Discovering the office of the Book-maker
In most cases a book maker is working as publishing manager in a publishing company; he is the one the managing director hands your manuscript and he takes a careful look at what you have written and ask himself some questions regarding the manuscript.
Does this manuscript have publishable information? Not everything put down on paper is worth the publishing; some information are destructive to society and will negate the essence of publishing a book. Here is one danger in self-publishing because censor board don’t have control over self published books. The reason for ISBN is not just to give numbers but to give numbers to approved literature but unfortunately this purpose has been overlooked.
Has the author exhausted what should be part of this manuscript? While working on my book, Prayer that God Must answer, the publishing manager of Scripture Union Press and Books Ltd called to alert me that there was need to add one more chapter and an additional paragraph to another chapter in the book. It is his duty to read through the lines of the manuscript with his professional mind trying to see if the author has been consistent in passing across the message he initiated.
Will the title given by the author sell? Here we come to discover that the author does not have autonomy to determine the title of the book because in the process of his inquiry he may discover that the title given by the author does not suit the message he was trying to communicate. He will also want to know if the title coincides with another book and if the titles are similar, what will be the effect on this book, especially if his client is a new author.
Does this manuscript and its message agree with the policies of his principal – the publishing company he represents? Many young authors are disappointed when there manuscripts are turned down. They approach the company with confidence and walk away depressed. They see it as a death sentence to their script. This should not be the case; you should understand that the publisher is a business man and has target market. He cannot push money into manuscripts that will just tie down his money. In fact, only sincere publishers turn down books, others will encourage you to put in your own money. Every good bookmaker will compel you to face the facts. One publisher, Overcomers Christian Publishers, Aba told me that books are not foods and so not very essential, hence he warned me to give careful thought before putting in money. Some make same mistake in opening a bank account; every commercial bank in your city has policies different from the other. Most times they don’t point it out until you make a particular request. So with publishers, the bookmaker has the duty to this regard.
Reader Friendly, Market Friendly and Pocket Friendly – These phrases are not often used but they are very crucial to book printing and publishing.
Reader Friendly - The size of the characters and the arrangement of information so that the reader is relaxed while reading and the information pops out on the reader without struggling
Market Friendly – the book should be such that customers can easily notice it in the midst of many other books in the market. Size of book and kind and size of font, and also color of cover design are the focus here. There are some book titles that have more than one size and design. It is the bookmaker who determines this bearing in mind customers of different purchasing power.
Pocket Friendly – It is no good when books of same size are selling cheaper but that is often the case when a professional did not contribute have in making the book. So he determines the price the book should be sold.
All three of these factors play important roles in how books are received in the market and the bookmaker has the assignment to see they are in order. You can now see why their services are inevitable. There are owners of publishing companies that have bookmaking experience.
Excerpt from my new book, My Journey to Becoming an Author
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