Live It Publishing / Britain's Next Bestseller

[aliceshortcake]

Yet again, a chance encounter with a Google ad led to an interesting website - or two websites in this case.

We are a fresh, exciting and inspirational partnership publisher that are passionate about discovering and supporting new Authors whose ground-breaking books have the potential to change people, their lives and the world around them.

Because we are completely independent, we can take risks and do things in a way that the traditional publishers can’t. This gives us a unique advantage to drive new innovations in the industry and offer new opportunities to our free-thinking Authors and Readers.
http://www.liveit.com/publishing/

'Partnership publisher'? How much does the author have to stump up? Well, there's a list of services:

Right now you may have an idea for a book but frankly, you just don’t know where to start. Or perhaps you have started to put pen to paper but have come to a grinding halt? Well, look no further, we can help. We have the perfect blend of experience, skill and knowledge to enable you to progress your book from ‘concept’ to finished manuscript in less than 3 months!

...

So, if you have an idea, but don’t know where to start or you have already started writing but find yourself stuck, then our Author Coaching Programme could be just what you need. And its a lot more affordable than you think! At just £495 + VAT per month or a single payment of £1,185 + VAT it won’t break the bank and it will get that book you’ve been desperate to write finished and on its way to being published.

Actually that would just about break my bank, so it's a good thing I have more sense than money.

* The Small Print: Please note that this programme is mainly suited to non-fiction authors with a good standard of English writing. We will need to assess your suitability for this programme before you are invited to participate In order to achieve the 12 week timescale you must be able to commit to a minimum writing of 1 hour per day – that’s just 7 hours a week! Having written your book, you can choose to take it to any publisher of your choosing. Live It Publishing will enthusiastically review the manuscripts produced through our Intensive Author Coaching Programme however we do not offer any publishing guarantees. Publishing is a complex business and we are not a self publisher or vanity publisher. We only publish books that align with our list of titles, are of a high quality and that we feel we can passionately add value to.

If you take money from writers you most certainly are a vanity publisher.

Our book trailer filming service starts at just £245 + VAT per filming hour using quality cameras, lighting, microphones, teleprompter technology and includes basic editing. As a rough guide, at the end of an hour’s filming session we usually have enough material for 3-5 short videos...

Are you nervous about public speaking or generally "putting yourself out there?"

We offer our Authors 2 specialist levels of Media & Presentation Skills Training:

Basic Media & Presenting Skills – An intensive one day workshop providing you with the essentials to becoming a confident presenter. Just £197 + VAT per person.

Advanced Media & Presenting Skills – An intensive 2 day workshop providing you with everything you need to launch your public speaking and media presenting career as a confident, charismatic and captivating presenter. Just £394 + VAT per person.

Is your piggy bank empty yet? No? Excellent!

Very simply, your book is part of your ‘brand’. And effective branding will help you sell more books!

...

The Brand Development Consultancy work we undertake with our authors typically starts at about £425 + VAT. However, everyone’s brand development starting points are different so please get in touch with us to discuss your specific needs further.

Actually writing your book is just the beginning:

Your book has the potential to be the start of something BIG. Successful authors do not rely on just book sales to fund the lifestyle they want. Successful authors leverage their intellectual capital in many different ways to generate diverse revenue streams and engage with their readers at different levels. The knowledge and creativity you have captured within the pages of your book are just the beginning. From the humble beginnings of your book you can create a pipeline of services and products that maintain your connection with your readers, enhance their experience of your book and generate more revenues/book sales opportunities:

Webinars
Seminars
Workshops
Courses
Key note speeches
Audio products
Video products
Branded merchandise

...

Let us help you plan and design the products/services within your sales pipeline so that you have a range of offerings that naturally flow from one to the other. Our Product & Service Design Consultancy is really affordable starting at just £150 + VAT.

Live It's new venture is Britain's Next Bestseller:

As a rapidly growing independent publisher our mission is very simple – to shake up the way the publishing industry works and to bring you the latest, most brilliant authors and their work.

...

Our new imprint, Britain’s Next Bestseller, give readers the power to launch an author’s career and also gives authors a new, fairer way to land a publishing contract without relying on literary agents, traditional publishers or self-publishing houses. Our mission is simple. In just a few years, we want authors to be asking themselves…

What did we do before Britain’s Next Bestseller?

You know what's coming next, don't you?

