I was pleased to sit in on the panel “The Evolving Face of Publishing” with Jen Talty of Cool Gus, Jason Huddle of Comfort Publishing, and Mike Simpson of Second Wind Publishing. They shared with the audience some thoughts about publishing from their side of the business of writing and publishing.
Marketing – All of the panelists agreed that even while traditional publishers have always expected the author to do some of their own marketing, it is imperative in today’s changing publishing world that the author be willing to ‘get their hands dirty’. Jason Huddle of Comfort Publishing says he has worked with reclusive authors before, but he pointed out that if a manuscript is one of a kind and highly marketable, Comfort Publishing is willing to work with that author to help them market their book.
The message to take away here is that if you want a publisher to pick up your title, you need to be willing to get on board with doing much of the marketing on your own. This was evident to me as I perused author’s tables during the day, some self-published and many traditionally published – who had traveled from all over the country to sell their books and meet with readers at Book ‘Em.
Ebooks – The general consensus on digital publishing is that ebooks are the money makers. None of the panelists say that print books will go the way of a dinosaur, but print simply does not sell as well as digital. In addition, the digital version of your book can be sold on many different platforms, increasing the likelihood of it being found by readers.
Submissions – The panelists all agreed that first impressions matter. Make sure you write a stellar query letter and make sure you proofread it before sending it.
Second Wind Publishing publishes Adult, Young adult, and Children’ books. They want to see your contact info, a brief summary of your story, .any pertinent publishing credits, and the genre and word count of your novel.
Comfort Publishing wants to see at least 80,000 words of your manuscript in your submission.
Cool Gus is a hybrid publisher – they work with authors to prepare them to self-publish.
Keep in mind that Karenzo Media can help you prepare your query letter and manuscript for submission to these or other publishers.
We can also assist you with book layout (print and digital), as well as help you with marketing ideas.
Need to create a blog or Facebook page but don’t know where to start? We can help you with that!
Email Karen at karenzomedia@gmail.com
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