Osiail Publishing

Currently the company is one self-publisher and his friend. They seem to be slightly better at self-publishing than most, but I would not leap at the chance to help them learn how to be a publisher. Especially as there is no guarantee it is something they will be able to master.

They don't have any distribution other than what they've been able to market themselves to their local indie stores. That's why they give submissions preference to authors living in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. If you're looking for a publisher, why not look for someone who has a track record and distribution? Better yet, look for a good agent.

Edited to add that they aren't listed with Ingram's database - probably due to the fact that they only have one title, and you need at least ten titles to establish a relationship with Ingram. This lack of being in their database hampers a title's visibility because so many databases feed off Ingram.

I sent the business manager an email asking a few questions. He responded the same day. They seem to be fairly honest and straightforward. Although, I did ask for sales figures which he neglected to mention.

As far as online sales are concerned, the book is listed both on our website and www.barnesandnoble.com. The reason for not going on Amazon is that they charge a very high commission rate, add to that the shipping cost, and sales on Amazon would actually be at a loss. So while it may be true that 20% of a book's sales are through online outlets, Amazon is not a good choice for this book. You're probably now asking yourself why the book would be at a loss when thousands of books are sold on Amazon. The answer is...we're just starting out. For the first book we subcontracted a lot of the work. This was more costly than doing the work ourselves, but it was the right move to make to produce a quality product. For our two upcoming projects, we intend to keep more of the work internal, and minimize costs in other areas to make sales on Amazon a profitable venture.

Distribution is also in our near future. By spring '09, we will have a couple more titles under our belt, and will start becoming attractive to distributors. Right now, most distributors consider us too small to bother with. However, distribution is key, and we fully intend to be working with a distributor by early '09.

The short answer to your marketing question is, yes, Osiail Publishing will handle the marketing. There are actually a couple local (to NH anyway, not sure where you are writing from) publicity houses who specialize in book promotions. Distribution and the marketing will go hand in hand.(no need for marketing if you can't meet the distribution needs and vice versa). For now, we are doing marketing more locally via author appearances, submissions to local literary periodicals for review, and some online advertising. As far as actual book reviews are concerned, most reviewers are bombarded with books for review. We would submit your novel to various reviewers, but there is no guarantee that they will review your book over someone else's.

I hope that answers all your questions. One more note, the two authors that we are currently working with understand that we are a new company and are willing to grow with us. For their understanding, we offer them stepped royalty plans, and the option to renegotiate their contract after a certain period of time. We want the authors to stay with us because they believe we are doing right by their book, not because they are locked into some contract. If, after the agreed upon period of time, they feel that their book is not being treated fairly, or we have not fulfilled their expectations about distribution, marketing, etc, they can negotiate a clean break from Osiail Publishing with no hard feelings.

Thanks for posting their reply - he does appear to be honest. But that doesn't make for a good publisher. They have to know the business, which means pricing out a book before the contract is signed. Production is expensive, and you have to have your own design team in order to make the title profitable. It sounds like he's trying to shield himself as much as possible (good) by staying with local authors and marketing locally to the stores. The trick will be to spread out beyond his own borders, which is an entirely different ballgame.

If he's concerned about the percentages with Amazon, he'll freak when it comes to creating a relationship with Ingram, or being with a distributor. Teaming up with a distributor takes anywhere from $5,000 - $20,000, so he best be prepared. It takes money to make money. But, it does sound like he's trying. Whether it's a good idea to let them try on your own book is another matter.