Note: The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site.
Contents
- 1 Is the publisher the same as the website name?
- 2 How do you cite a website without publisher?
- 3 How easy is it to find a publisher?
- 4 How do you cite a website with no publisher or date?
- 5 What is an example of a publisher?
- 6 Who is the author of this website?
- 7 How do I find reference information from a website?
- 8 Do you need to cite publisher?
- 9 Is the copyright the publisher?
- 10 What is considered a publisher?
What is the publisher on a website?
The publisher of a website is generally the organization or individual who created the website.
What if I Cannot find the publisher of a website?
6 Easy Tricks to Find the Publisher or Sponsor of a Website
- Most websites list the publisher and publication date in small text at the bottom of the page. It’ll usually be a company or organization name.
- If there’s no publisher in the footer, check the About, Contact, or Legal pages.
- Try doing a whois lookup on the domain, searching the web for the website and “publisher,” or locating the site’s page on a social media site.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the website’s main page to find the publisher. Most websites add a footer to the bottom of the Home page that contains the publisher or organization’s name and copyright notice.
- Look for the copyright symbol © in the footer of the site’s main page. “Inc” or “LLC” might follow the publisher’s name if it’s a company.
- Sometimes the publisher will be the same or similar to the name of the website. For example, if you’re, the publisher is wikiHow, If you’re on the New York Times website, the publisher is New York Times.
- If you’re creating an, you don’t have to list the publisher if the content is in a periodical (including journals, newspapers, and magazines), is self-published, or hosted by a third-party hosting platform (like YouTube or WordPress).
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- Look for a tab or link to a page called About Us, Contact, or Legal. You’ll often find these pages in a website’s main menu, header, or at the bottom of the page. These pages often supply more information about the business or organization behind a website, including the publisher or sponsoring organization.
- You may also find more information about the organization on pages called Team, Staff, or Careers.
- A simple domain lookup will often provide the publisher or sponsor name. The site’s domain name (e.g., wikiHow.com or Microsoft.com ) will typically be registered to the official publishing organization. To, you can do a “whois” lookup, which will typically provide the name of the organization that registered the domain.
- One easy whois lookup tool is, Just type the domain name (including the,com,,org, or other domain suffix) into the field at the top of the page and click the blue magnifying glass to search.
- The business or organization that registered the domain name will appear in the “Registrant Contact Information” section next to “Name.”
- Some domain registrants choose to keep this information private. If you see something like “Contract Privacy Inc” or any other text that indicates the registrant is private, you won’t want to —it’s not the name of the publisher.
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If the website’s owners have a social media presence, you can often find the publisher or sponsor information easily. Many online publications, including blogs and journals, have a, account, or even a presence on, Search for the name of the website or blog on different platforms to find the name of the company or organization behind the content.
If there’s an author listed on the page or article, you can try contacting them for more information. Sometimes clicking the author’s name on the post or article will bring you to a more detailed page that includes the author’s bio, contact information, and the organization they represent. If you plan to cite the publisher in your essay, paper, or web content, you can send an email or direct message to the author to ask for the proper publisher to add to your citation.
Ask a Question Advertisement Written by: wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer,, Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 13,462 times. : 6 Easy Tricks to Find the Publisher or Sponsor of a Website
Whole Website, Author and Publisher are the Same Often, when it appears that a website has no author, the organization who publishes the site is also the author. When this is the case, omit the author element and list the organization as the publisher.
How do I find a publisher?
How to Find a Book Publisher: 11 Steps (with Pictures)
- 1 Write a query letter that introduces your protagonist and conflict. Your query letter is the most important part of the submission package you will be sending to prospective literary agents. Therefore, you want to be thorough and professional while also demonstrating that you have a unique quality that sets you apart from other writers in the genre. Give agents a reason to think you are exceptional! The key components of the query letter are:
- General information about your book: title, word count, genre
- Description of the hook: introduce the protagonist and main conflict
- Brief bio: relevant writing credits, credentials, and awards.
