DIGITAL MEDIA GHOST
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
Search

Starting Your Own Imprint: How and Why (Part One)

1/12/2016

0 Comments

 
by Will Viharo

I often see posts on Facebook and elsewhere from new writers wondering “what to do” with their book now that they’ve finally completed it.
 
Sure, the big dream is get an agent that starts a bidding war which results in a million-dollar contract with one of the “Big 5” New York publishers, which in turn starts another bidding war amongst the major Hollywood studios for the film rights (though you’d be okay with a cable TV series, too).
 
So that might all happen. But it’s good to explore other options in case not all of those steps pan out…
​Increasingly, self-publishing is shedding its stigma as more and more indie authors – as well as veterans of the traditional industry – cut out the “middle man” and take their work straight to the only critics that count: paying customers.
 
This means after Amazon or whichever platform you choose takes their share, you’ll be keeping all the profits. And if it’s a Kindle book, you could be earning up to 70% royalties on each digital copy sold.
 
Of course, having the “validation” of a third party might not only increase sales, but also elevate your “credibility” amongst both your peers and readers alike, as well as boost your own confidence.
 
Subjective selection of stock aside, there is very little daylight between small press publishing and self-publishing. In either case, someone with a computer and Internet access is uploading interior and exterior art files via any of the preferred platforms (CreateSpace being by far the most popular), hitting a few buttons, and voila!, that title has been published.
 
Does it really matter who hits that button?
 
Depends on whom you ask.
If you’re just asking yourself, probably doesn’t matter at all. But since you want to present your work in the most professional presentation possible...
 
First impressions count when readers are browsing the overcrowded marketplace. That means you need an instantly seductive title and cover, compelling description copy, and to top it off, a “publisher” that takes credit for this must-read material.
 
If it’s really you, instead of admitting your “publisher” is Lulu or CreateSpace, you can publish under your own imprint, which means your book is represented by a brand name.
 
So what if you created that brand name? All small, medium, and even large presses started out with the same humble origins. Hardly anyone is a born publishing tycoon like Orson Welles in Citizen Kane. All successful publishers are self-made men and women.
 
With today’s technology, you can be your own publisher by launching your own publishing “company.” It helps build your cred and rep if you already have several titles to offer under your imprint – which itself should boast a catchy title, along with your books.
 
 Welcome to Thrillville

I recently decided to declare myself my own publishing company when I “founded” Thrillville Press, a proactive reaction to the sad fact a small press that only last year published four anthologies of my previously self-published novels suddenly went out of business. This happens all the time in this industry, because small presses have to worry about paying royalties, copy editors, artists, etc. for multiple titles.

Rather than start all over again, trying to shop around collections of my early, frankly unconventional, work to fickle publishers with their own agendas and tastes to consider, I decided to self-publish them again, but this time, do it right.  Plus, not only would I maintain creative control, but I'd also determine my own books' shelf lives, without worrying about the designated custodian of my career suddenly throwing in the towel, and my hard work with it, for whatever reason.
 
As owner of your own imprint, the only employee on your pay roll is you. So as long as you don’t get upset by the low wages, there’s no reason for your imprint to close up shop unless and until you decide it’s time, not due to financial pressures.
 
Of course, there will be some investment capitol you may or may not recoup, but if you really want to be considered a professional small press publisher of your own work, you should farm out the skills required for top of the line cover art, copy editing and interior formatting.
 
If you possess all of those talents, great. But you probably don’t. It’s enough work to just write and promote a book. Presentation should be left to the experts.

You Get What You Pay For, So Pay For What You Get
 
Me, I went with an industry veteran named Rik Hall, who was referred to me by a fellow author, for re-formatting the files already organized by my defunct publisher, which immediately reverted to me once the titles were pulled from Amazon’s distribution channels (which means you need to carefully read any book contract before signing it, to make sure you either retain or resume all rights to your book if and when your publisher calls it quits).
 
On Amazon, product pages remain live indefinitely so merchants can sell “used” copies of your OOP books, which often shoot up to stratospheric amounts, none of which benefit you or your publisher since now those copies belong to whoever bought them at market rate while they were still available in "fresh" condition, i.e. still "in print" (my OOP copies have gone for anywhere from $2 to $3000!). 
 
This is all new information to me, since, though I’ve published eBooks via Kindle, this is my first experience with CreateSpace. So you and I both have a lot to learn together.
 
Anyway, I also paid a professional artist, Dyer Wilk, who has worked on the cover designs for all four of these suddenly defunct anthologies, contributing original artwork to one of the covers, to create my own small press logo. This helps sustain the illusion that your book is being issued by an actual, experienced publisher. There’s only way to become one of those, though, and that’s via actual experience – publishing.
 
Though I already have my own website with a pre-established brand name, I also created a Facebook fan page for Thrillville Press, in addition to the separate fan pages for each of my books. Since you'll be doing all your own promotions and marketing as your own publisher, might as well take advantage of free social media as much as possible.
 
I suggest you do all of this, and much more. I’m learning as I go, on the job training, as it were. But at least I’m my own boss and make my own hours.

This answers a little of the "why" part of the question, at least in my case (you'll have to answer that yourself eventually). But "how" is really what you're wondering, and that's not a subjective matter. But no worries. Starting your own "imprint" is not nearly as hard or even pricey as you might think...
 
Next: should you buy an ISBN?

​PHOTO: DYER WILK
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Become a Ghostwriter!
    Picture
    Contribute to DMG
    Picture
    BECOME A GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
    Picture
    PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS BY GUEST POSTING
    Picture
    ARE YOU A GHOSTWRITER? WE WANT TO KNOW!
    Picture
    DO YOU HAVE A GHOSTWRITING BUSINESS?

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Agency Spotlight
    Business
    Digital Marketing
    Ghost In A Flash
    Ghostwriting
    Media Relations
    Privacy Concerns
    Social Sabotage
    Technology
    Writer Spotlight
    Writing

    Advertising Disclaimer

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

Find your domain and create your site at Weebly.com!
Digital Media Strategy
Content Marketing
Law Firm Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Social Media Marketing
eBooks
Writing
Becoming a Ghostwriter
Blogging
Content Marketing
Ghostwriting Services
Guest Post Guidelines
Media Relations
Online Crisis Management
Personal Brand
Public Relations
Reputation Management
About
Our Team
Our Results
Testimonials
Contact Us
Locations:
New Orleans, LA
Nashville, TN

DMG University
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Policy
Digital Media Ghost  @2020
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About