Free Essay About Creating A Publishing House

As a matter of fact, a publisher ought to balance economics with creativity to be successful. In the current market, there are many good book ideas that are untamed, which would make great books. Despite this, most of them would find it difficult to be successful in the marketplace, in spite of having noble ideas. This is because of the various factors that play a role in the success or failure of a publishing company. To achieve this success, a publisher needs to get all factors right. For instance, he ought to ensure the topic, timing, the reviews, the competition and many other actors are all handled with a lot of care to ensure the book is successful. To correctly assess the book’s market potential, the publisher should be savvy enough. It would also be crucial for the publisher to remain true to the core values and the mission statement of the house (Guntlow, 1997). With various factors weighing in depending on the development of technology, starting a publishing company is no longer an easy task. This paper seeks to analyze the considerations that one should take into account before starting a publishing house. Throughout the paper, various factors will be analyzed which are related or affect such a venture through various perspectives.
For the purpose of this assignment, the publishing house in question should be a Trade Book Publisher. In most cases, these types of publishers are tasked with acquiring, editing, producing, publishing and selling books which are most likely to be found in the bookstores of the bricks-and-mortar nature (Video Publishing House, 1994). The production of these books will be classified under various categories, depending on a number of formats. For instance, the books to be published could be in hard cover, mass market paperback, trade paperbacks, audio-books or even e-books. One of the considerations for opting to such a type of company is because today’s publishing climate supports them. A good example of this is by considering some of the largest publishing companies such as Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins and Penguin Random House. The publishing house envisions standard 12.5 percent royalties for big authors and 7.5 for paperback. Issues of advance or payments will also be adequately catered for (Marantz et al. 1997). The publishing house in question will operate on an advance payment basis to ensure the survival of the house. The fact that such advance payments are refundable is a bonus to the potential clients. Most of the surviving publishing houses of the traditional nature use this approach to greater effects, hence should work in the publishing company in question.
With the constant development of technology in the world today, publishers face stiff challenges. The emerging trend has seen many people appreciate machine-based systems because of issues doing with efficiency (Sobon, 1994). Because of this, it is crucial to take into account the phenomenal rise of machines in publishing and the threat this poses to the publishing companies. Because of this, the publishing company will strive to produce high and quality content for the readers. This is the only way it can remain relevant in the world full of competition. The publishing fee should depend on a number of reasons. For instance, it would be prudent to ensure that the costs charged are sufficient enough to give the company a platform to continue operating. Failure to achieve this would mean that the company operates in losses, hence threatening its own existence. In the modern competitive world, this is not the ideal condition for any entrepreneur.
The publishing company shall be guided by several core drivers. The first core driver is scale, which is closely associated to critical mass. In a nutshell, this refers to the company’s ability to translate the size of work done as a competitive advantage against competitors. Ideally, the company will be publishing large volumes of books on a day to day basis. With this, it should be easy to offer clients better rates than the competitors, hence attracting more clients. This will also give the company an opportunity to acquire more resources to get to books, sign books and even role out the marketing strategy. The second value to be taken into consideration is verticalization. Basically, this refers to the ability of having the capability to deliver things of interest using the internet in an audience-specific way. To achieve this, the company will invest in strong internet access to give it an advantage over the competitors. If this is the case, then the company will have high chances of succeeding in the otherwise competitive environment. The last value on which the company will be based is automization. This is one’s ability or the ability of the company to make the content accessible and available to as many people as possible anywhere. This should be so even when the company is not dedicated to distribute the books. This will ensure adequate circulation of content, effectively promoting the company’s objectives. With these core values, the publishing company in question should be a hit in the market.
As with any other publishing company, the organization shall have a number of mandates. Three of them will be core. First, the publishing company shall be tasked with organizing the production of books. This means that the company will coordinate the author’s work with the editor, printer and the designer. This will also go as far as controlling the distributors and retailers (Krantz, 2005). The company will also have the mandate to assume any financial risk. To succeed in the modern environment, publishers are expected to incur any cost arising in the line of duty regardless of the time and amount of labor invested. Authors should be paid as per their sales. Unlike them, the publisher’s charge is often based on costs and wages, while the retailers earn commissions. It will also be the mandate and responsibility of the publisher to assume any legal responsibility that may arise. In spite of the warranty of the author in the contract of publishing that the content in question is delivered copyright free, the publisher should take liability upon breach of any of these terms. This way, the publishing company will attract a number of clients, thereby gaining the much needed competitive advantage. The publishing company shall be an ambitious mall house with a major growth mandate, as opposed to the House of Anansi. In doing all the above, the publishing company will remain true to the core values and the mission statement.