- 2 Prepare a synopsis of your book with an overview of the narrative. A book synopsis provides an overview of your novel’s entire narrative arc. This document reveals any major flaws in plot, conflict, and character development, and agents use it to determine if the events of the novel are realistic and make sense. A book synopsis should be approximately one page, and accomplish the following three purposes:
- Show the character arc and motivations of the protagonist
- Give a clear idea of the core conflict, as well as what is driving it
- Demonstrate how the conflict is resolved, and how the protagonist has changed
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- 3 Build your writer’s platform by sharing your work with readers. A writer’s platform refers to the size of that writer’s existing audience. It is important to build up your own writer’s platform prior to sending your submission package because this demonstrates that you already have access to readers of your book. Good strategies for building a writer’s platform include:
- Writing a blog
- Building your social media presence
- Sharing your work with local writing communities
- 4 Find an agent by assessing your own creative values. Before choosing your representation, you should be confident that the agent shares your values. Ask yourself whether you prefer an agent with more resources and a large clientele or an independent agent who will invest more time in your work; whether you want an agent who will be active in the creative process or one who will focus primarily on the financial aspect instead. Then, identify strong candidates using online databases. These include:
- PublishersMarketplace.com
- AgentQuery.com
- QueryTracker.net
- WritersMarket.com
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- 1 Create a book proposal that highlights your marketability. Before you can find a publisher for your book, you need to prepare a book proposal. The book proposal is similar to the book synopsis, but it is more focused on financial viability — after all, you need to demonstrate that the publisher will make money from publishing your book. The four main components of a book proposal are:
- A strong introduction, re-stating your writing credentials
- An outline of the structure of your book with a chapter-by-chapter analysis
- An overview of other books that address similar themes and are competing for the same readership
- An assessment of the market for your genre, as well as a specific marketing plan to sell your book
- 2 Identify prospective publishers by researching other books in your genre. The most straight-forward way of finding a publisher for your manuscript is by researching books that are similar to yours. The publishers of these books are the ones who specialize in your genre and, therefore, are more likely to consider publishing your book as well. Query these publishers directly with your submission package.
- 3 Make publishing contacts by attending conferences and reaching out to peers. Publishing and writing conferences offer valuable opportunities to make connections within the publishing world. While publishing conferences offer greater access to the industry, writing conferences provide a more intimate setting for you to meet prospective publishers – albeit on a much smaller scale. Additionally, writing conferences will allow you to meet other published writers who can then connect you with proven publishing resources.
- 4 Find prospective publishers by searching online databases. Online databases are yet another resource for contacting publishers. While these are the least personal option, they provide the greatest access to prospective publishers. Some trustworthy online databases include:
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- 1 Evaluate publishers by assessing their previous success. A publisher’s main responsibility after purchasing a manuscript is to market the book and, ultimately, sell as many copies as possible. A good indicator of publishing success, therefore, is to check your prospective publishers’ book sales. Additionally, you should consider contacting other writers who have been published by the same publishers. Many are willing to advise fellow writers about a publisher’s strengths.
- 2 Compare philosophies by asking questions about their practice. When working with traditional publishers, writers give up a lot of creative control. Therefore, you should ask prospective publishers to articulate their philosophies and objectives for your manuscript. What matters to them, artistically? How do they plan on honoring your own wishes? Does it matter to you how much say you have in the final product? If so, find a publisher who is willing to listen.
- 3 Assess compatibility by attending a face-to-face meeting. When you have narrowed your list of prospective publishers to a few remaining finalists, you should arrange face-to-face meetings with all of them. In addition to getting definitive answers to your questions, these meetings allow you to determine if your personalities and styles are compatible. This is no small determination — after all, you will be interacting very closely with your agent!
