Publishing is not something to be taken lightly. It’s not the biggest sector in the market, but if you can hit the right spot, it’ll certainly help you rake in big money. Although the Big Five, namely the Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster, have a strong foothold in the market, independent publishing houses are on the increase. Publishers Weekly shares their list of their fastest-growing indie publishers, and here are a few of them:
1. Oak Press LLC. Started by Bella Andre in 2011, Oak Press LLC has experienced a 300% spike in revenue in 2012. All this came from e-book and audiobook sales. To this day, only Bella Andre remains as Oak Press’ full time employee.
2. Papercutz. Founded in 2005 by Terry Nantier, they specialize in publishing graphic novels for kids. They hold licenses for the graphic novel editions of Lego Ninjago, The Smurfs, and Geronimo Stilton. Although most of their titles are e-books, they also produce print titles which are distributed by Macmillan.
3.Turner Publishing. They made the big sales jump in the last 2 years due to founder Todd Bortoff acquiring more than 40 “not-yet-published” frontlist titles from John Wiley. Of their 2,000 active titles they own, 14 are New York Times bestsellers.
4. Pegasus Books. Clairborne Hancock says the company owes its 128% increase in sales since 2011 to the “dynamic development” of its nonfiction program, focusing on science, history, and memoir/biography. They also continued working with Open Road Integrated Media as their e-book partner, helping them achieve a 40% increase in e-book sales from 2012.
These independent publishing companies may have different specialties, but they all possess one thing in common: they always acquire something new. Independent publishing companies are not afraid to take in new titles, as is the case with Turner Publishing. Three of these four publishers have also taken towards the digital age, making most of their sales from e-books and audio books.
Another thing that sets independent publishers apart from the Big Five is that they do not depend too much on the tried and tested. While those in the Big Five are only beginning to look at e-books, audiobooks, and getting up and coming titles from independent authors, independent publishers are looking at getting more people into reading through e-books. They are also looking at more specific audiences, like the case of Papercutz. Independent authors also look forward to working with independent publishers, since they can see eye to eye. It also does not take much to be an independent publisher. With e-books being all the rage in today’s high-tech world, authors can go into publishing e-books instead of looking for big name publishers to distribute their titles. Audiobooks are also becoming more of a viable option for readers. This means an even better chance for independent authors and publishers to earn money.
Independent publishers also have one more ace up their sleeve: they don’t just publish books to make a profit. A lot of independent publishers often look out for the welfare of authors who have great material but do not receive that much attention. It’s a win for everyone, since authors get to publish their books and more people get to read them, all the while giving independent publishers more sales.
