This topic is quite special to authors and publishers alike and is going to help you understand how publishing works and how you too can be a part of this process.
Today we are going to talk about imprints.
Now you might be thinking what is a publishing imprint?
You might even be asking this question about what kind of a tool or even what kind of a document it is.
Well, you already know what an imprint is and have probably seen hundreds of imprints in your life.
This blog will serve as a guide to publishing imprints.
WHAT IS A PUBLISHING IMPRINT?
A publishing imprint is basically a trade name or a brand name for a company for publishing a book. A publishing company which is also a traditional publisher may have many imprint names that they publish under.
They may publish different types of books under different imprint names and the imprint names may also be dictated by the preference of the author.
A publishing company can own a lot of imprint names to publish different types of books.
In India, a publishing company has different imprint names for textbooks and different ones for works of fiction and other books.
This is done so that the schools do not confuse textbooks for some other piece of literature and that their brand name as a textbook provider is implanted.
WHY DO IMPRINTS MATTER?
You might have asked yourself this question why do publishers have imprints or rather why do imprints even matter?
To be true about it, imprints do not matter if you are starting from the ground up. If you are a self-published author starting out and you want to have an imprint under your name, then imprints are not for you.
In that way in self-publishing imprints do not matter.
On the other hand, if you are a self-published author who is thinking about using a reputed publishing house to publish your book and if you are thinking of utilising the already popular name then imprints can be useful for you.
You can then take a look at the publishing imprint list to find out which is the perfect imprint that will go along with your book.
The advantage of this is that you will get to utilise the popularity and the reputation of an already established imprint to use for your book which will mean that the regular readers of that imprint are going to look at your book simply for the fact that this imprint has chosen your book.
WHAT SHOULD A SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR CHOOSE?
When we are talking about a self-published author, we mean every kind of self-published author. That does not simply mean that the author is writing a crime thriller or a book of fiction.
That author can be a textbook author and they can write books which students read and therefore they can do a few things.
It is better to go with a reliable and reputable publisher which has a substantial reader base for textbooks. After choosing that kind of publisher, you must then choose the imprint which describes their work best.
Maybe you write about science and therefore you must choose the imprint which only does science publications for textbooks.
If the author chooses to do literature, then they can use the literature imprint.
In this case, it is best to listen to the publishing house even if you are a self-published author because when it comes to textbooks the market is quite different.
That distribution channels matter quite a lot compared to any other type of book and therefore it is best to listen to the publisher.
If you are a self-published author and you write fiction then you can go on a different path.
You can choose between the various imprints that the publishing house has for friction and then you can choose the appropriate one.
Or you can do another thing and that is to go for your very own imprint name.
That imprint’s name should also be accompanied by the logo and you must also take the extra effort to market this imprint into the literature world.
WHAT IS THE RISK OF GOING WITH YOUR IMPRINT?
When we talk about going with your own imprint, we mean that you use and create a new imprint under which you publish all your books.
Before we go forward with this, let us tell you that this can be done but this is exceptionally rare.
This is rare due to a number of factors and one of the most important reasons is because it is always easy to start a business on a crowded street than on a deserted field.
Likewise, the main risk that the self-published author is taking here is that they are publishing with an imprint name which is unknown.
While the advantages of this may be there but the disadvantages outweigh that.
You not only have to create your own imprint and do all these but then again you have to spend the extra time and effort in marketing that imprint so that it reaches the common eye.
Even after doing so there is no guarantee that this imprint is going to be popular and if you have second thoughts midway then you would have wasted a lot of resources including time and money on doing something not worthwhile.
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
The solution to this problem is simple and that is you can publish and select from the different imprints that your publisher has.
You can choose between the names and go for the name with which your kind of work is associated with.
This will not only help you by removing all the hassle of trying to create a new imprint but it will provide you with an already created platform.
By platform, we mean that this imprint name is already out there in the market and if you are to publish something with this name then you are going to have a lot of readers who will simply buy your book because they are familiar with the imprint.
That is the kind of power that an imprint holds.
If you are someone who is willing to find a reputable publisher with a reputable imprint then you do not have to look any further. We are Orange Publishers and we are the fastest growing and most popular book publisher in India. We have published dozens of titles under our imprint and we can safely say your book will be recognised in the market with our imprint. Come publish with us today.