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- Question How hard is it to get an agent for a book? Entrepreneurship Coach Zachary Green is an Entrepreneurship Coach, Author, and U.S. Marine Corp Veteran. With over 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he specializes in helping people transform their businesses, relationships, and lives. Zachary’s book, Warrior Entrepreneur, focuses on how warrior traits can help entrepreneurs, leaders, and others battle through adversity and accomplish their missions. Zachary was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, on the front page of Yahoo.com, MSN.com, and in USA Today, along with numerous other local and national media outlets, and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Governor John Kasich. Zachary was also selected by the Obama White House as one of 10 entrepreneurs to represent the United States at the Global Entrepreneur Summit. He was also featured in the US Playing Cards Frontline Leaders playing card series as one of 52 veteran entrepreneurs. Zachary earned a BA in Marketing and Sports Management from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He won the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013, the SBA Ohio Small Business Exporter of the Year in 2016, a Spartan Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017, and a President’s E Award in 2019. It can be difficult! Realistically, agents aren’t going to talk to you unless of 1 of 2 things happens: 1) You’ve already published a book that’s sold over 5,000 copies or 2) You have a good following on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. At the end of the day, agents are exceptionally lazy—they only want to be working with people they don’t have to do much work with.
- Question How do I network with publishers? Entrepreneurship Coach Zachary Green is an Entrepreneurship Coach, Author, and U.S. Marine Corp Veteran. With over 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he specializes in helping people transform their businesses, relationships, and lives. Zachary’s book, Warrior Entrepreneur, focuses on how warrior traits can help entrepreneurs, leaders, and others battle through adversity and accomplish their missions. Zachary was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, on the front page of Yahoo.com, MSN.com, and in USA Today, along with numerous other local and national media outlets, and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Governor John Kasich. Zachary was also selected by the Obama White House as one of 10 entrepreneurs to represent the United States at the Global Entrepreneur Summit. He was also featured in the US Playing Cards Frontline Leaders playing card series as one of 52 veteran entrepreneurs. Zachary earned a BA in Marketing and Sports Management from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He won the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013, the SBA Ohio Small Business Exporter of the Year in 2016, a Spartan Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017, and a President’s E Award in 2019. Be memorable! The best opportunity to get someone to invest in you is to get them to remember who you are. You could do this with a really unique business card (like one made with metal or leather), or you could dress in a memorable outfit or wear a memorable accessory.
- Question Can an 11 year old publish a book? Yes! Just find an agent. Anybody of any age can publish a book. They don’t care about age, just your content.
Ask a Question Advertisement Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about publishing a book, check out our in-depth with, This article was co-authored by, Zachary Green is an Entrepreneurship Coach, Author, and U.S. Marine Corp Veteran.
- With over 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he specializes in helping people transform their businesses, relationships, and lives.
- Zachary’s book, Warrior Entrepreneur, focuses on how warrior traits can help entrepreneurs, leaders, and others battle through adversity and accomplish their missions.
Zachary was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, on the front page of Yahoo.com, MSN.com, and in USA Today, along with numerous other local and national media outlets, and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Governor John Kasich. Zachary was also selected by the Obama White House as one of 10 entrepreneurs to represent the United States at the Global Entrepreneur Summit.
He was also featured in the US Playing Cards Frontline Leaders playing card series as one of 52 veteran entrepreneurs. Zachary earned a BA in Marketing and Sports Management from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He won the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013, the SBA Ohio Small Business Exporter of the Year in 2016, a Spartan Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017, and a President’s E Award in 2019.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 32,195 times. : How to Find a Book Publisher: 11 Steps (with Pictures)
Is the publisher the same as the website name?
In the MLA format, you use the following elements for citing a website on your Works Cited page: Name of Individual/Corporation/Group/Organization that authored the work. “Title of Section.” Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL.
Accessed access date. Author : The author can be an individual or a group of individuals, such as an organization, corporation, or government agency*. The author is whoever is responsible for creating the information. Although less common, some works do not have an author and are considered anonymous.
If this is the case, you skip the author element of the citation and continue with whatever information you do have. Publisher: Whoever is making the website available to you.You can usually find the publisher next to the copyright information at the very bottom of the homepage on a website.
- If the publisher is essentially the same as the name of the website, you can skip the publisher element.
- Organizations/Groups as Author: When the author of the information is a group, you list the group/organization’s name in the author element.