Considerations to take into account

In structuring the publishing company, several considerations shall be taken into account. Being of the traditional publishing nature, there is little doubt that self-publishing aspects will play a major role in influencing the operations. The person to whom the book s printed for should be the first consideration. In traditional publishing (which should be this organization’s way of operating), royalties and advance payments should carry the day (Lewis et al. 2014). This means that the company will not need to give an upfront payment for a number of things such as cover design, editing and printing. To this respect, the company’s decision to employ the traditional publishing system is valid, despite the emergence of modern printing mechanisms. Although this might not be the same case where speed and quality will be keenly analyzed, it is safe to argue for the traditional method. In any case, most of the clients of the company are expected to be competent authors who are dedicated to produce quality work.
The fact that publishing was introduced a long time ago mans that it would be difficult to come up with something that has not been filled. With both the modern and traditional publishing mechanisms, most of the publishing aspects have been taken into account. The remaining aspects may prove to be costly and not as viable for the company to venture in. With this in mind, the trick would involve looking for loopholes and fulfilling them to a great effect. This way, the company will have a major impact n the market which is otherwise congested. With the current technology, it would be almost impossible to ignore e-books and the role that they play in modern publishing (Rau et al. 2014). Being a traditional publisher, self-publishing and promoting self-publishers shall not be considered. It is also essential to note that there is enough capital to meet the upfront costs of print. This will give the company the initial initiative to become competitive in the market.
As already argued, the operation of the publishing house will be based on the core values and mission of it. Editorial aspects will be exclusively internal, meaning that external editors will not be considered unless there is a serious breakdown of the internal system. With this system, it will be easy for the company to monitor the proceedings and come up with strategies to control any malpractices that may arise. In most cases, external editors tend to be careless and not strict to their roles. When such is the case, the company might find itself in difficult positions where it would lose its competence. The financial aspect should not be a major worry. With enough capital at hand, every section will be allocated enough to carry their objectives. Allocation of these finances shall be based on the duties of each section and their relative importance to the company. The house has the editorial mandate to inspect and verify any publication before forwarding it for the final publishing. This is based on the argument that the company shall take any liability arising from the publications that it handles. As a matter of fact, self-publishing and the use of machines is becoming a force in the market. For the traditional publishing companies to excel, it is necessary to engage agents. With active agents, it will be easy for the content of the publishing houses to penetrate even the remote areas. This will give the document in question better circulation, boosting the sales and efficiency. However, it is important to note that the company will not exclusively work with agents. Self-published authors will not be accepted as the company will be dealing with a different approach. Acquisition of manuscripts will be primarily based on the directions that the clients will give. Although corporate partnerships play a role in minimizing the costs, the company will not engage any partner.

References

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Krantz, S. G. (2005). Mathematical publishing: A guidebook. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society.
Lewis, E., In Edwards, A., & Cosby, C. O. (2014). The man from Essence: Creating a magazine for Black women.
Marantz, K. A., & Marantz, S. S. (1997). Creating picturebooks: Interviews with editors, art directors, reviewers, booksellers, professors, librarians, and showcasers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.
Michener, J. A. (1992). James A. Michener's writer's handbook: Explorations in writing and publishing. New York: Random House.
Rau, D. M., & Petelinsek, K. (2013). Creating fairy retreats. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Cherry Lake Publishing.
Sobon, J. (1994). Build a classic timber-framed house: Planning and design, traditional materials, affordable methods. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications.
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