Author's Corner

Like everything else that digitization has influenced over the years, from shopping to banking to learning; it has also monumentally shaped the publishing industry and styles of publishing. In addition to refining traditional publishing methods, digital technology and the internet combined, have introduced modern publishing styles such as self-publishing and hybrid publishing. Thanks to these accessible publishing options, getting published today is substantially easier than it was a decade ago. This trend has led the book publishing market to project a 1.9 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2021 to 2026, as per a report by Verified Market Reports. While it may seem like there are a lot of publishing alternatives out there today, if you look closely, they can easily be categorized into three very distinctive categories as covered in this blog. All you need to do is assess the pros and cons of each publishing method, to make the best choice for your book. Let’s start by defining the types of publishing methods and listing down their pros and cons: 1. Traditional Publishing 2. Self-Publishing 3. Hybrid Publishing (or Co-publishing/ Entrepreneurial Publishing) Traditional Publishing The process of traditional publishing is where the publishing house pays the author for writing the book and takes responsibility for printing and distributing the book. Depending on the contract with the author, the publisher may or may not retain the book rights. Traditional publishing companies invest in your book and bear the risk of its success in the market, in exchange for partial or complete returns from its future sales. As an author, when you opt for traditional publishing, your publisher provides you with end-to-end support for editing, cover designing, marketing, and distributing the book. Traditional publishing is the oldest and most trusted route for publishing books. This type of publishing was associated only with print publishing earlier. However, today with the evolution and digitization of the publishing landscape, traditional publishing houses have expanded their expertise to include not only print books but also ebooks, online journals, and more. If you want to go for traditional publishing, now is a good time as ever. Pros: 1) All-inclusive support In traditional publishing, the only thing you need to focus on is your writing; for all other aspects, you are well-supported by the publisher who invests in your book. The publisher walks alongside you, throughout the complete writing and editing journey, all the way up to the publishing, marketing, and distributing stages (depending on the services provided by them). In most cases, the publisher also bears all the costs. This makes traditional publishing a great option for first–time authors when compared with all three types of publishing methods. 2) Income certaintyWhen you opt for the traditional publishing method, you get a guarantee of a specified amount of income, as your payment for writing the book. This payment is independent of your book’s future performance. A contract is signed to confirm the payment terms and royalties, if any. 3) Preferred choice for printed booksThe magic of printed books can never fade. Especially post-pandemic, more people prefer to hold a “real” book to read, to get a break from screen time. Therefore, there’s always going to be a wide target audience for printed books.  The traditional alternative is the best for publishing and distributing printed books to offline stores, as traditional publishers usually have a trusted distribution network for printed books. On the other hand, ensuring presence in physical stores may be a challenge for self-published printed books. Further, based on their expertise and suite of services, a traditional publishing house may also offer exceptional publishing and marketing for ebooks. If you’re someone who values an assured income along with a seamless, supported, and proficient publishing experience, traditional publishing is the best route for you. Cons: The only real disadvantage of traditional publishing arises when you don’t vet your publisher well enough beforehand. Look for genuine, trustworthy publishing houses that are adaptive to the changes of the modern world along with expertise in publishing ebooks as well. Also, traditional publishing requires authors to be flexible to a certain extent, but in most cases, that is ultimately in the interest of the book. The final say in terms of the book title, cover design, and marketing plans, usually lies with the publisher when it comes to traditional publishing. Is it tough to get a traditional publishing deal today? It may be tough to get a traditional publishing deal because traditional publishers are significantly invested in the book and have a thorough checking procedure before they commit to publishing a book. You may have to approach a few publishing houses, large-scale publishers (publishing tons of books across genres), or small-scale publishers (publishing a few, focussed genres) before you find the right publisher for your book. Based on the genre of your book, and especially, if you’re a first-time author, you may have to be resilient and put in the effort to pitch your book to publishing houses through emails and in-person meetings, until you land the right deal for your book. But in any case, you must write a good book and promote it, for it to all happen. And if you do, perhaps the right publisher will find you. An author’s personal experience Let’s hear from a first-time author and assistant professor, Mark Koscinski about his experience with Vibrant Publishers, a traditional publishing company. Mark is a certified public accountant who teaches accounting practice at Moravian University. Mark shared his traditional publishing experience saying, “My experience was seamless and I received exceptional clarity, support, and focus during my writing and publishing journey. I was able to align the book I was writing, to the course I teach at the university, and this will be very helpful for my teaching practice. I also received valuable feedback and proofreading support from the publisher, enhancing the overall quality of my book. I look forward to publishing through the traditional route again, owing to the excellent experience with Vibrant.” You can watch Mark Koscinski share his experience with Vibrant Publishers here:      Is the wait time higher in traditional publishing? It’s a popular myth that traditional publishing has a longer wait time than self-publishing or hybrid publishing. On the other hand, traditional publishers help you stay on your toes, and finish writing faster, considering they are as invested in your book as you are. Whichever publishing route you adopt, a good book will take almost the same amount of time. And yet, if you feel dependent on your traditional publisher in the post-writing phase, and find yourself waiting a long time for the editing, review, and designing phase, know that your publisher only wants the best outcome for you. The publisher is setting the stage for the launch of your book with the best editing, designing, and marketing efforts. Moreover, if you choose an experienced traditional publisher with smart processes in place, you will be able to finish publishing well within your timeline. Self-Publishing Self-publishing has evolved over the years and made it significantly easier for first-time authors to create a reputation for themselves and secure traditional publishing deals more easily in the future. Self-publishing is where you publish your book independently without giving away the rights to your book. Platforms like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) enable authors to self-publish a book with ease. But is self-publishing better than other types of publishing methods? Let’s find out. Pros 1) High control and flexibilityIn self-publishing, the only person you need to convince that your book is good enough to publish is yourself. This eliminates the selection process for your book, although you still need to write a good book for it to reach the right target audience online. Self-publishing lets you take control of the editing, marketing, and cover designing of your book and offers flexibility to customize your book as per your vision. 2) High scope of potential earningsSelf-publishing enables you to experiment by distributing your book to multiple platforms of your choice. This means you can maximize your potential revenue, based on the performance of your book across your preferred channels. Moreover in self-publishing, you are not dependent on the publisher for your payment. You receive direct payments based on your sales. In some cases, you may not even need to share your earnings with the publisher, ensuring all your earnings belong to you completely. 