Book-packaging (or book producing) is a publishing activity in which a publishing company outsources the myriad tasks involved in putting together a book—writing, researching, editing, illustrating, and even printing—to an outside company called a book-packaging company. Once the book-packaging company has produced the book, they then sell it to the final publishing company. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view
In this arrangement, the book-packaging company acts as a liaison between a publishing company and the writers, researchers, editors, and printers that design and produce the book. Book packagers thus blend the roles of agent, editor, and publisher. [1] Book-packaging is common in the genre fiction market, particularly for books aimed at pre-teens and teenagers, and in the illustrated non-fiction co-edition market. Genre fiction is a term for fictional works ( Novels short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific Literary genre
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Business model
Publishing companies use the services of book-packaging companies in cases where the publishing company does not have the in-house resources to handle a project. [1] There are two main reasons that publishing houses hire a book-packaging company: labor-intensive books (books with many illustrations or photographs, books which require coordinating the input of several authors, or 'novelty' books, such as gardening books that contain seed packages) and series books (e. g. , Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, Goosebumps, and For Dummies series). Nancy Drew (1930-present is an amateur sleuth, the fictional Heroine of a popular Mystery series, aimed at the children - young Sweet Valley High is a Book series created by Francine Pascal, who presided over a team of Ghostwriters for the duration of the series' creation Goosebumps is a series of children's Horror fiction Novellas created and authored by R For Dummies is a prolific series of instructional books which are intended to present non-intimidating guides for readers new to the various topics covered [1]
In many cases, the book is first conceived as a marketing concept, and a writer is then hired to write the book on a work for hire basis. In popular usage "marketing" is the promotion of products especially Advertising and Branding However in professional usage the term has a wider meaning of A work made for hire (sometimes abbreviated as work for hire and WFH) is an exception to the general rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally-recognized In some cases, book packaging companies use a celebrity with a very marketable name as the credited author, while using a professional ghostwriter to do most of the writing, researching, and editing. A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention A ghostwriter is a professional Writer who is paid to write books articles stories reports or other content which are officially credited to another person
Book-packaging is a common strategy between smaller publishers in different territorial markets where the company that first buys the intellectual property rights, sells a package to other publishers and gains an immediate return on capital invested. Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names Indeed, the first publisher will often print sufficient copies for all territories and thereby obtain the maximum quantity discounts on the print run for all.
Remuneration and credit
While the book-packaging sector is little-known outside the publishing world, it provides employment to many freelance authors and illustrators, particularly for those willing to work as ghostwriters, without credit in the book. A ghostwriter is a professional Writer who is paid to write books articles stories reports or other content which are officially credited to another person Most book packaging companies pay a flat rate for manuscripts ranging from several thousand dollars to $1 per word. However, most book packaging companies do not pay royalties, which means that even if a ghostwriter's novel becomes a bestseller, the writer will not receive additional payment. [1]
Often, writers or creators working for book-packagers work anonymously as ghostwriters, under the book-packaging company name ("by our staff writers"), or under a pen name. A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity In some cases, a writer's work will be credited to someone else’s name, such as a celebrity, who is paid to be listed as the credited author as a way of increasing sales. A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention
References
- ^ a b c d Glatzer, Jenna. "Book Packaging: Under-explored Terrain For Freelancers". Absolute Write. Retrieved on January 14, 2007.
External links
- Jenna Glatzer on book-packaging
- International Herald-Tribune story: Teen-lit 'packages': Forget the young writer in a garret
- Slate story: I Coulda Been a Pretender
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