What can publishers do for me in a niche market?
I'm writing a book in a niche market, and it's my first one. It seems to me that the following things need to happen to publish my book:
- Finish the book
- Design cover (a friend is helping)
- Edit manuscript (help of multiple people)
- Convert manuscript into proper format for print and ebook (I can do this myself)
- Get the book printed (Amazon)
- Get the book available electronically (Amazon)
- Marketing for the book
I can do some marketing on my own. I have a healthy readership on my blog that can be valuable for marketing purposes. I can handle most of the components I listed. Am I missing any major components to publishing? In the end, what do publishers do for me?
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Publishers can do all of the things you identified in your list for you, but the degree of commitment that they apply to each will vary based on a number of factors. If they believe that you have a truly commercial product that has the potential to reach a very large fan base, they will devote more time and resources towards making your book successful.
The problem here is in getting them to agree to publish your book in the first place. Since you indicate that your book is targeting a smaller niche market, your best chances of getting picked up by a publisher would be for you to find one that specializes in your type of product. Failing that, you're facing a very difficult road.
It sounds like you already have a plan/idea in place for pursuing self-publication, which is most likely a more viable option for you. There are a number of advanatages that have been discussed in other posts, but it will also require a lot more effort on your part. In spite of that, you probably have a better feel for your intended audience than a major publisher would have, so you would probably have better success pursuing this on your own.
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Publisher do two things for you, other than those you have listed, and they are things that you absolutely cannot do for yourself.
They provide provenance and branding. Once published by an established publisher, your book enjoys the provenance that comes with that publisher's name. More people will buy, more publications will review, more foreign publishers will consider, more libraries will purchase, more book clubs will read, more movie studios will consider, a book with the imprimatur of an established publisher than one without it. You may have your own brand, of course, but then if you publish with an established publisher the power of their brand is joined to the power of their brand, so you are still better off than with your brand alone.
They provide access to channels. They have a channel to bookstores, a channel to review editors, a channel to libraries, a channel to book clubs, a channel to the foreign market, a channel to the studios. They can get your book to places you cannot, and can do it much more economically. Yes, Amazon is a major channel, but actually not the most effective one by itself, because it is terribly non-selective and does no promotion. But Amazon is only one of the many channels that a publisher can get you into, and your performance in those other channels can boost your performance on Amazon. Remember that while many books are purchased on Amazon, reader first discover those books on other platforms, and publishers have channels to those platforms that you do not. Again, even if you have better access to some of the newer channels than they do, that simply adds to what they can do for you.
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Your book looks like just the sort of rippin' yarn I'd enjoy myself -- I was a corporate type in the US for many years, and unwound on a Triumph Tiger in the Rockies whenever possible.
Having said that, I hate your cover design. Have you looked at cover designs for adventure motorcycling books in the shops? Don't forget that they are there to attract a particular type of person and they are therefore all a little bit of-a-type -- bloke on bike on high mountain pass, bike on side in swampy jungle trail, that sort of thing. The purpose of a cover is to get the book off the shelves into the potential buyer's hands, and you've got a pretty distinctive look yourself and would probably "sell well" on a cover. Books also have to be sold to retailers, and that is based muchly on synopsis, marketing, and cover.
Long story short, I'm afraid your friend who helped you with the cover has not served you well. It looks like a cheap self-published book with dubious production qualities.
To answer your question, a publisher would have got you a much better cover than that.
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