3) Ease of self-publishing with Amazon KDPPlatforms like Amazon KDP have simplified self-publishing with free tools, to help you design the book cover, market your book, and distribute it. Publishing ebooks on KDP is cost-effective as it can be done for free, except for any printing, advertising, and promotional costs that may not be covered. Cons 1) Increased responsibilitiesOf all the types of publishing methods, self-publishing is the only one where you are wholly responsible for your book. The increased control and flexibility of self-publishing may be for the better or the worse. This depends on your marketing, editing, and designing skills, and the time you have at hand, to multi-task and focus on several requirements such as cover designing, editing, proofreading, etc. Moreover, managing multiple roles together may also compromise the quality of your writing. 2) Hidden costsWhile self-publishing may seem cost-effective, that’s not always the case. As mentioned in the previous point, the various tasks involved—both before and after publishing—can add up quickly. Handling everything on your own can be time-consuming, and outsourcing can become expensive. There are also several hidden costs, such as editing, proofreading, formatting, cover design, and marketing. Free tools for these tasks may not always deliver the best results, and even if you stick to a tight budget, the final product may reflect a lack of professional skills and expertise. 3) Income uncertaintySelf-publishing brings uncertainty in terms of income and profits, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, unlike traditional publishing, you do not receive an initial fixed payment to write your book, by the publisher. Without this initial payment, you are wholly dependent on your book sales for earnings. Secondly, self-publishing means you will need to market your book yourself. And for optimal sales on an ongoing basis, you must market it consistently. Therefore, if you don’t promote your book well, or if you don’t have an adequate marketing budget, your sales may suffer. This is a key concern, especially if you’re a first-time author. 4) Delusion of speedSelf-publishing can be misleading in terms of the speed of the entire process, as most steps for successfully self-publishing a book still take as long as traditional publishing. Even if the time required for self-publishing may be less compared to other methods, don’t believe anyone who tells you that your book can be self-published in under five minutes. 5) Limitations of self-publishingSelf-publishing your book means you lose the chance to publish your book under a reputed publisher’s name. This may limit the success of your book. Moreover, if your book’s subject and storyline appeal to a larger audience, it may benefit better from publishing and marketing traditionally through on-site exhibitions and shows. The success of such a book may be limited via the self-publishing route. Hybrid Publishing Based on the pros and cons of self-publishing and traditional publishing, if you’re still unable to pick a route, you could explore the route of hybrid publishing, which is a combination of both the above methods. In hybrid publishing, the publishing house charges the author upfront for publishing the book and also takes a pre-decided percentage of future sales in exchange for distributing the books. The process of Hybrid Publishing is different from the concept of Hybrid Authors; the latter refers to authors who publish traditionally and also on their own. It may be easier to secure a hybrid publishing deal as compared to a traditional deal across various genres, as the investment risk of hybrid publishers, is lower in your book. From the author’s point of view, overall costs associated with hybrid publishing may be higher than self-publishing but this depends on a case-to-case basis. Naturally, if you opt for hybrid publishing, ensure it outweighs all the other options at hand for your book at that moment. Pros 1) Rights stay with the authorIn this case, you can be sure to own the rights to the book after publishing, which enables you to publish the book on multiple platforms if you wish to. However, you must watch out for certain hybrid publishing companies with fine print of clauses, asking for the rights to your book or including ‘“minimum sales requirement” in their contracts. 2) Guided publishingLike a traditional deal, you get access to editorial, designing, marketing, and distributing support in hybrid publishing as well, but you need to pay for it instead. For those seeking the flexibility of self-publishing with the expertise of traditional publishing, hybrid is a good alternative. 3) Complying with IBPA guidelinesAs an author, it is beneficial for you to opt for a hybrid publisher who complies with the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) standards. This ensures that your publisher meets industry criteria for editorial, content, and production requirements. You can then be certain that the overall publishing process will still be as seamless as it is with a reputable traditional publisher. However, all hybrid publishers don't need to comply with IBPA guidelines mandatorily; therefore, this is a pro only if your publisher does comply with them. If they do not, this aspect can turn into a con too, as discussed in the following point. Cons 1) Inconsistency of servicesAs discussed above, not all hybrid publishers follow the IBPA publishing criteria, hence, the services provided by one company may vastly vary from the other. Therefore, authors must do their due intelligence to avoid hassles later on. 2) Paying for publishingAs an author, you will need to pay the hybrid publisher to publish, print, and distribute your book. This accounts for a significant amount and may prove to be expensive, especially for first-time authors. This is different from the traditional route where the traditional publishing companies pay the authors instead. 3) Limited flexibilityA hybrid publisher is more flexible than a traditional publisher because they have not paid you, but the other way around. However, a reputed hybrid publisher is still invested in your book to some extent and will exercise some editorial control over it to ensure it meets the required standards. In addition to the above three types of publishing methods, there is another type that has emerged in recent times, known as Vanity Publishing. Let’s see what it means. Vanity Publishing Unlike traditional and hybrid publishers, vanity publishers do not earn from the sale of your book to the general public, and therefore, may not be as invested in your book as the former two. The act of book release is more important than book quality in the case of vanity publishers. This is because vanity publishers profit from the fees they charge authors for publishing their books and from selling books to the authors themselves, rather than from sales to the general public or readers. Check for fraudulent publishers As you explore publishers for your book, be aware of encountering corrupt and frivolous publishing companies that may try to scam you. Hybrid and vanity publishing may seem similar on the surface but their offerings are critically different. So, you must fully read the terms and conditions to avoid being misled. Hybrid publishers are similar to traditional publishing companies in that they undertake a thorough review before accepting publishing requests and work towards improving the quality of your book for better performance. However, vanity publishers, while charging you for publishing with them, do not offer you any other benefits, and the chances of your book performing well with them are also quite low as they do not support you in improving the quality of your book in any way. Also, be careful of fake companies (predatory publishers) trying to scam you by promising unrealistic success of your book within unrealistic timelines. Ultimately, It Should Be About the Success of Your Book No two books are the same, and that’s why there’s no standard publishing route or method that may apply to all. It is to each book, its own, because a certain publishing method may be suitable for one combination of genre, storyline, and book format, but not for another. So don’t be convinced by what the masses are doing but make a carefully vetted choice when it comes to choosing the publishing route for your book. If you can, begin analyzing different publishing routes as you start writing your book, as this will make your final choice easier! Publishing with Vibrant Publishers gives you the stability and expertise of traditional publishing combined with the benefits of modern marketing and distribution. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers. About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.

