On being my own agent/publisher/distributor

Wordworm

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Pardon me if I'm posting this in the wrong place, or if my questions seem redundant. I just joined Absolute Write today, and here I am just jumping in with what's on my mind, without doing a whole lot of searching around in all the threads I see...

What I'm trying to find out more about represents, to me, an exercise in filling in some gaps in my own experience as a publisher, editor and writer (see "In the beginning...", my introduction in the Newbie section). To briefly explain, I have connections with many artists and illustrators, one of whom (who lives in Brazil and speaks no English) would like me to represent his work in North America and get it published (ink on paper). This artist has produced (among other things) a collection of caricatures of celebrities which I believe would have good commercial potential (and in fact, there are numerous artists in South America whose work I think could be sold here).

Now, I know my way around printing and bindery and have lots of local connections in the graphic arts trade and with paper suppliers; I know how to prepare pages and files for press; I also know all about conventional printing vs digital printing. Basically, I have the means and know-how to produce and publish this book myself. But what I'm missing is a connection to the retail market.

Who am I looking for if I want to take this book to the U.S. market (I'm in Canada)? An agent? A publishing house? A distributor? I have had dealings in the past with Ingram Periodicals (who used to distribute my magazine) and a couple of Canadian distributors (LMPI and Disticor), but I don't think that will help me with selling books.

How does the "food chain" of book publishing work, and what route would you suggest I take with marketing this book and others which I plan to produce? I've only ever been a magazine publisher, producing a controlled circulation publication within Canada only, so I'm not familiar with the world of general publishing.

Is there anyone out there who might be looking to partner with me on publishing projects? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?
 

Heather Lewis

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Hi Wordworm,

Sounds like you have a lot of energy and talent (I did watch your video, LOL)! In terms of filling in gaps about your knowledge of the book publishing industry, I highly recommend Ryerson's publishing program -- you can take single courses and it's continuing ed, so pretty much evening courses I think. They also offer some online. I think they have one class that gives an overview, and their instructors are all from the industry so you can ask all kinds of questions and get relevant, up-to-date answers.

I can't really offer any advice in terms of your specific project mentioned here, but I will say that each "area" in the business of publishing one book takes a lot of effort and energy, so it is possible to spread yourself too thin. Do you want to write (as you mentioned in your intro) or do you want to be an agent or publisher? I'm not saying you can't do more than one thing (I'm a multi-tasker myself), but you might have to narrow it down a little.

HTH,
MelRandall
 

JanDarby

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Also, consider retaining a lawyer if you don't have one already.

I'm a little concerned about the prospect of selling caricatures of celebrities, if the celebrities didn't authorize them or if they were drawn from something else that might be copyrighted (since presumably the celebrity didn't do a sitting in Brazil with this artist). There may be some legal issues there, although it's not my field, and I don't want to speculate, but you should check it out before you get too invested in that aspect of what you're planning.

JD
 

victoriastrauss

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Hi, Woodworm. Since this is more a publishing question than an agent question, I'm going to move it to the Ask the Editor forum, where I think you might get more helpful answers.

- Victoria
 

Lauri B

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I'm not commenting on any of the legalities of what you plan to publish (because I don't know enough about the project or the law to make an educated statement), but if you want to sell into retail bookstore chains in the US, you will need a book distributor (not a wholesaler). There are many, both large and small, and usually the process starts with you querying them, then sending in your book for evaluation. They will decide whether or not they want to represent your book, and you go from there.
Good luck!
 

Wordworm

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Mel: From your mention of Ryerson, sounds like you must be in Toronto, like me. I appreciate the recommendation, but I feel like I'm a little old to be going back to school. Your observation about speading myself too thin is valid...in fact, that's what I've been doing for the last 15 years. Now I'm trying to ease off a little by looking into writing and publishing books. Actually, I probably have the experience, abilities and connections to be an agent, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do.

Jan, you raise a good point (and yes, I do have a lawyer), but in this case I don't think theree's any danger of being sued, since they're more like cartoons than drawings. You can see what I'm talking about at http://www.biratan.com.br/caricaturas.html

Victoria...I'm fine with moving the thread, if that's what you think is best. You know this place better than me.

And yes, EVERYONE in publishing should watch and learn from my video, 'We Didn't Trash Your File'. *wg*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWptOBfqcpk
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8621644292818167568&q=we+didn't+trash+your+file
 

Heather Lewis

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Wordworm said:
Mel: From your mention of Ryerson, sounds like you must be in Toronto, like me. I appreciate the recommendation, but I feel like I'm a little old to be going back to school. Your observation about speading myself too thin is valid...in fact, that's what I've been doing for the last 15 years. Now I'm trying to ease off a little by looking into writing and publishing books. Actually, I probably have the experience, abilities and connections to be an agent, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do.
Not in TO, but within commuting distance. ;) I took one of the Ryerson courses last winter, just for the heck of it. I'm in my mid-thirties and I wasn't the oldest one in the class. But definitely, most of the class was in their late 20s.

There aren't a lot of agents in Canada, so there's definitely a market if you decide that's what you want to do. The publishing world here is pretty small, too, compared to the US. The only other suggestion I have is to check out BookExpo next summer http://reedexpo.ca/bookexpo/ -- if you haven't been before, it gives a good idea of the industry here...not to mention lots of freebies!

MR
 

Jamesaritchie

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distribution

Wordworm said:
Pardon me if I'm posting this in the wrong place, or if my questions seem redundant. I just joined Absolute Write today, and here I am just jumping in with what's on my mind, without doing a whole lot of searching around in all the threads I see...

What I'm trying to find out more about represents, to me, an exercise in filling in some gaps in my own experience as a publisher, editor and writer (see "In the beginning...", my introduction in the Newbie section). To briefly explain, I have connections with many artists and illustrators, one of whom (who lives in Brazil and speaks no English) would like me to represent his work in North America and get it published (ink on paper). This artist has produced (among other things) a collection of caricatures of celebrities which I believe would have good commercial potential (and in fact, there are numerous artists in South America whose work I think could be sold here).

Now, I know my way around printing and bindery and have lots of local connections in the graphic arts trade and with paper suppliers; I know how to prepare pages and files for press; I also know all about conventional printing vs digital printing. Basically, I have the means and know-how to produce and publish this book myself. But what I'm missing is a connection to the retail market.

Who am I looking for if I want to take this book to the U.S. market (I'm in Canada)? An agent? A publishing house? A distributor? I have had dealings in the past with Ingram Periodicals (who used to distribute my magazine) and a couple of Canadian distributors (LMPI and Disticor), but I don't think that will help me with selling books.

How does the "food chain" of book publishing work, and what route would you suggest I take with marketing this book and others which I plan to produce? I've only ever been a magazine publisher, producing a controlled circulation publication within Canada only, so I'm not familiar with the world of general publishing.

Is there anyone out there who might be looking to partner with me on publishing projects? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Your problem is going to be national distribution, it's almost impossible to succeed without it, and in this the food chain usually stops anyone trying to be their own editor/agent/publisher. And stops them cold.

Everything else can be done, but getting national distribution, the most important part of publishing, is darned near impossible, simply because you don't have anything a national distributor needs or wants.

It's a very tough road.