you need every month to pay your bills • What kind of resources or assets you have • What kind of debt you carry. How will you repay this debt while you are putting your total effort into opening your store? • A Start-Up Survival Nest Egg: Many financial consultants think that having a nest egg to live on while you are starting up your store is one of the most important things you can have. Some suggest at least six months’ of living expense money — that is, all the money you will need monthly to pay all your personal living expenses, bills, and debts, so you can focus on your new retail business without stress. This is apart from any reserve start-up capital you might need for the business itself. Asking for Money Keep these tips in mind when you ask someone for funding: • Get an introduction or referral. If you can get someone who is respected in the community to introduce you to a potential lender, it gives you credibility and that’s a big advantage. • Have an extra copy of your business plan available for the potential lender’s inspection, and be able to speak clearly and concisely about your plans. Be able to discuss all aspects of your business plan, your long-range goals and your prospective market. • Be professional. Shake hands, speak with confidence and look the person you’re talking to in the eye. • Dress to impress. You’re going to be a business owner. Be sure you look the part. • Be receptive. Even if you don’t end up getting any money from a prospective lender or investor, you may be able to get ideas and suggestions from them. Perhaps they’ll have some pointers regarding your business plan, or some suggestions about steering Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 93 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher your business in a particular direction. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, either. Remember that if someone agrees to loan you money or invest in your business, they’re doing so because they believe in you and what you can do. When you ask someone for money, you need to sell yourself and your ideas. Make sure you have a great sales pitch. There are a number of online resources to help you find out more about financing options for your business. The SBA link noted above is a good place to start in the United States. In the “Start Your Business” section of the Small Business Planner, open the “Finance Start-Up” link and scroll down to find Loan and Funding information. In Canada, you can try the Canada Business “Grants and Finances” page at http:// canadabusiness.ca/grants-and-financing/. Now that you know the basics, you are ready to determine who you will approach for your funding. 3.5.2 Equity vs. Debt Financing In business, there are two basic kinds of financing: equity financing and debt financing. Essentially, equity financing is when you agree to give someone a share in your business in exchange for an agreed amount of investment capital from that person. Debt financing is, as you probably already know, borrowing money at interest that you pay back in installments over time or in a lump sum at a specified future date. (Or repayment could be a combination of these; the point is, you’ll pay interest). The decision to choose debt or equity financing usually will be based on your personal financial position and how much additional money you need in order to get your business started. One form of equity financing is investment capital provided by venture capitalists. You’ll want to look for an individual or investment firm that is familiar with your industry. You’ll have less explaining of your business concept to do and they might be more open to investing in a company such as yours whose premise they already understand. While a venture capital investor won’t expect you to pay interest and regular monthly installments, they will expect some kind of return on their investment. This could include dividends paid out of your net 94 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher income, the right to interfere with operations if they think they could do better, or the right to resell their interest to someone else for a higher price than they originally paid for their share of your company. Make sure that you are comfortable with the terms of any investment capital agreement, and that it clearly specifies what your obligations are. Check with a lawyer if you’re not sure. Another form of equity investment comes from your circle of friends and your family. You might be able to get a no-interest loan from a family member or a close friend, with the promise to pay them back at a time in the future when your business is self-sustaining. This is an ideal situation for you so long as the lender has no expectation of “helping” you run your business if you’re not comfortable with that. You may also decide to bring in a friend, business acquaintance, or family member as a partner if they have some capital to invest to help cover start-up costs. Debt financing is any form of borrowing, including a loan, lease, line of credit or other debt instrument on which you must pay interest in order to finance the original principal amount. Sources for this kind of financing include banks, credit unions, credit card companies, suppliers, and so on. If you buy a computer system for your company and pay for it in monthly installments over a couple of years, that is a form of debt financing since you will pay interest on the amount you finance. In the following sections we’ll look at some of the sources of each type of financing and the advantages and disadvantages to each. 3.5.3 Borrowing Money You can choose to utilize any mixture of the financing suggestions that follow. Many new business owners choose a mix of some of their own savings, a family loan, and a small business loan. Only you can decide which financing sources will be the best ones for your business and your personal situation. The most important thing is to make sure you agree to loan repayment terms that you can live with and that are realistic for you. Commercial Loans Commercial loans are loans that you can get from a financial institution like a bank or a credit union. You can go to your neighborhood bank around the corner to set up all your small business banking needs, or Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 95 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher you can shop around for a bank that will offer you the best loan terms possible. The terms of your loan will depend upon several things: • Your credit score • Your collateral • Your ability to pay back a loan There are a number of different loan types you can enter into with these financial institutions. They offer both long-term and short-term loans. For example, you might choose an operating term loan with a repayment period of one year. This will help you finance your startup costs such as buying equipment and inventory or pay for any renovations you might need to do. TIP: If you’re looking for a long-term loan of less than $50,000 the bank will probably consider it a personal loan. As a result, they will be more interested in your personal credit history, and they may require you to put up personal assets such as real estate as security. You might also choose a business line of credit if your situation warrants such an arrangement. In this setup, the bank will grant you what is in essence a revolving loan in a specified amount, and will honor any checks you write to pay for your ongoing business expenses. You will pay interest on any amounts outstanding under the line of credit. Remember that lines of credit are to be used to pay for operating expenses as needed. Don’t abuse the privilege by going out and buying thousands of dollars worth of office equipment or a new car for the business. If you do, then you won’t be able to meet the projections you gave the lender when you presented the business plan to them. Those projections are why you got the line of credit in the first place. Operating term loans and lines of credit, particularly if they are unsecured by assets (or other collateral), will have higher rates of interest attached. In some cases, the lender may require that you offer some sort of security for the loan, such as having a co-signer or putting up your personal assets against it. Some lenders may accept inventory 96 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher (usually at 50% of your cost to purchase it) as a portion of collateral. Another consideration is that your interest rate will change as the bank’s interest rates fluctuate. You might choose a long-term loan, rather than short-term financing, if you need to do major renovations or building, or take out a mortgage if you intend to purchase a building as your retail location. One advantage to this type of financing is that the interest rates are usually lower. This is because the loan is paid back over a longer period of time than an operating term loan or line of credit, and you pay interest at a fixed, instead of a variable, rate. Another reason interest is lower is that the loan is backed by the value of the asset you’re purchasing. This makes repayment of the loan more likely. (The lender can always sell an asset like a building if you default on the loan.) One major disadvantage to a long-term loan is that you will have a debt burden that you will need to carry for a number of years. This can affect your company’s growth because you might not have the liquidity you need to pay for expansion or to pursue new lines of merchandise. You might also have to pay a financial penalty if you decide to pay back the loan earlier. Consider all your options carefully before you enter into any kind of long-term debt arrangement. Speak with an accountant and a lawyer first. Personal Loans One of the greatest resources for your start-up money will always be the people you know who believe in you and your ideas—your family and friends. Very often they will help you with money when all other resources fail you. They usually will agree to payback terms that aren’t as strict as commercial lenders, and they are usually pulling for you, too. As with any other kind of loan, it is important to make sure that you and the other parties completely understand and agree to the terms of the loan. Also, make sure to put everything in writing. Another possibility is to ask a family member to co-sign a commercial loan for you. Co-signing means that this person agrees to take on the financial responsibility of the loan if you should fail. Family members are often willing to help you out this way. Make sure, before friends or family members help you out by co-signing a loan, that they are really comfortable doing so. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 97 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 3.5.4 Finding Investors Venture Capital and Investment Capital Investors Depending on the type and size of your business, you might consider finding investors to help you with your start-up capital. You may find that some investors are not willing to invest venture capital in a small, single-location retail store, however, many small retailers have gone on to grow their companies into regional or national chains. So this type of investment may well be something you’ll want to look into for the future. As you’ll see later in this section, there are ways to find investors willing to put money into small businesses. Remember that investors are looking to make money by investing their capital in your business. They may or may not be people you know, but they will want you to show them how they will make a profit by helping you. You have to assure them that they will get something out of it, because for them investing in your store isn’t personal (like it might be when a family member invests in your business), it is business. Investors work one of two ways: • They want to see their initial money returned with a profit • They want to own part of your business While investment capital might seem like a great idea, be aware that many entrepreneurs have been burned when venture capital vanished when the start-up money was needed. As mentioned earlier, the investment agreement could contain unsavory terms that give too great a portion of control to the investor instead of leaving it in the hands of the company owner. However, on the plus side, private investors can be more flexible to deal with than lending institutions like banks. They may not want to get too deeply involved with the day-to-day management of the company. They might also be more willing to accept a higher level of risk than a bank, trusting in your skills and knowledge of the industry and leave your assets unencumbered. To find venture capital investors beyond your immediate circle of family and friends, you can investigate some of the resources found at the websites listed below. 98 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • VFinance www.vfinance.com • Funding Post www.fundingpost.com • National Association of Investment Companies www.naicvc.com • Small Business Investor Alliance www.sbia.org • Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association www.cvca.ca You can also find investment capital through the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. While the SBA does not act as an intermediary on behalf of entre¬preneurs, they do have a wealth of information about the process of finding investors on their website at www.sba.gov/sbic. You have to decide what you want. Do you feel you will be able to meet the investor’s terms? Do you want to share ownership of your business with another person? For some new business owners, the perfect solution is to find a person who wants to partner with them, share the responsibility of their new store, and bring some money to invest. Partners One of the simplest forms of equity financing is taking on a partner. Having a partner in your business brings additional skill sets, business contacts and resources to the venture. Most importantly, a partner can bring money to help pay for start-up costs and assist with ongoing operations. You’ll need to decide whether your partner will be active in the running of the company or just a silent partner who invests the money, receives income from the business, but has no say in how things are run. (You can read more about Partnerships as a form of business legal structure in section 3.7.1.) Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 99 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher You as an Investor Never forget that you might be your own best source of funding. One nice thing about using your own money is that you aren’t obligated to anyone else or any other organization—it is yours to invest. This can be an excellent solution for individuals with some credit problems. To raise your own capital, you can: • Cash out stocks, bonds, life insurance, an IRA, RRSP, or other retirement account • Increase your credit on charge cards (remember that you will pay high interest rates on these) • Use personal savings • Take out a second mortgage or home equity loan on your house or other property • Sell something valuable, like a car, jewelry, real estate, or art 3.5.5 Government Programs Small Business Administration Loans The Small Business Administration (SBA) doesn’t actually lend you money. However, they have a program called the “7(a) Loan Program” in which they work with banks to provide loan services to small business owners. The SBA guarantees a percentage of the loan that a commercial lender will give you, so that if you default on your payments, the bank will still get back the amount guaranteed by the SBA. Both the bank and the SBA share the risk in lending money to you. As the borrower, you are still responsible for the full amount of the loan. When you apply for a small business loan, you will actually apply at your local bank. The bank then decides whether they will make the loan internally or use the SBA program. Under this program, the government does not provide any financial contribution, and does not make loans itself. 100 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher The SBA also provides a pre-qualification program that assists business start-ups in putting together a viable funding request package for submission to lenders. They will work with you to help you apply for a loan up to a maximum amount of $250,000. Once the loan package has been submitted, studied, and approved by the SBA, they will issue a commitment letter on your behalf that you can submit to lenders for consideration. In essence, the SBA gives lenders the reassurance that they will pay back the loan if you don’t. They provide the extra assurance that many lenders need to get entrepreneurs the financing they need. You can read more about the process at www.sba.gov/starting-business/financeyour-business/loans/sba-loans. The SBA also has a “Micro-Loans” program, which offers loans to startup and newly established businesses through non-profit entities at the local level up to a maximum of $35,000. The average loan is about $13,000. Interest rates for these small loans vary between about 8 to 13 percent. You can find out more about these loans at www.sba.gov/ loans-grants/see-what-sba-offers/sba-loan-programs/microloanprogram. Government Programs in Canada If you are planning to open a retail business in Canada, you might be interested in the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) or the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBF). The BDC is a financial institution owned by the federal government that offers consulting and financing services to help get small businesses started. They also have a financing program aimed specifically at women entrepreneurs. You can learn more about the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and its financing resources at www.bdc.ca. The Canada Small Business Financing Program is much like the SBA 7(a) Loan Program mentioned earlier in this section. The maximum amount you can borrow is $500,000, and no more than $350,000 can be used for purchasing leasehold improvements, improving leased property or purchasing or improving new or used equipment.The CSBFP works with lenders across the country to offer loans at 3% above the lender’s prime lending rate. To find out more, visit www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/csbfppfpec.nsf/eng/h_la02855.html. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 101 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Grants for Writers and Publishers For writers and small publishers in Canada, there are several grant programs available that provide a variety of funding options. The Canadian government offers funding at both the federal and provincial level to support the work of Canadian authors and development of the publishing industry in Canada, though some of these awards require you to have been in business for a minimum period of time. For more information, visit the Association of Canadian Publishers website at www.publishers.ca (click on “resources,” then “get published”, and “writing/publishing grants”). 3.6 Choosing Your Location Before you can decide where to locate your business, you have to determine what functions you need your work space to serve. Take into consideration what tasks you will need to do in your office. Consider whether you will be storing large quantities of your books on the premises and how much of your own order fulfillment you will be doing. Most experts recommend outsourcing this task, but even so, you’ll need to keep some books handy to bring along to signings, speaking engagements, and for review copies to send out to the media. You may also choose to handle orders received directly through your website (though you can farm this out to your distributor as well if you prefer). You will also need to consider if you have enough space to store documents and other materials, and space for future employees or partners to work if you decide to expand your publishing operations. If you’re planning to start small, perhaps with one or more selfpublished titles, then a home office is the most economical place for you to establish your business. Many solo self-publishers choose to keep their office in their home for the long term. Working from Home For many people, the biggest benefit of working from home is the end of the commuter lifestyle, greater freedom, and the ability to spend time with family. Another benefit for eligible businesses is that you can deduct from your income taxes a percent of your mortgage payment 102 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher and property taxes (or rent) and a share of utilities and maintenance costs. Another benefit for eligible businesses is that you can deduct from your income taxes a percent of your mortgage payment and property taxes (or rent) and a share of utilities and maintenance costs. There are various methods to make those calculations, but by far the easiest – and most acceptable to the IRS – is to use an entire room, and to use it for no other purpose. In the U.S., IRS Publication 587 has information on how to compute the calculation and file the deduction. You can download this information by visiting the IRS website and searching for the publication numbers from the search engine on the front page. At the time of publication of this guide it was available online at www. irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p587.pdf. The other thing you should check before deciding on an office at home is local zoning. Most places won’t have a problem with a home-based business that adds only a few cars a day to the automobile load on your street. Most will, however, prohibit you from posting a sign in your front yard, which is okay anyway, as you will not want local would-be authors peering through your windows, manuscript in hand. To find out the rules in your area, look up “zoning” or “planning” on your municipal website. In addition to any legalities, working from home requires some planning with family members. Set regular office hours that you will insist on, both for your own focus and to keep family members from intruding when you need to work. It will be tempting for the family to interrupt you. So make it clear you are at work unless it’s an emergency. (The garage on fire is an emergency; needing to know where the cookies are is not.) Office Space While a home office works well for many small-scale independent publishers, others prefer to rent a separate space. If you find it challenging to stay motivated, or tend to get easily distracted when you’re at home, an office may be just what you need to help you focus on business. A separate space also creates a better impression if you plan to have people visit you. If you want a place to meet with authors Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 103 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher and agents, or work with employees, you might want to consider getting an office outside your home. If you decide to rent space, start by determining what your requirements are. Look for a place that is convenient to get to from your home, and that gives you quick access to any services you may need. You can use the checklist below as a starting point. If you want the appearance of a professional office space, but cost is an issue, consider shared office space in a business center or executive suite. These facilities are typically furnished offices that provide you with receptionist and mail services. They may also offer photocopiers, printers, Internet access, and conference rooms that you can use for client meetings. Do a Google search for your city and “office space”, “shared office space”, “business center” or “executive suite”. Coworking Space Another trend that has been gaining in popularity over the last few years as the number of telecommuters and freelancers in the workforce continue to grow is a concept called “coworking”. Similar to a business center or executive suite in that the facilities and conference rooms are shared, coworking arrangements typically place a greater emphasis on community, support, sustainability, and collaboration. Coworking spaces have traditionally been popular among those in creative industries, though in recent years have expanded their reach and appeal. The goal of coworking is not only shared costs, but also providing motivation, accountability, a team environment, and avoiding the isolation that can come with working alone at home or even in a rented executive suite. Many of these spaces offer a range of prices, from several hundred dollars for a permanent desk, locking cabinet drawer, and unlimited access, to the flexibility of shared desks and “drop-in” rates of $10 to $20 a day. The following Mother Jones article, “Practical Values: Works Well With Others,” offers some additional insights into the concept of coworking: http://motherjones.com/politics/2008/01/ practical-values-works-well-others. Check out these sites for more information on finding a coworking space near you: http://wiki.coworking.org 104 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher http://coworking.com https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/coworking Office Space Checklist Will this be an easy commute for me? (You don’t want to have to battle traffic to and from work every day if you can avoid it.) Is the neighborhood or district safe? (You want to feel comfortable in your office.) Is the parking area lit well? (Drive by at night and look at the lighting. You don’t want to have to walk to your car in the dark.) Is the parking convenient for my me and anyone else who will be visiting the office, such as authors or employees? (A long hike may seem like a good idea in the nice weather, but you may feel differently later.) Is there space for growth? (You don’t want to have to move to a bigger office next year.) Can I afford it? (You’ll want to read your lease agreement carefully, and crunch some numbers in your budget before you agree.) 3.7 Legal Matters 3.7.1 Your Business Legal Structure Your business structure affects the cost of starting your business, your taxes, and your responsibility for any debts the business incurs. This section will highlight the several different legal forms a business can have. There are four basic structures: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation (including the S corporation), and limited liability company (LLC). Sole Proprietorship If you want to run the business yourself, without incorporating, your business will be known as a “sole proprietorship.” This is the least expensive way to start a business. It is also the easiest because Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 105 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher it requires less paperwork and you can report your business income on your personal tax return. All you need to do is apply for an occupational business license in the area where your business will be located. Usually, the license doesn’t take long to be processed and you can begin operations fairly quickly. If you’re running the business by yourself, your social security number can serve as your taxpayer identification number. If you have employees, you’ll need to request a taxpayer identification number from the Internal Revenue Service. A sole proprietorship means that you have almost total control of the business and all the profits. The only drawback to this type of business is that you are personally liable for any debts of the business. Advantages • Easy to start • Low start-up costs • Flexible and informal • Business losses can often be deducted from personal income for tax purposes. Disadvantages • Unlimited personal liability: the sole proprietor can be held personally responsible for debts and judgments placed against the business. This means that all personal income and assets, not just those of the business, can be seized to recoup losses or pay damages. • All business income earned must be reported and is taxed as personal income. • More difficult to raise capital for the business • Sole proprietorships are extremely common and popular among small business owners — mostly because they are easy and cheap to start with the least amount of paperwork. 106 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Partnership If you want to go into business with someone else, the easiest and least expensive way to do this is by forming a partnership. Legally, you would both be responsible for any debts of the company and you would enter into something called a partnership agreement. There are two types of partnerships: general partnerships and limited partnerships. A general partnership is when two or more people get together and start a business. They agree on the conduction of the business and how the profits, risks, liabilities and losses will be distributed between them. TIP: Partnerships don’t have to be divided equally between all partners. However, all partners must agree on how the profit, risk, liability and loss will be divided. A limited partnership is when one or more partners invest in the business, but are not involved in the everyday operations. Limited partners are investors — partners — but they have limited say in the hands-on operations. Partnerships usually have more financial clout than sole proprietorships — a definite advantage — simply because they have more in the way of assets than a single person. Another advantage to a partnership is, in an ideal situation, you and your partner will balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, many businesses have gone bad because of an ill fitted partnership. You must register your partnership with a corporate registry. This does not mean that you must incorporate, only that you are making a formal declaration of entering into business with another person or persons. Be sure to consult your local business registry and a lawyer specializing in business registry. The primary purpose for doing this is for each partner to protect himself or herself concerning issues such as sharing profits, liability and dissolving the partnership equitably. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 107 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Working with a Partner Beyond any legal issues, before going into business with a partner you should spend many hours talking about how you will work together, including: • What each of you will be responsible for. • How you will make decisions on a day-to-day basis. • What percentage of the business each of you will own. • How you see the business developing in the future. • What you expect from each other. During your discussions you can learn if there are any areas where you need to compromise. You can avoid future misunderstandings by putting the points you have agreed on into your written partnership agreement that covers any possibility you can think of (including if one of you leaves the business in the future). Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages to partnerships: Advantages • More initial equity for start-up costs • Broader areas of expertise can lead to increased opportunities • Lower start-up costs than incorporation • Some tax advantages Disadvantages • All partners are equally liable for the other’s mistakes with the same liability as a sole proprietorship. • Profits and losses must be shared. 108 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • The business must be dissolved and reorganized when a partner leaves. Corporation Whether you are working alone or with partners, if you want a more formal legal structure for your business, you can incorporate. Incorporation can protect you from personal liability and may make your business appear more professional. Incorporation of a business means that a separate, legal corporate entity has been created for the purpose of conducting business. Like an individual, corporations can be taxed, sued, can enter contractual agreements and are liable for their debts. Corporations are characterized by shareholders, a board of directors and various company officers. As such, ownership interests can be freely transferred. Creating a corporation requires filing of numerous documents to legalize your publishing business, as well as formally naming a president, shareholders, and director(s), all of whom can be a single person as set out in the company charter. As the rules and forms required for incorporation vary from state to state and province to province, it’s best to consult your local business licensing office or a local lawyer specializing in incorporation. While it is probably best to seek legal expertise when incorporating, if you have the expertise and knowledge, you can incorporate your own business or use one of the many online resources that specialize in these matters. Here are a few websites offering such services, often for only a couple of hundred dollars: • BizFilings www.bizfilings.com • The Company Corporation www.incorporate.com • MyCorporation www.mycorporation.com • Form-a-Corp, Inc. www.form-a-corp.com Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 109 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Here is a list of some of the advantages and disadvantages to incorporating your business. Advantages • Protect personal assets and income from liability by separating your business income and assets from your personal. • Corporations get greater tax breaks and incentives. • Ownership can be sold or transferred if the owner wishes to retire or leave the business. • Banks and other lending institutions tend to have more faith in incorporated businesses so raising capital is easier. Disadvantages • Increased start-up costs • Substantial increase in paperwork • Your business losses cannot be offset against your personal income • Corporations are more closely regulated S Corporation The IRS offers a provision, called an S corporation, where a corporation can be taxed as a sole proprietorship. An S Corporation is similar to the corporation in most ways, but with some tax advantages. The corporation can pass its earnings and profits on as dividends to the shareholder(s). However, as an employee of the corporation you do have to pay yourself a wage that meets the government’s reasonable standards of compensation just as if you were paying someone else to do your job. Unless you want to wind up paying both a personal income tax and a business tax, you will probably want to create an S corporation. This saves you money because you are taxed at an individual rate instead of a corporate rate. 110 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Limited Liability Company A Limited Liability Company, or LLC, is a relatively new type of business legal structure in the U.S. It is a combination of a partnership and a corporation, and is considered to have some of the best attributes of both, including limited personal liability. A limited liability company is legally separate from the person or persons who own it and offers some protections that a partnership does not. Partners in a limited liability company get the same personal financial protection as those in a corporation. The LLC business structure gives you the benefits of a partnership or S corporation while providing personal asset protection like a corporation. Similar to incorporating, there will be substantial paperwork involved in establishing this business structure. LLCs have flexible tax options, but are usually taxed like a partnership. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of LLCs: Advantages • Limited liability similar to a corporation • Tax advantages similar to a corporation • Can be started with one (except in Massachusetts) or more members like a sole proprietorship or partnership Disadvantages • More costly to start than a sole proprietorship or partnership • Consensus among members may become an issue • LLC dissolves if any member leaves Regulations regarding limited liability companies vary from area to area. Make sure you do your homework if this interests you. In the end, choosing a business legal structure for your company is a personal choice, and the advantages and disadvantages should be considered thoroughly. Many small business owners begin their Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 111 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher independent venture as a sole proprietorship because of the low costs, and incorporate as the business grows and becomes larger and more complex. For more information about business structures take a look at the resources available at FindLaw.com. The direct link is http:// smallbusiness.findlaw.com/incorporation-and-legal-structures. For some additional government resources to help you decide which structure to choose in the U.S., try the Small Business Administration. Visit www.sba.gov/starting-business/choose-yourbusiness-structure. In Canada, visit the Canada Business site at http://canadabusiness.ca/starting/before-starting-your-business/ corporation-partnership-or-sole-proprietorship. 