Whether you are considering writing a book for the first time or have a finished book in your hands, ready for publishing, you must be immensely proud of yourself; because you are about to set yourself apart from many others in your specialization. Publishing a book helps you build a personal brand while enabling you to share your voice and learnings with a wide audience. This is truly a rewarding experience! There are several publishing methods and formats available today, each with its unique pros and cons. You may opt for Traditional Publishing (working with a publishing house), Self-Publishing (publishing independently), or Hybrid Publishing, which is a mix of both traditional and self-publishing processes. In terms of book formats, you may choose to publish an ebook, printed copies with hardcover or paperback, or both. This may also depend on the kind of book you’re writing. For example, if your book is a visual graphic novel, you can go for ebook novels as this format will appeal to children in age groups of 10 to 12 years. While the kind of book you would write, ideally depends on your interests, skills, and expertise, explore niche topics as these topics are known to perform well in the self-publishing segment. Before you choose where and how you’d like to publish your book, it’s always better to evaluate the best publishing alternatives depending on the nature of your book, for optimal sales. In this blog, we have described, in detail, the self-publishing process with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. Before we see how to publish on KDP, let’s understand what self-publishing means. What Is Self-Publishing and How Does It Work? As an author, when you self-publish a book, you are responsible for the end-to-end publishing process. This also means you have greater control over aspects like the subject matter, creative flow, flexibility of timelines, and release dates. You may do the heavy lifting yourself including editing, cover design, and marketing, or get professional help for these tasks. In return, you get complete ownership of your book along with higher royalty rates. Platforms like Amazon KDP bring self-publishing to your fingertips. You can publish any type of content on KDP including novels, book series, textbooks, comics, children’s books, poetry, and more. Next, let’s discover what is KDP and how to go about publishing books with it. What Is KDP and How Can You Self-Publish on KDP? Kindle Direct Publishing by Amazon is a self-publishing platform that offers all the tools you need to format your book, publish, and distribute it globally. It helps you to publish ebooks, print-on-demand paperbacks or hardcover books, serialized stories, and also episodes with Kindle Vella. Publishing on Amazon’s KDP is free, apart from the printing costs deducted from royalties, in the case of paperback and hardcover books. While self-publishing has many benefits and offers a great extent of control to authors, the process from start to finish, has quite many steps to follow. But tuning in to our guide as explained below, will simplify your self-publishing experience significantly and answer your questions on ‘How do I sell a book on Amazon’. Let’s begin. Please note, that the information in this guide has been entered based on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing website, at the time of writing this blog. Amazon constantly updates its guidelines. Therefore, please cross-check the information from their website. Publishing with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is different from Amazon’s traditional publishing. This guide is about Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. Steps to Publish Your Book on Amazon Step 1: Getting Publish-Ready  The first step for publishing your book on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is to set up your KDP account. However, before you do that, it will be helpful to have certain details ready, as covered in this section. These details are also known as Book Detail Resources or Metadata, and most of them cannot be edited or updated after publishing. Therefore, it’s important to review them thoroughly and keep them ready well in advance. You may also go through the KDP Jumpstart page to get a quick overview of the self-publishing process on Amazon KDP. Once you start entering information on the KDP page, be sure to click “Save as Draft” when you stop in between the process. Book Titles, Subtitles and Edition The book title refers to the actual title as it appears on the cover of your book. Book titles must be the same across all formats, including hardcover, paperback, and ebook versions. Amazon provides a specific list of guidelines for titles as best practices to be adhered to. If you publish a new version of the book with the same title, that version will be published as a new edition on KDP. Also, ensure to match your book’s primary language selection consistently across all the places including the metadata and on the bookshelf. Author Profile and Author Page While publishing on KDP, take the time to decide on the exact author name you’d like to add, as this is one of the most common ways customers search for your book. Moreover, this field cannot be changed after your book is published. Also, if you have other books on Kindle Direct Publishing, ensure to use a consistent author name across all books. This way, when customers search for your books, they can see all the books published by you on your ‘Author Page’ via the Author Central account on KDP. Every book on your author page will have a detailed page that you can enhance through the main author page. If your desired ‘Author Name’ is similar to another existing author name on KDP, you may opt for a pen name, unique initials, or middle name. After setting up your  Amazon Self-Publishing account in the next stage, you can complete your Amazon author profile including your bio, photo, website, and payment details. Book Description The book description is like a window into your book and should spark curiosity while also outlining the theme and genre of the book. It appears on your book’s detail page. Write an easy-to-read, interesting, and impressive book description in about 150 words on Amazon KDP, to offer a quick insight into your book. There is a character limit of about 4000 characters for adding a book description. Also, avoid grammatical errors, and typos and get it proofread by a trusted person to enhance readability for the reader. Keywords Keywords are search terms used by customers when they are looking for items online. To list down your keywords and create logical word/ phrase combinations, put yourself in the reader’s shoes and think about how you would search for a book. Think about words describing the user problems your book is trying to solve. When framed smartly, keywords can describe your book’s content accurately while improving your book’s online visibility. In addition to reviews and the online performance of your book, keywords enhance your book’s searchability on Amazon. You can create up to seven keywords (within the mentioned character limit on KDP), do a search trial before publishing to see if you get the desired search results, and then amend accordingly. Scroll down on Amazon’s keywords guidelines page to see how you can create the best-performing keywords to improve your book’s online reach. Categories Placing your book in the right categories and sub-categories is an important step as it determines where customers will ultimately find your book on Amazon. You can mark up to three main categories to position your book on the Amazon store. The categories section also gives you insight into all the books that will compete against your book, helping you to strategize your marketing efforts better. Reading Age and Target Audience Under this section, you will need to specify your target audience with the help of age groups, for example; if the book is meant for children or adults, by filling up details about the contents of the book. As a book author, you may have a certain target audience in mind for your book, based on the groups of people that will be interested to read your book. This also helps you to build marketing strategies based on their demographic characteristics. In addition to confirming the book's contents, entering the reading age will make customers aware of your intended audience. It will also ensure your book appears in the right age-specific search results on Amazon. Here, it must be noted that, at first, you are required to enter the reading age manually. However, over time, Amazon adjusts the recommended reading age of your book according to the age ranges mentioned in customer reviews. Writing and Editing the Book The foundation of a book’s success is laid by how well it’s written, edited, and proofread. A captivating storyline, enticing characters, and an interesting, conversational creative flow capture the reader’s attention. Further, put your book through multiple levels of editing and proofreading with a set of fresh eyes to refine the content and flow of the book. Take the time to check grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, to ensure your readers receive an enriching reading experience. When it comes to seamless editing and proofreading, traditional publishing can save you significant time and effort. Experienced publishers such as Vibrant Publishers offer professional editing with their publishing services that simplify your job to a great extent and ensure your book is published seamlessly. Cover Design “Not judging” a book by its cover may be easier said than done. Especially, when it comes to first-time authors, who are yet to establish a reputation for their writing, a cover is often one of the most vital factors in how well their book may sell. It offers them a chance to set their book apart from the others in the competition. To create the cover of your book, you may opt for KDP’s free cover creator, create a cover on your own based on guidelines provided by Amazon KDP, or outsource the design work to an external professional. The aim is to create an eye-catching book cover that invites the reader and evokes curiosity to purchase the book. Lastly, on KDP’s site, you can also refer to their detailed publishing guidelines on various aspects such as navigation, HTML, and CSS Guidelines, Accessibility Guidelines, and more. Now that you have all these details ready, let’s see how to create a KDP account with Amazon and kickstart the process of self-publishing your books online. STEP 2: KDP Account Creation Creating an account on Kindle Direct