- For example: Centre for Teaching Excellence.
- Receiving and Giving Effective Feedback.” University of Waterloo, uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/assessing-student-work/grading-and-feedback/receiving-and-giving-effective-feedback.
Accessed 1 Oct.2021. The author and the publisher of a website are sometimes the same. When this happens, simply skip the author element of the citation that would normally come first. In the following citation, for example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the government organization that is both responsible for authoring the information and publishing it online: “Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.
- Department of Health and Human Services, 5 Feb.2019, www.cdc.gov/mrsa/index.html.
- Accessed 20 Feb.2019.
- In this citation, the World Health Organization is the author, publisher, and the name of the website: “Syria Crisis.” World Health Organization, 2021, www.who.int/emergencies/situations/syria-crisis.
Accessed 30 Sept.2021. In-Text Citations: Use whatever comes first from your Works Cited entry in your in-text citation, along with a page number (if applicable). This can be shortened to a noun phrase for long titles or organization names. For example: (“Syria Crisis”) (“Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus “) (Center for Teaching) *Note: For information on how to cite congressional and legal documents, see “Documenting Legal Works in the MLA Style.” Sources: MLA Style Center – Corporate Authors Owl at Purdue, MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)
How do you cite a website without publisher?
How to Cite a Website with No Author / / / / How to Cite a Website with No Author Share to Google Classroom The exact formatting of website citations for websites without an author depends on which citation style you are using, but the general rules are the same.
For example, it is usually preferable to list the title of the webpage article first if no author is available. Here is how to cite a webpage without an author in three of the most popular citation styles: APA 7, MLA 9, and Chicago (17th ed.). APA 7 Reference Entry Template: Title of webpage/article. (Year, Month Date of publication).
In Website Name, URL Reference Entry Example: Giant panda. (2022, June 29). In Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda When there isn’t a known author, use the source’s title in the in-text citation. For titles usually italicized in the reference entry (books, films, etc.), italicize the title in the in-text citation.
- Parenthetical Citation:
- (“Title,” Year) or ( Title, Year)
- (“Giant Panda,” 2022)
- Narrative Citation:
- “Title” (Year) or ( Title, Year)
- “Giant Panda” (2022)
- MLA 9
- Works Cited Entry Template:
“Title of the Webpage/Entry.” Title of the Website, Name of the publisher (if different from the website name), Date of publication, URL. Example: “Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy.” CNN.com, 6 Jan.2006, http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/china.taiwan.ap/index.html When there isn’t a known author, use the source’s title in the in-text citation.
- Citation in Prose:
- “Title” (page number)
- “Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy” says Taiwan may not accept the gift of two pandas (1).
- Parenthetical Citation:
- (“Title” Page #) or ( Title Page #)
- Taiwan may not accept the gift of two pandas (“Tawain Cool to China Panda-plomacy 1).
- Chicago (17th ed., note-bibliography style)
- Note Template:
“Article Title,” Website Title, Month Day, Year, URL.
Note Example:
“Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy.” CNN.com, January 6, 2006, http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/china.taiwan.ap/index.html.
Bibliography Template: “Article Title.” Website Title, Month Day, Year. URL. Bibliography Example: “Taiwan Cool to China Panda-plomacy.” CNN.com, January 6, 2006. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/china.taiwan.ap/index.html. For more citation help, visit the ! How do I cite a website with no author, date, or title in MLA format? To cite a website with no author, date, or title in MLA format, it is important that you know the name of the website and URL.
- In-text citation template and example:
- (Website Name)
- ( Chegg )
- Works cited list entry template and example:
Name of the Website, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. Chegg,, Accessed 21 Aug.2021. Abbreviate the month in the accessed date field. : How to Cite a Website with No Author
How easy is it to find a publisher?
Traditional Publishing – When seeking a publisher, you are facing an uphill battle. Thousands of hopefuls send their novels to publishers per week, and the majority get rejected, Most publishers don’t allow unsolicited manuscripts, so it doesn’t matter how good or talented you are.
