This article is the second in the series of articles about book publishing. Before you go on with the reading of this article, it is recommended that you read the Part 1 so you can get a better understanding of the business of book publishing. In the first part, we have dwelt on the importance of registering your business name with the government of your country. We have also stressed the importance of you choosing a genre that you want to explore as a book publisher. We explained some categories that you might choose from. While the categories explained are not exhaustive, they can serve as a guide for a potential publishing company. Please note that a publisher is not restricted to a genre, he can combine two or more of the categories.
Beyond registering a business name and determining the category you want to have as a publisher, an important requirement on the part of an individual or organization willing to be successful as publishing firm is to get skilled and experienced writers. This second part in the series will dwell on what the publisher needs to consider when getting writers for his publishing firm.
How to Get Authors For Your Publishing Firm
This stage of establishing a publishing firm for your business appears to be one of the most important of all the stages. The writers or authors are the ones to provide the content for you to publish. As such, their skill or lack of it may make or mar your business. How can you avoid the mistake of employing the services of mediocre as you see to the growth of your publishing firm?
Talk to Existing Writers
The skill of writing, like other arts is honed through usage. So getting the best hands as authors for your new publishing firm may mean that you have to talk to those who are already writing for other publishers. Depending on the contract signed with their current publishing firm, you may make them write for you while they still hold on to what they have presently. Whatever they have agreed to do for your publishing firm however should be original to you alone. Do not let them transfer ideas that they have used in their previous works.
The seeming minus that may come with this type of arrangement however is that such experienced writers do not come cheap. The experience they have acquired over the years will make them price themselves high that you may find them too expensive. If you value good writing however, you will not mind the cost of getting such writers.
Make an Announcement
Whether your organization is big or small, another effective way thorough which you can get the best hands to author the books that you will be publishing in your firm is by placing advertisement through the mass media. Although such adverts may also attract mediocre, using it effectively will help you discover talented individuals who have been writing but have not made big names for themselves in the industry.
The advantage that this may have over referrals is that it will help you the publisher do away with the bias that may come with talking to someone introduced by another person. You will be able to sift the bad away from the good and deliver to the expectation of your readers.
Reference Works
When you are incapacitated by resources and your choice is not to use the mass media, you may explore the option of getting skilled writers through referrals. There are those who know others who can write very well, talk to such ones and get your business going.
The ones referring you to others do not have to be family and friends, you can get referrals from recruiting agencies and also from professional writers whose situation may make them unavailable to write for you.
Greenhorns Too
While selecting writers for your publishing firm, you do not have to be rigid with using the works of the so-called professionals, you can recruit writers who are considered greenhorn. They do not have to give professional advice about some matters, but they can be very effective when writing fiction.
With time, neophytes recruited will be well trained to deliver on a professional level. If you have the means to get such ones and train them, it is okay as they will be very resourceful for your organization eventually.
Some publishing firms have even gone as far as organizing writing competition. This has proved to be very effective in that you will generate enough materials for yourself, while you also discover talents for your firm.
Make it Legal
Whatever you want to do, ensure that you set out proper terms and conditions between you and your contractors. This is necessary so that you can save yourself the headache of frivolous lawsuits. If possible, get a company lawyer who will serve all your legal and agreement needs. If not you can still make do with an individual, whose services will be employed on a temporary basis.
After deciding on the area of interest an author is expected to write on, it is important that you also set target. This should be included in the terms of the agreement. You must also stipulate the implication of not meeting up with such targets. Matters of volume (number of pages or words), and the pricing that such will attract should be adequately discussed and agreed upon.
No matter how professional they claimed to be, the tendency for writers to cut corners by using other authors work is there. It is important you caution your writers against it from the beginning. Ensure that there is provision to prevent such in your terms of agreement. If they are fledgling writers, inform them about copyright laws, plagiarism and the implication of breaching such laws. It is better that they are aware of the implication before the go deep into working for you.
Writing is not complete however if there is no skilled editor to get the work done. The next part in the series will dwell on how you can get a very good editor for your publishing firm.
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