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PAWPRESS BOOKS
Specializing in Memoirs, Humor, Fiction,
Pet Tails, and Poetry
Pawpress Publishing
Services for Authors
Indie Publishing at Pawpress ... since
2005
At Pawpress, our focus is on working with individuals and writing
groups to help shape and/or complete a book or series of books. Ina's specialty in
book development is coaching writers to "open the floodgates to
memories long gone but not forgotten," and through
InasWeirdPrompts™
to help authors write more creatively. We work with writers to get
memoirs out to family and friends, and these and other genres out to
the world. Part of our process involves Spoken Word with Music book
launch events and ongoing appearances to spark sales.
Based on Ina's background both as a writer and corporate
consultant, we also offer memoir/biography writing services to
corporate and nonprofit CEOs.
In sum, we offer the services below to those
wishing to publish using our imprint or preferring to set up their
own Indie press.*
Coaching (help with writing or completing your book)
Editing
Scans (photos or other graphics)
Layout and design of interior of book
Cover design, including attention to marketing detail
on front and back cover as well as spine
ISBN numbers (to be able to list in Books in Print,
BIP, so that booksellers and readers around the world can
find your book
Preparation of content about your book and you for
listing in Books in Print; doing the actual
uploads to BIP via our Pawpress account
Bar code (so that resellers can stock and sell your
book)
Library of Congress (LOC) number and catalog
description (content is accessible to librarians and
booksellers around the world, helping them to place your
book among their other titles appropriately, and helping
establish your credibility as an author). Note: as an author
of only your own book(s), you will be able to get a Library
of Congress number, but not a detailed catalog classification
Prepress -- preparation of interior and cover for
printer. Requires time and attention to much detail to
insure layout, any graphics and copy are properly printed,
at the right resolution, so that the look is professional
Overseeing of print production process, including
going over proofs (you will also see proofs to be sure
everything you wanted is as you wanted it)
Conversion for eBooks -- for Kindle and other eBook
platforms.
Marketing and distribution: Even if you have been
published by a large traditional publishing house, almost
all authors find that not only do they have to spend time
marketing to sell their books, they also have to spend money
of their own.
At Pawpress, we will work with you to define potential audiences
for your book. We will also produce, as noted above, targeted
content for listing in BIP. In addition, your title will be made
available to customers by Amazon.com and other online resellers,
and eBooks for Kindle, iTunes and other eTailers. You will be
represented by wholesaler Baker & Taylor and in some cases
Ingram. We will be happy to talk with you about specialty
markets if these are appropriate to your books. This could be an
advantage to you in many respects over bookstore marketing -- if
usually means buyers pay for your books outright, and there are
no returns.
We also will put your book up on our websites
"One sheet" -- this is a page used to promote your book in our
catalog and at trade shows. You will get copies to hand out to
your friends to help promote your book. We can also work with
you to create bookmarks, postcards and other marketing items to
help you sell.
Press release: we can produce press releases for you and you can
send them or hire a PR person to do so, or we can do the whole
process for you. This is a fee-based service, depending on your
budget and needs.
* If
you wish to publish under our imprint, we do require the following of potential self-published authors:
The book is a quality project, good concept, written well.
The book fits in with our titles...we might consider another
category, but we prefer the books fit with the rather large
number of categories Pawpress currently represents.
The author is committed to the project.
This means you are willing to print enough books to give you
a chance of success in the market, which means some are reserved
for promotion. Exact numbers can be discussed.
t also means you will put time, and if needed, budget
into promoting your book. We have experience in marketing
(Ms. Hillebrandt was a Fortune 500 marketing/strategic planning
consultant for more than 20 years.)
You are willing to accept that the first run, which costs
more than subsequent print runs, may well not net you any
profit. Where you can look to generate income is in repeat runs.
The out-of-pocket costs that are not repeated include editing,
design of both interior and exterior, costs to create BIP
listing and Library of Congress designations, creation of
original press release and design of collateral marketing
materials such as bookmarks. Even setup fees at printers are
much reduced and sometimes nonexistent on subsequent print runs,
once the initial steps are completed in the first print run.
While it is true the the first runs don't usually net
profit, we are very proud of first-time author J.K. Johnson, who
has proved to be a dynamo at marketing her first, hardcover
book. In its first few weeks after coming out, she sold several
hundred copies, estimates a sizeable profit after all expenses,
and a second trade paperback run in six months.
*The pros of selecting Pawpress for your
book project
The founder and publisher of Pawpress is an author, Ina Hillebrandt, with an
author's sensitivity and understanding of what you are going
through in navigating the publishing waters.
Hillebrandt's own first book, Pawprints, achieved
Amazon.com top seller status. The second in the series of
collections of her students' works, Stories From The Heart,
Vol. 2, was also named a bestseller by Amazon.com. You Are Who You Eat:
The Revolutionary New Cannibal Diet, won the IRWIN Award for Most
Provocative Book of the Year and is in the Billy Ireland Library
and Museum at OSU.
For our our newest book, From
The Potato to Star Trek and Beyond: Memoirs of a Rocket Scientist,Pawpress has teamed with Black Chateau, experts on marketing and
PR. Author Chester L. Richards has appeared on a panel with other
memoirists at TheBookFest.com Spring 2022 event, "Decoding
His Story: Men Who Write Memoirs." He will be appearing in
a second video, for Books That Make You, which has a sizeable
following worldwide, as does TheBookFest. Other videos are in
process and will be shown on his site and YouTube Channel. Social
Media is being developed for book launch June 21, 2022. His photo
and book cover appeared on the Nasdaq Billboard at Times Square in
March, prior to the BookFest panel. And he will be doing books
signings at The LA Times Festival of Books. We have created a website to
tell readers and industry professionals more about this fascinating
man of many skills, with an inspirational life: "View all that comes
your way ̶ the good, the terrifying, and the ugly ̶
as an adventure." This mantra has helped him heal from the deep
despair when he lost the love of his life, Sarah, and also served
him well as he faced oddball brushes with death, repeatedly, in
various places in the world, in his work and personal life. Read more, including
stories from the book and new tales in his blog titled Stories at:
https://ChesterLRichards.com.
To help you sell your book, we can advise or help you to set up
book signings, and will put your book up on our websites. We will
also help you identify nontraditional book selling opportunities
which can result in bulk sales that will benefit your bottom line.
We have experience with producing books in a variety of
formats, from high quality
offset paperback, to hard cover with jacket, to spiral-bound, to
eBook, to POD (Print on Demand).
We also have print suppliers who can produce top quality,
highly professional books, both POD and offset
printing. We will be happy to discuss the pluses and minuses of
various printing options with you. Questions include how many
books to print, depending in part upon cost vs. realistic retail
sales price, and in part upon potential markets for your book.
