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2. What types of authors are you looking to sign to your publishing imprint?
Unless you’re starting with a lot of capital, you’re probably not going to lure any celebrities to ink a deal with your publishing imprint.
Traditional book publishers are signing celebrities and big brand executives to make most of their profits. While most people prefer not to wait over 12 months to publish a book, a six-figure book deal will often encourage the author to ink the deal with a big traditional publisher.
You don’t have to be a big publisher to attract prolific people to join your imprint. If you have a strong professional network, you may have a good chance of persuading a prolific person to ink a deal with your company.
Prolific is subjective, though. There are tiers of popularity. You have the A-list, who typically have millions of followers. Then, you have the B-list, who have about half million followers. Finally, there’s the C-list. They usually have under hundred thousand followers. Small publishers love working with these people because they’re likely to sell a lot of books. As a startup publisher, you should focus on targeting C-list influencers.
You may not be able to offer a six-figure advance, but you can offer an advantage that traditional publishers cannot give to their authors. Speed! Many books are going to the marketplace in six to nine months. Most of those books are published through small publishers.
3. What’s your level of passion for publishing books?
A passion is something that you love to do, regardless of the return on investment. There will be some book proposals that look very hopeful until you get the manuscript. There will also be some very well-written manuscripts that sell poorly on the market.
This is only a few of the many things that will test your passion for publishing books. It’ll determine whether you decide to continue or cease your publishing business.
Continues with Part 3
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