I interviewed the owner of a small business that assists writers with publishing. Called Transtemporal Publishing, the business has been around since early 2010. They have worked with a number of clients over this duration of time. Their primary goal is to help aspiring writers publish their manuscripts in a polished format. The business has two full-time employees and two part-time employees.
Transtemporal Publishing, the owner stressed, does not print the books they publish. Rather, the final manuscripts are proofread and edited; then, they are sent out to a publishing house. Much of the work that Transtemporal Publishing does is research. For example, if a client comes to them with an idea, they will research the marketplace thoroughly to see if the idea is something that will work in a book format. They have one full-time researcher who also sells services to prospective clients. The business is a step-by-step publisher insofar that they specialize in novice writers.
The owner of the business (who asked to maintain his anonymity) graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English and Journalism. For many years, he worked as a journalist before he began his own business. During that time, he discovered that many people who had ideas for books were too afraid to research their ideas and/or did not know anything about publishing them, as well as finding a viable market for books. Many things have changed in a very short period of time, the owner explained, as there has been a shift from paper books to electronic books -- or e-books. It has been a challenging time, but people still need to do research and write books. Much of what has been published has been fiction and some non-fiction, especially about technical subjects such as medicine.
The business also receives a lot of research and writing assignments from scholastic publishers who outsource their work to smaller, more-focused enterprises such as Transtemporal. Much of the owner's job is focused on proofreading and editing manuscripts until they reach their finalized versions. They also employ a part-time graphic designer who assists clients with book cover design, some marketing, audio book, and trailer development. Their other part-time employee is a bookkeeper who records revenues and expenses, as the owner is too busy with the main functions and goals of the business.
The owner advised that students who want to become employed in the publishing world begin learning everything they can immediately, and staying on top of technology because it changes so fast. Another recommendation that he offered is to always be business-like yet friendly to everyone, as they could wind up being a potential client. These days, he said, one must utilize social media to the maximum because it is free marketing and advertising for your goods and/or services.
The future is uncertain in the world of assisted publishing, as well as large publishing houses. Books are losing out to other forms of media, but e-books are becoming especially popular, given the wide range of e-reader options, such as Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook. Also, people now read books on their computers, tablets, and smartphones, so the marketing tactics of the business have necessarily changed. Certain technical aspects such as formatting have also been changing rapidly. Regardless of the business, the owner stated that one must be self-motivated and self-taught (to some degree) in order to succeed.