Publishing is quick and straightforward. You can ‘sign in’ or ‘sign up’ depending on whether you have an existing Amazon account. Next, you can follow the prompts and create/ log in to your KDP account for free. Further, you will need to enter additional details to complete your account and tax information, along with banking information to get paid as an Amazon author subsequently. Book Upload, Preview, and Formatting If you’d like to create books in all formats including ebooks, paperbacks, and hardcover formats, ensure you add all the formats and link them together in your KDP account. Click on the ‘+Create’ option in the Bookshelf tab on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) to create a new book. Uploading, previewing, and formatting requirements vary across ebooks, hardcover, and paperback formats on KDP, so take the time to check guidelines applicable on a case-to-case basis. EPUB and MOBI formats are supported for ebook manuscripts, considering they meet the Kindle Publishing Guidelines. Additionally, based on the ebook Manuscript Formatting Guide, certain doc/docx files can also be converted to ebooks on KDP. Otherwise, you can opt for Kindle Create and upload your file using Kindle Package Format (KPF). There are also some other formats you can rely on such as HTML, PDF, and more for ebooks. When it comes to uploading manuscript files for paperback and hardcover books, there are some detailed formatting nuances on Amazon KDP. Once your manuscript file formats are in place, it’s now time to upload your file to KDP’s Bookshelf. Ensure to select the right file from your desktop, and use the Kindle Previewer to check if your file has been uploaded successfully. You can also check the output of your book on various devices, and the quality of ebooks using their online previewer tool. Further, be sure to select the Digital Rights Management (DRM) option to prevent people from plagiarizing your book. The DRM setting cannot be changed after the book is published. To deploy Amazon’s formatting tools for manuscript and cover formatting, check out KDP Tools and Resources. Working out ISBN details An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is a specific number given to every published book that enables the identification and search of books globally with ease. Since it’s a unique code, ISBN guidelines mandate that the same ISBN code cannot be reused for another book whose contents differ from the original book. You do not need an ISBN to publish ebooks on Amazon Self-Publishing, but for paperback and hardcover books, you will need an ISBN. If you’re a KDP author, get a free ISBN from KDP or reach out to Bowker to purchase an ISBN at discounted rates. In addition to ISBN, barcode requirements also need to be adhered to, while publishing on KDP. STEP 3: Pricing, Marketing, and Distributing with KDP Self-publishing with KDP also means you need to make smart decisions on pricing, marketing, and distribution aspects, as these factors play a critical role in the success of your book. Let’s look into each of these factors in the below section: Pricing and Royalties You are required to add the list price of your book, which must be within KDP’s minimum and maximum list price range, and is based on marketplaces. The list price can be decided based on the book’s characteristics such as the genre, target audience, and author’s reputation. You can edit the list price on Kindle Direct Publishing even after your book is published. Having added the list price, the next step is to select the royalty plan for your book, which will determine the percentage of your earnings on every book sale after you meet the minimum threshold for payment. For ebooks or digital books, you can opt for either a 70% Royalty Option or a 35% Royalty Option. The 70% royalty option is applicable for the sale of ebooks in certain territories only. The 35% royalty option can be selected for sale to all customers, irrespective of any territory. For hardcover books sold on Amazon marketplaces, KDP offers a fixed 60% royalty rate. For paperback books, the applicable royalty rate is also a fixed 60% for Amazon marketplaces and distribution channels. On the other hand, for paperback books opted for expanded distribution, the royalty is 40% of the book's list price. Printing costs are deducted by KDP for both hardcover and paperback books. Additionally, a small distribution fee may be deducted from every sale, even for ebooks. Owning the rights to your book, allows you to publish on KDP and other platforms simultaneously unless you have opted to enroll your ebook in KDP Select, making it Amazon-exclusive. Opting for KDP Select is not mandatory and can be done even after publishing. Promoting your Book There are several key promotion channels to promote books on Amazon which include KDP Select, Author Central, Gifting of Books, Expanded Distribution, and Amazon Advertising. There are also other tools such as Kindle Countdown Deals and Free Promotion options as part of KDP Select which enable you to provide attractive offers and discounts to your potential customers. You can also self-promote your books using social media platforms and blogs to build a community of loyal followers over time. Marketing and Distribution Marketing is essential to your publishing process, especially if you’re a first-time author. To improve the visibility of your book on Amazon and market it better, you can refer to Merchandising Tips. Also, Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owners' Lending Library are unique distribution channels to enhance your book’s reach. Moreover, distribution channels such as ‘Expanded Distribution on KDP’ enable you to reach a wide audience by presenting to large distributors beyond the Amazon marketplace. Further, you can gain insights from the KDP Community to explore marketing ideas leveraged by other Amazon KDP authors. When it comes to distribution rights for ebooks, during the title setup, you are required to declare the territories where you have electronic publishing rights. For paperback and hardcover distribution rights, you may add the rights separately. Otherwise, KDP adopts the default settings from your ebook distribution permissions. In terms of marketing and distribution, a traditional publisher offers a competitive edge to your book by helping it reach a wider audience. They are better connected with book fairs, tours, conferences, libraries, and bookstores. Further, by offering long-term sales support, traditional publishers continue to support a book's sales long after its initial release. Release Dates and Pre-order KDP provides you with the option of releasing immediately, or scheduling a release date up to 90 days in advance, and also with the option of setting up pre-orders of ebooks. You can opt for any of these release options based on your marketing strategy. Scheduling a release date in advance helps you market the book better with author copies, thereby offering greater control on social media marketing and on your own sites as well. Also, the timer option on Amazon creates increased excitement for the book launch, enhancing your book’s sales performance on the launch date. The Kindle ebook pre-order tool allows customers to pre-order your books before the release date, contributing to sales ranks on KDP even before the launch of the book. Additionally, you can also order proof copies as test copies of your paperback or hardcover books to see how they look before publishing. STEP 4: Monitoring Sales Through Reports With KDP Reports you get access to a wealth of data such as order reports, promotion reports, pre-order reports, royalties and payment reports, old sales reports, and more. The Reports Dashboard offers different views with diverse insights, in downloadable formats for analysis. For example, you can view a 30-day trendline of orders and Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENP) reads data on the dashboard to devise marketing strategies. But it’s up to you to invest the time and effort to analyze this data and customer reviews, assess how your book’s monthly sales are doing, and customize your promotional activities. You can also make the careful decision of updating your book’s content, formatting, cover design, and more, one at a time, to see if it’s positively impacting your book’s sales. Additionally, pay attention to Amazon’s rules if you’ve missed something earlier and to policy updates that may directly or indirectly update you. You may also refer to Amazon’s Help Center for more information on any of the aspects to streamline your self-publishing process. By following this step-by-step guide on publishing with Amazon KDP, you can ensure the successful and timely publishing of your book. Self-Publishing Vs. Traditional Publishing At the beginning of this blog, we saw what self-publishing means, and how it has many benefits, including increased control over the publishing process, ownership of book copyrights, and higher royalties. However, one must recognize the time-consuming process of self-publishing and its difficulty level for the author. It requires authors to don multiple hats including not only that of a writer but also of an editor, marketer, designer, and publisher. This can get exhausting, especially for first-time authors. On the other hand, traditional publishing reduces this burden. It assists both inexperienced and established authors with professional support at every stage. It is a process where the author is only responsible for writing the manuscript and submitting it to a publishing house. Further, the publishing house looks after the editing, production, marketing, and distribution of the book. A reputable publishing house does not interfere with the author’s creative control or the subject matter of the book, instead, it ensures a polished final product by offering a team of editors, designers, and marketers. This ensures that the book meets high standards while reaching the target audience effectively without any hassles. With established distribution networks, traditional publishing broadens your book’s reach to global bookstores, libraries, and academic institutions. It provides expert marketing resources and credible professional backing to boost your book’s visibility across all channels! Moreover, the time required to self-publish a good book may almost be the same as that of traditional publishing, which goes from months to a year. So, why not let experts at a publishing house do it for you? Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers. About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.

