Thursday 26 December 2013

Indie Publishing Companies Help Authors And Readers

By Harriett Crosby


Many believe independent presses or small presses are an interchangeable title for printing various original works, which is often true. Almost one half of all publishers of books and nearly a third of magazines are produced by this type of industry press around the world. They are often referred to as indie publishing companies and they only print limited-edition books, mostly poetry anthologies, genre fiction and niche fiction and non-fiction books of various styles. They could also run small prints of specialty magazines.

In order to qualify for independent status, a press can in no way be a part of a multinational corporation that publishes books or magazines. A publisher of this nature, in which a small group or individual pours all their time, money and energy into a project they feel is worthy, is not a new concept. It began at the end of the nineteenth century with the Kelmscott Press and the Arts and Crafts Movement, with the help of writer, artist and textile designer William Morris.

The modification of publishers from large corporate to small independent did not happen in a few days' time. Similar to the film industry and the music industry, as equipment improved, so too did the author's needs. Writers wanted more control over their printable words, a small press can give them that control.

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.

An independent book publisher will not lose an author's unique voice when sending it to be edited and printed. Furthermore, a writer is free to do as they please with the finished product. This means they have the right to sell their book to a larger publisher or a movie house if they so choose.

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.

Printers do exactly that, they print a book any author writes. Their distribution is limited and offered as a print on demand (POD). Essentially, this type of company are not selective and nearly all writers who can pay the fee to become a published author get their words in print. For your book to stand out, search for indie publishing companies.




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