3.7.2 Business Licenses Regardless of what form of legal structure you choose for your business, you’ll need to obtain business licenses. This is not a difficult task. All it normally entails is filling out some forms and paying an annual license fee. Contact your city or county clerk’s office for more information about registering your business. Additional information and contact details can be found through the website of your local city hall or county clerk, or at sites such as sba.gov/business-guide/launchyour-business/apply-licenses-permits. There may also be a number of other permits and licenses you will need: • EIN (Employer Identification Number ) from the IRS or a BN (Business Number ) in Canada. All businesses that have employees need a federal identification number with which to report employee tax withholding information. • Your city hall should be able to tell you if you need a special license to work from home (may be known as a home occupation license) and, if so, where to get it. In many communities, to obtain a license to work at home you will need to fill out a form, provide your business name and phone number, and give some details about the nature of your business. Most questions on the form are designed to detect and deter people who will be a nuisance or a risk to their neighbors, and may not apply to you. 112 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher If you will be selling books directly to customers, retail businesses that collect sales tax must be registered with their state’s Department of Revenue and get a state identification number. To find your state’s revenue agency, visit the Internal Revenue Service’s webpage at www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/StateLinks-1. Once you’ve reached your state’s revenue agency website, look for a “Businesses” or “Small Business” link and then a “Sales or Other Use Taxes” link (or something similar). Some websites also provide an obvious “Sales Tax Exemptions” link or something similar. Also, the Tax Foundation provides information on a state-by-state basis for personal, sales and other taxes at www.taxfoundation.org. In Canada, the process is a bit different. Canadian provinces (with the exception of Alberta) have a provincial sales tax (PST) that must be collected along with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by retailers when customers make purchases. Several provinces have a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), which is a blended sales tax including both PST and GST. In most provinces, retailers must pay the GST on wholesale purchases and then these amounts are subtracted from GST payments made to the federal government. In provinces with a sales tax separate from the GST, you will need to apply for a purchase exemption certificate and a PST registration number. You will have to provide them with your business ID number (obtained when you apply to the Canada Revenue Agency to collect GST) and they will send you the certificate. In provinces with the blended HST, you will pay the HST on all goods you purchase for your business, just as retailers in other provinces pay the GST on wholesale purchases. To learn more, visit your province’s revenue ministry website. In Canada, consult the Canada Business Network pages found at http://canadabusiness.ca/government/taxes-gst-hst. In Canada, business licenses are issued at the municipal level so check with your local municipality for help with acquiring a business license. For a province-by-province list of Canadian municipalities and their websites, visit the BizPal website at www.bizpal.ca/part_partners. shtml. Many municipalities offer business license applications right on their websites. For information about licensing and regulations for businesses in Canada, check out the “Permits and Licenses” page at the Canadian Government’s Canada Business Services for Entrepreneurs site at http://canadabusiness.ca/government/permits-and-licences. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 113 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 3.7.3 Taxes If you are properly informed and prepared you won’t have to face your tax responsibility with a feeling of dread. In fact, once you are organized and you have enlisted the help of a good tax professional, taxes become just another regular business task. Get Informed First The best thing you can do to be sure of your personal and business tax obligations is to find the information you need before you start your new business. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a number of informative documents online that you can look at today to learn the basics about everything you need to prepare for your taxes as a small business owner. If you read these documents and understand them, you will have no surprises at tax time. One helpful document is the Tax Guide for Small Business that outlines your rights and responsibilities as a small business owner. It tells you how to file your taxes, and provides an overview of the tax system for small businesses. You can find this document at www.irs.gov/pub/irspdf/p334.pdf. For more general information for small business owners from the IRS visit their website at www.irs.gov/businesses/smallbusinesses-self-employed. For Canadian residents, the Canada Revenue Agency also provides basic tax information for new business owners. This includes information about the GST, how to file your taxes, allowable expenses and so on. You can find this information and more helpful documents at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/menu-eng.html. It is also important to be informed about your tax obligations on a state and local level. Tax laws and requirements vary on a state-by-state basis and locally, too. Make sure that you find out exactly what you are responsible for in your state and city. In addition, it is important to find out about sales tax in your area. The Tax Foundation provides information on a state-by-state basis for personal, sales and other taxes at www.taxfoundation.org. In Canada, consult the Canada Business Network pages found at http:// canadabusiness.ca/government/taxes-gst-hst. 114 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Getting Assistance If you decide you would prefer a qualified tax professional to help you handle your taxes, you will find you are in good company. Many small business owners decide to have a professional handle their taxes. An accountant can point out deductions you might otherwise miss and save you a lot of money. Once you’ve determined what your accounting needs are you may be able to find a professional accountant at the Accountant Finder website (www.accountant-finder.com). This site offers a clickable map of the United States with links to accountants in cities across the country. Alternatively, the Internet is a good place to find listings for accountants in your area. You will also need to understand payroll taxes if you plan on hiring employees. Each new employee needs to fill out paperwork prior to their first pay check being issued. In the U.S. this will be a W-4 and an I-9 form. In Canada, the employee will have to complete a T-4 and fill out a Canada Pension form. Both the W-4 and the T-4 are legal documents verifying the tax deductions a new employee has. The amount of tax you will withhold as an employer varies and is based on the required deductions an employee has as specified by the federal government. Make sure you retain the forms in a folder labeled with their name and store them in a readily accessible place such as a filing cabinet in your office. Check with your state or province’s labor office to make sure you are clear about all the forms employees must fill out in order to work for you. The sites below give more information on legal paperwork, including where to get blank copies of the forms your employees will need to fill out. • IRS – Employment Tax Forms www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/ Employment-Tax-Forms • Canada Revenue Agency www.cra-arc.gc.ca/forms Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 115 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 3.7.4 Insurance Insurance can help protect the investment you make in your company from unforeseen circumstances or disaster. Types of insurance for a retail business include: Property Insurance Property insurance protects the contents of your business (e.g. your computer, your book inventory, etc.) in case of fire, theft, or other losses. If you lease space, you may need property insurance only on your own merchandise and equipment if the owner of the building has insurance on the property. Publisher’s Liability Insurance General liability insurance (also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance) protects a small business owner against loss if you are sued for alleged negligence. It could pay judgments against you (up to the policy limits) along with any legal fees you incur defending yourself. While this type of all-purpose protection can be valuable for any type of small business, in publishing there are additional potential legal hazards (for both publishers and authors) that may require a more specialized “media perils policy”. Publisher’s liability insurance typically includes protection against law suits relating to issues such as libel, slander, and copyright infringement. Others may include personal injury protection (for example, if someone injures themselves upon following advice offered in a “how-to” book you have written or published), and protection for publishers handling unsolicited material submitted to them by authors. Specifics of coverage and cost vary widely among policies and should be based on your individual situation, including the level of risk assessed to the type of material you’re planning to publish. Be sure to seek expert legal advice to determine your company’s needs. Several of the professional associations mentioned in chapter 2 provide discounts on publisher’s liability insurance for members, so these organizations are an excellent resource. Attorney Ivan Hoffman also offers a more detailed summary of publisher’s liability insurance 116 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher protection here: www.ivanhoffman.com/insurance.html, and Lloyd J. Jassin and Stephen C. Schecter’s book, The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook, is an invaluable legal resource for all small publishers and authors. TIP: For some small businesses, getting a Business Owner’s policy is a good place to start. These policies are designed for small business owners with under one hundred employees and revenue of under one million dollars. These policies combine liability and property insurance together. Small business owners like these policies because of their convenience and affordable premiums. You can find out more about these policies at the Insurance Information Institute (www.iii.org/commerciallines/whatitdoes/types). Car Insurance Be sure to ask your broker about your auto insurance if you’ll be using your personal vehicle on company business. Business Interruption Insurance This insurance covers your bills while you are out of operation for a covered loss, such as a fire. This type of insurance covers ongoing expenses such as rent or taxes until your business is running again. Life and Disability Insurance If you provide a portion of your family’s income, consider life insurance and disability insurance to make certain they are cared for if something happens to you. If you become sick or otherwise disabled for an extended period, your business could be in jeopardy. Disability insurance would provide at least a portion of your income while you’re not able to be working. Health Insurance If you live in the United States, will not be maintaining another job that provides coverage, and aren’t covered under a spouse or domestic partner’s health plan, you’ll need to consider your health insurance Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 117 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher options. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 established (www.healthcare.gov) as your primary resource to obtain affordable health insurance. Canadians have most of their health care expenses covered by the Canadian government. For expenses that are not covered (such as dental care, eyeglasses, prescription drugs, etc.), self-employed professionals may get tax benefits from setting up their own private health care plan. Direct Reimbursement Associates (www.draltd.com) is an example of the type of financial planning company that can help you set up your own private health care plan. Notice that IAP Career College does not recommend a specific vendor for your insurance needs. As always, do your own research before making the choice which is right for you. Association Member Policies Some insurance companies offer discount pricing for members of particular organizations. When you are looking for organizations to join, whether your local Chamber of Commerce or a national association, check to see if discounted health insurance is one of the member benefits. Workers’ Compensation Insurance Most states and all provinces require that small business owners who hire others carry workers’ compensation insurance. For more about these obligations in the U.S., visit the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs website at www.dol.gov/owcp. The link for state by state information about employer obligations is “State Workers’ Compensation Laws.” In Canada, visit the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada at http://awcbc.org for more information. More Information There are other types of insurance and different levels of coverage available for each type. An insurance broker (check online) can advise you of your options and shop around for the best rates for you. You may 118 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher also want to check out the National Association for the Self-Employed (www.nase.org) which offers reasonably priced insurance plans for self-employed people. The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association has an information page on home-based business insurance at www.rmiia.org/business/home_business_insurance.asp. And the SBA offers a section on business insurance at www.sba.gov/managingbusiness/running-business/insurance. In Canada, visit the Insurance Bureau of Canada at www.ibc.ca/on/business. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 119 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 4. The Publication Process “Don’t cut corners. I suggest, if you have limited funds, you do whatever it takes to put a good product out, including a quality edit, a great cover, and a layout that is easy to read. If that means delaying the launch, it’s worth it to do that. Get a day job to earn the extra money, if you must, but don’t cut corners. It will only come back to bite you.” – David Hooper, MusicMarketing.com Your market research is done, you have your financing, the legal issues have been dealt with, and all the licenses are in place. You’re ready to write your book or begin the process of searching for and reviewing manuscripts for publication. In this chapter, we’ll look at the various aspects of putting it all together, from working with literary agents and hiring freelance editorial or design help through choosing a printing method. 120 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Developing a Publication Timeline While it can feel overwhelming to think too far ahead in the process, it is important to have an overview of what’s involved in the unique enterprise of producing a book from start to finish. There are many intricacies and acronyms that can be confusing and many puzzle pieces you must have in place before your book is even printed, so planning ahead is key. This will help you to make smart decisions as you set up your business structure and operations. Sam Hendricks, self-publisher of multiple successful books aimed at the fantasy sports enthusiast offers this caveat: “One of the biggest challenges facing a new publisher is making a publishing deadline. Deciding to publish on October 1 so it will be out in force by Christmas is a great idea, but it is another thing to do it. Before you start the publishing process, make a checklist with events to be accomplished and the desired date. Make sure you understand the entire process and plan for adequate slop time so that when the editing is not returned on time it does not stall the entire project.” — Sam Hendricks, Publisher, Extra Point Press A publishing timeline can be a great tool to help give you some perspective. SPAWN, one of the professional associations for independent publishers mentioned in Chapter 2, provides this helpful timeline, which you can adapt for your own use: http:// spawn.org/publishing-your-own-book-a-timeline. Keep in mind that your exact steps and timeframe may vary somewhat from this basic model based on the type of book you’re writing, or if you’re soliciting material to publish from authors other than you, and how long the writing process takes. It may also be impacted by the publication method you choose (for example, if you choose to use a POD printer rather than producing an offset print run up front , or if you’re producing only e-books with no print component). Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 121 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 4.1 Finding and Developing Material for Publication “Pick projects that speak to you – in other words, trust your gut. The worst thing is taking on a book project because you’re hungry, then realizing it isn’t the right fit.” — Kimberley Debus, Mélange Press Understanding the practical aspects of running a book publishing business is important, but in order to be successful you have to start with great content. Finding (or writing) a manuscript that suits your company’s niche and mission and is marketable can take a little (or a lot!) of work, but once you have a clean, edited manuscript in hand, the thrill of publishing your own books will be that much closer! 4.1.1 Writing Your Own Books In addition to the joy of seeing your own work in print, publishing books you have written benefits a new publisher by helping to keep start-up costs low. It also eliminates the need to deal with the complexities of author contracts and royalties, all of which require more extensive legal advice and a more structured accounting system. The process of writing a book may seem daunting and time consuming, and it can be – make sure you have a reasonable assessment of how fast a writer you are and budget enough time for the research and writing process. But another benefit of being the author in addition to the publisher is that you maintain complete control over your schedule and can link your editorial and marketing calendars. Deadlines in the publishing industry can be notoriously “flexible” and you may find your marketing plan for the holiday season out the window if an outside author needs more time than expected to deliver a finished, publishable manuscript. We have already covered the subject of choosing a niche and conducting market research in chapter 3, as well as the challenges of publishing fiction versus nonfiction. Reviewing these sections should help give you some insight into choosing your first book topic. 122 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher It is beyond the scope of this guide to teach you the details of how to write a book. The methods that work well for one writer won’t necessarily work at all for another, and what makes a book “good” is at least in part a matter of personal taste. Getting feedback from your editor will help you enormously in terms of content and organization by giving you a fresh perspective on your work. Hiring a good proofreader will help ensure your manuscript is grammatically and typographically error-free. You’ll learn more about working with freelance editors and proofreaders in section 4.2.2. We’ll focus here on a few general questions you can ask yourself as you begin your writing journey, be it a fiction or nonfiction title, to help keep you on track: • Is the topic you have chosen for your book compelling enough to hold a reader’s attention (not to mention yours) for several hundred pages? • Does your book’s topic potentially lend itself to developing into a series? It doesn’t have to, but start thinking about this possibility. • Is the book’s tone and language consistent with your target market? For example, if it’s a children’s book, does it use gradelevel appropriate language? Does your subject matter lend itself to a conversational style, or something more academic or formal? • Does the language avoid scientific jargon, slang, or popular culture references that could make the material seem dated by the time it hits the shelves or soon thereafter? • If the book is meant to be educational, does it contain a balance of facts with personal “human interest” anecdotes to illustrate by example? • Is the subject matter dry or does it have an emotional or inspiring component to it? On the flip side, if it is extremely personal or emotional to you, how will you feel about others reading it or being interviewed about it? • If the book contains humor, is it the type of humor that will appeal to your niche and translate cross-culturally (especially if you’re planning to try to sell international rights)? Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 123 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Is the content well-organized and will the order of presentation make logical sense to a reader who knows nothing about the topic? • For mainstream fiction, is the book well-paced and does it have a clear narrative including conflict and resolution? • For nonfiction, have you checked and double-checked all your facts and quotes to ensure they’re accurate and obtained any necessary permissions? There are plenty of excellent resources out there for those interested in honing their writing, research, or interviewing skills, or learning about subjects such as plotting, pacing, and character development. You will find several excellent web sites and books recommended in the Resources for Self-Study section of this guide in chapter 2, as well as tips on where and how to find formal educational programs. In addition to online communities, it can also be useful to join a local in-person writers group, where you’ll generally find a supportive atmosphere for discussion and feedback on your work, and help staying accountable for deadlines. Check out www.meetup.com to find (or start) a group near you. Simply type in “writers” or “writing” and your zip code to search for one. And if you’ve got a great idea for a book, and the expertise in the field, but lack the writing ability, you might also consider hiring a ghostwriter or a collaborator. We’ll discuss this further in the next section on work for hire arrangements. 4.1.2 Working with Authors and Literary Agents “Certainly the passion to create books that communicate a message that resonates with readers, diplomacy and the ability to create fair and legal contracts are necessary if a publisher is to work with outside authors.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, IBPA, and Publisher, Patria Press There is considerably more planning and negotiating involved when it comes to working with outside authors. “A manuscript acquisition strategy is necessary along with an adequate planning horizon, as outside authors may require more time to deliver a finished product,” warns Kichler, an Indiana-based publisher who was recently named 124 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher among the Top 50 women in book publishing by Book Business Magazine. If you’re interested in publishing the original work of other authors, you’ll find no shortage of writers hungry to see their work in print. But finding a manuscript that meets your publishing needs is just the beginning. After you’ve crunched the numbers regarding the book’s production costs and potential profit (this is called a ‘title profit and loss statement’, or more commonly a ‘Title P & L’ for short – more on what goes into this in section 5.4.2) and determined it’s a good fit for your list, consider the human factor. As a beginning book publisher with a small list, it’s equally important, and challenging, to choose work by an author you feel comfortable working with and promoting. Finding Marketable Authors “When working with authors, first and foremost, whether fiction or non-fiction, I seek quality manuscripts. I want excellent research, excellent use of writing skills, interesting topics, a writer who takes suggestions for improvement as constructive criticism, and especially a marketing plan.” — Leland F. Raymond, Publisher, CyPress Publications In addition to seeking material about which you feel passionate, remember that the author is also one of your best marketing tools. What credentials, contacts, and insider knowledge do they have that may help you to market and sell their book? Are they well-spoken and professional? Do they already have an author website? If so, what kind of traffic are they generating? Are they outgoing in a crowd of people they don’t know? None of these things are prerequisites for a successful book, but these traits can help the author promote themselves and their books through interviews or in-person promotional appearances. And, it’s helpful to know your authors’ areas of strength and weakness so your marketing campaign can play to their strengths. For example, a more introverted author may freeze up at a crowded book signing or public presentation, but may be fantastic with a one-on-one radio or print interview or writing a blog. See chapter 6 for advice from a publishing PR and marketing pro on how to prepare your authors for the media. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 125 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Publisher Linda Radke of Five Star Publishing, named “Book Marketer of the Year” in 2006 by Book Publicists of Southern California, also suggests looking for authors with a “built-in market” who regularly hold seminars or give presentations and workshops in their field. “They need thousands of books each year,” says Radke. While they may not be experienced authors, they already have a following and perceived expertise in their field, which goes a long way with readers. Submission Guidelines “I’ve found that authors who belong to writers’ organizations and/or critique groups submit the best manuscripts. Generally, they’ve spent time learning the business and what’s required of them as authors, and that makes them easier to work with.” — Leland F. Raymond, CyPress Publications One of the first decisions you’ll need to make before you begin soliciting material is whether you will request an initial query letter and sample chapters or outline from prospective authors, or whether you want to accept complete unsolicited manuscripts. Many publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts due to the volume of reading this would create, as well as the potential legal liabilities involved in having possession of someone’s creative work without benefit of a legal contract protecting both parties. If you do decide to accept unsolicited manuscripts, be prepared to see it all – sure, you may find a diamond in the rough, but you might also be surprised at the work some new writers will consider professional quality. Instead you may choose to request any or all of the following from the author in order to make an informed decision about the potential of a manuscript for publication by your company: • Query letter describing the project and intended audience • Author bio including any expertise that qualifies them to write the book and a list of previous publishing credits • Sample chapters and outline • List of competitive book titles and how theirs differs 126 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Book proposal (typically only acceptable from authors with a track record of completed books, not a first time author) • Marketing plan, including any endorsements from prominent individuals Be sure to specify the type of material you’re looking for (and not looking for!) and indicate a word count range if you choose to review complete manuscripts. Your manuscript submission guidelines can be posted on your website, LinkedIn writers groups, and advertised in the various print and online databases for writers. One of the best places to list your request for manuscripts is Writer’s Market, a respected online (www.writersmarket.com) and print reference widely used by writers seeking outlets for their material. Per www.writersmarket.com/Faqs. aspx: “I’m a publisher and my company is not listed. How do I get listed in WritersMarket.com? Contact our editorial department and we’ll send the appropriate form to add a listing. Please include your mailing address in your message,” you should visit www.writersmarket.com/ContactUs.aspx. Work-for-Hire Another option, which allows you to retain more control of your content as well as all of the rights attached, is to commission a writer to author a book. This is a particularly good option if you have a specific idea for a book topic, but don’t have the writing or research abilities to do it justice, or would rather spend your time on other tasks like marketing. You can hire a freelance writer with expertise in the area of your book topic and pay them a flat fee to complete a project to your specifications. There are several pluses to work-for-hire arrangements. First, it simplifies the contractual negotiations and makes your author expenses more predictable since you will not have to pay royalties on sales. The author is paid the same flat rate upon completion of the assignment and fulfillment of the terms of your contract no matter what the book sales are. Second, it allows you to generate books of whatever nature you choose rather than waiting for the right manuscript to come along. Of course this arrangement may work to your advantage or disadvantage depending on how well the book sells. If it does well, you don’t have to share the profits with the author. If it doesn’t perform as Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 127 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher well as you’ve predicted, however, you will be out whatever amount you’ve paid the author up front. Another potential issue is that many experienced writers are not willing to accept a flat fee arrangement because it’s typically more favorable to the publisher than the author. However, you’ll find many less experienced writers looking to build their credentials – perhaps even experts in the topic of your book – who will gladly accept a work-for-hire agreement to gain writing experience and publication credits. Ghostwriters and Collaborators As a subcategory of work-for-hire agreements, if you have a personal story to tell but lack the writing ability, you can hire a professional ghostwriter to give voice to your story. In most cases ghostwriters maintain anonymity while you are credited as the writer. In other instances, an “as told to” or “written in collaboration with” credit may be given, but you own the copyright to the work. Ghostwriters usually have considerable writing and publishing experience and you should look for someone with knowledge of or credentials in your subject area, as well as excellent interviewing skills, and strong references. The cost will vary depending on the writer’s level of experience and the scope of your project. You can begin your search for a ghostwriter or collaborator through the Editorial Freelancers Association member database (www.the-efa.org/ dir/search.php). Other organizations to consider contacting include the ghostwriters collective Ghostwriters Ink (www.ghostwriters-ink.com), and Independent Editors Group (IEG), which consists largely of editors with extensive backgrounds at the major publishing houses who take on freelance projects, including ghostwriting and collaboration (www. bookdocs.com). Literary Agents “The role of the literary agent has changed. Agents do need to act more as a surrogate to the houses in terms of assisting their clients to outline the market and promotional “platform”. And the best relationship that an editor will have with their authors is one that can be firmly focused on the content and creativity of the project, while the agent manages all the business aspects of the work.” — 128 • Roger S. Williams, Literary Agent, Publish or Perish Agency iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher If you are running a solo operation and don’t have the time to invest in wading through unsolicited submissions, one option is to develop a relationship with one or more literary agents. A good literary agent typically makes it their business to know exactly the type of material each publisher is looking for and will have done the initial prescreening process for you. You can generally expect the quality of a proposal or manuscript to be higher when coming from an agent. An agent will generally expect to see some sort of track record before they’ll begin sending material your way -- most experts agreed that you should have published at least a few books before approaching them. However, you needn’t be Simon & Schuster to get a literary agent’s attention. On the contrary, many agents are willing to work with a small independent company that can offer personal attention to their authors, even if you don’t have a big budget to work with. A niche publisher may also prove to be a better fit for a very specialized title. Working with an agent also ensures that you are dealing with someone who is knowledgeable about the business of publishing. They can serve as a buffer between you and the author, ensuring smoother contract negotiations and managing author expectations. There is a downside to working with agents, however – the main concern for many publishers being that there is no industry regulation. Anyone can hang out their shingle and call themselves an agent, and there are many stories of unscrupulous agents taking advantage of unsuspecting writers and charging fees for their services. If you are interested in finding potential agents to work with, you can begin by searching the free database available online at AgentQuery, which allows you to search by genre, as well as by keyword: www. agentquery.com. This website also offers a list of tips on how to avoid scammers – just as important for the publishers dealing with the agent as for the writer since you want to protect your reputation. Looking for membership in the Association of Authors’ Representatives is a good start, but not a guarantee. Remember, a legitimate agent always earns their money through sales commissions (15% is standard), not by charging writers fees. You can also find a list of agents in the current edition of Literary Marketplace, available in the reference section at most public libraries. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 129 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher For more information on finding and working with a literary agent, check out: • www.writersmarket.com/cms/open/agent • www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary- agents/11-steps-to-finding-the-agent-wholl-love-your-book • www.sfwa.org/real • www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2013/10/29/thinking-of- writing-a-book-heres-what-you-need-to-know-3 • www.edwardsbrothersmalloy.com/blog/top-sites-find-literary- agent 4.1.3 Previously Published Work Another potential source of material for new publishers who do not wish to write or purchase original material, is to seek reprint rights to a previously published but out of print title, or to purchase English language rights to a title from a foreign publisher. Among the benefits of both of these methods is that the books may already have a builtin following among readers who remember the original edition, or are familiar with the non-English language version. You’ll also have some idea of how the book performed originally and how it may have been marketed. Another benefit to this approach is that the book has already been edited and formatted, which saves you the added time and expense. Finding Copyright Owners and Public Domain Material Once a book goes out of print, the rights usually revert back to the author or their heirs, and in most cases these folks are happy to cooperate when a new publisher shows interest in getting their work back on the shelves. You’ll likely be able to negotiate a good deal, though it may take some Nancy Drew work on your part to track down the correct parties. Seeking permissions can be a time-consuming prospect. If you’re not sure who owns a particular copyright, a good place to begin your search is http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon. cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First. You can learn more in Lee Wilson’s book 130 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Fair Use, Free Use, and Use by Permission: How to Handle Copyrights in All Media. Speaking of Nancy Drew, sometimes looking to the books you loved as a child can be an inspiration as you begin your publishing journey. One of our experts, Florrie Binford Kichler, took her childhood love of a particular series of books a bit further. Kichler is not only the president of the Independent Book Publishers Association, but also founder of a successful company called Patria Press (www.patriapress.com), publisher of the Young Patriot Series. The books, which portray the childhood adventures of famous Americans throughout history, are reprints of a previously out of print series, originally published beginning in 1932. In an interview with AbsoluteWrite.com, Kichler recalled poring through these as a young child, beginning with the story of a young Amelia Earhart, while recovering from an extended illness. After a great deal of research, including calling librarians in the original authors’ hometowns to try to track down the rights to some of the books, Kichler was able to reprint many of the books from this series, which fits clearly with her publishing mission. Read the inspiring interview about her journey here: www.thereadingtub.com/displayAuthor.php?id=43. Another option, which eliminates the involvement of the author and need to pay royalties altogether, is to choose to reprint a title with rights that have fallen into the public domain (that is, available to anyone as all the copyrights have expired). The drawback here is you’ll likely be competing with at least several other versions of the same work, including many free versions, so you’ll need to do something to make yours stand out (e.g. new illustrations, an introduction written by someone well-known, or even a change in the book’s title). Even so, you may have difficulty getting booksellers to take notice if you choose to go this route, so be sure it’s a title or series of titles you have a real passion for and ability to market, and that it is not just a seemingly expedient means to an end. Once you’ve determined copyright ownership, there are many websites where you can search for and obtain copies of out of print titles, including www.bookfinder.com. