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The democratisation of publishing.

Filing cabinetAfter graduating I started my career in a research unit within a government bureaucracy. My very first task was to undertake qualitative research—a series of interviews with 20 industry participants—and distill the findings and formulate recommendations for action.

In six weeks I had finished the document. I had gathered a lot of information, undertaken analysis, and wrote a report that I thought was both readable, rich in intel and hopefully actionable.

I asked my supervisor what was to be done with the report? I’ll never forget his answer: ‘put it in the filing cabinet’. To say I was disillusioned was an understatement. In the filing cabinet it stayed for at least the several years I worked there, periodically revisited only by its melancholy author. These visits were like laying flowers at the grave of a young friend.

What motivated me to start a publishing company?

The seed of my publishing company was planted the same day I buried my report in that filing cabinet. My research and my ideas had no voice. In modern parlance I had been ‘de-platformed’.

Serhii Plokhy’s book Chernobyl – History of a Tragedy documents people of the Soviet era struggling for voice:

Yaroshinskaya was reduced to distributing copies of her article to her friends. In the era of glasnost, she had no choice but to return to samizdat—the practice, perfected by Soviet dissidents of the previous era, of copying prohibited texts on private typewriters and circulating copies among friends and acquaintances.

Yaroshinskava’s text told of the Soviet authorities bungled response to one of the world’s greatest ecological disasters. De-platformed, she laboriously retyped her text—I hope she had access to carbon paper. In this light it’s encouraging to think that today anyone can find voice online or in print. Publishing has been democratised. Democratisation means making something accessible to everyone— anyone can get published. Whether it’s those with theories, ideas or stories, everyone gets to have a voice.

Decades later my staff, associates and I run a busy, growing publishing company. We are capable of taking any content, shaping it, displaying it and distributing it to its intended readership.

Book publishing has It’s returned to where it all started

For much of the 20th century the publishing industry was hierarchical, multi-layered and dominated by large publishing juggernauts. There were writers, editors, agents, brokers, designers, printers, promoters, sellers and resellers, wholesalers, retailers, and a labyrinth of other roles—too many to mention.

Today that complex hierarchy remains. It’s more concentrated than ever with as few as four big consortiums controlling most of the global market.

But the good news is, as always: new technology has disrupted the industry. Today new players can quickly get traction and participate in publishing.

The invention of the printing press is known as one of the greatest inventions to shape modern civilisation. In 1444, Johannes Gutenberg devised movable metal type. He was the world’s first self-publisher of significance. There was little hierarchy and little industrial and institutional distance between Guttenberg and his readers. He published the Bible.

The gap between content creator and reader has flattened yet again.

An opportunity for creators of content

Today digital print-on-demand, drop shipping, and online marketing has smashed barriers to entry into the publishing industry. This means the ever-popular and influential print book can be easily produced and delivered into the hands of readers. And then there’s the beautiful and revolutionary eBook.

Never before has publishing been in such a state of flux. Right now there’s so much opportunity for creators of quality content to strengthen their voice.

REFERENCES

Serhii Plokhy, Chernobyl – History of A Tragedy Penguin Random House UK 2018 pg 310

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Interested in publishing your book but unsure where to start or what is even involved? Tell us about your project and we will post you a copy of our:

 

The Little Book of
Big Publishing Tips.

 

In just a quick 8,000 words, this little book will equip you with the knowledge you need to successfully publish your book.

The Little Book of Big Publishing tips goes into the essentials of self-publishing a book, outlining the business and financial side of publishing, legal issues, design, editing, sales and marketing. There's even a section on how to identify a vanity-publishing scam.

submit your project details

Australia’s book distribution major players.

Australia’s book distribution major players.

clock - estimated reading time  Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

What and who are the “Big Sheds”.

In Australia, “Big Shed” book wholesalers are large distribution companies that supply a diverse range of books to retailers, libraries, and other outlets. Some of the notable book wholesalers in Australia include:

United Book Distributors (UBD):

  • One of the largest book distribution centers in Australia.
  • Services a wide array of publishers, both local and international.
  • Offers an extensive collection of titles across various genres and categories.

Booktopia Publisher Services (BPS):

  • A division of Booktopia, a leading online book retailer in Australia.
  • Provides distribution services for many publishers.
  • Known for its vast inventory and efficient distribution network.

