Books are almost everywhere. Well, we learnt to read and write through books. They have also been a great source of information and entertainment for a lot of us. Imagine buying a new novel and smelling the amazing fragrance of those new pages. That is pure bliss in my books, see what I did there. Well anyways, lets take a look at the publishing industry and get a brief overview of it.
Lets look at some of its aspects one by one. Lets start with a novel. You obviously need a something to publish. So lets say a publishing house is going to publish a thriller. It has to start with getting a contract and terms set straight with the writer. Now, everything would pretty much be different on a case to case basis. A bestselling writer might have more power to bring in more sales than someone who is starting out fresh.
So, lets say you get the story for the thriller, now begins the editing process. Each story would have to go through an editorial process. People will read it and give the writer suggestions about how they can improve the book. What needs to be changed and what would help the story and the book sell more.
With everything set in place, the next thing would be book design. Now each story has its own distinct features. The book design on the cover should relate to it in someway. Well, you can be creative and design the cover in a completely different way and you never know it might sell more. But, most of the times, it should be something catchy and pretty. I know people say “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but the harsh reality is it that they do. So, a clever and beautiful design always helps.
Next comes the marketing aspect. Many publishing houses begin their work years before a book is launched. They create the hype for it and the demand for it. The writers go on talk shows, book signing events and a lot more and work their magic by hyping up the readers.
With everything ready, next comes sales. Publishing houses work with the book sellers to analyse the trend in the market and decide what would be the best book to sell. They also place books in such a way in these shops that it catches the eye of a reader and pulls them towards it. Product placement also matters a lot when it comes to book sales.
With eBooks and audiobooks also coming into the picture, publishing houses also have to work on these. Sometimes, they get the writers to narrate the stories in these audio books or they get celebrities to do it. They can also people with a pretty good voice to do it as well. They also have to launch the eBooks as many people are reading them.
This was a brief overview of how the publishing industry works. Now, I know that there are many other details which I might have left out but this is a good start to know how it works. With self publishing and Amazon coming into the picture the competition has just increased. We just have to wait and watch how things workout.
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