Notting Hill Press offers 11 established authors chance to share their expertise while retaining control and royalties
Not going by the book … Notting Hill Press co-founder Michele Gorman. Photograph: Mark Chilvers
A group of bestselling authors have come together to create what they are calling a new model in publishing, which steers a path between going it alone and following more traditional routes.
Notting Hill Press, founded by the romantic comedy authors Michele Gorman, Belinda Jones and Talli Roland, is working with bestselling names including Chrissie Manby, Matt Dunn and Nick Spalding to offer writers what Gorman calls "the third way". Describing itself as a "hybrid publishing model that combines the best of traditional and independent publishing", Notting Hill Press allows authors to maintain "the solid working relationships they have with their traditional publishers, while also recognising that some books are better-suited to independent publishing in some situations".
The 11 authors currently signed up are set to share their business experience, professional contacts and promotional support while retaining publishing control and royalties in their books. "Each author runs their own independent publishing business under the umbrella of Notting Hill Press. It is a partnership as opposed to top down, when the publisher tells the author what they can and can't do," said Gorman. "It's the third way."
Gorman said that Notting Hill Press – which she believes is unique, because authors pay nothing to the company and it has no financial interest in the authors – will release both ebooks and print titles, depending on what the author requires. "I'm now writing a book my agent will put out to publishers in the UK, and I'm also writing another one I will publish independently through Notting Hill Press. I want to do two or three books a year and my publishers have not been in a position to do that. I tend to write quicker than publishers may want to publish," she said. "A lot of the authors have UK deals but not US deals, and so they have the ability to publish independently under Notting Hill Press in the US, and that tends to be ebook only."
"I was thrilled to be asked to bring my US ebook releases under the Notting Hill Press umbrella," said Manby. "As a self-publishing virgin, I was hugely relieved to be able to draw on the expertise of my incredibly supportive and generous fellow authors. Writing is no longer the solitary profession it was."
Gorman says the number of authors working with Notting Hill Press will not go over 20, because "it would be too unwieldy". But she is hopeful other writers will take similar approaches.
"In an industry undergoing some fairly seismic changes at the moment, I believe that authors working together like this represents an effective and professional 'third way' to publish," said Spalding.
Notting Hill Press, founded by the romantic comedy authors Michele Gorman, Belinda Jones and Talli Roland, is working with bestselling names including Chrissie Manby, Matt Dunn and Nick Spalding to offer writers what Gorman calls "the third way". Describing itself as a "hybrid publishing model that combines the best of traditional and independent publishing", Notting Hill Press allows authors to maintain "the solid working relationships they have with their traditional publishers, while also recognising that some books are better-suited to independent publishing in some situations".
The 11 authors currently signed up are set to share their business experience, professional contacts and promotional support while retaining publishing control and royalties in their books. "Each author runs their own independent publishing business under the umbrella of Notting Hill Press. It is a partnership as opposed to top down, when the publisher tells the author what they can and can't do," said Gorman. "It's the third way."
Gorman said that Notting Hill Press – which she believes is unique, because authors pay nothing to the company and it has no financial interest in the authors – will release both ebooks and print titles, depending on what the author requires. "I'm now writing a book my agent will put out to publishers in the UK, and I'm also writing another one I will publish independently through Notting Hill Press. I want to do two or three books a year and my publishers have not been in a position to do that. I tend to write quicker than publishers may want to publish," she said. "A lot of the authors have UK deals but not US deals, and so they have the ability to publish independently under Notting Hill Press in the US, and that tends to be ebook only."
"I was thrilled to be asked to bring my US ebook releases under the Notting Hill Press umbrella," said Manby. "As a self-publishing virgin, I was hugely relieved to be able to draw on the expertise of my incredibly supportive and generous fellow authors. Writing is no longer the solitary profession it was."
Gorman says the number of authors working with Notting Hill Press will not go over 20, because "it would be too unwieldy". But she is hopeful other writers will take similar approaches.
"In an industry undergoing some fairly seismic changes at the moment, I believe that authors working together like this represents an effective and professional 'third way' to publish," said Spalding.
No comments:
Post a Comment