GB PRESS is moving away from focusing on POD to a Digital First, Paper Later publishing standard. I started GB PRESS last year to showcase new writers that I knew, and let them take advantage of the same editors and graphic designers that I was using for my own books. So far, we have only published my two three books. We have some others in the pipeline and hopefully they will be coming out later this year.
We initially focused on producing high-quality, Print On Demand paperbacks. These books were professionally edited and designed and were limited to only a handful of writer friends. GB PRESS does not make any money in producing these books. It is to the authors to pay the editors and designers for their work. The press is more of a collaborative union of independent artists. Our goal was first and foremost the creation of beautiful books. But that ideology is shifting away from paper back books and towards e-books.
GB PRESS is moving towards an e-book first and paper back second method of publishing. The costs of creating an e-book are not really that much less than creating a POD book. You still have to have a cover, although only a front cover. You still have to have the book formatted a special way, and you still have to have it professionally edited. However, what makes the e-book market so inviting, is that it’s easier to get readers to notice you in the digital markets. For new authors and artist to get noticed they have to have quality product and they have to be out there on the web engaging the public with Twitter, blogs and other social media.
From now on, when GB PRESS brings a title to the market, we will first debut an e-book and then, when the e-book develops an audience, we will focus on bringing it out in trade paperback. For some titles that may be a short period of time. For newer authors, that may be several months or years. It will be the responsibility of the author to generate interest and a social network for themselves and their books.