A large proportion of the success of a book is tied to the level of expertise and influence of its publisher. The journey of transforming your book into a professionally well-crafted masterpiece, capable of competing with other books in the market, necessitates a thoughtful and deliberate selection of the right publisher to oversee this process.
Authors most times get caught up in the web when faced with deciding on which publishing house they should settle for because of the varying, available options.
In this blog, we discuss five criteria that a publisher should meet to be picked for your book project.
- Qualification Status:
A major determinant factor for selecting a publisher is their level of qualification on the subject you have written on and on book publishing in general.
To know more about a publisher’s qualifications, questions such as; How many years of publishing experience do they have? Have they published or done something within your genre? Such questions will help you know about the authenticity of their work alongside the number of works they have done.
Previous works serve as evidence and this is a good way to know what is to be expected from a publisher. This will help you know if they will understand your point of view and if they will be able to perfect your book enough to meet the standard you have in mind.
- Publishing Service:
Determining which publishing services to pick mainly depends on your individual writer’s goal. Most publishers have available both options of traditional publishing and non-traditional publishing for authors.
But for emphasis;
With the traditional publishing option, the publisher pays an advance to you as an author.
While in non-traditional publishing, you are required to pay an advance to the publisher.
Traditional publishing houses pay for the rights of the author’s book. Non-traditional published authors pay to maintain the rights of their book
This will guide you as an author while deciding which option will be best for you on a long and short-term basis.
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The availability of both options will help you decide which suits your goal and purpose.
- Social Proofs:
Social media platforms now allow organizations such as publishing establishments to showcase samples of their works and feedback from satisfied authors who have used their services on their pages. Social media is a great place to get proof of the level of professionalism practiced by a publisher.
An established and qualified publisher should also have a website where reviews can be seen alongside functional and active social media pages where one can easily check and verify claims.
Checking a publisher’s social media will enable you to see what others are saying about their publishing services and other general services.
- Cost:
Every author has a set budget that they want to stay within its limits. This is why it is important to research to know which publisher’s cost of publishing is within budget and that also gives the quality needed for the success of the project.
Cost is an integral factor when deciding on which publisher to settle for as the cost of producing a good quality and standard job requires a much more substantial budget. However, some publishers run promos at some parts of the year and it is important to research using social media platforms for more information about such price discounts.
- Consider Marketing Commitments:
Marketing commitments from a publisher help ease the burden of book marketing for an author.
These marketing commitments will state at what stage they would come in, and the extra cost involved if they are to step in.
Book marketing is a very important process of book publishing, this is why it is relevant that you discuss what commitments a publisher has concerning marketing your book before you decide to publish with them.
Conclusion
The choice of a publisher is an intrinsic step in the entire book publishing journey. Choosing a qualified publisher is a major task that must be carefully and strategically done to ensure that the best result is achieved.
At Pen-Impact, we are fully qualified to help you handle your book publishing at an affordable cost. We can be reached via info@pen-impact.com