Do you find yourself struggling to come up with creative ideas for your book? Perhaps you have found yourself staring at a blank screen or a sheet of paper, unsure of what to do next. If so, you may be experiencing writer's block. But don't worry, this is a common issue that many writers face regardless of their level of experience. The only difference is that seasoned writers have effectively developed strategies to overcome it. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the reasons why you might be experiencing writer's block and we’ll suggest some tips to help you get your creative juices flowing again.   What causes writer’s block? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, writer's block is a condition where you are unable to create a piece of written work due to something in your mind that prevents you from doing so. This "something" could be anxiety about completing the work on time, feeling unmotivated, or not getting enough rest. There is no telling when and why it may happen, but it’s important to remember that it is a sign for you to calm down and take a deep breath. Following are some of the ways in which you can tackle this obstacle:   Don’t Break the Chain! Jerry Seinfeld, a popular comedian, suggested an effective strategy to overcome writer's block that involves just one motto: “Don't break the chain!” This strategy is synonymous with Jerry Seinfeld, a renowned comedian who played an important role in American popular culture in the late 20th century. He is often regarded as one of the most successful comedians of all time. However, he is also known for producing a level of consistency in his performances. This may sound daunting but there is a lot to unpack and learn from his life. In an interview, when asked for “some tips for a young comic”, he suggested that one must place a calendar on a prominent wall and mark a big red cross on each day that they have been productive. Over time, a chain will be formed and one will develop a habit of maintaining a streak. This strategy will also stop you from procrastinating and you will be able to generate quality content.    Take a Break! Taking breaks in intervals will help you to concentrate on the action plan and organize your ideas accordingly. It may sound contradicting, but taking breaks within a day is essential to give yourself time to think about your plan of action. Timely breaks can help you rethink your content and process the information you have gathered or produced. Dr. AnnaMaria Bliven, author of four books, suggests that one must try to empty their mind of unnecessary (often taxing) thoughts. She adds that one should either walk along the shore or in the woods or even go shopping. Basically, someplace “where you can get away from your obligations”. Then focus your attention on your dream– to write!   “Just Keep Writing!” Let your words and creativity flow and keep writing regardless of the format or structure. Says Michelle Bartonico, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and author of two books. You don’t have to think about the structure or format nor do you have to worry about the repetition of some ideas or sentences. The main aim is to let your thoughts flow without a filter. This way, you will have plenty of content to work with and after a day or two, you can revisit the work with a fresh perspective and make the necessary changes. Bartonico advises writers to take every opportunity to write when they're in the mood, without limiting themselves.   Conclusion Writer’s block is a common phenomenon and tackling it effectively will provide even better results. However, it is important to understand that each author has a different approach to writing, and as Bliven says, “One has to experiment and find out what’s comfortable for them and what gets them into the flow.” So, next time you “suffer” from this problem, make sure that you keep a positive attitude and view this obstacle as a minor hurdle in your journey towards becoming a successful author. Happy Writing!   Additional Resources for Authors:  How to Write a Flawless Self-Learning Book?Why You Should Publish With Vibrant Publishers About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.

The book “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson is a biography of the renowned co-founder of the world’s leading company Apple. The book gives an account of Steve Jobs’ successes as well as failures which makes it a liberating read for professionals and businesspersons. While this book was not written by Steve Jobs himself, it is an inspiration for professionals even today as it is packed with practical life lessons that even a billionaire faces. What this means is that if you have hands-on experience in your field and if you say something about it, people will listen. This is one of the main reasons why books by industry experts are so well-received. If you are an industry professional, have considerable experience and expertise in your field, and want to share it with the world, writing a book is a good option. In this blog, we have listed down some reasons why educational books by industry professionals are well-received by learners. Please note that in the entire blog, we will be talking about educational books on Management, HR, Marketing, Finance, etc., and not biographies.   Personal stories and experiences Reading about a subject/field and actually working in the field are two different things. Many management books in the market lay down solutions to management problems that only sound good on paper. As a professional working among daily challenges in the field, you know what works and what does not work. This is the reason why books by professionals and not theorists are widely read. Weaving personal stories or experiences into your book is the best way to connect with your readers. These experiences become the essence of your book. If you are a marketer who has handled various marketing campaigns, you know what is most likely to work and what isn’t and you can include this acumen into your book to inform the reader.   Personal credibility Another advantage of writing a book as a professional is that readers know what you are saying is credible. An on-field work experience is looked at as an added perk to the credentials of the author. Besides that, the accolade of a “published author” gives you an upper hand in your career. It establishes you as an authority in your field of work and even opens up new opportunities. You gain a credible position to speak at guest lectures or conduct seminars and a published book makes it relatively easy to publish another book.   Abreast with the latest industry trends Industry trends are highly volatile and keep changing. As a professional you are abreast with the latest industry trends and know what is outdated. You are aware that sometimes, the strategies prescribed by best-selling books don’t pan out as desired. New and emerging trends are the way to go and your book will reflect exactly this. Learners will look up to your book to keep themselves abreast with new industry trends and get insights into how things work currently.   Source of passive income Books can be a great source of income if marketed correctly. However, finding the right publisher to reach your desired target audience is crucial; otherwise, your book will get lost among millions of other books and catch dust on the shelf. You might choose to self-publish your book or approach a publishing house. Self-publishing has its own pros and cons with you, the author, doing almost everything by yourself. With the help of a publishing house, your book can be available on global online platforms like Amazon, Baker and Taylor, Ingram, etc where it reaches a global audience, allowing people from various corners of the world to purchase and enjoy your work while you enjoy the royalty. This income stream remains steady even when you're not actively promoting or managing the book. Vibrant Publishers gives opportunities to first-time authors and provides total developmental support from beginning to end to assist you in bringing your book up to par with industry standards. Read Why Should You Publish With Vibrant Publishers to learn more about what we have to offer. For more information on writing and publishing academic books check out our Author Resources To begin your publishing journey with us, visit: https://www.vibrantpublishers.com/pages/publish-with-us About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.

