Build Your Publishing Team

Rosemi Mederos: 00:01

If you have plot bunnies coming out of your plot holes, it’s time for a writing break.

Today I’m taking my own advice, plus we’re working on building your publishing team. We’re also learning of a good reason to make sure your print books are also available as ebooks.

The bookstore we are visiting today has a cafe, so let’s head there first.

Pan Bookstore & Cafe in Izmir, Turkey, is a stunning two-story bookstore with a cafe serving gourmet food and drinks that look almost too good to eat. The bookstore has large windows that let in a lot of natural light, yet the industrial decor of metal and wood, black and brown, creates a warm atmosphere that invites you to spend hours there. They frequently host workshops and author events, and they have a solid section of books in Turkish and English.

How about a Turkish coffee to go with today’s publishing news?

out the scanned copy. In June: 2020

The publishers’ main claim is that the unauthorized scanning of the books is copyright infringement. The Internet Archive’s main defense is that they are a library lending books to its patrons.

As we discussed earlier this year, a judge ruled in favor of the publishing houses. Now this month a US district court has approved a permanent injunction that prevents the Internet Archive from lending out digital copies of books that have commercially available ebook editions. The injunction does not apply to books that do not have ebook editions.

The Authors Guild has criticized the injunction because it leaves out many books from which authors are still trying to earn a living. The Internet Archive has said that it will appeal the injunction.

As for you, if your print books do not have a commercially available ebook edition, I recommend you make one.

According to a Nielsen report, the number one social media platform young adults turn to when seeking out a book recommendation is YouTube, narrowly beating out TikTok by 2%. Instagram came in third.

st title is set to release in: 2024

Now let’s head to the Overthinking Couch so I can tell you about a true crime . . . my own.

I always advise authors to begin marketing their book as soon as they begin writing it. Meanwhile, my best friend chastised me for not doing the same. Fair point. I’m used to working behind the scenes on books, editing and ghostwriting. This time, though, my name will be on the cover. Or maybe a pen name? I’m not sure yet. What I am sure of is that a well-respected agent is helping me do the thing. I’ll tell you more about it next year. Until then, I can say that the genre, as you might have guessed already, is true crime. So there’s the crime of not talking about the book sooner and the crime discussed in the book. Then there’s one more crime, which is that in order to do the thing right, I have to follow some more of my advice and say no to fun things when there’s writing to do. That means that this weekly show is going to become a biweekly show for now. That means every other week for those of you who are like me and always think too long about the prefix bi versus semi.

Maybe the Writing Break episodes will be a little longer. Maybe there will be a bonus episode now and then. I’m not making any guarantees on that. The only thing I can guarantee is that I will be overthinking all of it.

Now, it’s time to take a stroll around the shop and check out an independent author.

Sticking to the city we’re in, as I like to do, today we’re looking at The Izmir Situation: Book 4 of the Sauwa Catcher Series by J. E. Higgins.

“The clock is ticking…

Sauwa’s boss (and captor) — international arms merchant Andre Valikov — is suddenly ambushed and kidnapped in what was supposed to be a routine meeting with ‘clients.’

Now with a razor-thin timeline she has less than forty-eight hours to locate and rescue him. If she fails, information on her whereabouts and cover identities will be sent to all the governments pursuing her.

Once again living by her wits, experience, and relying on an unpredictable group she’s managed to assemble, she sets out combing the streets of Izmir on a search that will inevitably lead her and her team into a deadly showdown with a dangerous and very capable enemy.

But while Sauwa tracks her boss, another threat looms. South African intelligence is once again on her trail. They’ve dispatched former anti-Apartheid guerrilla hunter, Jaimie Nawati, to Turkey to find her and bring her in…or eliminate her.

Caught in a vicious game of cat and mouse Sauwa works to find Valikov unaware that Nawati is one step behind.

How this deadly game ends will surprise you.”

The Izmir Situation is available in paperback and ebook, and it’s free to read with Kindle Unlimited.

Now, let’s climb the bookstore’s dark metal staircase to see if we can find an empty table upstairs for today’s writing tip, which is more of a publishing tip.

Continuing our discussion on getting your book ready for self-publication, today we’re building your publishing team. You’ll need an editor or two, an interior formatter for both print and ebook, a proofreader, a book cover designer, a printer, and a distributor. As discussed in episode 69, there are hybrid publishers that do as much of this as you want. There are also some freelancers who can step into more than one role.

But where do you start? How do you find the best people to work with?

I would start with author recommendations. Ask your author friends who they worked with and if they recommend them. You could also check author acknowledgments or the publisher’s information page at the front of any book you like to see if there is any information on the cover artist or interior designer.

Next, I would check professional organizations like the Editorial Freelancers Association and ACES: The Society for Editing. You can search their directories or post a job to their job lists or both. You can also turn to your own publishing team for recommendations. For example, once you find an editor, ask them if they have a recommendation for a cover artist.

I know some people who have had success working with interior formatters on sites like fiverr.com, which makes sense because there are talented people everywhere, but it’s important that you review their portfolios to make sure that you like their artistic style.

Wherever you find your team members, make sure to also look at their testimonials. Even better, check the published acknowledgments of a book. If the author has gone through the trouble of publicly acknowledging their publishing team by name, that’s usually the sign of a happy author. As for editors, many will provide a short sample of copyediting, about 1,000 words. I think providing a short sample of developmental editing is pointless because the editor needs to read the entire manuscript at least once before beginning again and offering developmental suggestions. But I know that some editors do offer this and some authors really want it.

Make sure you understand and are comfortable with each team member’s workflow. How many redesigns does your cover artist allow? How much does your interior designer charge for correcting typos found during proofreading? If you are not comfortable with what they tell you, that doesn’t mean that either of you are wrong; it just means you’re not compatible.

For example, I haven’t done an editing sample in years. I don’t like starting a great book and then not being able to finish it. If you really need an editing sample before you hire an editor, I completely understand and can recommend another editor.

Next week, wait, no, in two weeks. Oh, gosh, I’m going to miss you dearly. In the next episode, we’ll discuss the difference between a good editor, a great editor, and your ideal editor. Until then, thanks for listening and remember, you deserved this break.

If you would like us to visit your favorite independent bookstore, feature your favorite independent author (even if it’s you), or discuss something you’re overthinking about, please email me at podcast@writingbreak.com.

Thank you for making space in your mind for The Muse today.

Writing Break is hosted by America’s Editor and produced by Allon Media with technical direction by Gus Aviles. Visit us at writingbreak.com or contact us at podcast@writingbreak.com.