Harper Entertainment Distribution Services (HEDS):

  • Manages distribution for HarperCollins and various other publishers.
  • Offers a broad selection of books from popular and bestselling authors.

Alliance Distribution Services (ADS):

  • A major distributor serving independent booksellers and larger retail chains.
  • Distributes titles from a variety of publishers, focusing on efficient and dependable service.

Penguin Random House Australia:

  • Besides publishing, operates its own distribution network.
  • Distributes its own titles and those of other affiliated publishers.

These wholesalers are vital to the Australian book market, ensuring the availability and distribution

SUBMIT YOUR BOOK DETAILS
CALL US 1300 810 131

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The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.

Interested in publishing your book but unsure where to start or what is even involved? Tell us about your project and we will post you a copy of our:

 

The Little Book of
Big Publishing Tips.

 

In just a quick 8,000 words, this little book will equip you with the knowledge you need to successfully publish your book.

The Little Book of Big Publishing tips goes into the essentials of self-publishing a book, outlining the business and financial side of publishing, legal issues, design, editing, sales and marketing. There's even a section on how to identify a vanity-publishing scam.

submit your project details

Avoid self-publishing’s #1 pitfall: Quality

Avoid self-publishing’s #1 pitfall: Quality

Quality starts with you the author. How good is your writing and is what you are writing about wanting to be read? But there are two other key factors.

The cornerstone of the traditional publishing industry is good quality content. Publishers take good quality content and wrap it in good design. The title is then placed within their well-developed marketing system.

Let’s first define “traditional publishing”. Traditional publishing is where a publisher pays you for the right to publish your work. The author needs to present their manuscript to a publisher and then negotiate a fee that the publisher will pay for use of that content. If a contract is reached it’s invariably because the publisher has assessed the quality of the manuscript as high.

A high-quality manuscript increases the chance that the book will sell and the publisher will make a nice profit (and so will you).

Traditional publishing companies – at least the successful ones – can spot a quality book and pre-empt if it will appeal to readers and if it is likely to sell well.

A literary agent works for you to find a publisher to bring your book to market. Things are so competitive that you first need to convince the literary agent to take you on. Then they need to represent your work to publishers (oft times after editing). This is a lengthy process.

Sometimes authors can go directly to publishers with samples of their writing. This is quicker than going through a literary agent. A key is selecting a publisher where your work and the genre they are most successful in publishing have good fit. But know this – many publishing houses will refuse “un-agented” manuscripts. Manuscripts that have already gone through an agent are of a higher quality (if the agent is doing their job well). Often agents will require you to have the book edited before they are prepared to present your work to a publisher.

When a manuscript arrives within a traditional publishing house, a process of quality assessment begins. This starts with the decision of the publishing company to read the manuscript. Many manuscripts don’t get read because the genre of the book is not one the publisher is familiar with or has been successful with. Or it can depend on the reputation of the literary agent placing the manuscript.

If all goes well a senior editor in the publishing company may refer the manuscript to a junior editor or editorial assistant. The assistant will make an early recommendation about how well the book will suit publishing.

The process of using an agent and having a publishing company take you on, brings with it its own process of quality control.

As a self-publisher, you can get into print without any quality control whatsoever. And that’s a problem. If you ’re expecting your title to go viral you better have a damn good book!

There are two simple things you can do to improve quality:

  1. Green Hill can refer you to an expert editor to help your work become a better book. Editors can’t work miracles but they are often worth every cent invested.
  2. Green Hill’s standard publishing package comes with high-end book cover design. So many self-published authors unnecessarily design their own book cover and many of these designs simply kill any potential the book had of succeeding. You often need to put your cover design ideas to the side and get a skilled graphic designer with fresh eyes to design for you.

Featured Blog Posts

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The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.

Interested in publishing your book but unsure where to start or what is even involved? Tell us about your project and we will post you a copy of our:

 

The Little Book of
Big Publishing Tips.

 

In just a quick 8,000 words, this little book will equip you with the knowledge you need to successfully publish your book.

The Little Book of Big Publishing tips goes into the essentials of self-publishing a book, outlining the business and financial side of publishing, legal issues, design, editing, sales and marketing. There's even a section on how to identify a vanity-publishing scam.

submit your project details