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 131 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Translations Translations are English language versions of books already published in another country and another language (or conversely, you may attempt to sell your original English language works to a foreign publisher as well; see section 4.1.5 on subsidiary rights). Once you’ve purchased the English language rights to a title from the original publisher, you can hire a professional to translate the work and then publish it yourself. Expect to pay a writer upwards of $100 per thousand words, however, for their translation work, which can get pricey for lengthier books. While most translations remain a difficult sell and don’t typically find a large audience in the U.S., there is a growing market -- consider the enormous recent international success of Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s trilogy, beginning with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, for example. New York Times bestseller, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery is another example of a popular translation, originally published in French. Amazon has noted the potential in this market and launched AmazonCrossing; see https://translation.amazon.com. This new publishing arm focuses on acquiring the rights to popular international works, hiring writers to translate them to English, and selling them through Amazon.com and third party independent booksellers. You can use Amazon’s international websites to research books that are popular with readers overseas (of course it helps here if you speak more than one language or know someone who does). You can find links to all of Amazon’s international sites here: www.amazon.com/gp/ entertainment/international. One of the biggest sources for finding non-English books is Injuliternational Literary Marketplace, a global directory of over 10,000 publishers worldwide with up to date profiles and contact information, available by subscription online at www.literarymarketplace.com. In addition, if you are planning on attending any of the international trade shows seeking to sell foreign rights to your own works, this provides an excellent opportunity to meet with publishers who may be looking to market their work in North America. Book fairs take place 132 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher all across the globe. Some of the major and up and coming international trade shows include: • Frankfurt International Book Fair www.book-fair.com/en • Bologna Children’s Book Fair www.bookfair.bolognafiere.it • Tokyo International Book Fair www.bookfair.jp/en • Hong Kong Book Fair www.hkbookfair.com/en/index.aspx • Beijing International Book Fair www.bibf.net • London Book Fair www.londonbookfair.co.uk BookExpo America, while located in the U.S., is also attended by all the major international publishers and is the largest of the trade shows. You can learn more about trade shows and how to make the most of them in chapter 6. For a searchable database of translators and tips on how to choose the right translator for your project, check out the American Translators Association website at www.atanet.org/onlinedirectories. Canadian authors can also visit the Literary Translators’ Association of Canada at www.attlc-ltac.org, which primarily focuses on French-English translations. Anthologies and ‘Blooks’ As another alternative to publishing an original manuscript, you may want to consider putting together an anthology of previously published material to create a new collection around a specific theme or subject – this might include short stories or nonfiction articles and essays published in magazines. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 133 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher One upside to publishing articles or stories that have appeared in another format is that they will already have gone through a review and editing process, so this can save you some time and expense. The drawback to this approach of course is the number of authors and contracts you’ll have to juggle simultaneously, unless you’re reprinting your own articles or stories. Once you’ve decided on the theme for your anthology, seek out articles or stories by experts in their field, preferably with an existing base of contacts and followers, and previous publishing credits (you can get a sense of this by reading the author bio that usually appears at the end of articles, or by Googling the author’s name). Contact the author to determine their interest, whether they’d like to expand on or edit the content, and negotiate the rights and terms. An anthology needn’t consist of reprinted articles – you can also solicit original articles or stories from authors, or use a combination of previously published and new material. There has also been a growing trend over the last few years toward publishing blog content in book form, sometimes called a “blook”. The Julie / Julia Project (http://juliepowell.blogspot.com) by Julie Powell, which of course became the popular film Julie & Julia in addition to a book; The Happiness Project (www.gretchenrubin.com) by Gretchen Rubin; and Frank Warren’s PostSecret (www.postsecret.com), are among the more successful blog to book ventures. Think about some of your favorite blogs – would publishing any of them in book form take them to another level or potentially appeal to a new audience? Does the blog or blogger already have a following or background that could help you build a successful marketing campaign? If you’re looking for material, consider dropping your favorite blogger an e-mail to discuss a collaboration. Keep in mind though, an endeavor like this usually requires some additional development and editorial work as writing for the web and writing a book are entirely different animals. 134 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 4.1.4 Contracts and Royalties When working with authors, you will also need to formalize your agreement regarding royalties, rights, and other issues. It is important to have a standard author contract in place that clearly spells out the terms of your relationship and stipulates the publication rights you are seeking (for example, will your agreement include electronic rights?). It is important to balance your needs and budget as publisher with fairness to your authors. Your reputation is important and word gets out quickly among writers (especially online) when authors feel they are being taken advantage of. Your standard contract will need to be modified on a case by case basis depending on the terms you and the author or their representative have agreed upon. Contract negotiations can be tedious, but it’s important to ensure that you and your authors are legally protected in all respects. When it comes to the terms of payment, it is always safest to underestimate profit and overestimate expenses. Consider carefully the financial terms you’re offering your authors and how this fits into your budget. For example, will you offer a flat fee (see the earlier section on work-for-hire arrangements)? Provide standard royalties? Or can you afford to offer an advance to attract a particular author you want to work with who may be in greater demand than someone who is unpublished? An advance is a sum of money paid to the author “in advance of royalties.” In other words, you’re assuming money earned from book sales will cover this payment, and then some. In an unpredictable market, however, this can potentially represent a large expense that may end up not being recovered. Many indie publishers do not provide an advance for this reason, particularly when working with untried writers. Royalties, on the other hand, are paid only on actual book sales, so as publisher you do not have to figure this into potential outof-pocket expenses. The majority of publishers pay royalties based on the net price of the books sold. This is the actual amount earned by the publisher once discounts and shipping costs are deducted. A smaller percentage of publishers (generally more established houses working with name Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 135 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher authors who have a strong track record) choose to offer royalties on the list price of the book (also known as the “retail price”). Author royalties typically range from 10% to 15% on a hardcover book. The range for trade paperbacks is about 6% to 10% of the net, with 7.5% being about average. Authors may earn anywhere from 1% to 10% royalty on a mass-market paperback, with 6% being about average. Royalties may increase (for example, from 6% to 7%) after a certain number of copies are sold. Remember, all of these percentages can be negotiated. In fact, everything in a contract is negotiable! If you’re dealing with a limited budget, be creative and think about what else you might offer that would be attractive to an author. Remember, while you may not have the budget to compete with a larger house, you can appeal to some authors and their agents by providing a more personalized “authorfriendly” experience, greater focus on the marketing of their work, and even keeping their works in print longer, which gives them a greater chance of increased royalty earnings. You can review a sample of a standard book publishing contract here: http://web.law.columbia.edu/keep-your-copyrights/contracts/ samples/11. A handy publishing contract checklist compiled by well-known publishing and entertainment attorney Lloyd J. Jassin can also be found on his website: www.copylaw.com/new_articles/ final.three.html. Additional information on publishing contracts can be found in Kirsch’s Handbook of Publishing Law (refer to the Resources for Self-Study section for details). All of these sources can help you put together a publishing contract. When it comes to your legal protection, however, do not cut corners to save money by using a generic template without seeking the advice of a professional -- be sure to have any legal documents reviewed by an attorney with knowledge of the publishing industry, and of your specific business requirements, to ensure the contract meets your individual needs and the laws of your particular state or province. 136 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 4.1.5 Subsidiary Rights In addition to the primary book publication rights, whether publishing your own work or that of another author, it is possible to generate additional income streams based on this same work through sales of subsidiary rights to third parties. This includes sales to other publishers or producers – basically anyone who wants to license your content in a new format. Subsidiary rights may vary, but generally are considered to e compass any area not covered by the initial book publication contract, such as: • Film and television rights • Merchandising rights • Audio book rights • Electronic rights • Translation rights • Mass-market paperback rights • Magazine serialization rights • Anthology rights • Book club rights • Performance rights Publishing attorney Lloyd L. Rich offers an excellent analysis of subsidiary rights on The Publishing Law Center website: www.publaw. com/article/subsidiary-rights-acquisition-licensing. When it comes to negotiating subsidiary rights, author and publisher David Hooper warns that an inexperienced publisher can easily get in over his or her head and suggests securing the services of a professional (an agent or an attorney). “As a new publisher, you may not know how much what you have is worth. We do a lot of content licensing and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll often settle for less than you could with a pro. For example, we just did a deal a couple of months ago with a Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 137 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher film company that wanted a small piece of our content in exchange for ‘promotion’ on the ‘extras’ part of the DVD release. Offers like this are common. That kind of promotion is nice, but you can’t deposit promotion in the bank, so I brought in a pro who ended up working a five-figure deal for it.” — David Hooper, MusicMarketing.com 4.2 Registering Your Material Once you have your manuscript, you’ll need to make sure it’s both legally protected and registered in all of the important databases so that booksellers can find it. You should actually begin this process while your book is in development by obtaining all the necessary forms so everything is completed as per your timeline. 4.2.1 ISBN Numbers All books are assigned a unique and internationally-recognized 13-digit identification number (prior to 2007 it was a 10-digit number) when published called an International Standard Book Number, commonly referred to as an ISBN. This number appears on the back book cover along with the barcode, and on the copyright page. The first 3 digits of the ISBN are called the EAN, or European Article Number, which is the product code. This is followed by the group identifier, which indicates the country and language of publication, the publisher prefix, the title identifier, and the check digit. Don’t worry -- you won’t need to remember all that! But it’s helpful to know that each of these numbers does have a meaning and together they ensure your book is properly identified in bookseller databases and easily cataloged for retrieval. The ISBN is also used by search engines to find your book. In the U.S., ISBN numbers are officially assigned by New Jersey-based R. R. Bowker, publisher of Books In Print, while in Canada the Canadian ISBN Agency of the Library and Archives Canada is the official registry. If you’re working with an author services company or established selfpublisher, they may provide an ISBN number for you – in this case, it’s important to make sure that the ISBN is actually issued in your company’s name as publisher and is not owned by anyone else. 138 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Bowker offers a number of different packages ranging in cost from $125 for a single ISBN, including SEO-optimized title page on bookwire. com, to $185 for the premium package – still a single ISBN, but more “extras”. If you go the more economical block route, you can purchase a block of 10 ISBNs from Bowker for $250 or 100 for $575. Keep in mind that a separate ISBN number is required for each edition of a book, including hardcover, trade paperback, electronic, and any subsequent updated editions you may publish. For this reason, in addition to the cost savings you’ll receive, it’s generally recommended that you buy a block of at least 10 ISBNs rather than a single number; especially if you plan on publishing multiple titles. You can purchase ISBNs directly from Bowker by visiting www.myidentifiers.com. Canadian publishers with a mailing address in Canada, excluding French language publishers in Quebec, can obtain ISBN numbers online by visiting www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/isbn-canada/Pages/ isbn-canada.aspx. Click on “Canadian ISBN Services System (CISS)”, where you will be asked to register before proceeding. The process is free, and you should allow about 4 to 6 weeks to receive your block of ISBNs. Quebec publishers may obtain ISBN numbers here: www.banq. qc.ca/accueil. TIP: Amazon currently uses its own 10-digit shortened version of the 13-digit ISBN (remember, ISBNs used to be 10 digits) called an Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN). They use this to catalog all of their products (books and other merchandise) within their own system. You don’t need to do anything to create this number – Amazon will do it for you when your book is listed with them, and you’ll be able to search for your book on their site either by the ASIN or ISBN. 4.2.2 Barcodes A Bookland EAN barcode on the back cover of your book provides a way for your book to be scanned at the point of sale. The barcode incorporates your ISBN and the price of the book. Remember “EAN” from our discussion of the ISBN and what the various numbers mean? Every ISBN contains a country code. To provide global standardization for book sales, and since so many books are produced each year, a Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 139 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher special “country code” was created just for books -- the prefix “978” precedes the ISBN and stands for “Bookland”. You probably never learned that one in geography class! Bowker sells high quality barcode packages that enable you to customize your results. You can purchase these files in .EPS format along with your ISBNs in order to simplify the process. Prices range from $25 each for 1 to 5 barcodes down to $21 each for 11 to 100 barcodes. Visit www.bowkerbarcode.com to order or learn more about barcodes and how to create and use them properly. If you prefer to shop around, The Book Industry Study Group provides a list of other reputable barcode suppliers that can create a high quality, properly formatted barcode for you: http://bisg.org/?page=BarcodeSuppliers. There are also several websites that enable you to generate your own barcodes for free once you have obtained your ISBNs, but be aware that the quality of the graphics can be variable. Software is also available for purchase to allow you to generate your own barcodes. Since the cost to produce a high quality barcode with a third party provider is minimal, this might not be something you want to experiment with, at least as a beginning publisher. However, you can find reviews of the various software generation programs by visiting review sites such as www.capterra.com/barcoding-software and www.toptenreviews.com/ business/software/best-barcode-label-software. You may also want to consider using a 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC) in addition to the Bookland EAN if you are planning on selling your titles through retail outlets other than bookstores. UPC is the standard product code for non-books in the U.S. market, and some publishers choose to add a UPC since not all non-bookstores will be equipped to scan the Bookland EAN. Be aware, this can be a potentially expensive proposition, however, as you’ll need to register for a unique number for your company through GS1 (www.gs1-us.info), the only direct source for UPCs in the U.S. Cost for registration is $760, plus an annual maintenance fee. One way around this is to purchase a single UPC code for your book through a 3rd party reseller. You’ll find several sites online offering this service. The cost is more reasonable – usually around $100 – but the drawback is that the code will be registered under another company name. 140 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher In most cases it’s not necessary to have a UPC code, but this option is presented for your information. You can learn all you ever wanted to know about barcodes (and then some!) at the BarCode 1 website (www.barcode-1.com), including information about EANs and UPCs. 4.2.3 Copyright “If the book is being published in the last quarter of the year, place the date for the first of the next year. It is common practice to do this so it keeps the book ‘current and relevant’ for a longer period of time.” — Emerson B. Donnell III, Author and Publisher, Altruist Publishing According to the U.S. Copyright Office, copyright protects “original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.” Copyright does not protect ideas, but rather the recorded expression of those ideas, be they in audio, video, or print form. As a matter of law, a work is automatically copyrighted upon its creation. Proving this, should a dispute about ownership ever arise, is another issue altogether. For this reason, it’s always wise to file an official copyright registration for all of your completed books so that a public record exists. You should place your copyright notice on the copyright page, listing the owner of the material. Depending on your contract and situation, this may be the author, or in some cases you as the publisher if you have a work-for-hire agreement. To register your work, you’ll need to request and complete forms from the U.S. Copyright Office, or you may register online using their eCO service. There is an application fee of $35 for online registration or $50 for registering using Form CO. This form, available on the Copyright Office website, cannot be copied and used for multiple works since it is unique to each with automatically populated fields as you complete it to speed processing. In Canada, registration takes place through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and costs range from $50 to $65 depending on whether you’re filing online or by mail. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 141 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher You will be required to send a hard copy of your work, even if you register online. The U.S. Copyright Office asks that you submit the “best edition” of your work. This may be a final publication copy of your book, or bound galley – either is acceptable. For more information, and to register your work online or through Form CO, visit the U.S. Copyright Office website at www.copyright. gov. Canadian authors and publishers, see the Canadian Intellectual Property Office website at www.cipo.ic.gc.ca. Library of Congress Control Numbers Yes, still more numbers! The Library of Congress issues a unique Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), or when issued prior to publication, it’s called a Preassigned Control Number (PCN), to each book in its catalog. One LCCN is assigned to the book – multiple numbers will not be required for additional formats or editions of the book as with the ISBN. This number is assigned to titles that the Library of Congress is most likely to acquire. Librarians also use this number to locate catalog records. There is no charge for this number, but you must again submit a “best edition” of the work in hard copy to the Library of Congress upon publication. Books must be published in the U.S. to be eligible. According to their website, it usually takes only a couple of weeks to process requests, but be sure to leave plenty of buffer time in anticipation of delays if there is a backlog. To participate in this program, log on to the following website and create an account: http:// www.loc.gov/publish/pcn/. After your application is processed, you’ll be able to complete a form requesting your LCCNs. Cataloging in Publication (CIP) Data In addition to the PCN and LCCN, the Library of Congress uses Cataloging in Publication (CIP) codes for books considered likely to be widely acquired by libraries in order to assist in proper cataloging of books. This CIP data is used to create a bibliographic record of your work, which you include in your book in order to facilitate the cataloging process for libraries. 142 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher While self-published books are not currently eligible for the Library of Congress CIP program, and you are also excluded from the CIP service if you’ve already obtained a PCN (confusing, yes!), our experts suggest obtaining PCIP data through a third party. While they will charge a fee for the service, it will help simplify things enormously. Visit the following reputable 3rd party providers of PCIP data for more information: • Cassidy Cataloging Services Currently charges $150 for the first PCIP and $125 for each subsequent PCIP www.cassidycataloguing.com/services/pcip.php • Quality Books, Inc. www.quality-books.com/pcip.htm For those on a tight budget, consider making an informal arrangement with an experienced librarian who can help you prepare the data in the proper format. In either case, you’ll need to have your PCN in hand first. Books In Print Once your book has all the proper identification numbers, you’ll want to make sure it’s listed in the major online databases and print publications so that it can be found. Chief among these listings is Bowker’s Books In Print, which also maintains an online searchable database at http://booksinprint.com. The largest bibliographic database of its kind according to Bowker, Books In Print includes information on more than 7.5 million books and is an important resource for librarians, publishers, wholesalers, distributors, and booksellers small and large. You can find more information and may add your title for free through BowkerLINK™ at www.bowkerlink.com once you have obtained your ISBN. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 143 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 4.3 Printing Your Books “Printers print what you send them; they are responsible only for the quality of their work, not yours. If you want a quality product from your printer, you have to make sure you supply them with everything they need (graphics at the proper resolution, fonts used in your publication, files compatible for their equipment, etc.).” — Leland F. Raymond, CyPress Publications Now that all the pieces are in place and you have a quality product ready, it’s time to determine the best printing method for your books. In this section we’ll look at your three major options, all of which have many possible variations: traditional printing, print-on-demand, and e-books without a print component. You may choose to use a combination of all three, depending on your needs and budget. 4.3.1 Offset Printing “I have heard of people ordering 30,000 books with no plan or previous order set. As a consequence the books sit in the author’s basement.” — Emerson B. Donnell III, Author and Publisher, Altruist Publishing A traditional print run, also called “offset printing”, is the method of choice for most indie and self-publishers, and has been the standard printing method for most books since the mid-20th century. Offset printing utilizes metal plates to transfer images, producing a consistently high-quality end product. Despite all the fanfare for POD technology, the higher cost per copy for POD printing still makes offset an appealing option, especially if you’re planning on a print run of 1,000 copies or more. For anything less than 500 copies, also called a “short run”, you’ll likely lose the cost advantage over POD. Because of this price break as your print order increases, many new publishers get caught up in the idea of a discount and are tempted to over-print. IAP Career College co-founder and experienced publishing professional Tag Goulet discusses the necessity of striking the right balance: 144 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher “One of the biggest mistakes new publishers make is printing too many copies. It can be very tempting -- when you see the price per book falling dramatically as the quantity increases -- to think something along the lines of: ‘I’m sure I can sell those 10,000 copies in no time!’ But even 5,000 copies can take a heck of a long time to sell. I also advise against being too conservative. For example, printing only 500 copies of a book can make the cost per book rise to the point where it can be difficult to break even. Remember, if your book has a retail price of $19.95, and costs you $7 to print, you are not making a profit of $12.95. You have to consider all your other costs, including discounts.” So how many copies should you print up front? Goulet suggests getting quotes from printers for several different amounts, such as 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 copies to begin with. “Then do a realistic assessment and consider how much money you can afford to risk,” she adds. “If you have sufficient pre-orders or will be selling a lot of books directly -- for example, through speaking engagements that you have already lined up -- then you might consider going with a higher quantity such as 2,500 or 3,000. Remember, if your book is a big hit, you can always do additional printings!” Emerson Donnell of Altruist Publishing suggests erring on the side of caution unless you have a major pre-order in place. But be sure you have a plan and time frame in place should a large order come in. “If you get a huge order or sudden demand you can always go back to the printer who can set a run usually within a few business days,” says Donnell. Make sure as well that you know what you’re getting with a smaller run such as this – some printers do not use an offset press for quantities of 500 or fewer. How Much Will It Cost? The appeal of a larger run is simple: the more copies you print, the lower the cost per copy, thereby increasing your potential profit. For a print run of 2,000 trade paperbacks (the format traditionally used by small publishers – hardcovers are rarely necessary and are usually cost prohibitive), you can expect a cost of approximately $2 to $3 per book, while 500 copies might cost on average $4 per book. This may seem like a small difference, but you’ll be dealing with a slim profit margin after the distributor takes their cut (see section 5.3.1). Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 145 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher In addition to the number of copies printed, cost will also vary based on the “trim size” (size of the book) and type of paper (weight, quality, and color) and binding chosen. The most common trim sizes are 5.5” x 8.5” and 6” x 9” – these are considered standard trade paperback sizes. Mass market paperbacks (generally fiction) are typically a smaller trim size, but this tends not to be cost effective unless you’re doing a larger print run of 2,000 or more copies. In terms of paper weight, 50# white offset paper is the standard and will generally be most cost effective. Cover finishes can be glossy or matte based on your personal preference. There is much disagreement among publishing experts on whether it’s worthwhile to pay for shrink-wrapping your titles. This helps to protect them in transit and keep the covers from becoming worn. Most suggest eliminating this unnecessary step for cost-savings. In addition to doing your own research and talking to other publishers, don’t be afraid to ask your printer for their recommendations – remember, this is their area of expertise. Communicate with your printer about your expectations, priorities, and timeframes to ensure you’re on the same page and be sure to keep those lines of communication open throughout the process. Galleys A traditional print run encompasses a two stage process. First, before your final offset run, you will print “galleys”, also called “proofs”. Galley copies can be used for registration with the Library of Congress, and can also be used to solicit advance testimonials to use in your marketing campaign. Your galley copies needn’t be perfect – this is your final shot at corrections before going to print “for real” – but you should strive for high-quality copies free of obvious typos since you want to make a positive impression on your pre-publication readers. Galleys use similar technology to POD printing in that it’s a strictly digital process, which lends itself well to smaller runs (about 50 to 100 copies on average) and is more cost effective than traditional printing which involves an additional step. In fact, while many publishers choose to use the same printer for both galleys and offset to simplify the process, some experts suggest that you may be able to find a better deal with a POD printer to produce your galleys, while still utilizing a traditional printer for your final run. 146 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 4.3.2 Digital Printing and Print-On-Demand (POD) “The best place to save is by going POD/e-book only. You limit your upfront costs because you do not have to spend over $3,000 for an initial print run. Some of that savings can go to marketing (and best of all you do not have a basement full of books). Lightning Source provides fulfillment/accounting. What could be simpler for a startup?” — Sam Hendricks, Publisher, Extra Point Press In chapter 3, we discussed the drawbacks and merits of print-ondemand publishing, which can also be called subsidy publishing. The author pays a company such as CreateSpace, Lulu, or iUniverse, to produce their book – the chosen company owns the ISBN and pays royalties on sales, which are typically few, to the author. This is not to be confused, however, with print-on-demand as a technology, which we will discuss here. POD is a completely digital process. Many self-publishers with their own companies choose digital printing, including POD printing (not publishing!) over offset because of its unique benefits. Digital printing allows the printing of as few as one book at a time so that no books are printed (or need to be warehoused) until an order is placed. Digital printing can also be used for printing short runs. So what are some of the pros and cons of POD? While digital printing still lags behind traditional offset somewhat in terms of the quality of the output, this difference is becoming less and less distinguishable as technology advances, and many feel the potential benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The biggest plus, of course, is the cost savings. The elimination of a step in the process (creating plates, as are used for offset) helps to keep costs down. Digital printing is also a faster process, producing and collating more pages per minute – again, an advantage in terms of cost. Many traditional printers are taking advantage of the growth in popularity and provide POD printing services in addition to offset. The major drawback to the POD printing method is the cost per unit. While this technology allows a great deal of flexibility in terms of print run, the cost per unit is always higher when producing fewer copies. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 147 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher This can be a hindrance when determining your price point and can potentially keep you from competing with similar titles that are priced lower unless you can offer significant added value. When Is POD a Good Choice? There are many ways a publisher can utilize digital printing to streamline their production process and save money over traditional publishing, but it’s not the right choice for every situation. So where can POD make a positive impact on your bottom line? The short answer is anywhere a short run is needed. Here are a few common uses: • When publishers have limited funds to spend up front or want to limit up front expenditures in order to invest more in the business and wish to print fewer than 500 copies • Galleys (proof copies) • Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) to solicit pre-publication reviews and testimonials • Reprints of backlist titles still in circulation but selling fewer copies than at first release If you choose to go the POD printing route, Lightning Source (www. ingramcontent.com/publishers/lp/lightning-source) is an often recommended digital printer because of their association with Ingram, providing access to a major distribution channel as well as quality printing services. Another benefit is that they also offer offset printing, which allows you to transition from one to the other as your needs change, and fulfillment services if you prefer to limit shipping costs and avoid warehousing your books elsewhere. You can also find an excellent review of digital printing technology and a list of digital book printers, along with tips on how to choose the right one for you, on the Aeonix Publishing Group web site at www.aeonix.com/digipres.htm and at www.aeonix.com/bookprnt.htm. 4.3.3 E-Books “Certainly the advent of e-books and e-book readers have leveled the playing field for new publishers, lowering the barrier of entry and greatly increasing the ease of getting ‘published.’ The jury is still out 148 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher on whether or not a successful business can be built on e-books alone. As of mid-2010, e-books only account for about 5% of all book sales which, at least for now, would seem to argue against being able to make a living publishing only electronically. However, e-book sales are growing exponentially compared to print books and if that continues, we may soon see a future where “e” only is a viable business model.