The Process
Clay Bridges Press partners with authors through publishing and beyond.
Printing
At Clay Bridges Press, we believe that you should have printing options and not be shoved into only one print avenue.
Every author needs to have the ability to Print on Demand (POD) if they want to have their books easily available on Amazon. But authors shouldn’t have to be forced into a POD only option, making it expensive for them to also purchase and sell books for events and speaking engagements.
Giving authors multiple options, from POD to Short Run, Mid Run, Long Run, and Specialty prints is part of what makes an author’s sales more profitable.
Editing
Editing should have tiers. One size doesn’t fit all.
Some authors come with a well-written manuscript that needs only a simple proofread. Others, however, come with an amazing concept that needs content or developmental work. Many come with a book that is well-written, but could benefit from a line edit to truly polish the flow and pacing of the book.
Having flexibility allows the right edit for your book. This is an important consideration for both your time and your budget.
Many publishers out there will simply run a manuscript through a computer program to find glaring errors in grammar. Yes, we can do that. In fact, we do it regularly as a part of quality control. However, it shouldn’t be your only step in editing and, in truth, it’s a process that most authors can do themselves.
The computer gets it right–many times. However, it also gets it wrong–many times. But more importantly, a digital grammar check certainly doesn’t dig into the nuances that better the book for the cadence and flow for the reader.
Design
Design isn’t about forcing an image with a title. It’s about grabbing the audience.
We take the design side very seriously at Clay Bridges Press. We want to know your vision and create an experience of your vision coming to life.
We also bring our expertise in graphics, color theory, online sales theory, and design to help you navigate not only your vision–but how to blend that into a full brand that helps support your book.
Once the cover is created, we are able to use this branding for a full cover, 3D images, social quote cards, seller sheets, and so on. Through this branding process, the author has tools at their disposal to help them in their outreach exposure, making it much easier to share without “selling”.
Layout
Layout should carry the brand, rather than simply acting as a template.
Layouts can be created following a template–and yes, they will look clean–but they will not carry the weight of a brand and adequately capture the audience.
We are firm believers that a template shouldn’t be used. Rather, each book has its own individual needs. Fonts, chapter headings, images, headers, footers, page numbers, and even where a page starts are all aspects of that branding that run through the book.
These elements can either make your book feel “self published” or make it polished and complete.
Marketing
Marketing should be a marriage of exposure, relations, and branding. It shouldn’t rest fully on either the author or the publisher.
Marketing is about reaching the retailers and the end buyers. There are parts of this where the author needs the publisher to help. Likewise, there are aspects where the Publisher needs your help. At Clay Bridges Press, we work together to market your book so your audience can readily find your work.
Understanding the ever-changing world of marketing and distribution is why it is so important to have a full team on hand.
Schedule a Free Consultation
Want to learn more about working with Clay Bridges? Schedule a Free Consulation with one of our publishing experts!