Inside Publishing

Now that your book is finished, what happens next? We're here to guide you through the publishing process, from editorial to distribution and sales.

Ebook Distribution: Who Does It?

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Tue Apr 2, 2013

Vook - In addition to ebook conversion, interactivity, and other services, Vook distributes ebook files to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and their own Vook storefront.
BookBaby - You can upload an EPUB file to Bookbaby, and they will distribute it to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Sony, Copia, Gardner's, Baker & Taylor, eBookPie, and eSentral.
PigeonLab - You can distribute your ebooks to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
Smashwords - Uploading your file to Smashwords means that your book can be distributed to Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, Baker & Taylor, Diesel eBooks, as well as Smashwords's own retail store.

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Distribution

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Fact-Checking and Legal Vetting

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Thu Mar 28, 2013

If you’re writing nonfiction, you may want to invest in the services of a fact-checker. Fact-checkers adhere to a rigorous standard, questioning assertions and asking for documentation and citations to support those assertions.

The self-publishing service Lulu has some good tips on fact-checking here. Probably the greatest portrayal of a fact-checking department was written by John McPhee about The New Yorker.

Magazines employ fact-checkers because their publication cycles are not as severe as newspapers, and magazine articles are shorter than book-length manuscripts and therefore not insurmountable for a staffer to fact-check.

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Editing

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Giving Bookstores Good Customer Service

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Wed Mar 27, 2013

As a publisher, the bookstore is actually your customer. And of course you want to give your customer good service.

Customers respond well when they are treated well. They buy more of your product. So it's very much in your interest to treat booksellers the way they want to be treated, even if it means a little extra work and thought; bookstores are the portal to your readers.

Some general rules of thumb:

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Distribution

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Why Developmental Editing Is So Important

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Wed Mar 27, 2013

A developmental editor helps you shape your book. Rather than focusing on a line-by-line edit (though some developmental editors also do this), the goal is to focus on the structural organization of the book – does the narrative flow coherently? Are there plot holes? Are terms explained appropriately for the audience?

A developmental editor will help you trim areas of your book that are too long, and punch up details that need highlighting. They are sometimes called “book doctors”.

But do you really need a developmental editor?

Most books need another set of eyes to objectively review the content. It’s a rare author who can write a perfect book without feedback. A developmental editor doesn’t re-write the book, but helps its evolution, in the writer’s own voice.

Inside Publishing

Editing

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Inside Publishing

Ebook Distribution: Who Does It?

Fact-Checking and Legal Vetting

Giving Bookstores Good Customer Service

Why Developmental Editing Is So Important

Pages

Getting Started

Create a Culture of Quality in Your Publishing Company

FAQs about ISBNs

How to Write a Business Plan as Narrative (Part 2 of 2)

A Novel Planning Technique for Book Publishers (Part 1 of 2)

Do You Have the Write Stuff?