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, Independent Book Publishers Association For a number of years, e-book sales rose meteorically, so fast that some industry sources foresaw a day when the print book might become extinct. For instance, in 2011, a Publisher’s Weekly press release (www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financialreporting/article/47343-e-book-sales-up-159-in-quarter-print-falls. html) noted: After increasing at a 169% rate in the first two months of 2011, e-book sale rose at a relatively modest 145.7% clip in March, to $69 million, according to the 16 publishers who report figures to AAP’s monthly sales estimates. For the first quarter of 2011, e-book sales were up 159.8%, to $233.1 million. While adult hardcover and mass market paperback did better, posting gains in March, all the print segments had declines for the first quarter with the nine mass market houses that report results showing a 23.4% sales decline, and the 14 children’s paperback publishers had a 24.1% decline in the quarter. E-book sales easily outdistanced mass market paperback sales in the first quarter with mass market sales falling to $123.3 million compared to e-books’ $233.1 million in sales. But by mid-2016, Wired (www.wired.com/2016/04/books-vs-amazonyou-can-have-both) reported: Instead of killing print books, enthusiasm for ebooks seems to have leveled off. In fact, ebook sales fell 10.5 percent to $68 million for the first five months of 2015, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP), which tracks print and digital book trends. At the same time, according to Publisher’s Weekly, bookstore sales rose 2.5 percent in 2015, the first time sales were up in the sector since 2007. Total bookstore sales in 2015 reached Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 149 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher $11.17 billion, compared to $10.89 billion in 2014, according to government data. But this development isn’t new—it’s the continuation of a trend rather than a new development. Growth rates for eBooks dropped in 2012, and have been about flat since 2013. Nevertheless, Publisher’s Weekly also noted (www.publishersweekly. com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/69841-there-s-no-one-wayto-sell-an-e-book.html) in 2016: As e-books sales soften at the large trade houses, some independent digital (or mostly digital) publishers continue to see their e-book sales grow. Interviews with five independent publishers show a range of publishing practices with the e-books they publish and highlight the ways in which they promote and market their lists...All the publishers interviewed said they continue to see growth in e-book sales overall. These companies also share a number of promotional and marketing strategies— including the use of social media of all kinds and promotional newsletters, the creation of genre-focused online communities, and the building up of backlists. One reason for the growth of e-books was the advent of user-friendly and portable e-readers such as the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and iPad; many of the downsides that previously existed with e-books have vanished. No longer are readers forced to sit in front of the cold isolating glare of their computer screen to read a book. On the contrary, e-readers now provide instant gratification for readers who prefer to shop online and just can’t wait for that Amazon box to arrive in the mail – instead, instant delivery while relaxing at the beach or commuting to work on the train. E-books are also less expensive than traditional print books, so with less disposable income for book buying in the current economy, the electronic format has benefited. In terms of benefits for a publisher, cost is the major appeal. Eliminating not only printing costs, but warehousing, shipping, and returns means major savings and an enormous simplification of the publishing process. In making your decision, consider the type of content in your book as well – text works well in e-book format, while books heavy with graphics do not lend themselves well to electronic format. Another concern is the lack of standardization in terms of electronic file format 150 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher among the various e-readers. This is due in part to continuing advances in technology, but also proprietary issues by major e-reader and e-book sellers such as Amazon that have a financial interest in keeping rights exclusive. As a publisher, this means converting your files into a variety of formats in order to take maximum advantage of the market. Some of the major file formats include PDF, EPUB, and MOBI. The following tables provide an excellent overview of the various formats and handy reference for comparing which formats are supported by which devices and what their capabilities are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_ of_e-book_formats. While most e-readers can handle the standard PDF, keep in mind this doesn’t necessarily present the best possible formatting choice for e-reading devices. Its popularity is mostly due to the fact that it can be read on almost all computers, which typically come equipped with Adobe Reader, without additional devices or downloads. PDFs also allow some degree of protection from copying through Digital Rights Management (DRM). However, there is some disagreement among experts as to whether DRM does more harm than good by penalizing well-meaning readers simply looking to convert a file for their reader of choice. The good news is that conversion to file formats other than PDF is relatively inexpensive and easy. Calibre (www.calibre-ebook.com) converts a wide range of formats for free. If you’re using Adobe InDesign CS5 to create your e-book, the program includes a feature that allows you to export your document to EPUB format (https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/EPUB). EPUB is a formatting standard developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum and is compatible with many popular devices, including the iPhone. Alternatives to Calibre include Alfa (www.alfaebooks.com), Hamster (www.hamstersoft.com/freeebook-converter), and many others. For the less technologically-inclined who may hesitate to go the complete D-I-Y route in creating their e-books, there are many companies that will convert your book into multiple formats and distribute it to a variety of popular e-book sellers. One of the most popular and highly rated among authors is Smashwords, a free digital publishing platform and e-book seller specifically geared toward self-published authors Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 151 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher (www.smashwords.com). Smashwords provides non-exclusive rights to the digital work and typically pays you an author/publisher royalty of 85% of net proceeds (keep in mind this is net proceeds – not 85% of total sales). In addition to making your work available in their own online store, Smashwords has distribution arrangements with all the major online sellers including Amazon. This interview with Smashwords founder Mark Coker provides more insights into the process, as well as a discussion of digital rights management (DRM): www. selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2009/02/01/interview-mark-cokerfounder-of-smashwords. 4.4 Hiring Staff and Freelancers “I wish I had known how quick, easy, and inexpensive it is to hire somebody for the areas you need help with. Bringing in a pro to edit your manuscript, do your layout, or design your cover are all ways to help your book compete, yet it’s something I totally missed on my first book and that really slowed the initial momentum I had.” — David Hooper, Musicmarketing.com You may be working on your own when you first start your business, but at some point you could decide to hire people to work with you. For example, you might hire an assistant or someone to help market your books. Most book publishers utilize the services of an editor or proofreader as well to ensure their books meet professional editorial standards. You might hire these people as employees, or more often as a small publisher you might sign them on as contractors on an asneeded basis. In the following sections we’ll cover how to hire support staff to handle office tasks, as well as freelancers to provide creative services. For an excellent review of hiring full-time staff for a larger publishing operation, including average salaries and an organizational chart, see Thomas Woll’s Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers. 4.4.1 Employees versus Contractors When you need help, you have to decide whether to hire a contractor, or take on an employee as part of your staff. First, you need to know 152 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher what the difference is between a contractor and an employee. Secondly, you need to know what your obligations are to both as the employer. Here is some information to help you make the right decision for you. Legally, if you hire an employee, you will have to pay payroll taxes on that employee, and probably make unemployment and workers’ compensation contributions to the appropriate government agency. On the other hand, you can train those employees the way you like, and you can require them to do their work at certain hours and at places you choose. Contractors are different from employees in that you don’t invest time in training them, nor do they work hours specified by you. They are self-employed, and you pay them on an hourly or pertask basis to complete specific tasks. You may be interested in hiring contractors for specialized services, such as an accountant, business consultant, or PR specialist. Be sure to read the IRS’s information and advice on employees versus contractors at www.irs.gov/Businesses/ Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contractor-SelfEmployed-or-Employee. In Canada, read publication RC4110, which you can find at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4110. If you hire contractors on a freelance basis, those people will have learned their job skills elsewhere. They can choose how and when to do the work. Freelancers or contractors generally run their own business and offer a specialized skill at an agreed upon rate on a per project basis. You mutually agree on what product will be delivered or what services will be performed, as well as where and when they will be performed. But you cannot require them to be at your office or anywhere else for a certain number of hours daily. It is often best to spell out what you expect and what the contractor is to do or deliver in an agreement. Other differences between an employee and a contractor are: • Employees work only for you. Contractors may have other clients as well as you, and can work for any and all of them. • Employees are paid on a regular basis. Contractors are paid per project. • Employees work for a certain number of hours. Contractors set their own hours, as long as they get the job done. That can be Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 153 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher great for them if they are really fast, or not so great for them if they are really slow. As long as the project is finished on time to specs, it’s great for you. (On the other hand, if an employee is slow, you may end up paying more salary to get the job done in overtime, or even hiring temporary help to get things finished.) • Employees can be fired or quit. Contractors can’t be fired in the usual way while they are working under contract. You may decide to have them stop working on a project, but you will be obliged to pay them according to your contractual agreement unless you are able to renegotiate the contract or successfully sue them if you are unhappy with their work. (Of course that would only be in extreme cases; it is best to avoid lawsuits altogether!) Even though you are not writing paychecks to contractors, but rather checks for contracting fees, there are still tax considerations. For more information about employment taxes, contact the IRS or Canada Revenue Agency. 4.4.2 How to Find Freelance Help “Without a great manuscript you don’t have anything worthy of promoting. The first set of funds should be devoted to your editor. It will give you the best possible return on your investment. The next step is cover design -- books ARE judged by their covers, and skimping on cover design could cost you distribution.” — Linda F. Radke, President, Five Star Publications, Inc. Many of our experts noted that one of the biggest mistakes they see new publishers make, particularly self-publishers, is trying to do everything themselves. Even if you’re working out of a home office and are on a tight budget, outsourcing aspects of your projects that require a skill set you don’t have just makes good practical sense. First, it enables you to spend your time on the tasks only you can do. Secondly, it ensures that your finished product is professional looking and on par with books produced by the major publishing houses so you have a fair chance to compete. The tasks most commonly assigned to a freelancer hired on a contract basis are: 154 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Editing (this may include copy editing, line editing, and/or developmental editing) • Proofreading • Typesetting • Cover design • Indexing For More Information Before you hire, check with your local department of labor to find out all the rules and regulations required as an employer. There may be other state and federal rules and regulations that may apply to you, including: health and safety regulations, Workers’ Compensation, minimum wage and unemployment insurance. Before you hire someone as an employee, it’s a good idea to get some additional information concerning regulations, taxes and so forth. In addition to your local department of labor, visit the sites below for more information: • U.S. Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-SelfEmployed/Businesses-with-Employees • U.S. Department of Labor www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/lawsprog.htm • Canada Business Network http://canadabusiness.ca/blog/looking-for-it-help-hiringan-employee-vs-an-independent-contractor-1 http://canadabusiness.ca/managing-your-business/ employees/hiring-employees • NOLO www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/human-resources Among the experts polled, hiring editing and proofreading help were the two “must haves”, with cover design coming in third on the priority list. Hiring someone to do your cover design depends in part on the level of your own graphic design skills and artistic eye. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 155 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Editing and Proofreading We found a general consensus on the point that no matter how great a writer you may be, you should not attempt to edit and proofread your own work. As author and publisher Sam Hendricks of Extra Point Press put it, proofreading and editing are “worth their weight in gold”. “Don’t believe for a second that you can edit your own work, or that ‘your friend who once was an English major’ can be counted on to find all the corrections. Spend time searching for a credible editor. A misspelled word or poor writing can often discredit your message -- no matter how good or profound it is.” — Emerson B. Donnell III, Author and Publisher, Altruist Publishing Leland Raymond of CyPress Publications explains the benefits of a professional manuscript edit and what you can expect from the process. It’s not just a matter of running spellcheck! “A professional book editor not only improves your writing by correcting grammatical and typographical errors, rewriting awkward sentences and paragraphs, and analyzing your entire manuscript for problems and inconsistencies, but also acts as a liaison between you and your audience. If something you’ve stated is factually incorrect or your story elements are less than ideal, your editor will suggest ways to make your book as good as it can be.” — Leland F. Raymond, CyPress Publications So where does one go to find a good editor and proofreader, and how much should you expect to pay? The answer to both of these questions of course is, it varies. Highly experienced editors will cost more, but a list of published credentials and testimonials can give you peace of mind that your manuscript is entrusted to a professional. You can get an idea of the going rate for the full spectrum of editorial services from the Editorial Freelancers Association, which lists the average going rates: www.the-efa.org/res/rates.php. Keep in mind this is only a very rough guideline and rates vary widely. You can also search their member directory to find an editor or proofreader. The Independent Editors Group is another source for highly credentialed editors: www. bookdocs.com. 156 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Less experienced editors will probably give you a better rate since they’re looking to establish their credentials. It’s a trade off. You can find many editors, proofreaders, and other creative professionals looking for work on websites such as www.guru.com or www.upwork.com. You might also choose to advertise for freelance help on a site such as www.mediabistro.com. It is possible, however, to find a highly skilled editor or proofreader who has recently started their own business, but has years of experience with a major publishing house. This is an unfortunate reality of the current economy as the turnover rate in the traditional publishing industry is high and major layoffs have been common in recent years – but it may be to your advantage in seeking qualified help at a reasonable price. Cover Design “While the adage ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’ is true, readers and industry experts do exactly that. And they make a decision to buy or not within approximately ten seconds. Your book cover must be visually appealing; it must effectively convey your book’s subject, and it must compel the reader to read the back cover copy. The back cover copy must compel your reader to open the book, and your initial pages must effectively convince your reader to buy your book.” — Leland F. Raymond, Publisher, CyPress Publications While all of our experts concurred that cover design is important and has a huge impact on whether readers will pick up and buy your book, some felt this was a task that could be learned while others recommended hiring help. Much depends on your skills and budget. An excellent resource for finding professional cover designers, in addition to the professional association web sites already mentioned, is John Kremer’s Bookmarket.com: http://bookmarketingbestsellers. com/book-cover-designers-and-book-design-services. A professionally designed cover might cost anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars depending on the designer’s experience and the complexity of the cover design required. However, you can try the general freelancer sites recommended above and will probably be able to negotiate a reasonable rate. Author and publisher Emerson Donnell offered the following advice on how to work efficiently and economically with a professional designer: Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 157 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher “Do as much cutting, pasting, font changing and experimentation on your own before submitting to a cover design artist or company. They typically have a small set of changes allowed, then a price add on for every change thereafter. It’s easy to run through a few evolutions and color schemes on your own before submitting a cover design plan.” — Emerson B. Donnell III, Publisher, Altruist Publishing Another option for the short-of-funds is to hire a talented graphic design student looking to build his or her portfolio – of course you won’t really know what you’re getting here. Contact your local college or university career services or graphic design department, or check out some of the bigger name design schools online, such as Pratt Institute, School of Visual Arts, or Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). You can find U.S. News and World Report ranking of the top art schools by category here: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduateschools/top-fine-arts-schools. If you do decide to tackle your own cover design, be sure to carefully review the components of other book covers, particularly your direct competition. This can help give you an idea of what works and doesn’t, and what your taste preferences are. You should also consider whether or not the book will become a series or have multiple volumes. If so, think about developing a consistent theme and color scheme that will be recognizable in terms of branding. As for cover design software, there are several alternatives to the more expensive Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, though these are the standards for professional quality. Many small publishers like BookCoverPro for both print and e-book covers, which costs $97 for the standard version and $197 for the deluxe version: www.bookcoverpro. com. You can read more about principles of cover design in articles at sites such as: • http://1106design.com/2009/05/the-top-3-cover-design-mistakes- part-1 • https://writersedit.com/common-book-cover-mistakes-indie- authors 158 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • http://rockingselfpublishing.com/8-book-cover-mistakes-to- avoid Indexing A book index, though not exactly the most flashy and exciting part of a book, is one of the most essential. How many times have you read a nonfiction work and checked the index in hopes of going back to a key subject, only to find it’s not there? Frustrating! Indexing and crossreferencing takes a great deal of detail orientation and knowledge of a very specific set of standards. Visit the American Society for Indexing website to search their database of indexers, post a job for bid, or read their tips for authors on how to find and work with a freelance indexer: www.asindexing.org. When considering hiring a freelance indexer, be sure to ask for samples of their work and look for someone who has experience indexing books in your book’s particular topic or category. Typesetting There is much debate in the self-publishing world over whether Microsoft Word is appropriate for typesetting a book. Some successful do-it-yourselfers swear by it for practicality, familiarity, and ease of use—not to mention availability and cost-savings. Most would-be authors and publishers already have access to this program and know how to use it. However, the majority of experts will cringe and write their thoughts on the subject in all caps -- things like “NEVER!”-- at the mere suggestion of using such a blunt instrument for book layout. Their main objection is based on the assertion that the results look unprofessional and will therefore be putting you at a disadvantage. The following article from Joel Friedlander’s informative blog, The Book Designer, provides an excellent overview of the issues involved with using Word for typesetting, and provides a visual comparison of the same pages produced in both Word and InDesign. Judge the results for yourself: www.thebook designer.com/2010/01/the-trouble-with-word-processors. If you decide to hire a professional to do your typesetting, you will generally pay by the page and will find a huge variance in rates Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 159 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher depending on experience. Again, the professional associations are the best place to start your search for the right typesetter for your project. 4.4.3 How to Find Support Staff So, how do you find staff when you need help? There are several routes you can take, including running an ad in the classified section of your area newspaper (least efficient for more specialized positions, such as editorial staff, but a great way to find a local general office assistant), working with an employment service, or seeking help on an online job site such as those mentioned in chapter 4. However, the first place to start is by using word of mouth to get the word out that you are looking to hire someone. Ask friends, family, and acquaintances if they know anyone who might be a good candidate to work with your business. You can also spread the word through organizations that you belong to. If you need help for just a limited time, such as someone to help with a promotional mailing effort or to make phone calls, you might consider contacting a temporary employee service. These services provide employees on a temporary basis. You pay the service, and the service pays the employee. It also provides benefits to the employee and takes care of payroll, taxes and so forth. You’ll likely need to pay more to the service than you’d pay to a permanent employee, but if you only need help for a limited amount of time, it may be worth it. Another budget-conscious option may be to contact your local college or university to seek a student intern. While some internships offer a small stipend, it is also possible to find an intern to work for college credit only. Again, these tactics are great for hiring help with general tasks. We’ll address how to find freelance editorial help later in this section. The selection process starts with the prospective employee filling out an application or sending you a resume and cover letter, either in hard copy or via e-mail, for your review. In addition to looking at the individual’s employment history and skill set to see if it’s a match with your needs, other clues can provide you with insight. For example, did the person accurately follow any directions you provided in your ad regarding the application process? If not, it may be an indication that they didn’t read 160 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher it carefully or chose to do things their own way in spite of your requests – these could be warning signs of a potentially problematic employee. Is the resume professional-looking, or does it contain typographical or grammatical errors? 4.4.4 The Interview Process The purpose of an interview is to get to know potential applicants as much as you can in a short period of time. It is therefore important that most of that time be spent getting the applicants to talk about themselves. Most employers with limited interviewing experience spend too much time talking about the job or their business. And while that is certainly important, it won’t help you figure out to whom you are talking and if that person is a good match for your store. A good rule of thumb to follow is that the applicant should do 80% of the talking. To make the best use of your time, have a list of questions prepared in advance. This will keep the process consistent between applicants. You can always add questions that pop up based on their answers as you go along. To get a sense of how an employee will actually behave on the job, it is also a good idea to ask “behavioral questions.” Behavioral questions ask applicants to give answers based on their past behavior. An example is “Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer. What was the situation and how did you handle it?” Instead of giving hypothetical answers of what someone would do in a particular situation, the applicant must give examples of what they actually have done. While people’s behavior can change, past performance is a better indicator of someone’s future behavior than hypothetical answers. You can also ask questions that communicate your company policies to discover if the applicant will have any issues in these areas. Some examples are: • When you are working, I expect your full attention to be on my customers. I do not allow private phone calls unless it is an emergency. Is that a problem? Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 161 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • It is important that we open on time. I expect my workers to be punctual. Is there anything that could keep you from being on time for every shift? By being clear on specifics and details in the interview, you can hash out any potential problems right then and there or agree to go your own ways because it is not going to work. What You Can and Can’t Ask You should be aware that there are some things you simply cannot ask about during a job interview. Some are illegal and others are insulting and open the door to charges of discrimination. They include questions about: • Age • Race • Religion • Marital status • Family status or pregnancy • Disability • Workers Compensation claims • Injury • Medical condition • Sexual orientation 4.4.5 References Once you have found an applicant who appears to be a good fit, you can learn more by checking their references. The best references are former employers. (Former co-workers may be friends who will give glowing references no matter how well the employee performed.) Many companies will not give you detailed information about a past employee. They are only required to give you employment dates and 162 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher sometimes they will confirm salary. But many times you will be able to learn a lot about a potential applicant from a reference phone call. A good employee is often remembered fondly and even asked about by a former employer. An employer may not be able to tell you much about a bad employee for liability reasons, but they can answer the question “Is this employee eligible to be rehired?” Here are some other additional questions from Tom Hennessy, author of the IAP Career College Guide to Become a Coffee House Owner: • How long did this person work for you (this establishes the accuracy of their applicationss)? • How well did they get along with everyone (looking for team skills)? • Did they take direction well (code words for “did they do their job”)? • Could they work independently (or did they sit around waiting to be told what to do next)? • How did they handle stressful situations (this is important, especially if you are busy)? If the references make you feel comfortable, call the employee to let them know they have a job and to come in and fill out the paperwork, or that you will e-mail it to them if they will be working remotely. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 163 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 5. Business Operations and Finances “Lack of education about the business of publishing and lack of adequate funds are two of the biggest pitfalls. Passion is important, but so many new publishers allow their passion to overcome preparation, leaving them with a second mortgage to fund their first title, and a garage full of books with no idea how to sell them.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) There are many reasons book publishing appeals to people, but for those who are more interested in the creative aspects, the financial management of a business may seem a bit more intimidating. Certainly you can hire an expert to help you if this is the case. Still, it’s important as a publisher to have a basic understanding of concepts such as how to price your book and how to analyze whether a new title is a potentially profitable undertaking. In this chapter, we’ll examine book pricing strategies, what goes into a title P & L (profit and loss statement), and how to sell your books to individuals and bookstores, both brickand-mortar and online. 164 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 5.1 Pricing Your Books 5.1.1 Guidelines While there are several different formulas you can use, one main consideration in pricing your books is what the local market will bear. If books on a certain topic are in high demand and you have little competition, then you’ll probably be able to charge higher prices for them. This is the “law” of supply and demand and you should pay close attention to any trends you see developing in your customers’ buying patterns to take advantage of this. Here are some basic tips for pricing your books: • Consider what the market will bear. What is the demand like for the type of material you’re publishing? The market analysis you’ve already done should help here. • Consider your competition. Are there other books like yours in print? What are they charging and where are they selling (online only, brick-and-mortar bookstores, other retailers, etc.)? • It is not always best to price items lower than the competition charges. Most people believe you get what you pay for. The key is to price the item fairly but allow yourself a reasonable profit. • If you need to charge significantly more than your competition for a similar title in order to make a profit, can you provide an added value product or service (such as an e-book or CD-ROM)? • Consider your per unit production costs and standard trade discounts to wholesalers and retailers (more on this later in the chapter). Try to balance a competitive price point with a reasonable profit margin to make the endeavor worth your while financially. Another trick many publishers use is to price things just under the dollar mark. For example, instead of putting a price of $10 on an item, you would mark it $9.95. Even though there is only a five cent difference between the two prices, customers will perceive one as ten dollars and the other as nine dollars, resulting in better sales. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 165 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 5.1.2 Retail Pricing Formulas There are several simple pricing formulas that are a good place to start in determining your retail price. However, as your individual costs may vary significantly, you’ll probably need to tweak these to find the right balance between being competitive and being profitable. The per unit cost is determined by dividing your total production costs by the number of books printed. Some experts suggest your list price should be a minimum of 3 times your per unit costs, while others suggest 5 times, or even as much as 8 times your costs. Many other factors go into this decision in addition to the profit you’d like to earn. For example, if your book costs $3.00 per unit to produce, it probably wouldn’t be very competitive in the marketplace at 8 times that amount, $24, unless you’ve produced a weighty reference tome of some sort. So how do you go about finding the balance? A good place to start is by assessing your costs (not only for printing, but also marketing, shipping, ISBNs and other expenses) and determining your break-even point. As an example of how pricing affects your business, we’ll use the breakeven point for a fictional business. You may remember the formula for calculating the break-even point from section 3.4.2 as: Break-even point = Total fixed costs ÷ (1 – total variable costs ÷ revenues) In the example in section 3.4.2, the break-even point for the business was $69,000 in annual revenues. Also, for every dollar of sales, the company had 56 cents in variable expenses. Therefore, to break even, fixed costs can represent no more than 44 cents on every dollar. So if you had an item priced at $1.00, 56% of the selling price would be variable expenses and the rest would be fixed costs, leaving no room for profit. Obviously, nobody wants to run their business like that. Based on these figures, the business owner might want to increase the profit margin. So for example, instead of selling a product for $1.00 as before, the owner might increase the retail price to $1.25. This would lower the percentage for each of fixed and variable costs as a percentage of revenue, resulting in an increased profit margin. 166 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 5.1.3 Profit Margin vs. Percentage Markup Every business owner dealing with the retail market, including publishers, needs to understand the difference between profit margin and percentage markup. The profit margin is the amount of your retail price that represents profit for you over and above the cost of the merchandise. In a more sophisticated model, you would also include your total operating expenses as well. You would add in your fixed and variable costs and factor them into your pricing model, along with cost of goods. The percentage markup is the percentage amount you increased the retail price over your cost for a given item. After you have been in business for a while, you will know what price markup generally works best for you. Pricing by percentage markup is less usual than pricing by profit margin. Let’s look at a specific example. We’ll use small numbers here instead of typical book prices to help keep things simpler. Consider an item with a retail price of $1.00, that cost you 40 cents to produce. The profit margin formula is: Margin= (1 - (cost ÷ selling)) x 100 = ( 1 - (40 ÷ 100)) x 100 = (1 - .40) x 100 = .60 x 100 = 60 So in this example the profit margin is 60%. If, however, you decided that you would set your prices by marking up everything by 60%, then, The percentage markup formula is: Price = cost + (cost x 60 ÷ 100) = 40 + (40 x 0.60) = 40 + 24 = 64 Using a fixed markup of 60%, the retail price on an item costing $0.40 would be $0.64. