Electronic Publishing Consulting Services
Profits are down… way down… for almost all small and medium sized publishers. 2008 was bad… 2009 was worse. It isn’t going to continue for 2010… you won’t let it…
I have been extremely busy this entire year consulting on how to transition to the electronic world of publishing… on all fronts from the pricing and utilizing YouTube, to the eBook technical issues and the Strategic Plan. Publishers are looking to monetize every possible approach and direction to create revenues and enhance profitability.
It’s called survival.
With the economy in trouble, and the concept of printed books in disfavor, what I am finding is small and medium sized publishers are finally coming to the conclusion they had better learn about the electronic world and how to make money in it, and fast.
In the areas of what to do with both frontlist and backlist when it comes time to reprint… do you reprint, print half and eBook half, eBook the whole project… or put it out of print? And when you eBook, it is at an eBook price or is it going to become free content on your website? And how do you price eBooks that ‘sit’ (virtually) on the same shelf as your paper and ink books?
What about Twitter, YouTube, Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn? And how to utilize these inexpensive but very effective ‘media’.
And the technical questions… PDF format? Kindle? How do you convert projects inexpensively? Is making a YouTube complicated? And should you consider allowing e Products to be distributed other than on your own website. And do you use your website as a promotional catalog, or push hard for strong content to make your site a gathering place for interested people who may or may not be customers?
I have devised a very simple questionnaire for doing what I call a “Migration Plan”:
* I start with your goals for being successful as a publisher.
* Simply complete my questionnaire. (It’s detailed but won’t take that long.)
* Then I audit your program from end to end
Critique the success of your Strategic Plan
Dissect your Revenues & Expenses
Comb through each title’s Sales History by edition and format
Examine what is in the Production Pipeline & under Contract
Assess how you have Positioned Your Brand
* I’ll point out the issues, problems, and ask the questions we need to jointly resolve
* Once I have your answers and decisions, I’ll make recommendations, in the form of a detailed report… Custom prepared for each publisher (no boilerplate material here), the report will run from 8 to 32 or more pages… How to successfully migrate and profit from both the print and the electronic worlds. In this detailed report:
Stay on course or change your Strategic Plan
Maximize your Profit & Loss Statements to reveal more hidden assets, and monetize those assets to create a bigger bottom line
Title by title plan for the future as to:
What gets paper & ink reprint, eBook treatment, or both
Which titles may be ‘parceled out’, divided into ‘pieces’ , generating greater revenues
Which eBooks are sold and which become website free content
How and when to make the transitions
Including technical work of PDF/other formats, adding to your website, and ‘distributing’ eBooks
Pricing for print and eBook products
Marketing approaches offline and online including social media, blogging, viral, and others
Determining the positioning and marketing fate of what is in the pipeline
Expert advice in ‘branding’ or ‘re-branding’ if necessary, in the report as well…
Before you ask… How Much?… You need to ask… What’s in it for ME?
A more focused Strategic Plan; an improved Bottom Line; more Revenues; less paper and ink Inventory and a faster turn; more Control; tying new titles into current ones, and Enhancing the Brand. More profits; less risk. Pinpointing hidden assets, taking concrete actions to improve your bottom line by at least 20% or as much as 100%.
Knowing the real value of this ‘Migration’ concept, and what it will accomplish for small and micro publishers, I am offering the entire package of services listed above, for half the usual fee, during the ‘quiet’ winter months. It is my way of offering to drag you, kicking and screaming, into this world, one last time, before it might be too late.
**The micro publisher (6 titles or less) will pay a flat fee of $2,000. (and save $2,000.)
This service includes an initial phone consultation, questionnaire, in depth analysis of your information and titles, an 8 to 12 page detailed report, and two phone consultations, after you receive the report, to answer questions and assist in the implementation of the recommendations made. Total phone consult time approximately 2 hours.
**The small publisher (7-15 titles) will pay a flat fee of $4,000. (and save $4,000.)
This service includes all the services listed above for the micro publisher plus in depth analysis of between 7 and 15 titles, a 12 to 18 page detailed report, and total phone consult time of approximately 4 hours throughout the process.
**The larger, small publisher (16-29 titles) will pay a flat fee of $6,000. (and save $6,000.)
This service includes all the above services plus an in depth analysis of between 16 and 29 titles, a detailed report varying in length from 16 to 24 pages, and total phone consult time of approximately 6 hours throughout the process.
**The mid-sized publisher (30-50 titles) will pay a flat fee of $8,000. (and save $8,000.)
This service includes all the above services plus an in depth analysis of 30 to 50 titles, recommendations on ‘line formations’ and integrating new frontlist to these lines, acquisition and divesture opportunities, a detailed report of 24 to 32 pages, and total phone consult time of approximately 8 hours throughout the process.
(If you want to review more than 50 titles, contact me for a customized flat fee.)
Yes, a full size, in depth analysis of your publishing operations, recommendations, and a complete ‘Migration Plan’ mapped out for you, for a fraction of the usual cost.
Imagine having an outside expert going over your Strategic Plan, your Electronic plans, the financials, and giving you a guidebook of how and what titles to move to E-Products, downloads, use of social media and blogging, which stay in print, how to price, and where the money is hidden in your operations, and how to get it out and into your pocket.
If you are expecting answers to help guide 2010 into greater profitability, don’t wait… it’s a four to eight week process. If this revenue-creating, profit enhancing ‘review’ has been in your game plan… NOW is the time to finally make it happen… and at half the cost!
No cost or obligation for asking. No one will call on you. You decide, then act.
To get the details and get started, email me at mfoner@nplconsult.com. Today.