Small, independent publishers and authors compete against the £multi-billion traditional publishers, online retailers, book chains and wholesalers. Together they have a formidable strangle hold on the industry which keeps fantastic independent books off the book shop shelves and independent authors off the bestseller list. So many of our best loved books such as Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code nearly didn’t make it to publication. Just imagine how many phenomenal books and authors have had their success blocked…

Britain’s Next Bestseller, is where readers decide the books that get published. No more editors, literary agents and slushpiles. Simply, thousands of readers putting their full support behind new authors and new books.
http://www.liveit.com/publishing/

Brace yourselves for an industry-shattering - nay, earth-shattering revelation!

AUTHORS
Submit your complete,fully edited manuscript for BNBS to review & approve
BNBS will then set your book a minimum pre-order sale target to achieve within a set time frame
Create your FREE Book Project page on our BNBS website to promote your manuscript
Readers pre-order your book from the BNBS website
When you achieve your pre-order target, within the set time, you get your publishing deal

BENEFITS TO YOU

A great opportunity to get a publishing deal based purely on the merit of your manuscript
FREE manuscript promotion service with powerful marketing tools & support from our team
A guaranteed publishing deal when your book achieves its minimum pre-order target within the pre-order period
Your book typically printed & published within 12 weeks of the end of the pre-order period
Receive £1 for every pre-order copy sold on BNBS above your minimum pre-order target
On-going industry beating royalties - 50% of net receipts on all sales
The greater the pre-order demand for your book, the more ££££ we invest in its promotion
https://britainsnextbestseller.co.uk/index.php/sites/how_it_works

READERS
Browse our extensive offering of new writing talent across all genres
Pre-order the books you would love to read to help your favourite authors get a publishing deal
Get behind the scenes exclusives by interacting with our authors and fellow readers
Enter our reader competitions and win great prizes
Be part of a dynamic community, passionate about books and discovering Britain's Next Bestseller

BENEFITS TO YOU

Your name printed in every edition of the book, recognising your special contribution as a Patron (optional)
Exclusive access to your own printed copy of the book around 2 weeks before public release
Discover new authors and books that without your support may never have been published
The opportunity to participate in and influence key decisions that can affect the success of the book
Confidence that if the book achieves its pre-order target, it will be published by a reputable publisher
Reassurance that you only get charged for your pre-order if and when the book hits its pre-order target
The chance to find a 'Golden Ticket' in your pre-order book and win a great prize

Essentially they're getting the public to read the slush pile for them. They seem to think this scheme is brilliantly original but I'm quite sure it's been done at least once before. And notice that bit about the "fully edited manuscript":

Kate, Senior Editor
I love taking life-changing ideas and helping authors get their message across succinctly and professionally, and I’ve worked on all sorts of non-fiction books. Working with Live It Publishing Authors is a true privilege! These are books that will change the world, and they need to be out there!
http://www.liveit.com/publishing/meet-the-team/

What exactly does Kate do if BNBS's hopefuls have to submit fully edited manuscripts in order to be eligible for the contest?

The prices of Live It's books suggest that they're a POD, in which case it's difficult to see how the lucky recipients of a publishing contract with them are going to reach bestseller status.

 

[Cathy C]

 

[Bufty]

Non-fiction?

Please note that this programme is mainly suited to non-fiction authors with a good standard of English writing.

 

[aliceshortcake]

A Horrified Smiley from a genuinely bestselling author is worth a thousand words!

 

[aliceshortcake]

Non-fiction?

Live It specializes in self-help, motivational stuff. BNBS seems to be an attempt to tap into the fiction market.

 

[Helix]

That's a target-rich environment, but...

So many of our best loved books such as Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code nearly didn’t make it to publication. Just imagine how many phenomenal books and authors have had their success blocked…

But...but...but they did make it to publication. And they were published by large houses. And Da Vinci Code wasn't Brown's first book. And...oh, I give up.

 

[aliceshortcake]

Helix, whenever I come across an outfit like this my face takes on exactly the same expression as that of your sceptical curlew.

 

[victoriastrauss]

I've seen this business model touted many times, and each time they think they're re-inventing the wheel. Pubslush, for instance, had the same pre-order thing when it first started out (they switched over to being a pure crowdfunding site about a year later), and here's another one I recently spotted, called Inkshares.

- Victoria

 

[aliceshortcake]

I knew it sounded familiar!

Oh, and a correction: apparently they aren't a POD.

 

[victoriastrauss]

I think publishers should be barred from using the word "bestseller" except to describe an actual bestseller.

- Victoria

 

[CaoPaux]

Live It site is stuck in '13, and last book was published '14. All activity is at BNB (updated URL: http://www.britainsnextbestseller.com/) Stay tuned for New & Improved platform, due to launch last month ....