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 167 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Look carefully at these two formulas. Notice that markup pricing and profit margin pricing create two very different selling prices. In the first example, pricing based on a 60% profit margin required a selling price of $1.00. In the second example, using a percentage markup of 60% on cost resulted in a price of only 64 cents, a profit margin of only about 38%. A quick way to calculate a profit margin price is to divide the cost price by the difference between 100 and the profit margin. For example, if you wanted to have a 5% profit margin you would divide your cost price by (100 - 5) or 95 percent. So if you paid 40 cents for a product and you wanted a 5% profit margin, to arrive at your selling price you would use the formula: 40 ÷ (100 - 5) = 40 ÷ .95 = 42 cents. Here are some additional examples so you can see the trend: 10%: 40 ÷ (100 - 10) = 44 cents 15%: 40 ÷ (100 - 15) = 47 cents 25%: 40 ÷ (100 - 25) = 53 cents 50%: 40 ÷ (100 - 50) = 80 cents Once you know your cost of doing business, you can easily arrive at a minimum profit percentage margin price that will meet your needs. Keep some of the other pricing concepts in mind as well. Your market may be able to support a higher profit margin in your pricing. Another way to increase your profit margin is to reduce your variable expenses. If you find that your profit margin is too low, you can reduce costs like labor by taking on more of the process yourself and learning the needed skills (such as design) rather than hiring a professional. You might also consider a larger print run to reduce unit costs, though our experts warn not to get too caught up in this idea as you may end up with a lot more books on your hands than you can move, and storage can get expensive too. To read more about retail pricing concepts, try the following online resources: • Markup or Margin: Selling and Pricing www.buildingtrade.org.uk/articles/markup_or_margin.html 168 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Margin Markup/Profit Percentage Table www.csgnetwork.com/marginmarkuptable.html • How to Price Your Small Business’ Products and Services www.sba.gov/blogs/how-price-your-small-business-productsand-services 5.1.4 Standard Discounts “In order to get into a bookstore you need to offer a minimum 55% discount. The bookstore gets 40% typically and 15% goes to your distribution partner. I go for the more profitable online market (Amazon and BN.com). The profit from bookstores comes from selling large quantities at a small profit. The profit from the online market comes from selling a smaller quantity at a higher profit.” — Sam Hendricks, Publisher, Extra Point Press In the popular film “You’ve Got Mail”, Meg Ryan is the proprietor of The Shop Around The Corner, a small independent bookstore trying to compete with Tom Hanks’ Fox Books, a large chain store that has moved into the neighborhood. The appeal of Fox Books in a nutshell, as Hanks’ character puts it: “We sell cheap books.” So just how can the mega-bookstores afford to offer such great prices while smaller stores can’t compete? The short answer is deep publisher discounts. If you decide to go the traditional distribution route through the major brick-and-mortar bookstores (which may not be the most effective or profitable path for a new publisher – more on this later in the chapter), you’ll need to accept the reality that the discount system will take a very large bite out of your profits. Not only do retail booksellers require a discount, but so do wholesalers, and distributors – with each link in the book distribution chain, your piece of the pie gets considerably smaller. You need to understand the discount system in order to set a retail price for your book that still factors in some profit for you as publisher (and/or author). All of the major book chains purchase their stock through a limited number of distributors. While you may be able to walk into your local independent bookstore and make a deal directly with the manager to carry your books on consignment in exchange for a 40/60 split, Barnes & Noble, Border’s, and the other major booksellers just don’t Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 169 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher do business this way, no matter what kind of discount or return policy you’re offering. While this may seem unfair at first glance, consider how inefficient a system it would create if booksellers had to contract individually with the thousands of individual publishers out there. So, the chain basically works like this: you contract with a distributor, typically on an exclusive basis, who gets 15% of the list price (and potentially additional fees depending on the distributor ). The distributor then sells your books to wholesalers, who get another 15%, and bookstores, with a 40% discount off of the list price (keep in mind though that bookstores don’t really “buy” – it’s more of a consignment arrangement since they usually require a return policy for books that they can’t sell). Libraries typically get a 20% discount. While libraries usually have need of fewer copies than a bookstore, the good news is that there are no returns to worry about. The discount a publisher offers can range from 20% to 55%, with the higher end being the standard. This enables the greatest access to your books by retailers of all sizes because it leaves plenty of room for the wholesalers to pass along a percentage of the discount while still maintaining a profit margin. If your book is printed POD with Lightning Source (LSI), you’ll have the option of choosing a “short discount”, which is something less than the standard 55%. The minimum Lightning Source discount they will allow is 20%. Let’s take a look at an example to illustrate the discount process: • You decide to set the retail cover price for your book at $19.95 • If you then offer a 55% wholesale discount on your book, your wholesale price would be 45% of $19.95, which is $8.98 • Next in line, the retail bookstore gets your book from the wholesaler for 40% of the list price, which is $12.57 • Customers then purchase your book through the bookstore for the original retail price of $19.95, or for a discounted price set by the bookseller – since they’ve obtained the book for $12.57 they can offer a 10% or even 20% discount and still make a profit (Amazon typically passes on half of any discount they receive to customers) 170 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Before you get too excited about that $8.98, don’t forget about all of your costs, which need to be deducted from your cut in order to determine your profit. We’ll look at accounting and profit & loss statements in more detail later in this chapter. It is a complex system to understand, but the important take-away here is that large discounts are standard and unavoidable if you plan on doing a volume business and dealing with traditional print outlets. Therefore, if you’re determined to go the traditional distribution route, it’s important to factor these figures into your cover price to ensure you’re making a profit. If you’re selling to local independent bookstores directly or retail businesses other than bookstores, you may be able to negotiate your own deal without using a wholesaler or distributor. In this case, a retail outlet will likely expect between a 40% and 50% -- still significant, but a slight cost benefit to you over a wholesale arrangement. However, you need to weigh this slight advantage against the greater potential for higher volume sales through a distributor. See section 5.3 for more information on wholesale and distribution. E-Book Pricing This is a topic much debated and in the news recently as the major publishing houses look to the future of publishing and how they can profit from e-books, while online retailers like Amazon look to keep costs low in order to keep competitors at bay. There are a number of schools of thought on this one. If you’re publishing a print version also, some experts suggest offering the e-version as a freebie for customers who order your print book directly from your website, where you can potentially keep more of the profits. If you’re looking to turn a profit on the e-book itself, however, the price structure may be influenced by how you’re producing the book and where you’re marketing it. Smashwords, for example, has a specific fee structure set up based on the cost of the print version of your book. For print books published with a list price of $22 or less, you cannot price your e-book higher than $9.99 for the first 12 months, per their agreement with Apple’s iBookstore. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 171 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher If you’re handling your own e-book conversion and distribution, examine your Title P&L carefully. What portion of your costs per unit are going toward printing, shipping, and storage expenses? These are not required for e-books, so you may be able to deduct this percentage from your price per unit. Another option, if your goal is to encourage e-book sales, is to set your prices based on the perceived value of the content (the price readers are willing to pay), and charge only a little more for the print version. With digital publishing and pricing still in flux, there is no single recommended standard or formula here. The basic guidelines for print books apply here as well, but your best bet is to do a careful analysis of your competition’s e-book prices and keep an eye on the latest headlines in the book trade publications and websites. 5.2 E-Commerce “Make it easy for people to buy books, including bulk books, with links on every page to purchase. Many buyers will only buy online from household name retailers, so you may want to include direct links for each project to vendors such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble. If the book is available as an e-book, don’t forget to let readers know. If the author can sign or even personalize books, this is a strong incentive to buy directly from the publisher, where the publisher and author will make the most profit.” — Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity As soon as you establish your business you will need to open a business checking account at a bank, trust company, or credit union. You can shop around to find a financial institution that is supportive of small business, or use the same one that you use for your personal banking. In addition to your checking account, a financial institution may provide you with a corporate credit card used to make purchases for your business, and a line of credit to purchase items for your business. The internet provides the greatest opportunity for new independent publishers and self-publishers to sell their books, without the timeconsuming and costly efforts involved in dealing with brick-andmortar bookstores. Online sales can help to level the playing field in 172 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher terms of access to customers. There are many online retailers, the most popular being Amazon.com, that can offer an outlet for your work. Many small publishers have been successful focusing their efforts here rather than expending time, energy, and money trying to get their books into physical bookstores when the potential risk may outweigh the potential reward. But first, let’s take a look at what you’ll need to do to accept direct orders from customers through your website. Although it’s extremely difficult to drive enough traffic to your website to rely on those sales alone, there are benefits to selling through your own site. When you sell direct through your website, you’re not required to offer the standard discounts that wholesalers and distributors will require, so you can potentially keep more of your profits. You have a variety of options for getting paid by your customers. 5.2.1 Accepting Credit Cards American Express and Discover cards set up merchant accounts nationally and internationally. MasterCard and Visa are local. To become a merchant accepting MasterCard and Visa, you will have to get accepted by a local acquirer (a financial institution like a bank licensed by the credit card company). Because yours is a new business, you may have to shop around to find one that gives you good rates (you may be charged between 1.5 and 3 percent per transaction for the service, and often an initial setup fee and perhaps ongoing fees for phone calls, postage, statements, and so on). You might also have to provide evidence of a good personal financial record to set up an advantageous rate, at least until you’ve become established in your business and have a good track record for them to look at. Remember, the bank is granting you credit in this instance, “banking” on the fact that your customers will not want refunds or that you won’t try to keep the money if they do. These days, although the acquiring bank will be a local bank somewhere, it need not be in your hometown. Numerous services are available online to help you set up a merchant account. MasterCard and Visa accounts, as well as American Express and Discover, can all be set up through your local bank or by going to the websites of each of these companies. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 173 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher MasterCard Merchant www.mastercard.us/merchants/index.html (USA) www.mastercard.ca/en-ca/businesses.html (Canada) Visa https://usa.visa.com/run-your-business/accept-visa-payments.html (USA) www.visa.ca/en_CA/run-your-business/accept-visa-payments.html (Canada) American Express https://merchant-channel.americanexpress.com/merchant/en_US/ accept-credit-cards (USA) www.americanexpress.com/amex/ca/en/merchant/index.html (Canada) Discover www.discovernetwork.com/merchants Square provides ways to process credit card transactions anywhere using their tools. One option is using their small card reader accessory that plugs into your mobile device, enabling you to swipe cards and receive payment through your phone or tablet. Customers will receive copies of their receipts via email. A newer device allows you to read chipped credit cards or accept payments with contact-free devices. Read more about their services at https://squareup.com. DirectPay is another way to get merchant account credit card services, and offers a variety of other tools useful to the professional book publisher, including online shopping carts and the ability to accept payments on-the-fly with a swipe reader accessory to your smartphone; such services are very useful for ‘back of the room’ (BOR) sales of your products, if you were, for instance, attending a special interest event such as ComicCon to sell your books. Read more about their services at www.directpayinc.com. 5.2.2 Accepting Payment Online You may choose to accept payments online through services such as PayPal (www.paypal.com) or Google Pay (https://pay.google.com). Typically, these services charge a greater “discount rate,” which is 174 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher what the banks and credit card companies call the 1.5 to 3 percent they withhold from your payments. And the purchase must usually be made online. Still, there may be instances when you are doing business online with some of your clients, and it may be useful then. Also, it provides a safe route for conveying financial information over the Internet. There are no monthly service or other account-related fees, but you will surrender a small percentage of each transaction to a service like PayPal. If you would like to accept credit card payments through PayPal, there is an additional small charge per transaction (1.9%-2.9%) plus an additional 30 cents per transaction. There is a small cross-border fee of up to one percent applied to foreign payments, but this is waived for funds coming from the U.S. to Canada. To find out more about PayPal’s services visit their website and click on “Merchant Services.” For more on setting up for e-commerce, see section 6.1.2. 5.2.3 Order Fulfillment “If you are only selling a few books a month, there is no real strain to filling orders. But if your marketing has been effective, you’ll be doing a lot of shipping. Then your time for marketing and planning your next great book get limited. Make sure you evaluate your needs once a month. Don’t get stubborn about a model which may be obsolete in a few months.” — Jacqueline Church Simonds, Beagle Bay, Inc., www.beaglebay.com So an order has been placed for your book – it could be an online order through your website for a single book or a larger order from a bookstore. Congratulations! But what happens next? In order to ensure happy customers and repeat business, you have to be able to compete in terms of fast and accurate order fulfillment. Does this mean you need to fill your garage with boxes of books and shipping materials? Well, you can, but that’s probably the least efficient method. Even if you have the space, this can potentially take up a lot of your time more profitably spent elsewhere. While you should always keep some books and shipping supplies on hand for signings, personal appearances, and other occasions that may arise, most of our experts recommend outsourcing the day to Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 175 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher day fulfillment services. This includes inventory storage, shipping, invoicing, and processing returns so that you can focus on the creative and marketing aspects of your business. If you’re working with a distributor, they will handle this for you (more on distributors and wholesalers in the next section). If not, you still have options. Fulfillment companies, unlike distributors, do not actively “sell” your book – they simply process and fulfill the orders. Think of them as an offsite freelance staff of sorts with a very specific area of expertise. They warehouse your books for a monthly fee and you refer all orders to them for handling in a timely and professional manner. Remember, this is all they do, so these operations generally run very seamlessly. Professional shipping operations can benefit you in numerous ways, including limiting damage to books in transit, which can be a potentially costly headache if you’re handling your own shipping. Most fulfillment companies can also handle credit card processing for you if you choose not to open your own merchant account as described earlier in this chapter. You simply provide their contact information on your website for orders and then wash your hands of the whole thing. Or, if you do your own credit card processing, you simply forward the orders through your shopping cart software. Some printers will also handle order fulfillment for you, which helps to further streamline the process and minimize costs. And of course, if you’re going POD, one of the major benefits is that you don’t have to worry about warehousing or shipping at all. Books are only printed upon order and fulfillment is handled by the printer. In addition to the cost of their services and fee structure, other criteria to consider in choosing a fulfillment company include: • Ease and timeliness of communication (do they offer a 24/7 toll- free call center?) • Accuracy and speed of order processing • Experience with publishers of your size/order volume • Size of staff 176 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Location (this impacts both shipping costs and transit time) The late Keith Shay of Ware-Pak blogged on this subject at www.warepak.com/blog/ecommerce-book-fulfillment/e-commerce-fulfillmentservices. Check out Ware-Pak‘s fulfillment services at www.ware-pak. com/fulfillment-services. BookMasters (www.bookmasters.com) is one of the most highly recommended fulfillment operations in the business, and they offer printing and distribution services as well if you’re looking for a quality “one stop shop” approach. You can also find a very comprehensive list of book fulfillment companies on John Kremer’s Bookmarket web site at www.bookmarket.com/4.htm. 5.3 Getting Your Books Into Bookstores and Libraries Sure, it’s nice to sell some copies through your own web site, but rightly or wrongly, most new publishers see getting their books on bookstores’ shelves as the holy grail of publishing. This option may or may not be worth pursuing, however, depending on your product and goals. “Bookstores (brick-and-mortar places, not online ones) will demand a return policy, whereby they can return any books up to 6 months. This is a risky business environment for a start-up publisher since a costly print run could have a significant number of returns, thus eliminating any profit. If your $16 book after production ($4), marketing and distribution ($1) and discounts ($9) only makes $2, then one return out of 2.5 sold means no profit.” — Sam Hendricks, Publisher, Extra Point Press In this section, we’ll take a look at the path to placement in brickand-mortar bookstores, should you decide to go this route. We’ll also explain how to get your books listed on Amazon and with other online retailers, which most of our experts indicated can be a far more profitable proposition for the new independent publisher. 5.3.1 Working with Wholesalers and Distributors “The thing to remember is that marketing books falls into two areas. The “sell in” (to booksellers) and the “sell through” (to consumers). Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 177 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Wholesalers do little more than to sell in. Booksellers want to know how you, the publisher, are going to drive consumers into their store. Whatever margin you give up to have distributor reps actually visit or call booksellers is sell in. So your choice is to either use a distribution group, or wholesale marketing. It would be a luxury to do both.” — Roger S. Williams, Literary Agent, Publish or Perish Agency While it may be possible to get your books into some independent bookstores without a wholesaler or distributor (see www.bookmarket. com/bookstores.htm for an exhaustive list of indie booksellers in a variety of categories), in most cases you will need to work within this system in order to gain access. Wholesalers and distributors are the major channels through which you, as an indie publisher, can make your titles available to the major brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as to libraries. Keep in mind if you’re planning to work with a distributor, it’s best to make these arrangements before your book goes to press so you have a plan in place and can ship the books directly from your printer (if these functions are not being handled by the same company). We’ve already discussed the basics of the standard discount system. But as a new small publisher or self-publisher, how do you find a distributor to represent your work to bookstores, and how do you get into the major wholesalers? What is the difference between the services a wholesaler provides versus those of a distributor, and do you need to have either or both? The major distinction between a distributor and a wholesaler is that a distributor will actually sell your book. Large publishing houses, like the Big 6, maintain their own sales force with reps whose sole responsibility it is to develop relationships with all the major retail outlets. They do the actual networking, leg work, and contact building involved in representing their publishing catalog to the retail stores’ buyers. The distributor fills this role for the small publisher, as well as providing fulfillment services (as we discussed in an earlier section). Once they sell the book to a bookstore (or Costco, or any other retail outlet), they also ship them, bill them, and handle returns. A wholesaler, on the other hand, does not reach out to buyers on your behalf. They simply act as a middle man, listing your book in 178 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher their catalog along with thousands of others and making it available for order by bookstores and libraries (who may or may not ever find it there, let alone order it, depending on your marketing efforts). The wholesaler may work either with a distributor, or directly with the publisher. While you’ll pay less by going the wholesaler-only route rather than making a deal with a distributor to work on your behalf, odds are you’ll sell far fewer books this way unless you have your own sales team. The wholesalers do not sell or promote your book in any way, so without any kind of track record or major publicity campaign, it’s unlikely bookstores’ buyers would take notice. In addition, it can be difficult for a new publisher to get their books accepted by the major wholesalers. If you’re interested in learning more about the advantages and disadvantages of wholesalers and distributors, one of our contributing experts, Jacqueline Simonds of Beagle Bay, Inc. has provided an excellent resource on the Association of Publishers for Special Sale’s site at http://community.bookapss.org/page/faq-distributors. The two major national wholesalers you need to be aware of are Ingram (www.ingramcontent.com), the top trade wholesaler (i.e. they deal with the bookstores) working with more than 25,000 publishers, and Baker & Taylor (www.btol.com), the primary wholesaler for the library market. Getting into Baker & Taylor in order to reach the library market is a simpler process since there are is no minimum number of titles you must publish, nor is their any ban on self-published books. If you’re not working with a distributor, you can list your books directly with them. One-time start-up fee ranges from $125 to $450 depending on the plan you choose, but you will receive a discount as a member of IBPA or SPAN. New title information must be submitted 6 months before publication. Learn more and complete the form to establish a relationship with B&T here: www.btol.com/suppliers_supplier_info. cfm. One of our expert contributors, Hallie Warshaw, whose company specializes in nonfiction for teens and tweens, has found libraries a relatively receptive market and offers the following tips on getting their attention: “One of our most effective marketing tools has been e-newsletters into one of our core markets, which are libraries. Also, going to their trade Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 179 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher shows and attending their conferences. Since the library market is a very big market for children’s books, it’s not difficult to market into this channel.” — Hallie Warshaw, Publisher and Creative Director, Zest Books Bookstores may be a more difficult sell. In order to have any chance of making a go of it in the bookstores your books absolutely must be listed in Ingram’s database. The problem for new publishers is that Ingram won’t accept books from publishers with a list of fewer than 10 titles. At least not directly. There are, however, several ways around this. Getting Into the Ingram Database The simplest way to get into Ingram as a new small publisher is to contract with a distributor that already has a relationship with them. Make sure this is spelled out before signing a contract and ensure the distributor, whether small or large, has been in business for a while and has a solid reputation. Some printers also offer distribution services that get you an automatic in with Ingram. If you’re printing your book POD with Lightning Source (www.ingramcontent.com/publishers/lp/lightningsource), for example, they have access to Ingram because they are a subsidiary. You’ll also save on shipping by using the same company for printing and distribution. If you choose their Print to Order service, Lightning Source can act as a wholesaler and ship your books directly to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and any number of other 3rd party sellers without you having to take delivery from your printer and then having to pay for shipping to your distributor. Another benefit is that Lightning Source also offers your book to the worldwide market through The Book Depository (www.bookdepository. com), which allows customers outside the U.S. to purchase your book without paying exorbitant overseas shipping fees. BookMasters, mentioned previously, is another respected distributor (and printer) that has such an arrangement with Ingram, as does Small Press United (www.smallpressunited.com), which is an arm of the major distributor Independent Publishers Group (IPG). While you may find it a tough road getting accepted by many of the larger distributors as a new publisher, SPU is affiliated with IBPA (in fact, if you sign up 180 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher with SPU, a free membership in IBPA is included) and is geared toward start-up publishers. They do, however, have very strict criteria for acceptance, which can be reviewed here: www.smallpressunited.com/ generalguidelines.html. In addition to the above, literary agent Roger Williams, a former bookseller and sales director at major publishing houses with over 30 years experience in the industry, suggests the following notable distributor consortiums: • National Book Network www.nbnbooks.com • Consortium Book Sales & Distribution www.cbsd.com • Publishers Group West www.pgw.com/home One downside to working with a distributor, in addition to the added cost, is that most of them will require an exclusivity agreement. They have the sole rights to distributing your book both in print and online. This means not participating in the Amazon Advantage program (more on this in the next section). However, as long as your distributor deals with all of the major outlets, like Amazon, this should not be a major concern. While distributors may offer some advantage over wholesalers, it’s important not to confuse selling with marketing. Even when working with a distributor, you are still responsible for your own marketing. Without an organized marketing campaign that creates buzz and reader demand, a distributor may get your books on the shelves, but that doesn’t mean they’ll sell. A high return rate is an unfortunate reality for many new publishers and authors who don’t grasp this important point. Returns So your distributor has gotten some bookstore orders for your titles and those books are moving out of the warehouse and onto the shelves. Great! However, an unfortunate reality in the publishing industry is Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 181 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher that you might just see those books again due to returns if a bookstore can’t move the product. When you sign a contract with a distributor or wholesaler, in addition to offering a discount, you will establish your company’s return policy. A return policy is often a condition of sale to retail outlets, and enables stores to return (either directly to you or to your distributor) any of your books that they’re unable to sell. The average return rate is between 20% and 30%, and for many new publishers this rate can be much higher – as much as 50% or 60% if you haven’t spent adequate time on market research and promotion. This can eat significantly into your profits since no money is earned on these returns – you’re simply out the production and shipping costs. In theory at least, books should be returned to you (or your distributor) in good condition so that they can be restocked. Ironically enough, the same bookstore that returned the books may end up re-ordering them. Others end up languishing in the distributor’s warehouse and are eventually pulped. It’s a decidedly inefficient and expensive system for all parties involved. Most POD publishers (i.e. CreateSpace, Lulu, iUniverse) do not offer a return policy as part of their standard contract, but you can sometimes pay a hefty extra fee for the privilege. Unfortunately, unless you sell a lot of books, a return policy alone is not going to be your key to bookstore profitability, or even entrance. If you’re printing POD with Lightning Source, however, you’ll be able to set your own return policy and will be listed with Ingram whether you have such a policy or not since Lightning is their subsidiary. The most important fact to take away about returns is how to limit them. The short answer is marketing. It’s not enough to do pre-release marketing on your books -- if you want to keep them on the shelves longer you have to create ongoing demand. See chapter 6 for book marketing strategies. 5.3.2 Amazon and Other Online Retailers The reality in the publishing business is that shelf space in brick-andmortar bookstores is shrinking as they make way for other products that will attract customers in an attempt to revive their flagging business. 182 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher The bookstores’ loss, however, appears to be Amazon’s gain. Amazon continues to report double-digit sales gains and remains a leader in the online retail business. For a new independent publisher, online retail helps to even the playing field. There’s no competing for shelf space or for better placement in the store – your books are listed right along side the big sellers, so you have a much better chance of being found online. And, while a brick-and-mortar bookstore can order any title for a customer, let’s face it, if you’ve gone to the trouble to go to a physical bookstore it’s because you want the book immediately. When customers are looking to order, they’ll generally go online. As mentioned previously, if you’re working with a distributor and have an exclusive contract (as most will require), they will handle your placement with Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, and other major online retailers. Wholesalers like Baker & Taylor and Ingram will also automatically make your book available through Amazon. If you’re going the e-book only route, Smashwords will also make your e-books available through Amazon, BN.com, and Apple. Alternatives to Smashwords (www.smashwords.com) include Draft2Digital (www.draft2digital.com) and Pronoun (https://pronoun.com), but after investigation (as Laurie Boris did; see her blog posts at www. indiesunlimited.com/2016/07/19/whats-smashwords-good-for and www.indiesunlimited.com/2014/11/10/thoughts-from-a-newlyconverted-draft2digital-user) you may find that the industry leader Smashwords provides the most comprehensive service package. Be sure to research other’s experiences before you decide; there’s no need for you to re-invent the wheel. Look to bloggers like https:// robinvanauken.com/why-i-broke-up-with-smashwords, https:// davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/choosing-the-rightdistributor-smashwords-vs-draft2digital, and https://tragicbooks. com/2017/01/02/my-experience-self-publishing-with-createspaceblurb-kindle-lulu-smashwords-and-peecho for current advice. If, however, you’ve decided to by-pass the physical bookstores altogether and focus strictly on online sales, you can easily list your books on these sites yourself in order to increase your profit margin, and you do not have to publish with Amazon’s self-publishing arm, CreateSpace, in order to do so. Once your books are listed on Amazon, whether through your distributor or the Advantage program, be sure to sign up for Author Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 183 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Central, where you can manage additional features, such as adding and updating your author bio and photo, writing a blog to connect with readers, and uploading cover images: https://authorcentral.amazon. com. Amazon Advantage As with physical bookstores, Amazon does not actually buy books from you – the arrangement is on a consignment basis. With the Amazon Advantage program, you simply sign up for an account and list the print books you wish to sell and Amazon orders enough copies from you to meet expected demand. They will contact you when their stock is low for replacement copies so the product page will always read “in stock” when customers view it. You (or your warehouse, printer, or wholesaler) ship the requested copies to Amazon’s warehouse and they handle the order fulfillment and processing from there. And, if you’ve ever ordered anything from Amazon, you probably wouldn’t argue with their assertion that Amazon has one of the most advanced fulfillment centers in the world and provide fast and accurate service. According to their current contract, Amazon pays the publisher on a monthly basis for any sales 30 days after the units are sold. The current annual fee to enroll in Amazon Advantage is $99. For this annual fee you may list as many titles as you would like. Amazon also requires the standard 55% discount, which means you receive 45% of the list price which you set (see the earlier sections in this chapter on pricing and standard discounts). If Amazon chooses to discount this list price to its customers, this comes out of their percentage. You pay shipping charges from your warehouse to Amazon’s distribution center, but not the cost of shipping from Amazon to the customer. For more information and to enroll online, visit www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-productpage.html?ie=UTF8&topic=200329780. Kindle Even without joining the Advantage Program, you can still sell your digital books in Amazon’s Kindle Store, which currently boasts an impressive 80% (be sure to check out http://fortune.com/2016/12/30/ amazon-kindle-digital-self-publishing) of the e-book market. Amazon recently improved their royalty offerings and authors now can earn as much as a 70% royalty on all Kindle sales to U.S. customers. Keep in 184 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher mind, however, that books must have a minimum list price of $2.99 to qualify for this rate. For lower priced books, you receive a 35% royalty. Visit Kindle Direct Publishing at https://kdp.amazon.com; at press time, a 95-page pdf guide is posted at https://kindlegen.s3.amazonaws. com/AmazonKindlePublishingGuidelines.pdf to let you in on the details. A number of people are selling their services to authors who wish to self-publish on Kindle but don’t wish to learn how. We recommend that—as an independent publisher—you settle down and learn the ins and outs for yourself, if Kindle is an avenue you want to travel. Again, there’s no need to re-invent the wheel; learn from others at links such as: • www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/kindle-self- publishing-free-but-at-what-cost-1061826 • www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2016/12/what- to-expect-when-youre-publishing-on-amazon-kindle-store-acde-fombelle-guest-post.html • www.justpublishingadvice.com/amazon-kindle-crackdown-on- ebook-quality • www.betterbythought.com/truths-kindle-direct-publishing- experts-wont-tell As mentioned previously, if you’re not especially comfortable with this technology, you can always utilize a service such as Smashwords, or hire a company that strictly does e-book conversions in a variety of formats. BarnesandNoble.com Where Kindle is the e-reader at Amazon, Nook (www.barnesandnoble. com/b/nook/_/N-1pbl) is the e-reader counterpart at Barnes & Noble, although B&N has certainly had a difficult time of it recently. After a miserable spring 2016 (http://diginomica.com/2016/03/07/bnnukes-the-nook-with-a-15-march-deadline-for-customers-to-savetheir-content), B&N relaunched the Nook in late November 2016, only to be hit almost immediately with a recall (https://9to5google. com/2017/01/13/barnes-nobles-nook-7-tablet-recall-2). Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 185 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Nook Press (www.nookpress.com) is the publishing arm of Barnes and Noble’s Nook e-reader, and has recently (see www.digitalbookworld. com/2016/barnes-noble-launches-nook-press-self-publishingplatform and www.bookbusinessmag.com/post/interesting-twist-bnsell-self-published-books) branched out from ebooks to print books. Whether B&N will make a go of this remains to be seen. Check out experiences of others; for instance author Carmen Webster Buxton compares her experiences at Amazon vs. B&N at http://carmenspage. blogspot.com/2016/10/barnes-noble-nook-press-print-vs-amazon. html. Apple and iBook Store The Apple iBook Store (https://support.apple.com/ibooks) is also open for business, but also has problems in competing against Amazon’s Kindle; see for instance www.talkingnewmedia.com/2016/08/12/sevensteps-to-fix-apples-house-of-horrors-the-ibooks-store. Nevertheless, you might choose Apple iBook Author as an ebook publishing avenue; the Apple page at https://support.apple.com/ibooks-author introduces you to the topic. You must have an Apple computer to use iBooks Author. MacIntosh users will enjoy the early 2016 article by Lesa Snider at www.macworld. com/article/3027531/software/essential-tips-for-creating-your-ownebooks.html. You might be interested in attending the iBooks Author Conference; see www.ibooksauthorconference.com for info. And in this arena as well you should look to the experience of other users; recent helpful posts at press time include: • www.thebookseller.com/futurebook/how-ibooks-author- quietly-winning-innovation-game-328075 • www.thecreativepenn.com/2016/04/07/sell-more-books-on- ibooks • www.perkinselearning.org/technology/digital-transitions/how- create-ibook-using-ibook-author-app TIP: 186 Are you a bit intimidated by the technology of publishing ebooks? Unfortunately, it’s beyond the scope of this guide to train you in the intricacies of so many different platforms. • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Remember: You can find many online tutorials and courses at Lynda (www.lynda.com), Udemy (www.udemy.com), and Coursera (www.coursera.org). 