I’ve encouraged many of my clients in recent years to experiment with self-publishing (or as I prefer, author-publishing). Few industries have changed more in the last five years than publishing, and with the rise of e-books the entire market has shifted, trembled, and cracked. Any major change means opportunity, and publishing is no exception.
It’s now possible to write, edit, format, and publish a book within twenty-four hours. Think about that for a minute. We’ve gone from a traditional publishing cycle of somewhere between one year to ten for any given book to be released, to about a day. Maybe two. You could write something this afternoon, upload it tonight, and your clients, employees, customers, etc. could download it tomorrow on their Kindle, iPad, phone, Nook, or a dozen other devices.
But while speed is important, the biggest shift is the production chain. Not too long ago, you’d have to rely on a long line of people, services, and organizations to get a book out. And now you can do almost all of it in house.
A few of my clients are authors, and so publishing a new short story is a fairly simple deal, but businesses can also benefit. If nothing else, a published book will allow your customers or clients to find you on Amazon. It also allows you to show off your expertise, tell the story of your business, teach people a skill, or better explain a service. If you’re in home furnishings, publish a book on style that fits with your aesthetics. If you’re in technology, create a useful guide to an industry related product or service. And if you’re a bar or restaurant, use it to tell your story. Showcase your chefs or bartenders, and build up the image of your establishment through a compelling visual narrative.
It’s gotten to the point now, that rather than ask my clients if they want to publish, I ask them if there’s is any good reason not to. The e-book revolution, combined with fantastic print-on-demand services, is a gift. And you should accept it.
Here are a few books I've produced for (and with) my clients.
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- I designed and a published a collection of short stories for Diane Meier.
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- I produced a series of short stories with Frank based on his bestselling book Ireland.
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- Cover of a book for Tekserve.
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- I designed a 200 page book on weddings.
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- The cover of our portfolio book.
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- A digital and print book I did for Frank Delaney.