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What Happens When a Publisher Gives Up On You

Guest post by: Maria Carlton

Article Overview: There is a new breed of publisher, favored by many non-fiction writers who want more control over their books and production of them, but also want the benefits of high quality publishing, good marketing and distribution and to work with someone who knows how to take a book through the process of publishing properly. They are called Co-operative publishers, and are highly professional, knowledgeable industry experts. However - many authors are still not understanding the roles of co-operative publishers and in some cases burning their chances of a successful outcome for their books by treating the CoP publisher as little more than a printer or graphic designer working on a brochure. There's a lot more to it than that, and the outcomes for authors is that publishers eventually enable them to just 'self publish' their books.

What Happens When a Publisher Gives Up On You

I have read many articles over the past few months about publishers being unfair to authors, and just as many about authors being unfair to publishers. The industry of books and all things related, is fraught with frustrated misunderstandings due to the ever shifting sands of the book business as a whole. However - there are things that need to be said about authors which I've not been reading about lately, but I have certainly been experiencing as a Co-operative Publisher. Perhaps I should first clarify that I'm not a traditional publisher, neither is my company a self publishing company any more - but best described by a new term: Co-Operative Publisher. This means that my clients/authors pay us to develop their books, edit them, design and groom them, help with marketing and distribution so that the end result is a book of the same high quality as one that has been published by a traditional publishing house, with most of the same marketing and distribution benefits, but without the author having to sign over control and copyright ownership to someone else. This also means that the author - because he or she is paying for this service, gets to retain some decision making or consultation rights in the final design, typesetting and marketing of their book.

Co-operative publishing is becoming an increasingly popular option for authors, particularly with non-fiction books, in all parts of the world for a variety of reasons. Most CoP's are very experienced, highly professional, and very knowledgeable about the process and various options for producing excellent books.

So you'd think this option would diminish the challenges that authors and publishers have traditionally had with each other, and in many cases it does. However I believe there is a fundamental flaw in this system, in that most of the authors who sign up for a CoP option, have absolutely no idea about what a traditional publisher does, and, they also seem to think that working with a co-operative publisher is much the same as asking a graphic designer to create a brochure for them.

It's not!

The co-operative publisher will work side by side with the author, giving content and copy editing input, ensuring that the final editing roles are undertaken by professional book editors, and that the typesetting and design work is also undertaken to the highest quality possible, by experienced book designers and typesetters. After all, it is in the CoPs interests to ensure this is done to a very high level of quality as they are the ones putting their name to it for marketing and distribution. This service does go well beyond that of a 'self-publishing role' where those things are left to the author to manage - typically the author who thinks that 5,000 copies sitting on the garage floor will be easy to sell because all the world is waiting for their genius-packed pages to be 'launched'.

With this in mind, you have to wonder what might go through a co-operative publishers mind when the author (or worse - their spouse) decides to question every aspect of the layout, the fonts used, the spacing between lines, the indenting, the design and the wording on the back cover. Or - what might go through the CoP's mind when all of the above things are strenuously questioned even after the publisher has involved the author in the planning and decision making of such things, and many of the points have been based on some due care and consideration of the author's personal requests (because CoPs can be quite flexible about some things after all).

And you might also wonder how a co-operative publisher reacts when the author decides at the very last minute to request an unknown designer to come up with a new concept for the cover, having already in the past agreed to the award winning book designer's cover, which was based on the suggestions by the author in the first place.

Well - I'll tell you.

The publisher will eventually stop trying to explain the reasons why things are done the way they are to the author, and stop battling over whether or not the new fancy design is actually good bad or just plain silly. They will also cease to give advice over any other ideas and 'suggestions' the author may have. The publisher will also decide not to put their own imprint on the book, but secure a separate ISBN number for the client that is not related to their own ISBN lists, remove all references to the publisher's input, and then will refuse to have anything to do with the marketing of the book or the distribution of it.

In short - the publisher will give up on the book, and enable the author to make some of the mistakes of 'self publishing' that they were trying to avoid in the first place, and walk away from what might have been a very successfully published and popular book the author might have done very well with.

Moral of the story - if you are lucky enough to have a co-operative publisher agree to work with your book - and theyare selective - then work with them, instead of treating them as though they are merely a printer with a few extra skills. Value their expertise and the resources they will bring to producing your book. After all, they did not get to do what they do by just going along with everything amateurs in the business think is a 'cute' idea. Co-operative publishers are professionals, and if you are prepared to pay for their expertise in the first place, then why not value that expertise when it's offered.

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Article Tags: Cooperative Publishers, working with publishers
Referred by: http://www.ianberry.au.com



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