5.4 Financial Management 5.4.1 Bookkeeping We did not speak to a single business owner who enjoyed keeping books, but all of them stressed the importance of doing so. Maintaining accurate, up-to-date records can help you run your business more costeffectively and efficiently. By keeping track of how much everything costs, you’ll quickly know what marketing efforts don’t pay off, and what types of book projects are worth pursuing as you build your list. Keeping your books includes tracking two things: • How much money you have coming in • How much money you have going out Bookkeeping Systems Some people prefer to keep track of everything manually. Many business owners simply buy a few journals, write their accounts across the top and enter each month’s expenses by hand. This method works well if you are organized, and love the feel of pen on paper. But if you have employees, several sources of income, and a steady flow of traffic through your store, you’ll soon forget a few months, and it will become a monster lying in wait for you in your desk’s bottom drawer. When in doubt, get some help with your bookkeeping efforts. One solution is to invest in small business accounting software. Popular software packages such as these have excellent training available and can be purchased for a moderate price: • Quicken www.quicken.com • Quickbooks http://quickbooks.intuit.com Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 187 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Sage (formerly Peachtree) www.sage.com/us/size/small-business These powerful, bundled software packages can help you manage the following accounting functions: • Accounts payable • Accounts receivable and collections • General ledger, balance sheet, and cash flow • Invoicing and billing • Payroll • Report generation • Stock and inventory • Tax deductible expense tracking In addition to these functions, a program like QuickBooks lets you import all of your financial data into its QuickTax program, to make your tax filing simple and painless. Publishing Software In addition to basic bookkeeping software, you may wish to invest in accounting software designed specifically for publishers. Depending on the size of your publishing operations, there are a range of products available at different price points and with various levels of flexibility and integration with basic programs like QuickBooks. These programs can help you create royalty statements, keep track of fulfillment data (whether handled by you or a distributor) and subsidiary rights, and manage Title P&Ls. Several programs recommended by experts for small to mid-sized publishers include: • iPUB www.ipubtech.com • Publishers’ Assistant www.pubassist.com 188 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • DashBook www.dashbook.com • AnyBook www.ronwatters.com/RonSoft.htm Even though software can make most of the work easier for you, you might consider taking a beginning accounting or a bookkeeping class at a local community college. Accounting basics are vital information that all business owners need, but sometimes neglect to learn. Even if you hire someone to do your books, you’ll need to know the basics so that you can understand what is going on in your accounts. You might consider hiring a part-time bookkeeper on a contract basis if you find yourself so busy publishing that you don’t have time to do your books yourself. Depending on how busy you are, it may take the bookkeeper a few hours per week to get your books up to date and balance them with your bank statements. You can find a bookkeeper through word of mouth or your favorite search engine. Even if you plan on having a fulltime bookkeeper or accountant, you should know enough about your business’ books to be able to do them yourself if you need to, and certainly to be able to check the accuracy and honesty of those whom you employ. You should know how to: • Make a daily sales report of how much money you take in every week • Make accounts payable and accounts receivable reports • Make and read an income statement (also called a profit and loss statement) • Make and read a cash flow statement • Understand a balance sheet The following sections will help you to understand more about these business basics. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 189 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 5.4.2 Financial Statements and Reports Income Statement (Profit and Loss Statement) Your income statement (also called a profit and loss or P&L statement) will tell you how much money you have in expenses and how much money you have in revenue for a given period. A number of things are necessary for an income statement. You’ll need to know: • Your revenues for the period (gross sales minus returns and discounts) • The cost of goods sold (what it cost you during the period to produce and distribute your books) • Your gross profit (revenues minus cost of goods sold) • Your operating expenses (everything you must pay for to operate your business, including non-cash items like depreciation) • Your net profit before and after taxes (revenues minus your operating expenses, and then subtract your tax liability) The end result will tell you how much money your company is making — what is commonly referred to as “the bottom line.” On the next page is an example of a typical income statement. 190 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Sample Income Statement Income Statement [Company Name] for month ending July 31, 20__ REVENUE ($) Online sales Bookstore sales Other sales 5,250 1,600 150 Total Sales $7,000 COST OF GOODS SOLD Inventory and material purchases Shipping Supplies 1,800 50 150 Total cost of goods sold $2,000 GROSS PROFIT $5,000 EXPENSES Lease Insurance Licenses & taxes Office supplies & postage Interest Utilities Wages Telephone and Internet Depreciation Vehicle expenses Repairs & maintenance 1,850 75 250 100 95 225 550 115 55 220 65 Total Expenses $3,600 Net Income for the Month Copyright © IAP Career College $1,400 • iapcollege.com • 191 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Title Profit and Loss Statement (Title P & L) In addition to doing a general profit and loss statement to keep track of expenses and income for your business as a whole, most publishers create an estimated Title P&L for each book while in the planning stages to determine its potential for the company. This report is used to help you: • Decide whether or not to acquire a particular title • Determine the retail price • Determine the size of your print run • Make decisions about where costs can be cut to increase profit margin You may also wish to run a Title P&L prior to the book’s release, and later in the process to compare a book’s actual performance against the rest of your list and against industry averages for comparable titles. The specific information contained in a Title P&L may vary somewhat from publisher to publisher, but the basic data that should go into your analysis includes: • Estimated revenue the book will generate • Estimated cost of production (including design, printing, shipping, and author royalties) • Sales and marketing costs (including advertising, distribution, and fulfillment fees) You can use a simple Excel spreadsheet to create a basic template that can be used for all your Title P&Ls. If you’re using publishing software it will likely come with the capability to create this report. To get started on creating and analyzing a title’s profit and loss statement, consult sources such as: • http://gropenassoc.com/blog/2009/11/a-typical-trade-titles-pl • https://janefriedman.com/book-pl • http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/2009/10/p-1-of-4-basics.html 192 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • http://aaupwiki.princeton.edu/index.php/Book_Publishing_ Accounting:_Some_Basic_Concepts • https://microcosmpublishing.com/blog/2016/08/business-of- publishing-how-to-write-a-pl-statement If you wish to go beyond the basics and learn about creating a Title P&L for a larger publishing operation, see Thomas Woll’s excellent explanation, tips, and example in Publishing for Profit: Successful BottomLine Management for Book Publishers. Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement allows you to quickly see whether more cash is coming in than going out, or vice versa, at the end of each month. It also allows you to make projections for certain periods of the year (such as the winter months when you might have increased sales due to the holiday season), or project cash flow year-over-year, and budget accordingly. You can also use it to track monthly cash flow and make projections for the coming month. This is handy if you’re planning to make a large equipment or inventory purchase or hire additional help for a mailing or other special project and need to know if you can afford it. Cash flow is an important element of your financial picture. Monitoring cash flow lets you see how well your business is doing from day to day. Are you paying expenses with the money you take in from your operating revenues, or are you paying for expenses with other business funds such as banked working capital? If you are doing so with the former, your business is self-sustaining. To keep track of expenses, you will need to keep copies of all receipts. This can be a challenge for new business owners who might have a habit of tossing out receipts for small items or not asking for receipts in the first place. However, you are likely to have numerous small expenses related to your business, and these can add up over time. These expenses should be accounted for so you can minimize your taxes. And, of course, knowing exactly where your money is going will help you plan better and cut back on any unnecessary expenses. So make it a habit to ask for a receipt for every expense related to your business. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 193 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Here is a sample six-month cash flow worksheet for the first six months of operation. Sample Six Month Cash Flow Worksheet Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Starting Cash Cash Receipts Cash sales Credit card receipts Total Cash Disbursements Start-up costs Advertising Bank charges Fees & dues Fixed assets Insurance Loans-Principal Loans-Interest Licenses & Taxes Returns Office supplies Professional fees Rent Repair & maintenance Telephone & internet Utilities Wages & benefits Owner’s draw Monthly Surplus or Deficit (Cash less Disbursements) To Date Surplus or Deficit* [Monthly surplus/deficit to date is calculated by carrying through any deficit or surplus from month to month] 194 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Accounts Payable/Receivable Reports Accounts payable are those accounts that you must pay — the money or bills your business owes. Accounts receivable are any accounts that are owed your business — the money that others owe you. Accounts receivable reports can vary widely depending on how you do business. For instance, accepting credit cards or selling over the Internet will affect how this report looks. And you may sell more at certain times than at others. Accounts payable reports will tell you what bills you owe and when they are due. It’s important to know clearly what you owe before you make any additional purchases. You have to be able to pay all your incoming bills and still have enough money for the other things you need to purchase for your business. An accounts payable report will help you to schedule when you will pay your bills, and will help you make sure nothing is neglected or forgotten. Balance Sheet A good metaphor for a balance sheet is that it is a snapshot, like a photograph, of your business taken at one moment in time. A balance sheet is the quickest way to see how your business is doing at a glance. It shows you what you own and what you owe. In other words, it is a balance of your assets against your liabilities. The balance sheet consists of: • Assets (the items you own including your inventory) • Liabilities (what you owe) • Owner’s Equity (what you’ve put into the business) Types of assets are current assets and fixed assets (long-term and capital assets). A current asset is something that is acquired by your business over your business’s fiscal year and will probably be used during that period to generate more revenue. Inventory, prepaid expenses such as rent already paid, and accounts receivable are examples of current assets. A fixed asset is an item that doesn’t get used up quickly such as land, buildings, machinery, vehicles, long-term investments, etc., whose value is depreciated over time. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 195 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher There are two types of liabilities: current and long-term. A current liability includes all those bills waiting for you to send a check out, such as utilities, short-term loans, or anything else payable within twelve months. A long-term liability is something that will be paid over a period of time longer than twelve months, for instance, a mortgage, a long-term equipment lease, or a long-term loan. Owner’s equity is anything you’ve personally contributed to (invested in) the business or any profit that remains in the owner’s account that you have not drawn out in wages for yourself. If you used money from your personal accounts, or put your own assets into the business’s inventory, the business “owes” you and it is recorded in this section of the balance sheet. On the following page, you’ll find an example of a typical balance sheet. Note that assets balance exactly against liabilities + owner’s equity. Also note that owner’s equity equals assets minus liabilities. 196 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Sample Balance Sheet Balance Sheet [Company Name] As at June 30, 20__ ASSETS Current Assets Cash Accounts Receivable Inventory 12,200 1,000 80,000 Total current assets 93,200 Fixed Assets Furniture Vehicle 3,500 20,000 Total fixed assets 23,500 TOTAL ASSETS $116,700 LIABILITIES Current Liabilities Accounts Payable Taxes Payable Loan (short-term) Current Portion of long-term loan 5,000 2,225 12,500 667 Total Current Liabilities 20,392 Long-term liabilities Loan 35,000 TOTAL LIABILITIES 55,392 OWNER’S EQUITY Capital – Owner’s Deposits Less Owner’s withdrawals Net Income/Loss 90,000 (32,500) 3,808 Total Owner’s Equity 61,308 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND OWNER’S EQUITY $116,700 Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 197 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 6. Marketing Your Books “I think that a lot of folks think about marketing a book last instead of keeping this in mind when choosing their subject matter. You have to be willing to commit to marketing and promoting your book at least three times a day for the first two years.” — Linda F. Radke, President, Five Star Publications, Inc. Holding that first printed copy in your hands (or admiring your masterpiece on your e-reader of choice) after navigating the challenging publishing waters is inarguably a tangible measure of your accomplishment, and one of which you should be proud. However, if your goal is to share your work with others, and perhaps make a profit along the way, producing a quality book is just the beginning! Sure, a few folks may accidentally stumble upon your website and be intrigued enough to buy your book, or may find it while browsing on Amazon. But after all you’ve invested in your book, do you really want to rely on chance? If you hope to build a lasting publishing business 198 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher with a successful catalog of books, not just one title, you also need to start thinking in terms of building your brand. Marketing and promotion will be one of your most important – and ongoing -- tasks as an independent publisher. Many publishers and authors who are less comfortable with this aspect of the business choose to seek professional guidance. Publisher Kimberley Debus offered the following: “I got into publishing because I love editing and design. I did NOT get into publishing because I love publicity and marketing – and it’s still my weak spot. But there are people who do this well, and so I hire them. It relieves my stress and anxiety, and frees my time to do the work I love.” — Kimberley Debus, Publisher, Mélange Press Getting your books out there in the public eye will require you to be organized and proactive, whether you choose to take on these responsibilities yourself or hire a marketing or PR pro to help with the job. Even authors who publish their works with major publishing houses, unless they are big names, typically have to take on the brunt of the marketing work and learn how to interact effectively with the media. A PR person may use their connections to get you into a major bookstore for a signing or get you an interview with a magazine, but ultimately the author is still the public face of the book. This section outlines a variety of marketing tools and techniques you can try, but first we’ll start with an overview of how to target your marketing efforts. Determine Your Target Market If you’ve followed the steps outlined in this guide, you’ve already done market research to determine the potential audience for your book and ultimately your goal is to reach these consumers. In order to determine which of the following tools will be most effective for you in doing that, however, spend some time considering which avenues might help you reach your target readers in the greater numbers. Good targets for your promotional efforts might include: Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 199 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Professional associations (if your nonfiction book deals with a topic of interest to a particular group, it can be useful to target these organizations for your mailings) • Retail outlets other than bookstores (your book on the best places to hike with your dog will stand out far more in a pet store or a store that sells hiking gear than it will in a bookstore) • Influential reviewers (getting your book reviewed is great free publicity and a source of “blurbs” for your web site and book cover – more on this later in the chapter) • Book clubs (no, we’re not talking Oprah here – but becoming a book of the month club selection is also great promotion for your book, beyond the sales it directly generates to members) • Experts in your field (a recommendation from an influential expert can potentially sell a lot of books, as can a university professor using your book as required reading for a class they’re teaching) • Other publishers / producers (selling subsidiary rights, such as audio or film rights, or the rights to publish a translation of your work in a foreign country, can provide an added income source) Once you have decided where you want to target your marketing efforts to begin with, you can prepare materials and plan marketing activities that will most appeal to those groups. As you gain more experience and gauge the results of your initial marketing efforts, you may choose to branch out to different markets or fine tune the focus of your approach. Don’t be afraid to try different methods and get as much feedback as you can along the way. However, starting with some specific target markets in mind can help you focus your marketing efforts most efficiently – saving you both time and money. 6.1 Marketing Tools When you start a new business, you will have to invest in some business promotional tools at the outset. These tools should be designed in a way consistent way to promote both your business and the style of your business; this includes the choice and use of a logo. 200 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher An attractive logo is an important part of branding your business; a logo may be used to tie together all your printed materials as well as be displayed on your website. There are companies such as DesignContest (www.designcontest.com/logo-design) and Fiverr (www.fiverr.com/ categories/graphics-design/creative-logo-design) that help you find a logo designer for a reasonable price. If you have a concept for a logo in mind and you feel creative, you can design your own logo. Logo design software such as Logo Design Studio (www.summitsoft.com/logocenter.html) or LogoMaker (www.logomaker.com) can be obtained for around $50. 6.1.1 Printed Materials Your printed materials include business cards, stationery (such as letterhead, envelopes, and mailing labels), and other marketing materials such as brochures. If you have a computer with a high quality printer, you may be able to inexpensively print professional looking materials from your own computer. Free templates for the print materials you are likely to need in your business can be found online. An excellent resource is the Microsoft Office Online Templates Homepage at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates. At this site you can search a database to find templates for: • Business stationery (envelopes, labels, letters, memos, etc.) • Marketing materials (brochures, flyers, newsletters, postcards, etc.) • Other business documents (expense reports, invoices, receipts, time sheets, etc.) As an alternative to printing materials yourself, and for materials that won’t fit through your printer (such as folders), consider using a company that provides printing services. Beautiful stationery can convey to prospective clients that you have a good eye and a high standard of excellence. Your printed materials can be easily designed, paid for and delivered without leaving the house. Here are links to some companies that provide printing services for small businesses: Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 201 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • FedEx Office www.fedex.com/us/office/online-printing-services.html • The Paper Mill Store www.thepapermillstore.com • Vistaprint www.vistaprint.com • MOO www.moo.com/us • Jukebox www.jukeboxprint.com While the resources listed above can help with all your printing needs, here is some advice about two types of materials that are particularly important for marketing purposes – business cards and brochures. Business Cards Business cards are a definite must in any business. A business card gives customers the essential contact information for your company, and every time you hand one out you should think of it as a miniadvertisement. For maximum exposure, post your business card on every bulletin board you see. Business cards should state your name, your business name, your phone number, your email address, and your website. If applicable, you might list your home address as your business location, but most people who work from home choose to leave this detail out. This prevents anyone from bothering you after hours, or losing business because people think you are area-specific. The basic information to list on your business cards includes: • Your name • Your title (such as President or Owner) • Your company name • Your contact information (phone numbers, email address) 202 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Your web address In addition, consider including the following items to promote you and your publishing services: • Professional memberships and certifications • Any specializations offered • Company logo • Your mailing address (use a personal mailbox from a company such as Mail Boxes Etc. in lieu of a home address) Keep business cards the standard size, 2 x 3 ½ inches, and if possible, invest in a sturdy card that has a good weight and feel to it. The cost of business cards can vary depending on how much or how little of the work you do creating them. You can hire a graphic artist to design a logo, do the layout and even arrange for printing; most print shops have a design specialist on staff to help with these matters. Or, you can easily do it yourself. Whichever way you decide to go, make sure your business card is a reflection of you and your publishing business. Your business card should be printed on good-quality card stock, in a font that reads clearly. You might find that a photo of you is not out of place on your card. You should be able to get several hundred business cards printed for less than $100. Expect to pay a bit more for gloss or four-color printing when you include a photo. If your budget is limited, a good source for high quality low-cost cards is VistaPrint at www.vistaprint.com. Visit their site to see a wide variety of designs you can consider; you can upload your logo and do the design yourself in a matter of an hour or so. TIP: Check online at sites like RetailMeNot for a VistaPrint coupon; there is almost always one available. Once your cards are printed, always keep some on hand, you never know whom you might run into. Keeping your business cards in a case is more professional than keeping them scattered across the bottom of Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 203 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher your briefcase or bag. It will also ensure that you only hand out pristine cards, and not a worn or stained card. Pass your business cards out whenever it is appropriate. Give them to your friends, your relatives, people you meet at social functions, the people behind the counter at your local coffee shop, your dentist, your mail carrier. Mention that you are a publisher when handing out your card, so that people will look at it later and make the connection. When you send letters to people, stick a business card in the envelope. Postcards & Bookmarks You or your designer can also create glossy color postcards and bookmarks (typically using your book’s cover design) to promote an individual book title. These have become something of a standard in the publishing industry. In addition to your contact information, include any book awards the title has won (or been a finalist for), book club selections, or other testimonials and endorsements for the book (if you don’t have these yet, don’t worry – you can use some of the techniques in this section to get them!). Postcards and bookmarks are particularly handy for mailings to bookstores in preparation for an author appearance, to send out with review copies, and to hand out at book signings or trade shows. Check the vendor resources sections of the professional association websites listed in chapter 3 for printers who specialize in producing these materials for publishers. Many printing companies offer postcards at reasonable prices, and some (for instance www.postcardmania. com and www.modernpostcard.com) specialize in both printing and mailing them from a mailing list you provide. For promotional bookmarks, check out sources such as: • www.4imprint.com/tag/608/Bookmarks • www.epromos.com/promotional-bookmarks/_/N-14226 • www.48hourprint.com/promotional-bookmarks.html • www.printrunner.com/bookmarks/printed-bookmarks- promotion.html 204 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Brochures Brochures can be very effective at getting the word out about your publishing company and books. Your brochure should contain basic information such as business hours, contact information, mission statement, and a short description of your book titles. Some publishers choose to develop very detailed brochures while others prefer a clean look with less detail. A brochure can explain the finer points of your business when you are not there to do it yourself; it should be colorful enough to catch the attention of potential authors and clients, but not too busy; professional, flawlessly proofed, informative, interesting, and memorable. You may choose to have several brochures for different target markets; for instance, if you publish a fantasy/science fiction line and also a nonfiction hobbyist line. Along with the information found on your business card, brochures might include: • Information about the services you provide • A description of your professional qualification • A short bio and photograph of you • Positive reviews and testimonial quotes from satisfied clients and authors • Your association affiliations and their logos • Anything else that you feel gives your business credibility What if you aren’t a writer or you have never made your own brochure before? You can still put together a great brochure if you follow these steps. Get Some Examples Networking or attending a trade show are great ways to gather marketing materials to look at. You don’t necessarily have to see the brochures of other publishers — any brochure that sells a service prepared by a self-employed or small business owner is helpful for you to view. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 205 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Jot Down Your Ideas These ideas can later be used to create a rough draft for your brochure. You can also use the work you did in Chapter 3 (in which you planned your business and chose your niche) to come up with your brochure ideas. Write Your Bio A bio is a short, biographical paragraph (or two) about you. It should include your name and company’s name; your professional focus or specialty; your recent claims to fame; and products or services your business offers that are especially interesting. You can save this bio and use it with press releases, articles you write, and on your website. Make a Rough Draft You can make a rough draft with the information you have so far. One easy way to do this is with a pencil and a piece of paper. Just take a standard-sized piece of paper and fold it as your brochure will be folded. Most brochures are three-panel brochures, so fold your rough draft paper just as if you are folding a letter to place in an envelope. Sketch out how you want the information to appear. Lay it Out Now that you have a rough draft, you are ready to move to your computer. Some software programs like MS Publisher have “wizard” features that allow you to move through pre-organized template steps and simply fill in your text and add pictures and logos. If you are new to desktop publishing, MS Word is a little easier to use, but has some limits to it as well. If you want to design your own brochures, you can find brochure templates at the Microsoft Office website mentioned at the beginning of this section. To illustrate it, you can purchase low-cost photos through websites such as iStock (www.istockphoto.com), Dreamstime (www. dreamstime.com), and Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com). If you want to publish photos of your own authors or staff, or covers of books you have published (whether on your website or in print), be sure you have the involved party sign a release form that gives you permission to use the images in any of your promotional materials without 206 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher compensation. Most people are happy to have their images used in such a positive way but there may be exceptions. Here is a sample of a release form you can use. Sample Release Form I hereby give (insert your name) permission to use my photograph taken of me on (insert date) at (insert location) for promotional, on-line or commercial purposes. I am of legal age. ___________________________ ________________________ (Print Name) (Date) ___________________________ (Signature) If you don’t think you can design this yourself, a printer should be able to put together what you have in mind, for an additional cost. After any printed materials are designed, proof super-carefully; get a friend with a sharp eye to look, too, and let you know if any areas are unclear. You’re then ready to find a printer and select paper. While the challenge of designing an effective brochure is one thing, how to effectively distribute them is another. Brochures can be distributed by mail, handed out at networking events in conjunction with or instead of business cards, and sent with a press release to the local media (see section 6.2.2). 6.1.2 Your Website “The most effective marketing tools are the involvement of the author, a strong media kit and a dynamic website.” — Linda F. Radke, President, Five Star Publishing, Inc. A website is an excellent tool for promoting your publishing company and its titles, as well as for selling your books directly to your audience. Some publishers even create a separate site or blog for each book and/ or author they publish. Your website lets people know what you do, who you are, and how to contact you. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 207 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Potential customers will judge the quality of your business and publications by what they see on your site. Journalists may decide to write about your books (or not) based on how professional your site looks and whether the information they need for their story is easily located (by providing a separate media or FAQ section, for example). Authors may also be judging you and deciding whether or not to send you their manuscript for consideration based on how professional your site looks – after all, if you don’t do a good job of presenting what you have to offer, how will you be able to promote their books? While your website will be evolving in terms of content, it’s best to get it up and running before you attempt any other marketing or distribution efforts. It’s the first place people are likely to look in deciding whether or not they want to do business with you or promote your books in their publications. Making a professional first impression here is important so it’s not an area where you want to skimp. What to Include on Your Website “I think having an “online press kit” that bookstores and distributors can use to get more info on titles is helpful. It’s also nice to have a way for people to get in touch with authors, such as an author Facebook of Twitter page.” — David Hooper, MusicMarketing.com Any information you would include in a brochure (described earlier in this chapter) can also be included on your website. You should also visit websites of other successful independent publishers to get ideas for your own site. Here are some ideas of what to include on your website to get you started: • Home page to navigate through your site • Pages for each of your books, including photos of your cover art and authors (several of our experts suggested making these downloadable in both high and low resolution for easy print and online media use), providing summaries and samples of the contents, an author bio, and any testimonials, awards, or highlights from positive reviews. 208 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • “About Us” page: this is where you let your customers know who you are, what your publishing mission is, and what expertise you have. You may wish to include logos from any professional publishing associations to which you belong to increase your credibility. • A way to contact you, including at least your company name, telephone number and email address. This should ideally be on every page, but you can also have a “Contact Us” page with your business mailing address, email address and other contact information. • Information on how to order your books, preferably including a shopping cart program accepting credit cards and/or PayPal link (more on this in chapter 5). • A blog or link to your (or your authors’) Facebook or Twitter pages so you can easily alert followers about a new book release, positive review, award, or just offer a helpful tip aimed at your target audience. • A media page with any press releases you have written and list of publications where you have been quoted as an expert. • To build up a contact list, you could offer a free email newsletter, and include a place at your website where visitors can subscribe. Your newsletter could include articles about your latest book releases, book signings, and information about promotions and discounts. If you have a very specific nonfiction niche, this might also lend itself to providing free articles about your area of expertise to help generate more interest in your books. You could also offer a discount on the next book purchase to encourage people to sign up. Your newsletters can also be posted online. TIP: You can send out email newsletters inexpensively through a company such as Constant Contact at www. constantcontact.com. The cost starts at $20 per month for a list of up to 500 people, and a free trial is available. Other companies that do email newsletters and autoresponders include AWeber (www.aweber.com), Campaign Monitor (www.campaignmonitor.com), and MailChimp (www. mailchimp.com). Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 209 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Sandra Poirier-Diaz, a publishing PR expert whose company represents many small independently published projects, has regularly secured top-level media coverage (Today Show, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Oprah and Friends, etc.) for authors offers the following tip on constructing effective author bios for your website. “While the book often has a short bio, on a website, the bio can be more detailed, with personality. This should include the education, work and/or life experiences. Examples include past publishing projects, colleges or universities attended, living or traveling abroad or in a region related to the book, specific media outlets where the author has been featured, venues where the author has been a speaker, and any fun, relevant personal information to make the author human.” — Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity Here are some features and additional information to consider including on your website as you begin to grow your business and list of titles: • Manuscript submission guidelines (if you plan on publishing the work of other authors and wish to accept unsolicited manuscripts, sample chapters, or proposals). • A reader resources page geared toward book discussion groups – this may include a list of downloadable discussion questions for each of your titles and interviews with your authors about what inspired their work (this works best for fiction or memoir, not “how-to” books). • Some publishers offer opportunities for interested parties (for instance, book clubs or classrooms) to video-conference with their authors; for instance, check out Penguin (www.penguin. com/school-library/skype-authors) and Scholastic (http://teacher. scholastic.com/products/tradebooks/inviteanauthor.htm). Developing Your Website Next, you’ll need to get an address, or domain name, for your site. There are a number of sites where you can search for and register a domain name. One web host we have found that provides good service for a low cost is www.godaddy.com. Yahoo! also offers a quick 210 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher search for domain name availability via subsidiary Aabaco at www. aabacosmallbusiness.com/domains. If your preferred domain name is available, but you’re not yet ready with your website, you can also “park” your domain. This means that you register the domain so that someone else does not take it before you’re up and running with your business website. You then park the domain with your web host. Once you register your domain, you will need to find a place to “host” it. You can host it with the same company where you’ve registered the name. For example, if you register a domain name through GoDaddy, you might use their hosting services to put your website online. Another low-cost option is Bluehost (www.bluehost.com). Yahoo! offers a popular low-cost web hosting service at service at http:// smallbusiness-domain.com/yahoohost. You can find a wide variety of other companies that provide hosting services by doing an online search. Before choosing a web host, use the internet to research web hosting scams to help you avoid similar problems. Another option is to use a free blog service such as WordPress. It allows you to set up your site as a traditional web site rather than a blog, if you wish. First impressions mean a lot! Your potential clients/customers will judge the quality of your business and services by what they see on your website. If you don’t have the time or expertise to design a polished, professional website yourself, you should hire a professional web developer to build and maintain your website. Feel free to reach out to the IAP Career College webmaster Eric Davis (owner of Jaber Marketing, LLC: jabermarketing.com) at eric@ jabermarketing.com or contact him via his website. He will be able to help your business with all of your online needs. If you decide to hire someone else to design your website for you, be sure that you clearly communicate the image you want to project. You want your website to be a reflection of what you and your company stand for and the type of customers you want to attract. Think carefully about your niche. For example, are you planning to publish books about Eastern philosophy or meditation? Then you might want your Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 211 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher website to have a clean, uncluttered feel. Or if your niche is books relating to computers and technology, consider a more high-tech edge for your website. Prospective customers are looking for books they feel that they can relate to, so appealing to their aesthetic with your website can be an important part of achieving that initial connection. But creating the website is only half the battle — adding to and updating it frequently is important, yet time-consuming. If you don’t have the time to spend on maintaining a website, you may prefer to pay to outsource its ongoing maintenance. Software such as Microsoft Expression Web or Adobe Dreamweaver has made creating web pages possible for just about anyone with the time and energy. If you are already experienced at creating web pages, or learn quickly, you can design your website yourself; if you don’t have design software already, check out free programs like SeaMonkey (available at www.seamonkey-project.org). You may also use the website development tools offered by domain and hosting companies, described above. Promoting Your Site A great site is only as good as how many people it attracts. No matter how much you spend on creating your website, if people don’t know it exists, it won’t help your business. Once you have set things in motion and your website is ‘live,’ put your website address on absolutely everything you send out. Put it in your email signature and on all your printed materials. Encourage people to visit your site by mentioning it as often as you can, for example, whenever you write an article, give a presentation, or are interviewed by the media. Make certain you list your site on all your business forms, cards, brochures, signs, and even your car, van or truck. (Check out car door magnets at www.vistaprint.com/car-door-magnets.aspx). When you list items for sale on any other website, like eBay for example, add your website address. If you spend time on blogs or newsgroups, add your site’s hyperlink to your signature. Make sure people can find your website by getting it into the search engines and listing it with industry websites. While some sites and 212 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher search engines charge a fee to guarantee that your website will be included in their directory, you can submit your website for free to Google at https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6259634. Once you’re on Google, your site is likely to be found by other search engines as well. Your web hosting company may offer a search engine submission service for an additional fee. You can find information about “optimizing” your website, to help it rank higher on search engines, at the Search Engine Watch website at http://searchenginewatch.com and at Google’s Webmaster Help Center at https://support.google.com/ webmasters/answer/35769. Consider attending Google’s Webmaster Academy at https://support. google.com/webmasters/answer/6001102. And be sure that your business can easily be found online by listing your business at major search engines and internet directories, including: • Angie’s List https://business.angieslist.com • Bing www.bingplaces.com • CitySearch www.citysearch.com • Foursquare http://business.foursquare.com • Google My Business www.google.com/business • Super Pages www.superpages.com • MerchantCircle www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/landing/signup.html • Yahoo Local https://local.yahoo.com • Yelp https://biz.yelp.com Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 213 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher And to be sure you are easy to find on GPS navigational devices, unless you are doing business out of your home, register your business at: • GPS Data Team www.gps-data-team.com/corporate_customers.html • Express Update www.expressupdate.com In addition to the free search engine listings, you can advertise on the search engines. See section 6.2.1 for more information. 6.1.3 Social Media “The rise of social media has been an enormous asset to the new fiction publisher. Blogs, Twitter and Facebook are the new “book tours” of the 21st century, and the proliferation of new online review outlets offer tremendous low-cost opportunities for new fiction publishers to find readers.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, IBPA If you have a good chunk of time to devote to online marketing, you can use social networking sites such as Facebook (www.facebook.com) and LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), do micro-blogging (brief updates) at Twitter (www.twitter.com), create videos to post at YouTube (www. youtube.com), and create pages for sites such as Hub Pages (http:// hubpages.com), among other online marketing activities. Effective use of social media platforms has fast become almost a necessity in marketing small businesses. One important way to learn and to interact is to follow what content your competition is presenting. The bookseller Amazon lists over 200 titles in the category ‘Social Media for Business,’ and the Internet offers countless articles as well. I will not attempt to cover the topic in detail but rather provide a brief overview of several major social media venues that you may find offer useful accessories to your website. Yelp www.yelp.com Yelp provides a business review guide in major urban areas. Originally started in San Francisco in 2005 as a restaurant review site, Yelp is now 214 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher used by over 84 million unique users per month in over 20 countries to check out local businesses providing goods and services ranging from nightlife to auto repairs to medical services. Anyone can read Yelp reviews, but users must open a free account to be able to write reviews, which allow the user to assign a one-star to five-star rating as well as to write about what they like (or don’t like) about businesses they’ve patronized. A free Business Owner account is also available, by which businesses may reply to reviews as well as message users, add photos to their listings, engage in a variety of promotional activities, and view trends and statistics for their own page. Yelp is supported by advertising revenue; advertising can be targeted in a variety of ways, including having your business ad appear when users view your competitor’s page and blocking competitor’s ads from appearing to viewers of your page. Tumblr www.tumblr.com Owned by Yahoo, Tumblr is a microblogging and social networking platform. Profiles may be public or private; many features are free, but some premium features are offered for an initial or a monthly fee. Registered users may follow other users (and be followed), re-blog posts, and post ‘likes’ so that one’s friends may view what one has found interesting. Along with text, both still images and videos may be posted, and a limited amount of ecommerce can take place via PayPal or other avenues. Users can choose their pages to appear with a free theme, or hire a designer to provide a custom theme. Launched in 2007, on some days over 100 million posts are made by users around the world. Advertising revenue is the main support for Tumblr, although recently companies have been offered opportunities to pay to promote their own content to larger audiences. Facebook www.facebook.com With over 1 billion users and translated into 37 languages, Facebook nation is the world’s largest social network with three times the population of the United States. You must first register to create a profile, then you can access features such as posting photos/videos; adding contacts with whom you may exchange messages and live chat; publicizing events including issuing invitations and tracking planned attendance; and posting ‘classified’ listings in the Marketplace. There Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 215 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher is no charge to join and use Facebook; it is supported by advertising revenue. Twitter www.twitter.com Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that allows users to send and read text messages limited to 140 characters, which are referred to as “tweets.” Founded in 2006, there are already over 200 million registered users sending 58 million tweets per day. As a registered user, you can both post and read tweets, but unregistered users can only read tweets. You may tag each of your tweets with a hashtag (#) subject line, allowing users who were not actually sent the original tweet to access the message. Twitter offers analytic tools that which allow the user to review the performance and impact of their various messages. There is no charge to join and use Twitter; it is supported by advertising revenue. Pinterest www.pinterest.com Pinterest is a social networking site that lets users create visual bulletin boards of their interests including recipes, images, videos, and ideas. It is a virtual bookmarking tool where you “pin” things of interest. Your “pins” can be shared on other social networks like Twitter and Facebook. For businesses, it is a great way to showcase your work portfolio, and others can “pin” images from your board onto their Pinterest and other social media accounts. You can also embed Pinterest to function within your own website. Instagram www.instagram.com Instagram is a popular social media app for sharing pictures and videos. Snatched up by Facebook as a huge opportunity, as of September 2015, the app boasted over 400 million users worldwide. You can embed Instagram photos onto your website or blog, making it a useful tool for marketing, as well as link it directly to your site. You can cultivate a following through sharing engaging posts and tips related to your business, as well as engage potential clients. 216 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Periscope www.periscope.com Periscope is an app that allows you to live stream video broadcasts from anywhere in the world. Owned by Twitter, Periscope boasts over 10 million subscribers and has over 4 million active daily users as of this year. Although video streams are in real time, they can be saved and posted for later viewing. It can help bring exposure and help you connect with potential clients. Q&A chats and live demonstrations are a couple of ways you may want to use it. LinkedIn www.linkedin.com LinkedIn is a social networking website for people in professional occupations. Launched in 2003, LinkedIn now has over 250 million members in over 200 countries and territories. Along with posting profile information similar to that found in a resume, users can establish and maintain ‘connections’ (people who have some sort of relationship to the user). A contact network is then built up consisting of the user’s direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (or ‘second-degree connections’) and also the connections of seconddegree connections (or ‘third-degree connections’), so that the user may gain access by messaging new virtual acquaintances through mutual contacts. There is no charge to join and use basic LinkedIn, but there is a subscription charge to access various ‘Premium’ services. YouTube www.youtube.com YouTube is a video-sharing website owned by Google on which users can upload, view and share videos; videos stream on your computer or other device using Adobe Flash Player (a free download application). Launched in 2007, there are currently over 4 billion video views per day. Over one million users (known as ‘creators’) have posted videos, which are viewed by over one billion unique users every month. You need to register to post videos, but unregistered users are free to view most videos (with the exception of ‘adult’ content). Youtube videos may be viewed on the Youtube website or embedded in and viewed at other websites. Although there is a premium subscription service available, there is no charge to join Youtube, and the vast majority of videos on YouTube are free to view, being supported by advertising revenue. In fact, if you post a popular video, you can earn money by selling space Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 217 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher to run advertising (called a ‘pre-roll’) as an integral and unavoidable part of your video. Many entrepreneurs find the number of online “social media” sites overwhelming. If you want to learn more about how to use them, consider purchasing a book on the subject such as Social Media Explained: Untangling the World’s Most Misunderstood Business Trend by Mark W. Schaefer. Even if you decide not to use online social media, you can nevertheless market your business online using methods discussed earlier in this chapter, such as building a website and publishing an email newsletter. 6.2 Marketing Techniques “Marketing must not be skimped on, unless you are planning to fail. That doesn’t mean that you can throw money at it and expect to succeed. I know a guy who spent over $100,000 (and gave away over 1000 books) on promo for his novel. It tanked. Use your head before you use your money.” — Jacqueline Church Simonds, Beagle Bay, Inc. In this section we’ll look at a variety of marketing techniques, including advertising, free publicity, networking, and promotional events. Consider as many of these techniques as possible to help you get the word out about who you are and how your books are unique, current, and relevant. Remember, marketing is not the same thing as sales. You’re building a brand, presenting yourself as an expert in your genre (especially if you’re authoring and self-publishing nonfiction), and getting your work noticed. Generating book sales and media attention from marketing is not formulaic and not every strategy works for every new book publisher or author with the same success. The key is to determine what combination works best for you. If you are more introverted, you might want to begin with writing-related marketing techniques, such as press releases. If you are an extrovert, you might enjoy networking events, book fairs, and book signings where you can interact with large groups or use your public speaking skills. 218 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher 6.2.1 Advertising A popular quote attributed to P.T. Barnum says, “A terrible thing happens when you don’t advertise … Nothing.” Paying for placement in the media, however, while essential for many businesses, is probably the least cost effective or efficient way to go when it comes to promoting your books. This is particularly true if you have a specialized nonfiction niche, since you’re casting a wide net rather than focusing on your target market. A display ad in a major newspaper or magazine, for example, is a very expensive undertaking with a potentially small return. Before investing in this type of potentially costly advertising, consider how many copies of your book you’ll have to sell to pay for it and whether it’s really worth your while. Media to consider for advertising your books include newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and online. You can find cost information by contacting media outlets and asking to speak with a sales representative. They will be able to provide you with either a printed or online “rate card” which includes information on the types of advertising they offer (such as size of ads in print publications), costs, and information about their audience (statistical information about their readers, viewers, or listeners). Before you make any decisions, read the rate card and target audience information carefully. Is this the media outlet where most of your customers will hear your message? For example, if the book you are publishing deals with a special interest such as the care and breeding of guinea fowl, you’ll want to consider advertising in publications such as Grit (www.grit.com) and Mother Earth News (www.motherearthnews. com). If you are publishing a book to instruct others in grassroots political organizing, you might advertise in either the National Review (www.nationalreview.com) or the The Nation (www.thenation.com), depending on you or your author’s political persuasion…or perhaps even both! Also consider advertising in venues such as IPBA (www. ibpa-online.org/page/advertising) and other trade organizations. “The most effective marketing tool for my books has been my “Expert” rankings/projections and advertisements in fantasy sports magazines. These magazines are targeted at just Fantasy Football fans. My Expert Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 219 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher advice/rankings provide credibility and the advertisements reinforce the products I provide.” — Sam Hendricks, Author and Publisher, Extra Point Press Alternatively, when it comes to reaching your potential readers directly, there are many free sources of publicity for your book, including magazine articles and radio or TV interviews. In addition, these methods are often more effective in getting readers’ attention since they are perceived as sources of news or information rather than an effort to sell. These methods will be covered later in the chapter. Online Advertising In the last few years, online advertising has taken off, eclipsing more traditional types of advertising such as print and broadcast media. To ensure people find your business these days, you will need to advertise online. Firstly, you can look into companies that specialize in online listings. One such service is Superpages. They offer a free business listing service as well as an enhanced version for a fee. Check their website at superpages.com for details. The most popular search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp and Citysearch all offer business pages as well, which will mean that your business will be more likely to show up at the top of internet searches. These are basically free forms of advertising, so don’t hesitate to register your business details with as many of these services as you can find. Here are some to start with: • Google Business google.com/business • Yahoo Local smallbusiness.yahoo.com/local • Bing Places for Business bingplaces.com • Yelp for Business biz.yelp.com If you find registering your business with each separate online directory somewhat overwhelming, and you want to ensure your business is 220 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher getting as wide a reach as possible, there are services out there that will do that work for you, such as Thryv.com (who operate the online version of the Yellow Pages: yellowpages.com or yellowpages.ca in Canada) and ReachLocal (reachlocal.com). These types of media services certainly cost but they can also take some of the headaches away of managing your online marketing needs. Many businesses also use “pay-per-click” advertising to attract prospective clients. This involves paying for every visitor that a search engine sends to your website. You can find information about using pay-per-click advertising on Google, including how to target Internet users in your city, at www.google.com/adwords. Other sites you can advertise on include Yahoo!, Bing, and Facebook. If you choose specific search terms that few other advertisers have bid on, you may be able to attract some visitors to your website for as little as five cents each. However, pay-per-click costs can add up quickly and some of the people clicking on your ads may simply be curious (for example, students doing research) and not serious prospects for your business. So you should set a maximum dollar amount per day and monitor your results to determine if this type of advertising is effective for you. Note: the offers that result in sales online may also be effective in your print advertising. Many social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, also offer paid advertising that can be targeted as widely or as specific to your market as you choose. Check out Facebook for Business for info and advice on marketing your business on social media: facebook.com/business. Instagram for Business can be found here: business.instagram.com. Twitter info is available here: business. twitter.com, and check out details from LinkedIn here: business. linkedin.com/marketing-solutions. Internet advertising is an intricate field, and one that is subject to rapid changes. Before you throw an interesting amount of money in this direction, you may wish to read up on the subject; your local library may be a source for recently published books, or try your favorite bookseller. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 221 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Creating Effective Ads Some people spend years learning how to create the most effective ads. Since we do not have years, we’re going to focus on a couple of key points. • Create a consistent look, using your logo and layout to create ads that are recognizably related to your business cards, website, and other marketing materials. • Include your website in your contact information. • Display information in easy-to-read fonts and use high contrast for good legibility. • Emphasize clarity. Too much information just becomes hard to read. • Get someone to help you proofread. Don’t take the chance of spending money to publish an ad with errors in it. • Use illustrations; a picture is said to be worth a thousand words. Most people need to see an advertisement several times before they buy, so running an ad only once may not give you as much business as you hope. A small ad that you run every week for a couple of months can generate more business than a single full page ad. One of the most effective ways to draw people to your website where they will hopefully order your book – and to test the effectiveness of each ad – is with some sort of incentive. An incentive can be anything from a discount coupon to a free gift. The coupon offer should be simple, but with high perceived value — a buy one, get one free offer, or perhaps “This coupon good for 30 percent off your next purchase,” or “Redeem this coupon for a free e-book or CD-ROM with every book purchase.” The idea is to get them to pay your site a visit, see what your titles are all about and what other resources you have available for them, and maybe buy something besides what they came for with the coupon. Giveaway items include key chains, fridge magnets, pens — you name it. Of course, giveaways should be cost-effective and relevant to your 222 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher book, so decide on a budget before you start looking into ordering any. There are numerous companies that can supply you with promotional items. Do an online search for “advertising specialties” or “promotional products”. To measure advertising effectiveness with coupons, it’s a good idea to put a time limit or expiration date on it. Make sure this date is clearly printed on the coupon. It should allow customers enough time to visit your website – maybe a week or two – but not so much time that they forget about the coupon, thinking they can use it well into the future. Tie the coupon to a date that’s easy to remember, such as the end of the month. 6.2.2 Free Publicity One of the best ways to market — with potentially excellent results for minimal cost — is to get free media publicity. While you don’t have the final say over what gets reported, the exposure can give a boost to your business. Partner with a Local Charity As you start looking for publicity for your book, consider partnering with a charitable organization that is relevant to your book’s topic. When you partner with a charity and help raise funds for them by donating a percentage of your book proceeds, not only will you be doing good for a cause you care about, you will increase your opportunities for media publicity and attract customers who want to buy your book because they believe in the cause you are supporting. There are usually tax benefits as well, which your accountant can tell you about. You may already be involved personally with a charity that could benefit from such a partnership. If not, begin by developing a list of charitable organizations related to your book topic or publishing mission. For example, if your niche is books about women’s issues, you might look into partnering with a local women’s shelter, girls club, or organization that supports microbusinesses for women in developing countries. Ask friends and family members for their recommendations of worthy organizations, and keep your eyes open for good causes in your community. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 223 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher You can find help in locating your community’s non-profit groups through the Internet. GuideStar (www.guidestar.org) is a searchable online database of more than 1.8 million non-profit organizations in the United States. CharityVillage has a similar database of Canadian nonprofit organizations at https://charityvillage.com/cms/organizations. Another great resource is VolunteerMatch at www.volunteermatch.org. When you find an organization you would like to partner with, phone their office and ask to speak with the person in charge of fundraising for the charity. Explain that you are going to be raising funds for charity by donating a percentage of book proceeds, and ask if they would be interested in receiving those funds. They will very likely be happy to partner with you and allow you to mention the organization’s name in your marketing efforts which will also bring them more publicity. If you decide to take this approach, be sure to figure the percentage of your donation into your publishing costs. While associating with a charitable organization may help you sell more copies, you’ll also have a smaller profit margin per copy. Book Reviews “Keep in mind there are risks to reviews. A bad review posted on the Internet never goes away. We worked with an author who, much to our horror, drove hundreds of miles to confront a reviewer who did not like his book. When you put your work out there, there are bound to be critics.” — Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity Even if you’re ready for the criticism, as a self-publisher or new small publisher with a niche market and few titles to your credit, getting reviewed in the major trade journals and major market newspapers and magazines is an extremely difficult task. Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, ALA Booklist, and the other major reviewers receive thousands of books each week. Many major publications will not even consider reviewing selfpublished works. If you decide to try for a major publication review, there are a few things you can do to give your books their best chance for success. Author Sam Hendricks offers this key piece of advice: “Follow the rules. If a review organization wants to see the work before publication then 224 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher send an ARC (advance reading copy).” One of the biggest mistakes new authors and publishers make is sending out copies of their books after publication despite a reviewer’s stated policy to the contrary (typically 3 to 5 months advance time is required), and not including requested details like ISBN numbers or the planned publication date. Carefully review the guidelines on each reviewer’s website and make yourself a checklist to be sure you follow instructions to the letter. Major reviewers to investigate include: • ALA Booklist • BookPage • The Chicago Tribune • ForeWord Magazine • Independent Publisher Magazine • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal • The Los Angeles Times Book Review • The New York Times Book Review • Publishers Weekly • The San Francisco Chronicle • School Library Journal • The Washington Post Book Review An ARC is a pre-publication version of your book, including any art work. In order to be taken seriously by reviewers, it’s important to make sure your bound galleys are of the highest quality possible, both in terms of content and production. Never send a reviewer an unbound Microsoft Word copy of your manuscript or an electronic version as an e-mail attachment – this is extremely unprofessional and the quickest way to get ignored. Print-on-demand technology makes it easy to create professional-looking galleys even if you’re using traditional Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 225 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher offset printing for the final product. Include a cover letter and press release citing any special credentials the author has, or testimonials from known experts in the book’s niche area. ARCs can be a great promotional tool when used wisely. Do, however, always do your homework to ensure a particular outlet reviews books in your genre. If you blindly send out hundreds of copies hoping someone will show an interest, you’ll likely be out the production and shipping cost for quite a few books without anything to show for it, and you may even hurt your chances for future reviews by creating an unprofessional image. Alternatives to the Major Reviewers Kirkus Reviews, one of the most respected names in the literary community, has a policy against reviewing self-published books. However, with their launch of the Kirkus Indie (www.kirkusreviews. com/indie-reviews) program several years ago, they provided a new avenue (albeit a pricey one ranging from $425 to $675 at press time) for those who might not otherwise have access to major reviewers. Self-published authors and small presses unable to garner the attention of Kirkus Reviews have the option of paying for a review as part of Kirkus Indie. Keep in mind that payment is no guarantee of a positive review; the organization has a reputation to uphold and your book will receive an honest and impartial critique, so be sure you’ve gotten some good feedback on your work before going this route. You have the option of posting the review for free on the Kirkus website as well, which is wellread among industry professionals. Of course if you receive a negative review, you can choose not to list it there. There are pros and cons to paying for a review and some question the legitimacy of this approach. However, it is one way to secure a review from a major name – and while industry professionals will know the difference between Kirkus and Kirkus Indie – most readers will not make the distinction. Amazon reviews can also be a great way to sell more books. Think about how many times you’ve decided to purchase a book you may have been wavering on because of the glowing 5 star reviews from readers – not necessarily “experts”, but people you assess to be “just 226 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher like you”. While these may not carry the prestige of a review in a major publication, they can provide a great sales boost for a new book. To help generate more Amazon reviews, in addition to soliciting reviews from people you know who have read your work, consider contacting some of Amazon’s Top Reviewers, particularly those who have a clear interest in your subject matter, and asking them to consider checking out your work – you can also offer to provide a free review copy if you choose: www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers. Even if your first book doesn’t make The New York Review of Books, don’t take it to heart or think it a reflection on the quality of your work. There is less and less space being devoted to book reviews in the major print media so competition is fierce. There are, however, plenty of other great sources for reviews thanks to the internet. “The number of online book reviewers is booming and these are great since they are often specialized by genre (romance, thriller, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, etc.)” says Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President of Smith Publicity. Poirier-Diaz and several of our other experts recommended www.midwestbookreview. com and www.goodreads.com as great sources for finding lists of reviewers. Press Releases “While book reviews are important, we’d rather see a feature story about the author and book because it is targeted to the interest of the reader. For example, a gardening book review in the book review section of a newspaper may not pull as many readers as a feature story on the book and author in the home or gardening section.” — Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity One way to get a story written about your books is to send a press release (also called a “news release”) to a writer, magazine editor, or the editor of the appropriate section of the newspaper. The ideal press release is a single page and should be written so that it could be published “as is.” Read the magazine or section of the paper where you would like to be published and use a similar writing style for your own news release. In order to get published, your press release should read like a story, not an advertisement. A press release that simply announces you Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 227 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher have started your company or published a new book is not likely to get into print unless you’re Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. Instead, consider issuing press releases as an expert on the topic of your book (particularly for nonfiction). If you are a speaker or professional in your field, promote a relevant event, or discuss how your new book provides some informative angle on a current event or issue. “Bring in facts, figures, studies, and statistics. The media loves this! They need to give their audiences and listeners entertaining, informative, educational, inspirational and/or thought provoking information. Think of the Today Show’s teasers…’Coming up next: five ways to clean clutter in your home.’ Think of your book in these terms and it will be easier to get the attention of the media.” — Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity Here is a quick list of tips for writing a press release. • Make sure the press release is newsworthy. A community event or hot topic in the press is newsworthy. A new book by an unknown author and publisher is not. • Give your press release a strong lead paragraph that answers the six main questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. • Keep it short. Aim for a maximum of 500 words. • Include contact information at the end of the press release so that reporters can get more information. You can find numerous online resources to help you write a press release, including: • How to Write a Great Press Release: A Sample Press Release Template www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp • PRWeb: Writing Great Online News Releases http://service.prweb.com/learning/article/press-releasewriting-fundamentals The sample press release below is an example of the format and type of content that is appropriate for a press release: 228 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Sample Press Release Contact: Company: Phone: Email: Website: Patty Publisher GreenPrint Publishing 123 Ecofriendly Lane Anytown, USA 12345 (555) 555-1212 [email protected] www.greenprintpublishing.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 20XX Green Job Growth Increases According to New Duke University Study*: Are U.S. Workers Prepared to Meet the Need? With $8 billion in government stimulus funds slated to go toward the development of high-speed rail projects, this is just the latest indication of increased support for development of green technology. A recent report from Duke University identifies 35 states that could potentially support new rail infrastructure projects – all of this means more job creation. But is the U.S. workforce prepared to fill these green jobs? “Our use of fossil fuel in this country is of huge concern, and it’s especially in the minds of the public now as we continue to deal with the results of the massive oil spill in the Gulf,” said Alexandra Author, career coach and author of The New Green Jobs, a how-to guide designed to help individuals prepare for and find employment in this growing sector. “As we begin to change the way we think about energy, we also have to change the way we do business, and that may require new skills.” Author’s latest book, The New Green Jobs, offers practical advice on how individuals can best leverage their skills to take advantage of green job growth in their local area. Those who have been recently laid off due to the economic downturn will find information on green career resources and training opportunities to aid in their transition to a new field. