Book Publishing: 5 Challenges and 5 Solutions
- May 3, 2022
- Posted by:
- Category: General Writing Guide
Book Publishing: 5 Challenges and 5 Solutions
Publishing a book is not an easy feat, it requires a lot of work to make it more attractive to readers as well as increase its reach. So many times, writers invest their time and resources into information gathering and idea building, then produce a Book that they believe should be a “Best Seller”, but get an underwhelming return both on investment and reach.
Sometimes, the problem is not the idea – no idea is bad, the problem could be the audience who happened to get the Book. A writer’s major aim in publishing a book is to share his creative ideas with the audience, the idea he dishes out is purchased by the reader for a price, which comes as an incentive for the wealth of information dished out. However, writers often face challenges in the aspect of Book Publishing. Below are some of those problems.
Piracy and Plagiarism
This is the writer’s greatest fear in publishing his work. Piracy often occurs when producing an e-book. The problem of piracy has not really been tackled and this has put writers in a state of uncertainty about the authenticity of their work. When books are published, it does not take a while before you start seeing pirated copies or copies from sources other than the original owner. This problem has made so many writers have a book that is in circulation but cannot have any real returns for the books circulating.
Plagiarism too is another issue associated with Book Publishing. The entire book may not be plagiarised but some parts of the book can be copied without proper attribution and acknowledgements made to the original source.
High Publishing Cost
Money is a determinant factor for the success of any piece of writing. It is vital from the pre-production to the post-production stage of the entire process. Research done during the data gathering stage is done with money, the editing process of the Book is also done with the money. Money is most important in the Production Process, marketing involves money as well.
Most readers nowadays have learnt to judge a book by the cover and it means that it has to be Catchy for it to appeal to them. The book certainly needs to have a Beautiful and appealing Cover and Quality for it to be attractive to some people, especially when it is in Hard Copy.
As the days go by, the cost of publishing books is also on the increase. It is even a bit higher when it is in the prints because it takes a whole lot of funds to get words on paper nowadays. The funds spent on printing these Books are not a guarantee that they will do well, it is just an effort put into trying to make the Book appealing and enticing.
When it is an E-Book, it is a different ball game, lots of people prefer it free of charge and they are certainly ways to get them around without having to download from the source due to the piracy level. Publishing online is not free but so many Persons would rather wait for the pirated copy than download it from Amazon.
Competitive Market
One important thing to note before publishing a book is that there is no Author that has Autonomy over any genre of writing. On any topic of your choice, there are a whole lot of authors who have invested their time in producing works related to that particular topic. The more writers available, the more Books are in circulation. The difference however is the approach each writer takes.
This is why you should ask yourself a very simple but important question; why should I abandon all other books on a particular topic and get glued to yours? When you find answers to it, you see the reason why so many Persons go out of their way to invest hard-earned resources in Books and unfortunately, not all of them get the desired results. The market has not changed, it is even growing daisy by the day, with the Introduction of Audiobooks and all. It is important to know the dynamics of the market so as to know the approach to take to get your Book published and reap rewards as well.
Changing Reading Culture
The Introduction of Social media to the World is certainly a Milestone achievement and has helped bring the world closer, making it easier for Information to be circulated across borders with ease. It has given rise to a broader audience as through the use of Social media, E-Books and Journals can reach you anywhere, anytime in the shortest space of time. It is certainly a welcome development, But, the introduction of Social media has also affected greatly, the reading culture amongst individuals.
In time past, knowledge is gotten from Books, the more you read, the more you acquire more of it. Nowadays, knowledge is gotten on the Internet, whatever you want to know is online. Students can easily browse any event on Important Story Books of time past and even get commentaries of it, grabbing knowledge of it even without reading it. It is good to know that these books can be Published online too, but the reading culture available in time past is not as it was before.
Identifying Target Audience
This is a primary concern for writers; as I said earlier the problem may not be the writer or the idea, it could be the audience. For example, what will a Farmer be doing with Books on Airspace, Imagine a youth with a Book for kids, or a Medical Doctor with a Book on Law and Legal affairs?
The Reach and appealing nature of the article are on the increase when it appeals to the reader. The dilemma becomes finding the right audience for your Book. A writer should note that his book must not be appealing to everyone and is certainly not for everyone. This is a problem because you have your well designed and excellent piece, but somehow, you don’t have people to appreciate your efforts.
All these challenges have ways around them, knowing the challenges associated with your intended area of endeavour is the first step to getting solutions to that problem. Here are some tips that can help you overcome these challenges.
Personal Interaction with your Audience
When you have done your bits and have persons who admire your work, it is important to try as much as possible to have interactions with them. That way, you will create a group of people who will help you even in spreading your workaround. These persons can alp help you with reviews for your Book. Reviews are so important and can help sake your product. It is important to always ask for reviews from people who have read your work.
Work on the Book Cover
It is a sad reality but you need to know it. The audience we have right now judges the Book by its cover, it is the cover first before deciding to read the Book. For this reason, you need to spend more time making the cover as captivating as ever. You can seek help from creative designers to help you design good book covers.
Outline your Book Properly
The Book should be well Structured and properly designed. The Introduction should be well written so that it can be a guide to the work. Also, it is important to use good formats for your work and readable fonts. People will lose interest if they pick up your book and find it difficult to either see the words or understand them.
Have a Marketing Strategy
Marketing is an important factor for consideration in Book Publishing. You cannot spend hours writing a Book only to dump it at home. The Book is for the Audience not for you, so there has to be a concrete plan on how to get the Book to them. Some persons are glued to some authors and it becomes a huge challenge for starters. Firstly, start from your personal contacts, friends and family then get the Book into the market. Anyone you know that reads it, ask for a review, it will boost the book.
Reconsider the Price
The Price of a Book is a huge factor, especially on the part of the Reader. You need to check again if the price your Book goes for is ideal, this is to avoid low sales which amount to less income. Do a survey to see the rate of acceptability and response the Book is getting. You can decide to either increase or reduce the price.
Book Publishing has become a lot easier with the introduction of Social media. Try to identify your target audience. Write Clearly and Correctly too and let your work be readable and the format clear and understandable, devoid of errors and junk.