Writing a book can often be a challenging process, be it in any genre. But when it comes to educational books, the challenges are far more complex and specific. A self-learning book is essentially a guidebook on any subject. It should come in handy and useful for anyone who wants to know more about that topic, be it career starters, professionals, or students. The major challenge while writing such books is making them unique, content-rich, and reader-friendly. There are so many educational books in the market that you may worry yours will go unnoticed among them. As an author, you would want the knowledge and expertise you share with the world to reach as many people as possible. You would want to write the best self-learning book out there but to do so, you need a clear understanding of what you must include in your book and how you should go about the writing process. One needs to have an idea of what goes into creating a good educational book that will sell the best before taking on the task of writing it. To make this daunting process simpler, we have created a checklist that will help you write a flawless book. This blog will give you an insight into what constitutes a well-written book from a publisher’s perspective. We at Vibrant Publishers have more than a decade of experience in publishing self-learning management books. Here are eight tips curated by us that will help you write a self-learning book that will appeal to a vast audience. 1. Make your matter concise and practical A self-learning book on any particular subject should include a gist of that subject matter. It shouldn’t be too long that it becomes a textbook, nor should it contain only half information. Additionally, the matter should have some practical use in the reader’s life. Our ‘essentials’ books are meant for anyone who would like to learn about a subject either for study or for practical use in their day-to-day lives.  If you are a subject matter expert, you already know everything about your subject. But while writing a book, you need to do extensive thinking and research into what the readers will look for when they pick up your book. You need to jot down the important topics and practical information related to your subject and make sure that they have a place in your book.   2 .Structure your book in a reader-friendly way Now that you have an idea of what your content is going to be, it is time to decide the structure or flow of the content. The first thing a reader looks at in an educational resource is the table of contents. Thus, it goes without saying that the table of contents, which describes the flow of your book, needs to be clear and well-structured. Structure your book in a way that it flows smoothly from one concept to the next, so that there is no confusion in the reader’s mind while moving from one section to the next.    3. Carefully craft your titles and subheadings The titles of every chapter and the subheadings in a chapter should be crisp and to the point. Avoid writing titles in flowery language or titles that are too long and wander off the point. Instead, write short titles that explain exactly what is included in that section. This will ensure that readers can locate a particular piece of information whenever they need it.    4. Develop an appropriate writing style The trickiest part of writing a book is developing a suitable writing style. Your writing style cannot be too informal, and at the same time, it cannot be made completely of jargon that beginners won’t understand. You need to find a middle ground, a writing style that is easy to understand and engaging but also sounds professional.  A useful tip: Write as if you are explaining a particular concept to a class full of students. This will help you write in a conversational tone which will make it interesting to read.   5. Write to-the-point matter Just like a class of students would lose interest if a professor deviates from the topic, a reader too will get confused if the text is too explanatory and changes focus points very often. Therefore, it is important to make sure that your matter is to the point and sticks to explaining just one concept at a time.   6. Include a variety of learning elements Another challenge with self-learning books is that they cannot be just plain explanations. To give the best learning experience, a book needs to include a variety of learning elements. Research and think about what elements would help make learning your subject more interesting. They could be case studies, quizzes, or fun facts. Use a combination of such elements in your book to improve the overall learning experience.     7. Use illustrations liberally No one likes a book that is only filled with theory. You need to break the monotony of the book by adding illustrations. This will make your book more appealing even when one is just skimming through it. Moreover, illustrations help summarize your text or add more depth to it.  You can add pictures, diagrams, tables, flowcharts, or a mix of them in your book. These illustrations will elevate your self-learning book from a zero to a 10.   8. Decide your book’s USP The above elements will make sure that your book is a great read, but they could overlap with other books in the market. What will make your book successful is its unique selling point or USP. This USP will set your book apart from the sea of books available in the market. Ask yourself what will make my book stand out. What can I offer that no one else does? Answering these questions will help you find your USP. Then, you need to focus on your USP while writing so that you deliver the best book possible. In conclusion, writing a self-learning book isn’t easy at all. It takes a lot of planning, practicing, and perfecting. If you keep in mind these few pointers, no one can stop you from writing a successful book. But remember, practice makes perfect. It may be possible that your first draft isn’t as perfect as you would like it. Or you may struggle at a certain point in the writing process. We, at Vibrant Publishers offer you complete developmental support right from start to finish, to help you fine-tune your book to industry standards. If you’d like to know more about what we offer read our blog Why Should You Publish With Vibrant Publishers. We hope this blog will help you in your writing process and that you are now confident to begin your book!  For more information on writing and publishing academic books check out our Author Resources To begin your publishing journey with us, visit: https://www.vibrantpublishers.com/pages/publish-with-us  About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.