These publishers won’t even see your work. If you can find a publisher, you will have the benefits of their resources, and your work is more likely to be seen because they will promote it and help you do the same. Publishers often send writers on book tours, interviews and provide guidance on running a social media campaign.
The average salary for a published author is $49,046, according to Indeed, This amount can vary widely depending on your book’s success and subsequent books, which can build your fanbase.
How do you cite a website with no publisher or date?
LibGuides: APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Websites Author It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an “About” section on a website.
If there is no known author, you can start the citation with the title of the website instead. However, APA tends to reserve this type of citation for a very small set of sources: for example, The Bible and some dictionaries and encyclopedias such as Wikipedia (which should not form a central part of your research).
Date The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.
- Title
- Titles of websites should be in plain text but use italics for webpages, articles, etc.
- Retrieval Date
Most website citations in APA 7th Edition do not require a retrieval date. Unfortunately, however, determining which situations require this date can be challenging. If you use a stable, archived version of a web page, no retrieval date is needed. But if you use a web page that is continually updated, providing a retrieval date can help clarify inconsistencies between the page when you viewed it and when it was viewed by your reader.
Is WordPress a website publisher?
Web Publishing (WordPress) WordPress Web Publishing is a flexible environment for building websites and blogs. It makes it easy to create blog posts and web pages, customize the design, add navigation menus, and more. Ready to start building your site? with your NetID and password and start creating your site! Web Publishing makes it easy for you to make a site that looks good and is easy to use.
- Change the look easily by changing the “Theme.” All our themes are responsive, which means they work just as well on a desktop as a mobile device.
- Make sure you share your site with only the right people.Web Publishing’s robust privacy settings give you fine-tuned control over who can access your site and individual pages.
Web Publishing can be used to host a wide variety of content. The fundamentals of Web Publishing are Posts and Pages. This content can be anything: an essay, a schedule, or photos and videos. You can use Web Publishing for many things. Faculty: use it to communicate with your students.
Is the publisher the owner?
Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 10/27/2020 – 8:43pm Usually, the author of the creative work is the owner of the copyright. But in the publishing industry, the owner of the copyright may be the publishing company due to an agreement between the author and the publisher,
Some of the big names in book publishing are Random House, DoubleDay, and Penguin, Sharon Boone discusses why this is the case very concisely: In some cases, the author of written material will sell the copyright of the material to another person or company, making the purchaser of the copyright the new owner of the copyrighted material.
Additionally, there is a long list of transferable rights for the written material which the copyright owner can contract to other parties or individuals when seeking to profit from the copyrighted material. Sometimes, even though a book is published by a major publisher, the author still owns the copyright.
- This is because the author can give a license which gives the publisher temporary limited permission to use the story, instead of a full assignment, which permanently transfers all rights to the book.
- Boone elaborates on the issue: The publication of copyrighted material by someone other than the owner require the copyright owners permission which can be accomplished by a licensing agreement or by contracting specific usage rights to the other parties or individuals.
Neither these actions will require the author to sell or lose their ownership of the copyrighted material. This is the ideal situation for an author because it allows them to determine whether to authorize an adaptation of their book (making the book into a movie) and other commercialization ventures.
Due to the creative authority retained by the author, it is difficult to negotiate such a contract. If you are a writer looking to see who owns a copyright in a specific book or just curious, feel free to contact New Media Rights via our contact form to find out whether you qualify for free or reduced fee legal services.
We also offer competitive full fee legal services on a selective basis. For more information on the services we provide click here, Find additional articles by
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Final Thoughts – An author and publisher are not the same person and have very different roles to fulfill while working towards the publication of a book, However, there are some distinct overlaps in their responsibilities and they must communicate and share ideas consistently throughout the entire process, from editing to sales.
What is an example of a publisher?
Not all book publishers operate in the same way. The size of their operations and the type of arrangements with authors make a significant difference – By Jay Silveratus |Updated April 8, 2020 There are two main approaches to book publishing: traditional and nontraditional. Traditional book publishers can be subdivided into large, medium, and small publishers. Nontraditional publishing can be classified as hybrid publishing, self-publishing, and vanity presses.
