Our Services – Authors
'Susanne McDadd has all the marketing and publicity skills that authors need to call upon when confronted by the bewildering process of publishing a book. Her confident approach to the public and her knowledge of design, presentation and outlets for reviews made my Animal Rights and Wrongs, which began life as an obscure pamphlet, into the best-known book on the subject.'
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'Susanne McDadd is a former non-fiction director of Faber, and was a founder of Metro Publishing; that firm was eventually sold to John Blake. Now she runs a company which offers a range of valuable services for small publishers and authors.
Anyone who has a book which they would like to see in print should take a close look at this option. I say book, rather than novel, because the company specialises in non-fiction. There is much valuable, and free, advice on this site and it would repay study. All in all, it seems to be one of the best self-publishing possibilities that I have come across, but I get the definite impression that they are looking for writers with a professional approach; out-and-out amateurs and dreamers would, I suspect, be given a polite but brisk brush-off.'
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Grumpy Old Bookman Blog (5 April 2005)
A Guardian top-ten blog |
'Susanne McDadd was the creative powerhouse whose faith and determination got her books, including my novel, into places other publishers couldn't reach.'
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Maggie Gee
(author of several novels, including The White Family, shortlisted for the 2002 Orange Prize)
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HURRICANE WARNING!
'As a first-time author, I approached the whole issue of publicity and promotion with trepidation. Not for long. Susanne has been a dream to work with: professional, flexible, imaginative, dynamic. The vast majority of our communication was (and is) by e-mail, which enabled us to keep in very close touch. It was like working in adjacent offices. After three months of witnessing her energy and tenacity, I started referring to her as 'my force of nature' – Hurricane Susanne! Finally, Susanne welcomed my input and never made me feel that I shouldn't be bothering my fluffy authorly head with such things! As a team, we seemed to gain energy from one another.' |
Sue Rann
(author of Looking for Mr Nobody published by No Exit Press)
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Are you well known in your own right and would like to take the publishers' profit rather than the lower author royalty? Or would you like to test the market with a larger-format paperback before submitting massmarket rights to a mainstream publisher? Or do you have a strong local following which you feel would translate into sales?
This section is aimed at authors who are considering assisted self-publishing. By ‘assisted self-publishing', we do not mean the production of a small digitally-produced run aimed at family & friends or at a purely local audience.
If this is the case you would be better off going it alone – check out Johnathon Clifford's site (Johnathon Clifford is the UK's leading expert on vanity publishing and provides a free information pack detailing reputable suppliers).
This is for two reasons. First, this option only makes sense for authors who are capable of selling in excess of 5,000 copies. And second, given that our sales and distribution associates, Signature and Central Books, make their money through commission on sales, we have a duty only to take on authors capable of generating a minimum level of turnover.
We limit assisted self-published books to three a year, as self-publishing is a time-consuming process.
In addition to our core services of sales, marketing and distribution, we have access to experienced suppliers across editorial, design, typesetting and print.
Don Shaw
Don Shaw is a good example of the kind of author who has benifitted from assisted self-publishing. Although a BAFTA-award winning screenwriter with a television agent, he lacked experience of writing books and his agency did not have a book department.
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Don was highly professional to work with, receptive to editorial suggestions and enthusiastic about the publicity process, at however routine a level. As befits a man who still races through the Derbyshire Peak District in his seventies, he had seemingly limitless energy.
Despite Derbyshire having very few bookshops, we sold 2,500 copies of his book, The Hike and the art of onedownmanship in the county in three weeks and have since sold out of the further 2,500 printed. Ebury Press, part of the conglomerate Random House, bought the massmarket paperback rights, with publication as a lead title in August 2005.
Click here for Don's account of self-publishing The Hike
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Services
Our services include the following:
Preparation
- advice on a book's title, price, positioning and publication date
- agreeing the format, price and paper
- agreeing the title and cover copy
- commissioning a cover or jacket
- drawing up a Sales & Marketing Plan
- commissioning inside page design
- submitting to the various bibliographic agencies
- commissioning illustrations (if applicable)
- commissioning an editor, proofreader, indexer, designer and typesetter
- advice on non-booktrade outlets
- signing off on costings and arranging for the book to be printed
- recommending relevant promotional material (eg posters, flyers)
- preparing key selling tools – eg Advance Information sheet, Press Release, Catalogue
- advising on endorsements
Selling in: sales outlets
- submitting to the trade press
- mailing and presenting to key accounts
- arranging cover illustrations in wholesalers' Buyers' Notes
- advice on supplementary mailings – eg library, school, wholesaler
- monitoring dues
Marketing and publicity
- marketing as identified in the Sales & Marketing Plan
- researching print review lists: national and regional newspapers, magazines and newsletters
- identifying relevant websites and ezines
- prioritising publicity targets
- submitting for bookshop and other events + arranging POS support
- telephone follow-up of relevant outlets
- arranging radio and/or television coverage
- finished-copy review mailing
After publication
- mini publicity campaigns for reprints
- continuing to promote where possible
- monitoring sales
- stock reduction/remaindering if a book has not sold well
Contact us at editor@Publishing-Services.co.uk for further information. All enquiries will be treated in confidence. |
