Sunday, December 22, 2013

Indie Publishing Companies Help Authors And Readers

By Harriett Crosby


Small or sovereign publishers are titles used to describe an enterprise that publishes magazines and books of various topics and styles. Also known as indie publishing companies, these types of miniature publication houses specialize in books of limited-edition, anthologies of poetry and non-fiction, mostly memoirs, niche non-fiction and fiction niche reading materials. Specialized magazines are also part of this type of small press. This category of press creates just about half of the entire book publishers industry worldwide.

An independent press, in order to be eligible for small status, must meet certain criteria. An important one is not to be associated with a larger parent company. Those in charge of the press, either an individual or small group of investors or publishers, make all the decisions regarding where money, time and energy will be spent. Although this is not a new concept, dating back to the late nineteenth century and the Kelmscott Press as the first independent publisher, they got their start through William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris was a writer, artist and textile designer.

Advancements in technology, at first in music and films, are at the forefront of the independent publisher's boom. It wasn't a dramatic change, but over time, it took hold. This allowed writers to guide their books where they felt they would best be spotted by readers.

Benefits to a writer are extensive when using a small press. Not only do the presses post upfront cash for editing and printing, they also handle all publicity and marketing of the finished product. After that, a writer will be free to do what they do best, write.

A small press is unlike the larger ones because they take great strides to preserve the writer's distinct style. What's more, signing with an independent press doesn't prohibit a writer from signing with a large publisher or another type of media outlet once the first run is off the printing press. The writer's words are their own, now and forever, even after publication.

A small press is not the same as self-publishing. Vanity publishers will ask the author to either purchase a minimum number of books or make an upfront payment before printing will commence. Unmatched is the small publisher who will run a large amount of prints, giving a percentage of royalties to the writer straightaway. Since the press owns no copyrights, the author receives most of the royalties.

A small press is well-defined as a publisher that will create up to $50 million in revenue or less each year. This amount is reached once all returns and discounts have been taken into account. Although it is rare, a press in this category may print more than 10 titles in any given year, but the cutoff is typically 10 titles.

Printing presses will not edit or market a manuscript, they only print it. They are part of a growing print on demand (POD) series of bringing content to the masses. Any content from any writer is eligible for printing. Since there is no editing or sales help, as with indie publishing companies, the independent press is a better option.




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