Publishing consultant and publishing your book are expressions that should go hand in hand. For most freelance writers, especially those just starting out. The publishing world is a mystery they know little or nothing about. That is why having good editorial advice is key to favoring the success of your book.
The Importance of Good Advice for The Success of Your Book
As with everything, when making a decision it is essential to have good help, to have complete information and to receive clear and professional answers to all the doubts that we may have or that may arise. All of this, if possible, is more important when we are going to self-publish our book, because a book is a unique, special object, and the result of a long time’s work.
For novice writers, and especially for independent writers , good editorial advice will save us time, effort, money and, above all, problems. And those problems sometimes tend to come in the future. So the experience of a good editorial consultant is of great value.
Why Is an Editorial Consultant Useful?
We have to differentiate the figure of a true editorial advisor from what is a mere salesperson or commercial. The goal of a seller is to convince, at all costs, that you accept what he wants you to buy, everything is perfect and “rosy”. On the other hand, a good editorial consultant will explain the pros and cons, and will even give you information that you did not know, or details that are not what you expected; but above all, he will provide you with solutions, and he will give you advice that will help you have a more complete and real vision of self-publishing books. As they say: “information is power”.
A good editorial consultant will tell you things transparently. There are publishers that send a contract and prohibit showing it or sharing it with anyone, which gives an idea that they do not act clearly. Can you imagine going to buy a house and being told that the contract you are going to sign cannot be shown to anyone? It is like saying “signature and period”, this cannot convey confidence.
Book Review Consultation Services
What Happens When You Don’t Have an Editorial Consultant
Another frequent case are publishers who do not like to be asked questions, who respond evasively, with ambiguity, or do not respond, or even feel nervous when what they propose is not accepted quickly and without putting them down. no “but”. They also do not like to be questioned, and that is a bad indication in their way of proceeding.
We are very excited to see our book published, it is true, but for that very reason we must always act with patience and prudence. Do not simply accept the first option, look for others and stay with the one that gives us more security and confidence. Not only that someone tells us what we want to hear, but also what we may not like to hear, and that in the long run is going to be more beneficial for both the author and the book.
Do Not Trust
Do not trust, for example, those publishing houses to which you have sent your manuscript and they respond to you a few days later saying that they thought it was wonderful and that they want to publish it; yes, paying an amount or with a shared edition agreement. The first thing that should generate distrust in us is the time it has taken to respond to us. In a few days have they read my book? Didn’t they have more pending readings? There are cases in which they have responded the next day! and this is not feasible because any reputable and reliable publisher receives dozens and dozens of manuscripts every month and their response time, if any, is usually very long.
As for what some call co-editing, or shared editing, it really isn’t. It is a publishing system in which publisher and author are supposed to share the costs, but in reality, this is not the case. If one compares what they ask us with the cost of a self-publishing, it is easy to see that in the “co-edition” it is the author who pays all the expenses, and on top of that the publisher takes half of the profits. A round business, yes, but only for them.
A convened contest is another trick. We receive a communication in which they tell the author that, despite not having won the award, the quality of his work encourages them to publish it. That yes, realizing a contribution to collaborate with the expenses of edition, with which it is another covert self-publishing.
Formulas To Know How to Trust a Desktop Publishing Publisher
We have a sign of trust when someone close to us recommends a publisher; either because he has published with her or because he knows of an acquaintance who has done so, and in both cases everything has gone well and they have been satisfied. On the web pages we can see if there are testimonials from satisfied authors who relate their experiences. Take the opportunity then to search the internet for these authors, and verify that they really exist and collect more data, apart from those that are put on the website itself. Also search the internet for the name of the publishers and if there are many negative comments, to discard them, or many positive ones, to take it into account when deciding.
When contacting a publisher, check to see if they have the figure of an editorial advisor or consultant, and if that person is clearly identified. She even searches the internet for his name to learn more about him and about his professional career and relationship with literature. The ideal is to find someone with extensive work in the world of publishing. Time and experience are the qualities that we must value most in these people, and above all a close and personal treatment, that respects your time and your decisions.
Recognize A Good Editorial Consultant for Their Experience
The true figure of the editorial consultant is rare, because it involves a task that is not merely commercial, but that of a connoisseur of the world of books, of the entire publishing process and also of dissemination and promotion. He is someone who will accompany you before, during and after publishing your book, and who you will even take into account when you write your next work. No one better than another writer to accompany you throughout the process, because he is a great connoisseur of the trade and of the entire publishing world.
