Author Academy, Wheatmark, and Grael Norton: A Look Inside Publishing Services
Over the last couple months, I’ve been digging into the publishing (and self-publishing) industry from various vantage points in order to get some insider info for the writing community I’m a part of.
That journey has included speaking with Boyd Morrison, top-selling author of the Ark, who told me about his forward thinking self-publishing story; Michael Prescott, top-selling author of The Shadow Hunter, who recounted his self-publishing journey; Joanna Penn, prominent writing blogger and consultant based out of London who provided insights for aspiring writers; friend and bestselling author Donald Miller; Dana Lynn Smith, the Savvy Book Marketer; publishing visionary Kevin Smokler and the experience of 5 “average” people who self-published their books (including costs and sales).
This week, I stepped inside the publishing industry to interview Grael Norton, Wheatmark’s Acquisitions Manager. Wheatmark provides book publishing, marketing and editing services. (Disclaimer: I have not used Wheatmark’s services at any time, so I cannot provide personal insights into Grael’s overview of their company.)
Authors Academy, Wheatmark and Grael Norton
Sarah: Obviously, it’s often the wildly successful self-publishing projects that make the headlines, but we all know that the average self-publishing author isn’t making the best-seller list. What is the advantage of self-publishing?
Grael: The advantage of self-publishing—which at Wheatmark we identify as forming your own publishing company—is that you have total control over the editorial content, cover and interior design, price point, printing method, and to a certain extent, distribution options for your book. These same factors are also the downside of self-publishing or working with a publishing service to publish your book. (That’s what Wheatmark is: a publishing service; we are not a “self-publishing company.”) In fact, it’s exactly this freedom that usually leads to the failure of a particular self-publishing project: a lack of knowledge or expertise on the part of the author/publisher about what makes a good book that people will actually want to buy. Authors are excited about the phenomenon of “endless shelf space” (access to the marketplace), which is what companies like Amazon provide, but this doesn’t mean that readers will suddenly start buying books of poor quality that they don’t want. This is the vital role that publishers of all types still play in the marketplace: knowing how to create books and e-books that people will want to buy.
Sarah: Such an important distinction. Opportunity is not always synonymous with success. Would you recommend self-publishing just for people who are notable or who have a large platform or is it also appropriate for the ordinary person whose name would not be easily recognizable?
Grael: I’d recommend self-publishing or working with a publishing service for two types of people: famous people (or people who have a large platform) and people who either want to become famous or at least build a sizeable platform in their niche or genre of writing. It should be clear to writers by now that becoming a published author is not particularly difficult these days—there are plenty of options out there for getting published. The formula for becoming a successful author has changed, though. The formula used to be “great writer + getting published = successful author.” The formula today is “great published writer + great marketing = successful author.” In other words, becoming skilled at marketing is a requirement for success as an author today. No one is going to do it for you, either—you’ve got to do it yourself.
Sarah: The formula has definitely changed. Along those lines, if a person chooses to self-publish, what actions can they take that will help them be as successful as possible? And, on the flip side, what are the most typical mistakes you see self-published authors make?
Grael: If a person chooses to self-publish or work with a publishing service, there are three actions they can take to guarantee the success of their project:
A. Start reaching out to your target audience years before you start publishing your book; at least three years is ideal
B. Make sure the audience you’ve built wants the book you’re going to create for them
C. Hire experts to help you execute your vision and provide critical publishing industry-specific feedback
If a particular author skips steps A & B, that’s OK—that author simply has to commit to marketing their published book for the next three years (at a minimum) to build their audience or platform.
On the flip side, there are three all-too-common errors self-published or independently-published authors make:
A. Not knowing the market for their books
B. Having no existing relationship with the market for their books
C. Creating a sub-par product
Sarah: That’s a good word. Now let’s get down to brass tacks. What is the average cost of a self-publishing package and what does it include?
Grael: Publishing services companies charge anywhere from between $500 to $50,000 and up for publishing a book. Each company is a little different, so it’s important to investigate their offerings. Wheatmark is different from 99% of the publishing services companies out there in that we don’t offer publishing “packages” (we work by custom proposal only), we are selective in who we’ll work with and what projects we’ll take on (because we have the expertise to distinguish between projects and clients who have a fighting chance and those who are truly fighting an uphill battle), and we don’t sell “done-for-you” marketing services at all as these services are generally a complete and total rip-off for the author.
Wheatmark has a well-defined process for how we work with new clients. Here’s the process:
A. Prospective clients are invited to download and read “The Author’s Guide to Choosing a Publishing Service,” a free report available on our website, www.wheatmark.com
B. This free report has an offer at the end for one of our introductory services: an editorial or positioning analysis of a client’s manuscript, or cover mockups (cover concepts). These services are designed to be low-cost ways of working on a project on a small scale to make sure everyone’s comfortable with the vision for the project and how to make it a success. All three services come with a 100% money-back guarantee if the client is dissatisfied for any reason.
C. If the client likes the work we do for them, and we agree with their vision for the project, we create a custom publishing proposal that generally ranges from around $3,500 to $5,000 and which includes a full credit for the services the client invested in in step B above. These proposals include all necessary editorial and design work, publishing in print and e-book formats, and printing, wholesaling, and sales management of our clients’ titles. Each proposal comes with a two-week deadline for decision, as we are very busy with our existing clients and projects.
Sarah: Do you think one day self-publishing will knock out all traditional publishers, forcing them all into being self-publishing presses or offering hybrid models? Why or why not?
Grael: No—there will always be publishers whose business it is to publish the books of famous people who—being famous—essentially guarantee sales. However, it is this “traditional” publishing industry that will be increasingly regarded as “vanity publishing,” as there are less and less real benefits to authors who publish this way—unless they’re already rich and famous to being with.
It is pure vanity to abdicate the responsibility for your own success in the 21st century—the age of the entrepreneur. Authors are no exception. In any case, the days of “traditional” publishers breaking new authors are coming to an end, if they’re not over already. (In fact, there’s a good argument to be made that these days never really existed in the first place.)
Sarah: Okay, here’s your chance to make a pitch. Why, in your opinion, is Wheatmark unique from other publishing services?
Grael: Wheatmark is the only publishing service with a proven marketing system—the Authors Academy—for helping authors (regardless of how they publish) sell more books. More information about the Authors Academy is on our website here:www.authorsacademy.com