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The Seven Distinctions of Deep River Books
Seven Ways That Deep River Books Is Different from Self-Publishers
#1 First, self-publishers or POD (Print on Demand) will usually take anyone who can write the check. They are a “book mill” with no risk in the outcome of the book. Whereas Deep River carefully screens manuscripts in an effort to select only books we think have a chance to succeed in the broader marketplace. We, in turn, pass on hundreds of manuscripts for every manuscript our editorial review team accepts.
#2 Second, most self-publishers do a glorified spell check and call it editing. Deep River works with some of the best editors on a freelance basis. We do extensive back and forth editing with the author in both concept and technical editing, making sure the book is the best it can be. Our editors point out the areas where the book can be improved and it is the authors decision to accept the suggestion or reject it. Editing is one of our strengths that our authors rave about.
#3 Third, most self-publishers make a few revisions to a stock cover template they have and slap it on the book. Deep River hires some of the best (award winning) cover designers in the industry who are required to read the manuscript and then custom design the cover to fit the contents of the book. Our cover designers give us two to four concept ideas from which we select the best layout, then tweak it to be as good as it can be for the final cover. Good covers are crucial to bookstore sales.
#4 Fourth, most self-publishers have a standard “template” they use to flow in the type, so virtually all their books look the same on the interior. Same layout, same boring fonts, little creativity. Whereas Deep River’s interior designers custom create a template for every book we do, so that the interior design goes with the cover design and has a fresh look and flow to the book.
#5 Fifth, self-publishers use Print On Demand. Basically that means the can print one copy at a time, which is exactly what they do. They print the copies you order and usually only the copies you order. There is no effort to print enough copies to stock them on the shelves of retail stores across the country and no distribution centers that stock books for upcoming orders. Deep River uses offset printing. And we not only print the copies you purchase, we print many more for our retail sales efforts and our two distribution centers located in Tennessee and Nevada. Our initial print runs range from 1500 copies to 12,000 copies, depending on the pre-sales numbers from our sales team. We also supply many wholesale distributors with books to stock in their warehouse for future orders from both stores and individuals. And we have a “just-in-time” inventory system that triggers a reprint when the warehouse supply reaches a certain level so we have books flowing out in a seamless manner to the retail trade.
Some authors question why the costs are higher with Deep River than they are with a self-publisher. Keep in mind that the retail price of a book is not just based on printing costs. There are thousands of dollars of costs in editing, cover design, marketing, and sales. There are sales commissions to pay as well. Stores require an average 50% discount margin on retail so we end up selling books for substantially less than the retail price. Self-publishers never intend to sell copies to stores, so they don’t have to deal with the wholesale margins required by us. Not to mention that bookstores have 100% credit return options on all books not sold....copies the publisher prints and then has to “eat” if they are returned. So our margins are completely different.
#6 Sixth (and here is one of the most important differences), most self-publishers list your title at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and call it distribution. In truth, anyone can list a book there as they take all comers. Your title is then buried among millions of titles listed there and has little or nothing to do with exposure or sales. Deep River has a 15+ member sales team who work full time selling our books into the retail trade. We have sales people (boots on the ground) who live in regional parts of the country and have territories where they make face-to-face calls every quarter to bookstore buyers who represent over 2000 bookstores. We also have key account reps who call on the big box stores and distributors. And we pay competitive royalties to the author on everything we sell through the stores.
#7 Last, but not least, we have a promotions team that helps get exposure for our authors. We do email blasts to our list of 1200 media contacts, we feature our titles at major book trade shows, we help develop the promotional materials, we place catalog ads, and we send out review copies to major publications. Our authors have appeared on many of the major radio networks and major television talk shows across the country. They have been featured at the International Christian Retail Trade Show and at BookExpo, as well as other major book shows. We also have contacts with outside PR firms who offer our authors discounts on various services should the author decide to do even more.
All in all, it is more accurate to compare Deep River with a traditional royalty publisher. The ONLY difference is that we ask the author to partner with us in the initial print run by purchasing a minimum quantity of books.