Is New Book Authors Publishing a scam?
No. New Book Authors Publishing is a legitimate book publisher with a positive decade-long complaint-free history.
What type of publisher is New Book Authors Publishing?
The publishing industry has various publishing models for authors to consider. Some of those models include self-publishing platforms, traditional (trade) publishers, vanity publishers, hybrid publishers, and nontraditional publishers. There are people (i.e. bloggers, online commenters, message forums and even some industry insiders) who have a strong preference for traditional publishing models and in doing so, declare that any publishing model that doesn’t follow rigid traditional publishing definitions is a “scam” or a “vanity press” particularly, if the publishing company is paid an upfront fee. The rationale behind it is irrational.
All publishing models (including traditional publishers) earn a profit from publishing books, whether those profits are earned through royalties or through upfront fees. Publishing is a for-profit business model. Publishing is a not charity or nonprofit as some internet commenters suggest. All publishers, regardless of publishing models, spend many weeks, to months preparing books for publication.
- A business that has fees to cover the labor behind editing, designing, and publishing a literary work does not mean that the publisher does not care about a book they’ve spent weeks preparing for publication.
- A company’s reputation is attached to the efforts they’ve put into the book. In other words, there are consequences for poor performance, which incentivizes publishers to perform well, beyond the gratification of watching their authors to succeed.
Authors have many reasons for choosing not to publish through a traditional publisher. A low acceptance rate is the primary reason why authors do not pursue traditional publishing.
- Traditional publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. This means you will need a literary agent to submit it for you. Which leads to the next problem:
- Authors often struggle to find a reputable literary agent. Literary agents receive thousands of manuscripts submissions a month from writers eager to get published. Rejection letters often arrive six months later (or not at all). These companies are very busy.
- It is very difficult to find a trade publisher willing to accept the manuscript. Legitimate traditional publishers accept roughly 1% of submitted manuscripts out of thousands, making it extremely difficult for authors to land a deal.
- Many authors prefer to bypass years of rejection to find publishers who are genuinely interested in their work.
- You can still be a successful author whether you are published through a traditional publisher or not.
Why some authors choose “pay” to publish their books instead of doing it themselves as a self-publisher:
- Authors often choose not to self-publish due to the lack of experience. They prefer to write books and leave the publishing work to the experts.
- Some authors have full-time careers in other industries and do not have time to meet the demands of formatting, editing, designing, and learning how to publish and promote a book. They would rather leave that process in the hands of industry professionals who can navigate the publishing industry.
- The author is pragmatic. Some authors understand that there are few traditional publishers willing to accept a manuscript from an unknown or untested author. The author would prefer not to waste years searching for a publisher who will not read the manuscript as a matter of policy. They understand that it is a closed industry with a lot of gatekeeping.
- Some authors would prefer to bypass the process of receiving dozens of rejection letters.
- The author would rather let readers decide for themselves, not the industry.
- The author is publishing a legacy book like a memoir or a book meant to be read by family members, community, and friends.
- The author understands that you can still be a successful without a traditional publisher.
New Book Authors Publishing follows a nontraditional model. So what’s the difference?
Let’s explore the types of publishers…
There are many reasons why alternative publishing models exist.
The traditional (or trade) publishing model is when a literary agent submits a manuscript to a traditional publisher on behalf of the author. If the manuscript is accepted by the traditional publisher, a contract is negotiated and sometimes a small advance is paid. Traditional (trade) publishing companies do not accept manuscripts from the public. They typically only accept manuscripts through bonded literary agents or agents they have relationships with. Some traditional publishers may have smaller imprints that allow unsolicited submissions on a limited basis.
Traditional publishers and literary agents receive thousands of submissions per month, making it difficult for writers to find a traditional publisher. It usually takes months to receive a rejection letter. Traditional publishers typically print books in-house. This means the books are mass printed and sent to bookstores.
The downside of trade publishing and printing mass copies, are unsold books (30% of books are returned). An estimated 320 million unsold books are pruned (destroyed) annually. If the book does not sell or “earn out” the author does not receive a royalty until the trade publisher can recoup its costs for publishing, printing thousands of copies, and distributing the book. The author does not receive a royalty if the book does not earn the investment back. Less than 2% of books sold via traditional publishing models reach bestseller status. If the book is a flop or doesn’t earn the full investment back, the author will never see a royalty.
Nontraditional publishers fall somewhere in the middle of traditional and hybrid publishing models. A nontraditional publisher provides all of the services that a traditional or trade publisher provides, but like hybrid publishers, requires a fee. The fee is usually fairly nominal compared to the thousands of dollars required by hybrid publishers. Nontraditional publishers are very similar to very old publishing models, but authors keep all of their royalties after standard deductions. Books are usually printed using the print on demand method. Print on Demand is when the book is printed and shipped when the customer or bookstore buys a copy of the book. Some nontraditional publishers offer a split model, where they cover part of the costs and the author covers the other half.
The hybrid publishing model is when an author pays upfront for the publication covering all of the costs associated with publishing their book. Hybrid publishers may vary between very good or bad, the latter earning some hybrid companies a well-deserved label of being called a scam. So authors must be cautious. If publishing a book costs as much as buying a used car, with a monthly payments…authors may want to reconsider. Hybrid publishers typically do a fine job of publishing the book, but often lack in their marketing efforts. Some of them do not properly market books at all so authors may not recoup the cost of publishing their book. Hybrid publishers also take a cut of the author’s royalties, despite the author covering all of the initial costs associated with publishing the book. Books are usually printed using the print on demand method, though some hybrid publishers may use in-house printers.
Self-Publishing is when an author does all of their own formatting, cover design, editing, and submit their own book to a printer or distributor. There are a number of platforms available for authors to use. The downside is that readers and book retailers can identify a self-published book and often will not consider them for inclusion on bookstore shelves. The reason they are not included can vary. For example, physical bookstores require the book to be returnable and self-publishing platforms often do not allow a returnable book status. The book industry is a returns-based industry. Self-published books often lack professional level formatting and layout despite many efforts from authors who read and learn from outdated articles on the internet. As a result, an author may choose to submit to a vanity or nontraditional publishing company.
A vanity press is a publishing company that prints books. They do not edit or provide adequate marketing services. Some do not provide distribution and authors are responsible for selling the books directly to consumers. Vanity publishers require authors to pay large fees for even minor services typically included with publishing a book. Books are usually printed using the print on demand method, though many vanity publishers use in-house printers.