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 229 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher “I think there is a growing awareness of how creating a sustainable world impacts all of us. There are so many employment opportunities out there right now for people who are interested in contributing to positive change,” said Author. Alexandra Author has been in private practice as a career coach and consultant since 2007, specializing in careers in social change. She is an award-winning author and member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. Media: For more information, a review copy, or to arrange an interview, contact Patty Publisher or visit the “press info” page at www.greenprintpublishing.com. The New Green Jobs is available for $16.95 through Amazon.com or directly through the publisher’s website. *Duke University Office of News & Communications, June 23, 2010: “U.S. Manufacturing of Rail Vehicles for Intercity Passenger Rail and Urban Transit” (http://news.duke.edu/2010/06/rail_study.html) ### If you’re still feeling unsure about your press release, the following link also provides a free online form that walks you through the press release writing process and does all the formatting work for you: www. ducttapemarketing.com/IPR.html. As an alternative to writing a press release, you could find out who the editor is, and either phone or send a brief “pitch letter” by email or mail to suggest an idea for a story. In your pitch, remember to focus on something that will be interesting to readers. For example, you might suggest a story on the topic of your book as tied in with a current event in the news. Do some brainstorming, and keep up with the headlines. “Even for a novel, it needs to have a solid news angle. For example, a novel about a family’s painful decision to put a loved one in a nursing home can be pitched with hard facts about nursing homes. The author is probably more of an expert than he or she realizes.” — 230 • Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Most magazines and newspapers publish contact information for their editors. If the editor’s name is not published in the paper, you can call and ask the receptionist. Newspapers may have dozens of editors, so make sure you send your submission to the appropriate one (for example, the Lifestyle Editor). While you can obtain a great deal of contact information on your own by conducting internet research, purchasing a media contact mailing list targeted to your market can be a big time saver if your budget allows. While it is not necessary to submit photographs to a daily newspaper editor, photographs may help attract the editor’s attention. They might also be published in a smaller magazine, newspaper or newsletter that doesn’t have a photographer on staff. Smith suggests supplying high resolution photos (300 dpi minimum) for print outlets and low resolution (72 dpi) for online media. Another option is to use a service to distribute your press releases for you. PRLog (www.prlog.org) offers free press release distribution and allows you to manage all of your press releases from one central account. PRZOOM-Newswire offers a free distribution service as well (www.przoom.com). Their premium services include logo placement and a real-time statistics tracker. You can also pay for a press release distribution service if you want more bells and whistles and wider distribution. One popular site is www.prweb.com. Depending on your goals and budget, they offer packages ranging in price from $80 to $360 per news release. The lower priced package includes distribution to more than 250,000 subscribers. For press releases of local interest only, such as a presentation or book signing at your town library or local independent bookstore, submitting press releases yourself to local publications is your best bet. However, if you want to promote your books nationally or internationally, a distribution service can save you quite a bit of time and help you gain access to some markets you might not reach on your own. Television and Radio Talk Shows “How does one get the public to notice? For books, the best solution is radio, radio and more radio.” — Roger S. Williams, Literary Agent, Publish or Perish Agency Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 231 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Phone local radio and TV shows to let them know you are representing a published author (even if you are the author, PR expert Sandra Poirier-Diaz suggests using an assumed name to avoid the media’s distaste for dealing directly with “emotional” authors). Let them know the author is available for interviews and to provide expert advice to their viewers or listeners on the subject of the book. Shows that might be appropriate include morning shows and afternoon talk shows. The person to contact is the producer of each show. For any legitimate shot at an appearance on one of the more prominent TV shows, such as The Today Show, and radio programs that often feature author interviews, such as NPR’s Fresh Air, you’ll need to contact them at least 2 to 3 months in advance of publication. When you contact them, be sure to emphasize how much the show’s audience will benefit from an interview with you. Keep in mind that they are not interested in giving you free advertising – their ultimate goal is to improve their ratings, so anyone they interview should be dynamic and interesting. Also, keep in mind that many station employees are overworked and underpaid. If you can make their job easier you are much more likely to land an interview. The best way to make their job easier is to include a list of “frequently asked questions” with the letter or news release you send them. This is a list of questions that you think listeners might like the answers to. Chances are, whatever you find people asking your advice about are questions that an audience would be interested in, as well. TIP: Consult Talkers Magazine (www.talkers.com) to find out how to contact various talk radio shows that may interested in hearing from you. Internet radio and podcasts are also a growing trend you can use to your marketing advantage since hosts of these shows are often more hungry for guests, and likely to give you more air time than the usual 10 or 15 minutes. In some cases interviews are also archived and made available afterward for download on iTunes or other sites. BlogTalkRadio, for example, provides a home for thousands of internet radio talk shows on all subjects -- you’re sure to find one that fits the topic of your book. Or, if you’re looking to establish yourself as an expert in your field and 232 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher have a flare for this format, consider starting your own radio show! Visit their web site at www.blogtalkradio.com for more details. And check out podcast directories such as https://podcastplaces.com to browse podcasters that may be interested in your book(s). Preparing an Author to Interact with the Media The following tips are provided by Sandra Poirier-Diaz of Smith Publicity: • Research the outlet before the interview—is it conservative, liberal, does it cater to senior citizens or other specific demographics? Is it regional or national? Is the host is a shock jock? The more you know, the better prepared you will be. • For radio interviews, always, always, always use a land line telephone. Make sure to have the call-in number and a backup number (or give them a backup number if they are calling you) and confirm the time zone. • Know the name of the host (and use it) and where they are located (don’t comment on local sunny weather if they are in the middle of a snow storm). • Have a glass of water nearby. • Stick to two or three points about your book that you want readers and listeners to remember and practice getting these key points down to brief sound bites. • Don’t over-promote your book by starting each sentence with “As it says in my book…” • Although most professionals will plug your book, if the host has not, make sure you let the audience know the name of your book and where to buy it. • Have confidence. You wrote your book and are THE expert on it. • Have fun! Smile during your interaction, stand up during the interviews, have notes in front of you so you can relax and enjoy the experience. • Send a thank you note to the reporter, producer and host. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 233 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Write an Article or Column One of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert is to write articles or a column for a newspaper, magazine, newsletter, or websites. While it can be tough to break into large daily newspapers, there may be an opportunity to write for smaller newspapers or local magazines. Anything you write can be submitted online as well. You could write on any topic related to your book, use an excerpt from your nonfiction book to create an article, or even propose a column where you would answer questions from readers on the topic of your book (assuming you’ve chosen a niche in which you have some additional expertise). The length and frequency of your column will depend on the publication. You might produce a weekly 500-word column for a local newspaper, or a monthly 1,000-word column for a newsletter or magazine. Make sure your article or column provides valuable information to the publication’s readers. As with press releases, articles that sound like an ad for your services are not likely to get published. Write about something in your area of expertise; for example, if you’ve written and published a book on search engine optimization, write about how entrepreneurs and small business owners can use these to build their business. As with your website, anything you write should reflect who you are and what you have to offer your target audience. The goal in writing an article is not to “sell”, but to “connect”. If you’re able to do that successfully, readers will be encouraged to seek out your books to learn more. If you are hoping to get published in a newspaper or magazine, phone the editor after you have written your first column or article to ask if they would be interested in seeing it. If so, they will probably ask you to email it. If they want to publish it, they may offer to pay you. However, even if they don’t pay, you should consider letting them publish it in return for including a brief bio and your contact information and web address at the end of the article or column. If your book doesn’t lend itself to writing articles or a column, you can still be an expert interview subject for journalists seeking quotes by registering with Help a Reporter Out (http://helpareporter.com). HARO, a website created by Peter Shankman, is used by over 30,000 234 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher members of the media, including major outlets like ABC News, as well as local reporters. You’ll receive requests via e-mail newsletter sent out several times a day and respond to those you choose – it’s best to respond to those that represent the best fit for your expertise and target market. Journalists will appreciate this too – if you randomly respond to every request you receive without paying attention to the specifics of what the journalist is looking for, you’ll likely get ignored (and perhaps even removed from the site). Timely responses to these requests are important as well since reporters often have short deadlines. Pay attention to the time zone of the media outlet and adhere to any special instructions when responding. Best of all, it’s completely free to sign up, so take advantage of this great resource! PR Newswire offers a similar service at http://profnet.prnewswire. com, though there is a cost for registration (set on a sliding scale according to the size of your organization). 6.2.3 Contests and Awards “Winning a book award and displaying a winner or finalist award sticker can help a publisher have their book(s) stand out from the million new titles, and millions of other books currently in print. In addition to the prestige and honor of having an award-winning book, winning such an award can bring more exposure, increased sales and increased revenue.” — Catherine Goulet, Chairperson, Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winning an award, or even being chosen as a finalist, can potentially open quite a few doors for a new book publisher. Although entering contests can be a time-consuming proposition, and entry fees can add up, this is a promotional method that can definitely be worth your while. In addition to spurring book sales and being able to list this accomplishment in all of your press materials (which can potentially help you to get the attention of reviewers, distributors, and librarians), some of the competitions also include award ceremonies where finalists can network with publishing insiders. Don’t overlook local, state, and regional competitions, particularly if your niche has regional appeal. There are several awards competitions for independently published books you should consider entering, including: Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 235 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher Benjamin Franklin Awards Website: http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com Established in 1987 and sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association, this prestigious award program includes 50+ categories and entries are judged by an independent board of industry professionals. Finalists are invited to attend an award ceremony and have their work displayed at Book Expo America. Entry fee: $80 per title per category for members; $180 for first title and $80 for additional titles for non-members. IndieFab Awards Website: https://indiefab.forewordreviews.com This site’s mission is to “highlight some of the best titles produced from the independent publishing community. We prefer to review books exclusively from these publishers because we find them interesting, dynamic, and authentic in a way that blockbuster titles are not. It’s the difference between seeing your favorite band in a club versus seeing everyone’s favorite band in a sold-out arena. Being on the inside is cool, isn’t it?” Next Generation Indie Book Awards Website: www.indiebookawards.com The largest not-for-profit book awards program for independent publishers recognizes winners and finalists in 70 categories. Judges are actively involved in the indie book publishing industry, and the top 60 books are reviewed by a leading literary agent for possible representation in distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights. Cash prizes of up to $1,500 are offered, winning titles are promoted in a catalog distributed at Book Expo America, and winners are invited to an awards ceremony at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Entry fee: $75 per title for the first category and $50 for each additional category. You can find a listing of other awards in Literary Market Place and Writer’s Market, as well as online at http://bookspot.com/awards. 236 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher A few caveats in evaluating contests. There are more award programs springing up on the internet every day, many of which have excessive entry fees and deliver little in the way of exposure. While an award program may be perfectly legitimate, do investigate carefully before entering and know what you’re getting for your entry money. Some key questions to research before entering a contest: • Who is judging the competition? Look up their credentials online. • Is the sponsoring organization a nonprofit? • Who are some of the past winners? Look up their work and reviews. • Is the award national, regional, or local? • Does it have a connection with your target market? Many experts suggest, however, that even little known awards can be a boon for new authors and publishers. After all, while industry insiders will know the “big name” award programs, most of your potential readers won’t – the ability to say you won an award, any award, can help garner potential readers’ attention in an extremely competitive market. 6.2.4 Networking One of the best ways to spread the word about your business and the books and authors you’re publishing, is through other people. When you publish a book, make sure you get the word out to your family and friends, as well as colleagues, or members of groups to which you belong or where you volunteer (particularly if relevant to the topic of your book). Consider sending a postcard, and inviting them to read your work or attend an author event. Trade shows are also excellent places for networking with publishing and bookselling professionals. Be sure to research the attendees before you go and have an idea who you want to meet and what connections you may have that could provide a potential opening for conversation. Try to make yourself available for before and after events, as much of the networking at the larger book fairs is informal and goes on outside of the actual show venue. You’ll find more information on trade shows, Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 237 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher including which ones to consider attending and how to get your book exhibited, in the next section. Word-of-Mouth It’s time to get your readers working for you. If you can get an emotional connection between you (that is, your books) and your customers they will be your best sales tools. What they say is worth more than hundreds of expensive ads. “Word-of-mouth is the absolute best way to sell books. Look at what it did for ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Twilight’! Good quality stuff gets people talking, so do what you can to produce the best quality possible.” — David Hooper, Author and Publisher, MusicMarketing.com One person telling another that your book provided them with useful information, inspiration, or entertainment is money in the bank. But how do you get to that point? By being everything your readers expect and making it easier for them to share their opinions with others through online reviews. TIP: Ask readers to send written feedback. Add these “testimonials” to your newsletter, brochures, and website – for more prominent names, including experts in your book’s topic, you may choose to feature their testimonial in your ads. If someone sends you a compliment on your book, you can also respond with a thank you and a link to your book’s Amazon page and ask them to leave a review. 6.3 Promotional Events 6.3.1 Book Signings Scheduling a book signing at the local Barnes & Noble may sound like a great idea for promoting your authors and books, but unless they have a following already, this may be a tough sell. “Book signings are challenging even for famous authors. How many times have you walked into a bookstore and have witnessed some 238 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher poor author, passively sitting at a table hoping to catch somebody’s eye. This recently happened on the television show ‘Bethenny Getting Married?’ as this “famous” person sat a local Costco for a book signing and no one was interested.” — Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity Many of the experts we spoke with echoed this sentiment and had found, in their own experience, that book signings were not an efficient marketing technique. Fantasy sports author and niche publisher Sam Hendricks of Extra Point Press, noted he’d found author signings to be his least effective marketing tool. While he felt they could work “in the right environment,” Hendricks believes in many cases these events are simply an “ego trip” for the author and not worth the time investment. “Author tours and signings are really going the way of the horse and buggy. They are expensive, and net little results. It’s good to visit as many booksellers as possible, but just introduce yourself. That makes a bigger impression that trying to convince a bookseller to rally their limited resources to have a few people show up to a signing.” — Roger S. Williams, Literary Agent, Publish or Perish Agency Poirier-Diaz does, however, recommend book signings for authors with a strong local or regional market or connection. This may provide the angle you need to generate interest with local booksellers and customers. If you decide to try a book signing, here are some tips to help ensure a successful event: • Contact the Community Relations Manager at major chain book retailers at least 3 to 4 months in advance. • Let the person in charge know that the author is local and will be doing promotion for the event to increase attendance. • Try to schedule the event for a weekend afternoon or weekday evening. • Provide a copy of the book, author bio, and any press materials the store can use for advertising. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 239 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher • Try to arrange with the manager for your table to be set up near the store entrance so you’ll be noticed by customers. • Make sure there is enough signage to let people know you’re an author and not there to demonstrate the new Nook. • Do your own advertising for the event, including sending out press releases to the local media and listing the event in any relevant online calendars of local happenings. • Recruit friends and family to show up for your event and lend support – and a crowd can sometimes help to draw a bigger crowd. • Don’t forget to smile and engage your potential customers in conversation! If you do not accept returns (see the section on selling through bookstores in chapter 5), the major chain stores may be hesitant to schedule a signing that requires them to commit to a pre-determined number of copies. They may, however, allow you to bring your own inventory for the signing on consignment, with the store receiving a percentage of any sales for the day of the event. You will probably find small independent bookstores, particularly those that specialize in your niche, non-bookstore establishments geared toward your niche, and local libraries more amenable to author signings. Tina Jordan, Vice President of The Association of American Publishers offers the following advice: “Leveraging local resources, including author appearances at bookstores and libraries and networking with media in the local market, then aggregating and sharing that news and dialogue in the internet sphere through social networking platforms and online communities will further spread the word!” — Tina Jordan, Vice President, Association of American Publishers (AAP), www.publishers.org According to author of Dads and Autism and founder of New Jerseybased Altruist Publishing, Emerson Donnell, setting up book signings 240 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher at smaller independent bookstores to promote his first title was just a matter of “hitting shoe leather to pavement”. He simply asked to speak with the store manager, presented his book, and offered to hold the signing. “You may be pleasantly surprised at the reception if the book is relevant and fills a niche,” says Donnell. He adds, however, that untried authors should not expect an equally warm reception from large chain stores such as Barnes & Noble and Border’s, where signings may require corporate approval. 6.3.2 Presentations “What we like to see are events where the author is interactive, giving a presentation, exchanging ideas and information rather than passively waiting for people to show interest.” — Sandra Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity One of the best ways to promote your books is to be seen (or to have your authors be seen) as an expert in the topic the book addresses. Think about promotional events in the same terms as print and online press coverage – make the subject of the book you’re promoting the focus, rather than the book itself. It’s much easier to draw attendance for a presentation that promises useful information for attendees than for an event where the only draw is an unknown author trying to sell their books. To let people know that you or your authors are available to speak, contact membership organizations and professional associations related to the book’s topic and ask friends and acquaintances if they belong to any groups that have presentations from speakers. Retail establishments other than bookstores can also be great places for presentations, particularly if there’s a “how-to” component involved that lends itself to visuals or hands-on participation. To prepare a talk or demonstration that the audience will find interesting, consider what their needs are. For example, you could give a cooking demonstration in a housewares store to promote your new cookbook, or a dog training demonstration in a pet store to promote your pet guide. Authors of career guides might give free resume consultations or a job search techniques seminar. “If it is a novel about a motorcycle gang, perhaps a local motorcycle dealership or even bar Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 241 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher would be the perfect setting. Think outside of the bookstore for some creative and fun events,” Poirier-Diaz suggests. Poirier-Diaz also recommends having someone at the door to direct people to the presentation, and making friends with the staff – the more people on your promotional team, the better! Another approach would be to speak about your experiences as a new book publisher starting your own business to others who are interested in becoming publishing entrepreneurs, or to writers seeking outlets for their work. The benefits of getting your name out there, being seen as an expert, and the potential relationships to be built by sharing what you know with others far outweigh the competition factor. Just as you will likely find many independent publishers who are eager to lend you a hand with helpful information and advice as you start your business, it’s always good karma to pass that same kindness along to those who will follow you. While you probably will not be paid for your presentations, it can be an excellent opportunity to promote your books. Your company name and book titles may be published in the organization’s newsletter, it will be mentioned by the person who introduces you, and you will be able to mingle with attendees before and after your presentation. You may get a free breakfast or lunch too! Instead of or in addition to speaking for organizations, you could present your own free seminars or workshops. You can hold it at your office, if you have one, or you may be able to rent a meeting room inexpensively at your local Chamber of Commerce or a local hotel or convention center. Libraries are another great place to hold seminars. Most public libraries have a meeting room, and they are usually eager to recruit speakers that will be of interest to the local community. To help you market your event you could set up a Meetup group at www. meetup.com. Although you can ask people to pre-register, you may get some last minute attendees if you accept registrations at the door. To get people to attend, or call in for a teleclass, make sure it is a topic that people are interested in, and present it at a time that is convenient for your audience. If you are marketing to the public, you’re likely to have the best turnout on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evening. 242 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher You’re likely to get a larger turnout for a shorter event (e.g. an hour) than one that lasts for hours. An added benefit of a teleclass is that you can record it and make it available on your website. Consider recording your teleseminar as well and making it available either as a free download on your website or as a CD that you can sell or offer as a value-added bonus for ordering your book. All you need is a computer or digital recorder. If you’re less comfortable with technology or don’t think your audio editing capabilities are quite professional-sounding, consider hiring someone. On the day that you deliver your speech, be sure you bring plenty of business cards, brochures, bookmarks, and useful handouts such as a list of web links (with your logo, URL, and book ordering information since people are likely to hold on to this information if it’s useful) so you can hand them out to everyone who attends. If you feel your speaking skills could be better, you can get experience and become more comfortable talking to groups by joining Toastmasters, an international organization that helps people develop their speaking skills. To find a Toastmasters chapter near you visit www.toastmasters.org. 6.3.3 Trade Shows A trade show is an event to promote specific types of products and services. If you have ever attended an event such as a “home and garden show” or a “wedding show,” then you have been to a trade show. As a book publisher, you may be able to market your books by participating in a local, national, and international trade shows related to the publishing industry, or those relevant to your target market. New Jersey-based literary agent Roger Williams offers the following tips on how to make the most of trade shows as a new publisher: “You can waste a lot of time and money if you go to the wrong shows or if you even go to the right shows with no plan in mind on what to expect from the show. What is your mission? Here again, it is worth the price of admission to be a member of one of the distributor consortiums as you are taking advantage of the economy of scale by procuring their services. You can also talk to independent bookshop Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 243 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher owners who are members of the American Booksellers Association (www.bookweb.org). But be cognizant of their time – offer, for example, a $50 consultation fee for an hour of their time.” — Roger S. Williams, Publish or Perish Agency Your primary goals in participating in publishing trade shows and book fairs are to: • Present ordering information to booksellers • Network with booksellers and collect contact information for your database • Solicit outlets for potential subsidiary rights and foreign rights sales through other attending publishers • Provide exposure for your titles • Evaluate competitors titles The major national and international publishing trade shows are: • BookExpo America (BEA) – Takes place in late May or early June • American Library Association (ALA) – Takes place in June • Frankfurt Book Fair – Takes place in late September or October • London Book Fair – Takes place in March BookExpo America (www.bookexpoamerica.com) is the largest and most prestigious of the shows in North America, featuring more than 2,000 exhibits, and over 60 conferences. It is attended annually by more than 25,000 publishing industry professionals, including booksellers, authors, agents, and the media. The Frankfurt Book Fair (www. book-fair.com/en) is the largest international show in the world. The Association of Canadian Publishers also provides a list of Canadian and international book fairs and trade shows on their website at www. publishers.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30 &Itemid=69. You can find a list of regional bookseller associations on the American Booksellers Association website at www.bookweb.org/ events/regional-trade-shows. The schedule for their shows will vary, but you can keep up to date on upcoming regional trade shows through Publisher’s Weekly. 244 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher As a new small publisher, the easiest and most economical way to take part in the major national and international trade shows such as BEA, London, or Frankfurt, or the regional book fairs and trade shows, is to do so as part of a collective. IBPA attends all major shows, and regional shows that vary year to year. Although you’ll miss out on the valuable face-to-face networking aspect, you do not have to attend in order to have your books represented. Members have the opportunity to have their books showcased at the IBPA complex and in their color catalog at all of these well-attended and respected shows. Publishers may purchase multiple, full, or shared booth space. Cost as of the writing of this book was as little as $55 per title per regional show, and $125 per title for the Frankfurt Book Fair. More details, costs, and up to date information on your various options can be found on the organization’s web site at www.bookexpoamerica.com and for more, visit https:// ibpa-online.site-ym.com/store/ListProducts.aspx. Non-Publishing Trade Shows Attending a local trade show relating to your target market can also be good exposure for your titles, and may result in some direct to consumer sales. For example, you might consider attending a Home and Garden show if you publish books on gardening, or a Health and Wellness show to market your books on yoga and meditation. The cost to become an exhibitor (i.e. to get a booth at the show) will vary depending on the particular show, the location, the number of people expected to attend, and the amount of space you require. It may range from as little as $50 to $1,000 or more for public shows, or up to thousands of dollars for industry shows. To cut costs, you could partner with another non-competing exhibitor and share a booth space. However, before investing in a trade show booth, attend the event if possible, or speak to some past exhibitors. While you may find a $100 booth at a women’s conference is a good investment to market a partyplanning business, $1,000 spent on a trade show booth to promote meeting-planning services could give disappointing results. Find out all the costs involved, what it includes, and what you have to pay extra for (e.g. chairs, carpet, electricity). You can find out about upcoming shows by contacting your local convention centers, exhibition halls, or chamber of commerce. You can search for events by industry, type of event and location at www.tsnn. Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 245 IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher com. For most events, you can then click on a link to find out contact information. Many shows now have their own websites and provide registration information as well as site maps and logistical information. You’ll need to provide your own display. Unless you know that you’ll be exhibiting at future shows, look for low-cost options for your display such as getting a local printer to blow up a few photos and signs for your booth. You should also bring business cards, your portfolio and your company brochures for display at your booth, and be prepared to schedule appointments with prospective clients. One way to attract people to your booth is with a promotional gift such as a free CD of one of your recorded seminars on your book topic. If you don’t have an assistant or partner, see if you can find a friend or family member to help out at the show and make the rounds to other vendors to drop off your brochure or other promotional materials. The days can be long and tiring, and you won’t want to close down your booth to take breaks. Concluding Thoughts Now that you have familiarized yourself with the information, expert advice, and resources in the IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher, you are well on your way to a successful new venture! But this is just the beginning of your exciting journey as you make the transition to entrepreneur, whether your goal is to see your own books in print or to create a small press that offers an avenue for other aspiring authors to get published. We hope you have found this book helpful, and that you will continue to refer to it often, both for answers to your questions and for inspiration, as you begin to build your publishing business and realize your dream career. Remember, the information and advice in this or any guide is only valuable if you put it to use and take action. There are many small steps suggested throughout that you can take today, even if you’re not ready to start a full-time business just yet or have limited financial resources. Any career journey must begin with a process of introspection – you need to be able to envision the career you want before you can achieve it. 246 • iapcollege.com • Copyright © IAP Career College IAP Career College Guide to Become a Book Publisher In closing, a few thoughts from one of our experts on what it takes to thrive as a book publisher: “Three words--passion, preparation and perseverance--the three p’s of publishing. Passion is the boundless enthusiasm a new publisher must have in order to create books that communicate a message that resonates with the reader. Preparation is the business plan, marketing plan and capital that is critical in order to run a successful company. And finally, perseverance--the willingness to overcome all odds to realize an entrepreneurial dream.” — Florrie Binford Kichler, President, Independent Book Publishers Association Copyright © IAP Career College • iapcollege.com • 247 Earn a Certificate in Your Dream Career The next time someone asks you “Why should I hire you for your dream career?” or “What are your credentials?” imagine being able to say: “I am a trained professional with a certificate from the International Association of Professions Career College!” Benefits of Having a Certificate in Your Dream Career A certificate from the International Association of Professions Career College may give you: • Respect as a professional plus a sense of confidence and achievement •A competitive advantage when marketing your services •A credential for your resume when applying for employment •Assurance to clients of your professionalism and evidence of your expertise • Higher earnings (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publication Certificates: A fast track to careers) Now that you’ve read this IAP Career College guide, which is the textbook for the certificate course, you can earn a certificate in as little as four weeks parttime from the comfort of your own home. Please see the following pages for a full list of certificate courses offered. 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