If you are a subject matter expert in a management subject and want to publish your own book, we are the one-stop shop for materializing that dream. We, at Vibrant Publishers, are proponents of spreading quality education and knowledge in concise and compact bundles (books).     With more than a decade of experience in the field of publishing ‘essential’ management books, we are always trying to grow our community of authors. We are also constantly improving our publishing process to make it seamless and hassle-free. To publish a book with us, here are the steps involved:         Step #1 - Pitch your ‘essentials’ book or select from our exhaustive list of new title ideas Our management books are known for their straight-to-the-point explanation of concepts. They are called ‘essentials’ books because they are made up of only the important information that the reader needs to know. Therefore, if you think you can write such a book, pitch a book title by filling out the Authorship form. You need to create a detailed outline of the book (Table of contents) and give a brief summary of what the book will be about. You will also be required to give other details like the book’s target audience and target market, the uniqueness of the book, a list of courses where the book can be used, etc. Our Editorial team will review your book proposal; if they find it interesting and a good fit for our series, a Relationship Executive will get in touch with you for the further process.     Step #2 - Flaunt your writing skills You will be asked to submit a sample of your writing (either past writing or a fresh piece) on the concerned subject. This piece of writing will be evaluated by our Editorial team for its writing style and depth and if they approve, we will move ahead with the proposed title.     Step #3 - Sign a contract The Relationship Executive will have a one-on-one e-meeting with you to explain the publishing process in detail. The Relationship Executive will chart out an achievable and practical timeline for you with your approval. After finalizing the timeline of the book and compensation, we seal the deal by signing a contract!         Step #4 - Submit your manuscript You start working on the manuscript and submit it in parts. We also have a comprehensive set of guidelines for writing the book that will assist you at all the steps of the process. Our enthusiastic team of professionals will clear all your doubts and give you ready support whenever needed.     Step #5 - Fine-tune your book with the editor Even great books need revisions. And that is why our Editorial team comprises experts who will work simultaneously with you to edit and make your book the best version of itself. The editor may give their inputs which may bring a different perspective to the table and their suggestions will help you make your book more tuned with the target audience.   After you both are satisfied with the book, the next stage is proofreading. The Editorial team will thoroughly go through the book, tie loose ends, and make it ready for designing.     Step #6 - Get involved in the designing process Our team of creative designers will design the final version of the book and also work on creating a unique book cover for it. The book is designed in a way to make it engaging and attractive to readers. You will not have to worry about the graphs, figures, and tables that might be included in the book as the design team will take care of them. Once the book is designed, you will be given the opportunity to review it and provide your inputs and feedback.       Step #7 - Get peer reviews from experts We have a huge network of professors and reviewers who peer review your book and give their valuable feedback on it. These reviews help us evaluate the suitability of the book in the market. The reviewers may suggest additions/deletions or clarity on topics and give their overall opinion on the relevance of the book in today’s time.     Step #8 - Collaborate with us for marketing to a wider audience We market our books on social media platforms like Linkedin and Instagram. Our marketing efforts also involve reaching out to universities, libraries, bookstores, etc globally. You can collaborate with us and contribute to our marketing efforts by spreading the word about the book in your network. It may involve shooting promotional videos, writing blogs, giving author interviews, etc.   Our books have received amazing reviews from Reader’s Favorite, Library Journal, Harvard University, Berkeley College, and Columbia University to name a few. The books are also offered in 80+ libraries including Queens Public Library, the University of Oxford, the National Library of Wales, etc.     Step #9 - Publish your book From the time that you submit the manuscript, it takes about 6 months for your book to be published. The book will be published through our website and will also be available on major platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. Most books will be available in three formats - paperback, hardback, and e-book. We also distribute our books through major book platforms like Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Smashwords, Overdrive, etc You may also request complimentary author copies of your book.   Your journey as an author with us does not just end here. We value your knowledge, skills, and your connection with us. Therefore, we always stay in touch through emails/messages and alert you about new authoring, editing, blogging, or related opportunities with us.   After the book release, we may submit your book for relevant awards like IPPY Awards, IBPA Awards, Eric Hoffer Awards, or any other award recommended by you.     Conclusion Vibrant Publisher’s developmental support and comprehensive editing and review process will make your journey of becoming a published author a smooth ride. You will not need to fret about anything as we constantly try to remove all the hurdles in your path and give you a happy experience of publishing. Publishing your book will be a two-way process where we benefit from your expertise on a subject and you benefit from our years of experience in publishing high-quality books. To become an author with us, fill out this form.     Also read: Why You Should Publish With Vibrant Publishers Tips for Choosing an Academic Book Publisher   About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.

Introduction Writing a book is a difficult process, whether it is for a commercial or academic audience. From finding a writing routine to actually drafting the book, authors—especially first-time writers—might feel daunted by the complex procedures involved. But signing a contract with the right publisher makes this process much more rewarding. We’ve compiled a list of things as well as quick tips you need to keep in mind while choosing the right academic publisher for your book. If you are looking to write your first book and are searching for the right publisher, dive right in. #1: Approach Your Book From the Right Perspective Think about why you want your book to be published. Writing and publishing an academic book successfully can be a great supplement to your academic career. As a scholar, you’ll want your work to be published and people to recognize its merits. If you are proud of your work and want it to be appreciated in academic spheres, you’re on the right track. But if you’re only intent on commercial profits, then an academic publishing career might not be the best fit for you—you might want to think of approaching commercial book publishers. Tip: Aim to add to your academic accolades, not to start a potential business venture. #2: Every Publishing Press is Different It’s tempting to choose the most popular publisher because you want your book to be famous. But that might not be the best approach. Consider the profile of the publisher who has solicited you or whom you’re planning to send your proposal to. What kinds of books do they publish? Within academia, what is their focus—towards the humanities or sciences? Do they have an international market? Your book proposal should be in line with the type and style of publications produced by them. Tip: Don’t focus on the status of the publisher; look at the type of material they publish. #3: Submitting a Book Proposal After you make a list of the publishing presses that publish academic books within your field, reach out to them with a book proposal. Sometimes they might reach out to you first. At this stage, you’ll need to provide an introduction of yourself and the work you do, along with a summary of the book and what you will include in it. A summary might talk about the topic of the book, where the evidence has been gathered from, a brief list of sources, and the main argument on which the book is based, among other things. This is needed so that the publisher can decide whether the book fits within the realm of their publications and whether they want to go ahead with your book or not. Additionally, if your book’s topic happens to be related to a popular subject currently under discussion, that will be a bonus. Tip: Detail your expertise in your subject area and the unique contribution your work will make to the field. #4: Watch Out For These Red Signals Don’t be so eager to get your book published that you are willing to agree to any kind of contract. It is easy to be lured by promises of quick publishing—within less than 3 months, for example—and promises that the work will be ‘easy.’ Usually, low-rated publishing presses who approach you over the internet—over instagram or facebook, for example—will try to attract you by making the process of publishing sound easy and effortless. As great as that sounds, it really isn’t true. Publishing is a long process, usually not less than a year, and there are many stages involved before you get the final book into your hands. But it is an extremely rewarding process, so take your work seriously and be willing to put in time and efforts for it. Tip: Be wary of overly low processing fees and highly ambitious timeframes.   #5: Before the Contract We’ve talked about publishing being a lengthy and often difficult process. Now you might be wondering—what are the early stages of that process? Once you reach out to a publisher and submit your proposal for the book, the publishers will ask you to submit a detailed proposal of your book if they’re interested in it. This could include one or two sample chapters of the book. At this point, you might have to take back your proposal submissions from other presses. These sample chapters will be reviewed by peer reviewers, depending on which the publisher will decide whether to offer you a contract. Tip: Look at whether you’re comfortable with the publisher and their communication style—and whether they seem genuinely interested to work with you beyond the obvious commercial gain. #6: Peer Reviews The most important people who’ll review your book are peer reviewers. Peer reviewers are professors within your field, industry experts, and subject-matter experts who have in-depth experience of the subject matter of your book. Look for a publisher who offers a good peer review system—this will help shape your book to become the best possible academic material. Tip: Ask your publisher about the peer review system they offer and who will be reviewing and suggesting changes to your drafts. #7: Marketing the Book The marketing of the book is majorly done by the publishing company, but as the author, you have to be involved as well. Ask your publisher what type of marketing channels they use and whether they are looking to promote your book internationally. Publicity is the most important aspect—ask the publisher how they plan to market the book and what are the responsibilities required of you, for example, talking about your book at conferences or promoting it in your institution. Tip: Be realistic about your expectations; it takes a while for marketing efforts to pay off. #8: How Much Will You Earn? Academic books have a very specific audience and are not for the general commercial book market. That can be an advantage as well as a drawback. The advantage is that academic books are always in demand—especially textbooks, test prep and reference material. The flip side is that these books cannot be promoted to a wider or more general audience of readers, as in the case of commercial fiction or nonfiction books. Expect to earn a fair amount—the satisfaction that comes from having this achievement will surpass everything else. Tip: Your first book might not give you a dramatic increase in income, but you will earn well in terms of gaining publicity and recognition from peers. CONCLUSION Don’t shy away from asking advice from academic advisors, colleagues, and senior peers, especially those who’ve already published their work before. You might want to conduct thorough research on the publishing presses available and the terms and contracts they offer before making a decision. It’s all about your perspective- how you approach your proposed book and what are the end goals you have in mind aside from having your book published. At Vibrant Publishers, we are always on the lookout for good authors. If you are interested in sharing your expertise with us in the form of a book, fill this form. About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.

