Hybrid Publishing & Idea Creations Press: What we are – and aren’t

 

           Years ago, when I first began writing, I knew of only two types of publishers. Those who paid for everything (Traditional Publishers) and those who didn’t (Vanity Publishers). With all of the back talk about Vanity Publishers, especially in the 80s when I was new at writing, I figured my best bet was going the traditional route.

            I spent over eight years looking for a traditional publisher, even approaching the “Big Five”, without success. And then one day I received a return note from a local publisher. They wanted to publish my book.

            I was excited, so excited that I didn’t check out the company. I didn’t research anything, and frankly, skimmed over the contract that came soon thereafter. They wanted to publish my book! And that’s all that mattered.

            Without control over my book, I soon realized the disaster I would soon create for myself. [Keep in mind that many people go the traditional route and love not having to think through the book process and that this works for them].

            The disaster came in snippets.

            The cover was beautiful, even captivating, but did it capture what the book was about? Did it lend itself to the readership? Had the illustrator even read my book?

            Could I sell copies of my book for $18? Keep in mind that this was a soft-cover book and that the book was for middle readers.

            When the book was finally published – yes, we did go through a revision stage and I had a good editor – my book was finished. My publisher was done. Now, without knowing anything about marketing, I had to get my book into bookstores and sell the heck out of it.

            Years later, after trial and error with this book, my brother bought the rights back for me. He thought it was crazy that I had a great book with the wrong cover and too expensive. Now, owning all rights I could do whatever I wanted with it.

            Fortunately, through the years I had learned a thing or two about bookstores and marketing. The first thing I did was to change the cover. I took down the price substantially. And then I began to write more books.

            Idea Creations Press opened its doors in March of 2012, that’s nine years ago for you finger counters. We had no real plan from start to finish like some pantsters who write books, having no real plot idea. No real outline, since they’re writing by the seat of their pants. Through trial and error, however, we learned how to edit, create a great book cover, and proved ourselves worthy of an interior layout that didn’t look like a self-published book.

            Later, after I’d published a few books of my own, we helped other writers to do the same. Our company, Idea Creations Press was born. A hybrid publishing service, like those hybrid cars that use gasoline and/or an electric motor to get you to the same place, we yet differentiated from other hybrids.

            According to Car and Driver Magazine, “Sometimes the electric motor does all the work, sometimes it's the gas engine, and sometimes they work together. The result is less gasoline burned and, therefore, better fuel economy. Adding electric power can even boost performance in certain instances.”

            Idea Creations Press is more about you than it is about us, though often we are doing most of the work, and sometimes you are. But we are working together. The result is less writer burnout and a better book; one that speaks to you as well as to your audience. Having electric power in a hybrid car is kind of like sitting behind the wheel yourself, starting the engine, and traveling to wherever you want to go – instead of sitting as a passenger or running out of gas because you’ve tried to do everything yourself. At the end of the publishing road, you own all rights to your work, and we send you off with a marketing book and plenty of ideas to keep you from running out of gas or electricity – marketing is just that hard. We are the dream publisher with all of the help and services I wanted as a new author but was never able to find.

            Having said this, I want to be honest about our type of publishing.

            It isn’t for everyone.

            What Idea Creations Press is, is an opportunity for writers who want a little more control of their book to get it without having to learn and do everything within the book publishing industry themselves.

            If this sounds like a sales pitch – it is. We want your business. That is if you want to work on your book this way. Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

1.      Do I need help with editing? Do I need a professional to go through my work?

2.      Do I want to help create my book cover?

3.      Do I want a say on how much my book costs?

4.      Do I want control over marketing? Am I willing to learn?

5.      Do I want to own all rights to my work?

6.      Have I written a book that conforms to Idea Creations Press guidelines? [See our guidelines at www.ideacreationspress.com].

7.   Am I willing to do some of the work needed to produce a great book? (i.e., send over book cover ideas, write up a bio, send over an author headshot. Write up a synopsis of the book).

            A hybrid publisher is a paid-for book deal. That means you pay for the services that you want, and we help you through the process of book publishing. That means, if you need or want help with marketing, we have a service for that, too. But you will leave Idea Creations Press better prepared to sell your book – guaranteed.

            Success on the road doesn’t happen by wishing. It happens through hard work and help along the way.