Questions From A Future Author

Post by George Kittredge

Last week I received an email from my son asking a number of questions about book publishing. Chris works in Washington, D.C. at the Institute For Education And The Arts as well as provides some PR and marketing expertise for Gemstar Pro, an up and coming music studio.

It seems that the owner of studio is in the process of writing a book about creating, building and managing a music studio business. He is writing the book to share his experiences and wants to market his book to all of those musically inclined entrepreneurs interested in starting a music production company.

With the manuscript nearing completion, he is beginning to think about publishing. And not unlike other first-time authors (including myself when I was writing my book), he has more questions than answers at this point. He shared his questions with Chris, who sent them on to me with a request that maybe I could provide some answers.

Unfortunately, this post would be much too long for me to post both the list of questions and my responding answers to Chris. But I thought the questions he sent me had some real merit - and I wanted to share them with you. For anyone currently writing a book and beginning to think about publishing options, the following is a great list of questions to begin considering.

The answers to these questions can provide some great direction in your publishing journey. Here's the list.

What are the various methods of publishing and what is the best value?

Are there specific software or tools that should be employed in order to publish?

How early should you start engaging a potential publisher?

What are the various pieces (i.e. editing, formatting, design, distribution, etc.)that go into publishing, and what are critical?

Is distribution tied to publishing?

What are some processes that most people, who have never published, not aware of?

What is the most important aspect of this entire process (i.e. good cover, type of font, etc.)?

Perhaps in future posts, we can talk about each question individually. Your comments are invited. However, I would like to share with you my answer to the Chris's last question.

"Think of a book as being similar to a published piece of music. What is more important? The CD cover? The quality of the music? Marketing? I think you will agree that all aspects are important. But if you asked me to select one, I would say finding the publisher that is right for you is the most important. It can make all the difference in the word and make publishing your book an enjoyable Process."

"One other thing. Ask yourself these questions. "Why am I writing and publishing this book? Is it to make money? Is it to fulfill a lifelong ambition? Is it to enhance your career? Is it to become famous? Is it to establish greater credibility/" Your answers may help you pick the right publisher."

Comments

[Yvonne DiVita]

David, I'm blushing! But, you are so very right. In all honesty, George Kittredge wrote this piece - and he knows whereof he speaks! He used a POD publisher that - had no interest in his overall success... and therefore, no incentive to do a good job for him. Once we took his book in-house here at WME Books, and produced a quality product he could market and sell, he was so delighted, he came to work for us!

Thanks for your insight. I send new clients and prospects to your blog all the time. I know they gain value from your publishing stories and I hope some of them buy your book, too. It's a winner.

[David St Lawrence]

Yvonne,

Your list of publishing questions is unexpectedly illuminating. I asked myself these same questions in early 2005 and was happy with the answers I came up with, but I think the answers are different today.

These questions must be asked, but you must ask them again with each book you wish to publish. Reading your questions makes me realize how publishing is changing:

What are the various methods of publishing and what is the best value?

Are there specific software or tools that should be employed in order to publish?

How early should you start engaging a potential publisher?

What are the various pieces (i.e. editing, formatting, design, distribution, etc.)that go into publishing, and what are critical?

Is distribution tied to publishing?

What are some processes that most people, who have never published, not aware of?

What is the most important aspect of this entire process (i.e. good cover, type of font, etc.)?

I think you will find that the answers have changed significantly in the last twelve months. They will probably change again before my next book is published. I think the short answer to these questions is: "It all depends when you intend to publish!"

And that is where the constant value of your services come in. With you in their corner, an author has a much better chance of succeeding than publishing on their own.

Keep up the good work!