I took a moment in the last blog to explain the difference between a real publisher and a vanity press. Please be patient. I am answering a reader’s comment about query letters, but you must know your market before you know how to sell to them.
Here are some questions that will help you determine whether a publishing company is legit or not:
1. "Do you have distribution through Ingrams." If the answer is no, the company is a POD or vanity press.
2. "Are your books sold in libraries." If no, the company is a vanity press, or run by an editor who thought they could do it better than the publisher they worked for, and hasn’t got a clue what they are doing.
3. "How many books did you release last year." No answer means the company is in the first year. An answer should include books with ISBN numbers. If the books do not include ISBN numbers then ‘run.’ There is no way a bookstore, Amazon, Barns & Noble, or anyone else can purchase the book.
4. "Do you allow book store returns?" If the company does, they are a larger publishing company. If they do not, but do sell to bookstores through Ingrams, then they are a smaller company. This smaller company should be able to explain some type of marketing scheme.
5. Do not be impressed with distribution through several venues except bookstores. Booksurge.com ( a vanity press) falls into this category. However, if you do want to self-publish, then this is the only company for new self-publishers that I would trust. Their cost is cheap and their distribution good. However, distribution without promotion is useless, so save a few hundred dollars for promotion.
I will include another post called warning signs within the next few days.
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1 comment:
Very good to know. There are so many companies out there that can make their website look good & professional so it's really helpful to know the types of questions to ask.
Thanks!
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