A
Partnership For Success
Just
My Best Book Publishing Company is not quite a traditional publisher
these days, nor are they a vanity press or soley a print on demand publisher.
Just My Best has evolved into more of a partnership venture where both
the publisher
and author work
shoulder to shoulder to produce and market exciting, fast paced, well
edited, and attractive books.
Just
My Best Book Publishing Company, a small firm located in Wilmington,
Ohio, started business in January 2001 and lost $80,000 between then
and August 2004. Back then they considered themselves traditional publishers.
They were determined to turn out quality books and build a name for
themselves. But they experienced their share of hard knocks over the
next few years as they struggled to survive in a world of mega publishers.
In the process the lines became blurred between what they once were
and what they had become.
They made some bad
choices when accepting material from authors and it cost them dearly.
Their romantic dreams of success were unrealistic. Due to the fact that
they couldn't afford advances or a marketing budget they relied on authors
to promote their books by setting up book events, sending press releases
out to their local media, and sharing their books with relatives and
friends. They believed these activities would bring sales back into
the firm. Their aim was to work with ambitious new authors who planned
to turn out book after book, believed in their own creativity, and wanted
to establish a name for themselves in the literary world as much as
JMBPUB did. To their way of thinking, this marketing effort on the author's
part, to promote their own books, would help them recover the money
they spent in producing that book. At the time they signed the contract
the authors agreed to the terms.
Unfortunately some
authors did nothing to promote themselves, and didn't even buy one copy
of their own book. Therefore, Just My Best, lost money from the beginning
and they continued to lose money. When you continue to lose money you
finally go broke. You can have the finest product on the market and
if no one knows about it, it won't sell.
It would have been
easy to give up and close the company down. But they weren't looking
for easy. They were looking for a solution. They tried approaching investors,
and applying for loans through various banks, but everything failed.
Ultimately, they let the staff go, stopped accepting manuscripts, and
moved their operation into a home office. The company was in limbo until
January 2005.
Professional authors
know how important editing is, but some unpublished authors don't. JMBPUB
staffers decided it wasn't worth their time to read badly edited material.
They suggested that authors who couldn't or wouldn't take time to edit
their own manuscript, hire an editor, or ask a relative or friend who
knew the rules of English grammar to do it for them. They were determined
that only well edited books would be stamped with the JMBPUB logo.
The staff of Just
My Best, often work 7 days a week, 12-16 hours a day, over a 3-12 week
period to get a single title ready for publication. There is also the
yearly cost of keeping a books digital files at the printer ready to
use. When authors kick back, neglect marketing, and sell none of their
books, this is a major drain on any publishing company's resources,
mainly in cost and manpower.
If an author doesn't
sell 1,500-2,000 copies of their book, their publishing company loses
money. But JMBPUB authors will never hear staff members complain about
their sales numbers as long as they are trying to market their titles,
for staffers understand that authors have to grow, and they trust that
this growth will also grow the company.
Just My Best, has
not changed their goals. They still strive to publish books that are
clean, crisp, and contain quality material. The joint effort to build
their company and make it strong financially helps all the JMBPUB authors
succeed together. With this in mind, the publishing company inserts
several pages of book ads in the back of each of their books, advertising
all their books.
Just My Best Book
Publishing Company has always used print on demand technology for printing.
Yes, there is a stigma associated with print on demand books (different
from the actual printing process) that affects sales for the JMBPUB
authors. The publisher tries to counteract the bad publicity by always
putting cleanly edited books out. And they guarantee the return of their
books if the bookstores don't sell them, just like the mainline publishers
do.
It is unfortunate
that some publishers bring a bad name to the print on demand technology
by placing poorly written and crafted books through the main distribution
systems. The only solution to the problem is for distributors to accept
books on merits of quality. This way the book stores would purchase
print on demand books without the fear of stocking books that could
ultimately prove to be an embarrassment.
Some publishers
are in business solely to make money and quality is not their main concern.
They don't read the books that are submitted to them, they don't edit
them, they don't bother formatting them, and they don't set the type.
The POD publisher takes the document the author emails them, turns it
into a PDF file, adds a generic book cover to it, submits it to the
POD printer whose job is only to print the book as they receive it,
and within days a poorly crafted book is placed in the distribution
channel. Most authors are ill equipped to do everything that is needed
to produce a well put together book. JMBPUB chooses to believe every
author who goes to a POD publisher believes they are getting a book
to be proud of in return for the fee they pay.
There isn't anything
wrong with the way these publishers do business. They run a self service
publishing company and don't bother themselves with explaining the end
result. Some of these publishers do offer services such as editing,
for a price. However, only a low percentage of authors can afford, or
are willing to pay these additional fees.
Just My Best Publishing
Company firmly believes everyone should be able to have their books
published for a reasonable price. For instance if Aunt Jane wants to
publish a book of nothing but her cat's muddy paw prints, it should
be her choice, providing she can pay for it. This is the way, Just My
Best, operates with their Aarbooks imprint. However, it would be wrong
to put Aunt Jane's book through standard distribution channels. At this
point in time that is exactly what's happening, and publishers will
not cease the practice, nor will book stores buy print on demand books
until they do. Therefore, it has to be the distributors who crack down
and refuse to accept such books.
The print on demand
technology itself is wonderful. In fact many traditional publishers
like Simon & Schuster, Zondervan Publishing House, and Harcourt
Trade Publishers, use the same printer JMBPUB does to publish print
on demand books. In addition many university presses such as Penn State
University Press, Oxford University Press, Texas A&M University
Press, and University Press of Florida, go through the same printer.
Just My Best, Inc.,
has acquired several talented new authors this year and retained the
authors they already had. JMBPUB guarantees authors will not find a
closer group of writers anywhere to work with. The Authors at Just My
Best, Inc., are ambitious, close knit, and serious about marketing.
They have weathered the storm together and are determined to succeed.
Just My Best Book
Publishing Company is not quite a traditional publisher these days,
nor are they a vanity press or soley a print on demand publisher. Just
My Best has evolved into more of a partnership venture where both the
publisher and author work shoulder to shoulder to produce and market
exciting, fast paced, well edited, and attractive books.
All writers are
welcome to share the resources they have available on their website.
http://www.jmbpub.com
CEO Megan Blue Terry
megblu@jmbpub.com
http://www.jmbpub.com
