What are the Challenges of Publishing a Book?

Publishing a book may be a rewarding process, but there are several setbacks that publishers may face. Ten successful independent publishers share about difficulties they face during the publishing process, as well as their solutions to these challenges.

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​Cheryl Robson, Founder of Aurora Metro Books, explains that publishers may face multiple challenges. For example:
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• Challenges with Translated books: a book in translation may require a great deal of editing work to read well in English,
  
  
• Editorial Advice to Debut Authors: A debut author may need editorial advice to develop the book’s characters or narrative,
  
  
• Lack of Reviews: A book may have trouble getting reviews in the right places,
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• Missed Deadlines: An author may be unable to meet the book’s deadline for submission for some reason, or
  
  
• Missed Grant Subsidies: A grant subsidy may be turned down putting publication of a book on the back-burner, etc.

Several other Independent publishers share about difficulties the face during the publishing process, as well as their solutions to these challenges.

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Large Workload
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Kate Gale, Managing Editor of Red Hen Press, states that publishers ‘experience the constant challenge of working in an industry where there is no end to the workload.’
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Similarly, Gerardeen Santiago, Partner of Aionios Books, explains that ‘editing a full-length novel is a lot like running a marathon. It requires a great deal of focus, dedication, and skill to do the job well. An editor usually can only focus on one book at a time.’

Johanna Ingalls, Managing Editor/Director of Foreign Rights of Akashic Books, agrees that “finding time to evaluate the numerous submissions [its editorial team] receives” is a pressing challenge.

Gerardeen (Aionios Books) suggests that focusing on a selective publication list allows them to overcome this challenge.

‘(We aim to) foster close working relationships with our authors, and to focus on publishing only one to three books per year. This way, we are able to dedicate our resources on one book at a time, one author at a time' Gerardeen explains.

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Keeping Up with Market Demand
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According to Tina Moss, Chief Operating Officer of City Owl Press, ‘the biggest challenge comes from keeping up with market demand. Readers are voracious but trends come and go.’

‘Knowing what is popular not only now, but what will continue to grow over the course of the year is an ever-changing landscape. Our editorial team needs to be aware of the changes while staying true to their editorial styles and their authors’ books.’ Tina continues.

In order to overcome this challenge, Tina relies on an experienced editorial team to watch and respond to a changing publishing landscape.

‘Our editors are an experienced and professional team that have been working on their craft for many years. By continuing to learn and push the boundaries of excellence, they are able to take our press to the next level.’ She explains.

Galen Surlak-Ramsey, Editor-in-Chief of Tiny Fox Press, explains how targeted market research may allow publishers overcome this challenges.

‘Research on market trends and where we think it’ll go certainly plays a huge role in this. All things being equal, if one book seems like it would sell like hotcakes and the other wouldn’t, we have to go with the first.’ He explains.
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‘We use software such as KDP rocket and helium 10 to help get a feel for what's going on out there, especially with Amazon as we do a number of sales there that can translate to sales elsewhere, too. And yes, simply chatting with others in the industry is certainly beneficial as they talk about what they feel is rising and falling in terms of popularity.’ He continues.

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Working with a Small Team
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Michelle Dotter, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Dzanc Books, states that a small team may complicate the production process.

‘We’re a small staff, so everyone’s wearing a lot of hats. That can make production complicated, especially when every project is in a different phase of development.’ Michelle explains.

Michelle states that strong organizational skills allow publishers to overcome this challenge.

‘Organization is key. Our production calendar tracks the vital dates for every project, and we try to keep team members in communication and stay ahead of the critical deadlines. That said, sometimes you just have to burn the midnight oil.’ Michelle states.

In contrast, Kate (Red Hen Press) states that a small editorial team may be an advantage. She states how a team’s small size may make it more nimble.

‘We continue to take on exciting projects that are in development and some of these projects involve taking on more editorial work. We have a small editorial team, but we are nimble and hardworking, and we rise to the challenge.’ She explains.

Galen Surlak-Ramsey (Tiny Fox Press) suggests that asking their authors for help may allow small publishers to overcome this challenge.
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‘Getting to know the author helps as well, and the more we do this, the more streamlined we’ve got the process down. We're not big enough for a dedicated team, so we all have to pitch in.’ He explains.

