“Which Publisher Will Get Me into the Bookstores?”
BySomeone listened to the interview I did with Terry Whalin about publishing and Intermedia, and asked me if Intermedia is on a par with traditional publishers in terms of its relationship with brick and mortar stores.
As far as I can tell, yes, they are. (Which is more than most if not all other “publishing services” companies can say.)
However, you must understand that huge changes are happening in the retail sales world. The Barnes & Noble store in my area closed down a few months ago, for instance. I just read that Banes & Noble laid off a number of employees recently. Also read that Ingrams, the big book distributor, laid off 75 employees. I don’t know what’s going to happen ultimately, but it’s safe to say that authors and publishers need to look to other outlets to sell books, as retailers are less and less a significant factor.
In fact, no matter whom you publish with, you will make of a profit through direct sales than retail sales. All distributors require a 55% discount (so they can have a profit margin), so you’re only going to get 45% of those sales. Actually, less, because IM (or any publisher) takes their 15% wholesaler cut. So you only make 30% of the retail price on your book, and your profit is that less your publishing and printing costs. Whereas with direct sales, you don’t have that hefty distributors discount to contend with.
By the way, I’m personally shepherding a book through the IM process for a client, and so far, so good! (It is a LOT of work, though–don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise! It’s a 300-page book and just faxing the 161 pages of corrections for first proof took more than 2 hours!)
One of the things I like about Intermedia is the way they help authors with their marketing. Larry Davis is a great “think outside the box” person who loves to help authors think up creative ways to sell their books. Terry is amazing in the way he shepherds authors through the publishing process.
Another plus for IM is that they hold events throughout the US and invite authors to come, free of charge, to sign books and network. An event they are planning in Denver soon will get 5-10,000 attendees, and IM is inviting their authors from that area to attend for any amount of time they want, to sign books. This can become a PR event that can be promoted through local press releases. Intermedia tells their huge list (35 million) about these events, and even if a person can’t attend, they will hear about the authors present and their books.
I honestly don’t think there’s any idea book publishing option out there (never was, as the traditional model didn’t pay well, either), but Intermedia offers more pluses for the money that I’ve seen. Larry and Terry truly want their authors to succeed; they do not see them merely as a source of income, as publishers like Author House must. (My opinion, but how can they truly serve 21,000 authors a year?)
11 Comments
February 12th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Thanks for the inside look, Diane! Yes, professional editing can be both time-consuming and exhausting! Although I both write and edit, I feel less drained when I am writing.
As a traditionally published author, I find myself needing to think outside the box. I’m very intrigued by what Intermedia offers. Definitely a publishing option I’m going to consider for my next book!
February 12th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
When I looked at the Intermedia web site and saw the covers, I was concerned. I don’t like most of those covers. i think many of them look amateurish.
Comment?
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If my book is going to need to be translated into different languages and sold abroad, do I need a traditional publisher? I can’t imagine how to oversee that.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Pam,
One thing to keep in mind is that, with publishers like Intermedia, the author has final say in eerything–including the covers.
I can’t disclose too much, but suffice it to say that the previous blog post was inspired in part by seeing covers authors chose for themselves, rather than go with what professional book designers suggested.
I can tell you that the cover for the book I’ve been working on for my client, which was designed by the Intermedia designer, is stunning. You’ll see when I can share it with the world.
The foreign language/rights question is a good one. However, I know that numerous authors hire agents just to handle foreign rights. So that’s an option, even if you publish with someone like Intermedia. In fact, it may be a question I’ll be dealing with for my client, as their audience is international. Glad you brought it up. I’ll keep you posted!
February 13th, 2010 at 1:49 am
Dianne, I’ve completed writing the main body of a book and will more than likely use Intermedia. This is my first book, and since Intermedia only do a light edit, I’m thinking that I need to maybe employ an editor to work with. Do you have any suggestions? Is it a process that works through communication by email/ skype?
February 13th, 2010 at 10:57 am
What is your opinion of joining in a book collaboration which cost you money to have one small chapter with forty other authors? You receive books and other marking advantages and the cost range from 5,000 to 2,000, depending if you want your name on cover or how many books you want. I have been invited by three different people for three different books,but want to make sure it is a good investment. The coverage will be big as one is from a big network and online magazine, the other a published author, and one unknown. Thank you, Louise
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:37 pm
I was also wondering about hiring an editor. There is a website i found that helps authors to find experienced, timely editors. They can do a rage of things, so the site says. From telling you what they think of your book to editing to ghost writing, the site says you can find it all. The site is call book-editing.com, and i was wondering if you have heard of it?
I want my book taken seriously, and i’ve heard from many authors that if you want your book taken seriously, you need to get some serious editing done. This is something i agree with, but i wonder which is the less expensive? Letting a self-publishing company do the edit, or hiring someone else to do it?
I just cant seem to finger out the math of it (i was never very good at math).
Also, is there a site where authors or anyone with expreience can look over your book, and tell you if it needs more work, is good as is, or is simply not worth publishing? I think i have a good story, and that i cant write it well. But, i’m a new writer, and what i think is good might not be for readers or publishers. I was hoping to find an author to help me, give some much needed advice sort of thing. But i have no idea where to start, having no contacts in this business. Any advice? I would really love for someone who know’s what they’re doing to read at least part of my book.
March 5th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Graeme,
I think it’s a good idea to hire a good content editor. I just finished doing that for a client, as well as shepherding the book through the IM process. You definitely need an experienced, objective eye to help you shape your material.
Intermedia can help you find a person (but only if you become a client, which I can’t blame them for). Or you can ask other authors for referrals. Look in the Acknoledgments pages of books that are similar to yours; often editors are mentioned. Even if they work for traditional publishers, they might freelance on the side or be able to recommend a good freelancer. I have some people I can recommend, depending on your project.
If you go through email/skype, that’s fine. Just make sure you get the editor’s credentials and ask for references of authors who have worked with them. Ask about how much they edited, whether they faithfully preserved the author’s “voice,” and how timely they were in turning the project around. (Don’t ask me, by the way–I don’t do editing. This latest case was an exception.)
March 5th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Louise,
I am not a fan of these kinds of book projects. I do not think they really do much for an author who is involved. To me it’s more of a money-making scheme for the one putting together the book. They get paid for someone else creating the content, their publishing costs are covered, but for the author participants–I just don’t think it’s all that impressive to people to be given a collaborative book that you wrote a chapter for.
You might get mileage out of coauthoring one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul derivatives, but that’s a different kind of thing. If you’re going to put down $5000, do it for your own book, with Intermedia. You’ll get a lot more out of it. I don’t even know how many of the collaborative authors actually mail to their lists about the book. It’s a nice idea, but … the price tag too high for a good ROI, in my opinion.
March 8th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
You’ll get a lot of publishers who will CLAIM they can get you bookstore distribution. Most of the time, they are lying. The big New York publishing houses are most likely to get you into the top bookstores.
Check out my site to gain more knowledge about book publishing. To get a copy of my FREE 52 week MASTERS course on writing and publishing go to: http://www.PublishingABook.com.
Thank you and God bless.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
I couldn’t agree more! I was searching on yahoo when I found your post, and I found just what I was looking for. I’ve added your rss feed to my Google reader, I look forward to more posts from you. Thanks!
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