Project Evaluation Best Practices

This best practices post is a component of the PIP Program which is being developed with the intention of combating any mainstream stigma associated with self, or independent, publishing that exists in the market place.

We have created this post to gather input on criteria associated with this topic and its place within the PIP certification process.

We would like to encourage you to contribute your opinion, advice, and expertise on this subject, as a way to help the independent publishing community establish a qualitative process of evalutation for the PIP Program.

If you are interested in contributing to other topics associated with independent publishing, please visit the PIP index and do not hesitate to participate by contributing to those topics that are of interest to you:http://www.spannet.org/page/pip-input-criteria

To read, or critique, the current PIP statement of purpose, visit: http://www.spannet.org/group/PIPcertification/forum/topics/pip-stat...

Tags: Best, Evaluation, Independent, PIP, Practices, Project, Publishing, Self, help, professional

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Permalink Reply by Brad Poulson on June 14, 2011 at 9:58pm

I propose that the decision to become an independent (self) publisher, and the evaluation of projects associated with that decision, should start by identifying the general reasons, or goals, for investing time and money in a project.

From my experience in working with SPAN members and in researching the industry, general goals that are shared by many independent publishers include:

* Maintaining exclusive rights to their book.
* Control over the publishing process (content, design, timing, costs, marketing, and rewards)
* Creating a book that will provide a per-unit return on investment.
* Selling a book that will add a revenue stream to a business platform (Product extension).
* Publishing a book to increase author credibility and/or establish expertise.
* Advancing a cause.
* Producing an emotional return.

Of course, at this point in the process, these goals are not mutually exclusive – you may have several and you should prioritize them. During the evaluation process, all the desired general goals should be considered and then, in the Marketing Planning Best Practices, examined for viability with specific analysis.

Also, I’m sure there are other general goals that I am leaving out, so please feel free to make suggestions.

In this Best Practices Discussion, I think we should keep the goals generalized. I suggest that specific goals (or objectives) should be established during the Marketing Plan Best Practices.

Example:

General, project evaluation goal: Creating a book that will provide a per-unit return on investment. At this stage of the process, it is enough to know that this goal is important and you will have to gather data and do further analysis to see if it is achievable.

Specific Marketing Plan goal (objective): Achieve a 25% per book return on investment. This goal would then require you to estimate number of books printed, total cost of production, estimated sales, and pricing to achieve the specific goal.

Permalink Reply by Pavarti K. Tyler on June 27, 2011 at 7:24am

Excellent points Brad, I think it's also important that the indie/self publisher make a commentment to run this as a business and follow small business best practices and tax laws. It's VERY easy for these kind of endeavors to fall under the hobby-loss law and it's important that those serious comply with the guidelines of how to avoid that.

Permalink Reply by Dave Bricker on June 27, 2011 at 11:51am

I'm not sure how these business goals would fit into an overall evaluation process. For example, some have goals that are entirely commercial. Others have goals that are entirely artistic. There's a broad spectrum in between.

Though the prevailing publishing wisdom tells writers to identify an audience and develop a book product for that market, that approach overlooks the fact that most fiction books are written for simple artistic expression. With nonfiction books, it makes sense to establish a target market, a solid business strategy and a business plan, but fiction often has a different set of parameters.

For all indy writers, it makes economic sense to avoid subsidy publishers, and manage your own business and creative processes, but instead of evaluating the merits of a publisher's business strategies and their ability to generate book income, a more useful approach might be to determine whether or not they understand enough about the publishing industry to form realistic expectations about what their returns will be and in what form of currency they can expect to receive them.

A simple survey or interview could easily help make this determination.

Permalink Reply by Wolf Hoelscher on June 17, 2011 at 9:07am

Brad, I believe that one of the most important factors in making a successful transition from author to publisher is understanding that publishing is a team sport. Collaboration with other professionals is vital if you want others in the industry (and readers) to take you seriously. Understand your limitations and find qualified professionals who can help your business succeed.

For more about my thoughts on collaboration, check out my post "Do You Know Your Publishing Limitations?" as well as other articles on Pubmission: The Blog.