Introduction You’ve read about the green signals and pitfalls to watch out for in general while deciding to choose an academic publisher. (If you haven’t, you should read Tips for Choosing an Academic Book Publisher). Now, you might want to publish with us and are wondering what’s the next step—what are the benefits of publishing with Vibrant Publishers? Or maybe you want to know why you should choose Vibrant Publishers over traditional or self-publishing. Whether you are a first-time author who will need guidance through the entire process of publishing,  a seasoned author, or someone looking out for the right publisher, this blog is for you. #1: Developmental Support At Vibrant, we work with the author from start to finish to ensure that their work is fine-tuned to achieve the best results. Our editors discuss ways to improve the material and advise the authors on the type of content that the potential readers would like to see. That’s why, even if you’re a first-time author, you don’t have to be daunted by the process of writing—we’ll guide you through the entire process in a step-by-step manner. #2: Flexible Timelines Publishing in any field, whether it’s academic or commercial book publishing, is a lengthy process with several procedures involved. But with continuous and ongoing support from the publisher, this process becomes significantly easier for the author. At Vibrant Publishers, authors are provided with all the support they need, whether they’re writing the book from scratch or already have a full manuscript prepared. We’re very flexible with our timelines and understand that delays are sometimes inevitable. That being said, our timelines are carefully planned keeping in mind the author’s commitments and most authors are able to finish well on schedule. #3: Peer Review System Peer reviews are what refine a book from its status as an initial draft to a complete manuscript. Peer reviews might come from professors specializing in the same domain as the author, industry experts who have years of practical experience in their field, or subject-matter experts with in-depth knowledge about the topic. They review the author’s draft and suggest improvements for clarity, topics that should or should not be included, and assess the contribution the work will make to the field. We have excellent peer reviewers who provide impartial and useful advice to authors. Additionally, every book is submitted for review at least 4-5 months before publication, to professional reviewers like Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. #4: Editing the Book As an author, your work might appear perfect. But it’s necessary to fine-tune the material so that the final version is a complete, informative book. Editors can add value to your work by providing suggestions for improvement, style of writing, and grammatical corrections. Our editors work with the author to ensure that their book contains the right tone, content, and direction, as well as language that is easy for readers to understand. #5: Marketing Marketing is an important aspect of the publishing process and in many cases, it starts even before the book is released. Although our focus is academic publishing, our books are not limited to a specific market. We target multiple audiences for our books through press releases, email campaigns, and social media. We publish through online and offline distribution channels like Ingram, Smashwords, Kindle, and Baker and Taylor, and reach out to more than 10,000 libraries across the globe. We also connect with professors worldwide, who have adopted many of our books for their courses. As you can see, our marketing efforts have an extensive reach. #6: Sourcing Images and Illustrations If you’re wondering about where the images and illustrations for your book come from, we’ve got you covered. Unlike publishers that ask you to source images and obtain copyright permissions yourself—or pay a fee for the same—we don’t ask the author to take on the hassle of obtaining images. You can focus on transferring your knowledge to the paper and we’ll take care of the rest. #7: Presentation Our books follow a very compact, attractive layout, which makes it easy to read and absorb the material. Once again, we don’t require the author to format the book—we do it ourselves. The kind of layout that we’ve come up with for our books, ensures that you’re not just reading through pages of information but are enjoying the journey of learning. Image caption: Take a look at our book, Winning Strategies for the ACT, before and after formatting the content. #8: Scholarly Reputation As a first-time author, professor or industry expert, having a book published will boost your academic reputation as a scholar. You’ll gain from having your work published with us—the industry recognition your book will receive from peers and professionals will help you establish your reputation as an author. Ultimately, your work might even win awards—we submit books for the IPPY Awards, IBPA Awards, Eric Hoffer Awards and many more, depending on the category of the book. CONCLUSION Publishing a book is not an easy feat, but with our extensive support and guidance, the process becomes an enjoyable learning experience instead of a hurdle. We are committed to publishing the best textbooks, test prep material, and interview preparation books for students, professors, and professionals, with a human touch that personalizes the experience of publishing. It’s not just the initial months of publishing that we focus on—you can expect a lifetime of support, whether it’s in terms of marketing, reach, promotions, or new editions of the book. At Vibrant Publishers, we’re always on the lookout for good authors to deliver quality academic content. If you have a book proposal in mind and would like to contact us, fill this form. If you want to understand the important aspects of publishing, see Tips for Choosing an Academic Book Publisher. About Vibrant Publishers | Why You Should Trust Us Vibrant Publishers is a one-stop destination for authors seeking to share their expertise with the world through a professional and streamlined publishing process. We are a Colorado-based publishing house, established in 2011, with a mission to produce high-quality books tailored for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management experts, graduate students, and competitive exam aspirants. With 200+ published titles available in more than 100 countries, Vibrant Publishers has earned its place as a global leader in niche publishing. We have worked with renowned authors like Jagdish Sheth, Dr. Michael Walsh, Mark Koscinski and other esteemed authors who are industry experts and distinguished leaders in their respective fields. Read more about them here. We’re part of a robust community of over 100,000 professors who highly commend our books and also review and adopt them. When you onboard with us as an author, you can be assured of exceptional support through all stages of publishing from editing, and book cover designing to printing, marketing, and distribution. At Vibrant Publishers, we are committed to quality and excellence, making your publishing journey successful and rewarding. Email us at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com to discuss publishing with Vibrant Publishers.