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Reviewing Underdeveloped Work
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​Galen Surlak-Ramsey (Tiny Fox Press), explains how sifting through numerous submissions may be taxing.

‘Deciding on which book to take on. Even as a small press (or tiny!), we get a lot of submissions, many of which are quite good. Being able to say “This is the one we want” takes a lot of time and can be hard when there are three others you want as well.’ He explains.

Furthermore, Athina Paris, Editor-in-Chief of RockHill Publishing LLC, finds it difficult to sift through work that may be relatively underdeveloped.

‘We often receive the incorrect genres and very badly put together work. It is true many people have a story to tell, but they are not necessarily writers. So, whether they have a fiction tale, led an interesting life and want to write a memoire, or have a family history they want to share with the world, most do not know the correct way to go about it.’ She explains.

Galen Surlak-Ramsey (Tiny Fox Press) agrees that editing a text may be taxing.
‘Actual editing of an acquired text takes time as well, but I’m not sure we’d call it a challenge as much as a necessary component to getting the book ready.’ He explains.
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In order to overcome this challenge, Bill Campbell, Publisher of Rosarium Publishing, states that publishers would accept ‘manuscripts that are as close to print-ready as possible.’

‘There will always be fixes, but (the publisher tries) to cut those down to the minimum.’ He explains.

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Marketing Challenges
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Sarena Ulibarri, Editor-in-Chief of World Weaver Press explains how marketing a book may be relatively difficult.

‘These days, just writing an excellent book isn’t enough. Many wonderful books get lost in the noise of so many new titles.’ She admits.

‘Marketing is always the biggest challenge. We’re a small press, and don’t have the big budget some of the larger publishers do to help readers discover our books.’ She explains.

Sarena suggests three primary ways to address the challenges of a publisher’s marketing process:

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1. Apply Traditional and Digital Marketing Strategies

Traditional Marketing: We start publicity several months ahead of launch by sending review copies to both big and small reviewers, because it helps to get other people talking about the book.

Digital Marketing: We also try to make a big deal about cover reveals on our social media—for the author(s), this is often the moment the book starts to feel “real”, and cover art is a great way to get the attention of potential readers.


2. Conduct Market Research

We use a keyword software to help determine the most effective search terms to use on Amazon and other online booksellers. We also keep an eye on publication announcements and reviews for recent books from the bigger publishers, to get a sense of current trends and developments.

We don't chase trends, by any means, but it's useful to understand where other publishing companies are putting their emphasis. As a small press, sometimes it's actually a good idea to push against those trends.

For example, we put out a vampire paranormal romance (Bite Somebody by Sara Dobie Bauer) at a time when the bigger publishers were on a strictly no-vampire diet, and it became one of our best-selling titles.
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3. Strategic Pricing
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Pricing right makes a big difference too: strategically using 99 cent eBook sales or keeping the first book in a series lower than the rest, for example.
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Readers are more likely to take a chance on an unfamiliar author from a small press if the eBook price is only a few dollars. And often the author royalty ends up being the same for a cheap eBook as it does for an expensive paperback! That’s because there are fewer “middle-men” taking a cut in eBook publishing.

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Relevant Content

How Do Publishers Select Manuscripts?

​For many aspiring authors their biggest challenge after the completion of their manuscript would be searching for publishers who would take a chance on their work.
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A good start to solving this challenge would be to find out more about a publisher’s selection process, and what publishers are looking for in the submissions they accept. Eight different independent publishers share more about this topic.

read more

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About the Journalist

​Tiffany Lim has worked with several notable organisations with marketing and project management, such as Cartoon Network, Bossini Singapore, and Singapore’s primary broadcaster Mediacorp. She is a journalist whose network includes executives from international organisations, such as The Walt Disney Company, Turner Broadcasting System, Nickelodeon and FUNimation.

Tiffany is a speaker who has addressed polytechnic students in Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic. ​She has also spoken in educational institutions (IMDA Labs, National Library Board) and literary festivals (All In! 2018).

More details may be found on her official website.