This article provides additional information about each of these types of book publishers. Large Publishing Companies Trade publishers and large book publishing companies are responsible for most of the titles sold in bookstore chains. Examples include the ones known as the “big five,” which include Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster.
These companies are usually the ones that are financially able to provide larger advances to authors after signing their publishing contracts, and offer royalties from the sales of the books they publish, which is a strong motivation to pitch nonfiction works to these publishing companies.
Large companies are also better able to implement more expensive publicity, marketing and advertising campaigns, use teams of salespeople, and benefit from their established relationships in the publishing industry to have their books widely distributed and reach more readers. These publishing companies, however, are less likely to take a chance on an unknown author, which makes the process more difficult for those trying to pitch their first books.
Authors may have better prospects of publishing a book with these companies by using the services of an experienced and qualified literary agent. Mid-size Traditional Publishers Like large traditional publishers, mid-size book publishing companies can be profit-driven or mission-driven, and are usually looking for manuscripts that are likely to attract healthy profits or disseminate the type of knowledge that contributes to their institutional or strategic goals.
Many mid-size publishers are sometimes supported and sponsored by larger institutions, like in the case of university presses, NGOs, media groups, and the publishing branches of professional associations, among others. In the cases of existing affiliations, their publishing goals may be closely aligned with the genres closest to the mission of the sponsoring institutions.
These publishers are usually less likely to offer significant advances on royalties for writers without a proven track record of sales and profits. The earnings for authors may be substantially less, but their publishing processes may be less cumbersome than those of large publishers.
These companies may be more open to niche nonfiction works as well. While the most profit-oriented companies prefer submissions prescreened by literary agents, some of them also accept direct submissions by authors, as long as their submission procedures are closely observed. Small and Independent Publishers For writers making their first expedition into publishing, small presses, also known as independent publishing companies, may be a good choice for initial submissions.
These publishers are usually more open to experimental and innovative works, alternative points of view, and unusual nonfiction works. Books that do not closely fit within established genres, or those with small and/or specialized audiences, are also more likely to be considered by small publishers.
Examples include books of creative nonfiction and fictionalized accounts of real events, also referred to as “faction.” Some small publishers are also mission-driven, so they are more likely to publish books whose contribution to public knowledge, the dissemination of lessons, or the advancement of a cause is more important than monetary considerations.
The downside of small and independent publishers is that their ability to market the books they publish is often limited, and they usually lack the publicity and dissemination channels enjoyed by larger companies. These constraints oftentimes translate in low volumes of book sales, which is particularly relevant for authors looking to secure economic benefits from their book sales.
- Acknowledging this situation, many of these companies encourage the authors to lead the marketing efforts of their books, coaching them in the process of building their author platforms and supporting them in this journey with some limited marketing, advertising, and promotions.
- For those authors interested in disseminating their ideas and who do not care much about the economic benefits derived from book sales, small publishers may be an option to consider.
Many small publishers normally accept simultaneous submissions. This means that authors can send proposals to more than one of these publishing houses at one time, which can speed up the acceptance process and can allow writers to make the most efficient use of their time and efforts.
- Checking the requirements of each publisher and following their instructions is the best way to ensure that submissions are read and evaluated fairly.
- Many companies do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, for instance, so it would be wise to review the information on their websites first.
- Hybrid Publishers An article published in Writer’s Digest indicates hybrid publishing “occupies the middle ground between traditional and self-publishing.” These arrangements are also known as assisted publishing, partnership publishing, cooperative publishing, and entrepreneurial publishing, among other terms.
The basic premise in hybrid publishing is that both the publisher and the author provide some of the resources needed to publish their works. In the most common scenario, authors pay for the cost of publishing their books while collecting higher royalties from book sales.
This model reduces the level of financial risk for publishers, since the upfront investment to publish a book is shared with the author. If the book does well in terms of sales, the writer has the potential for a higher level of rewards than the ones offered by some traditional publishers. Brooke Warner, publisher at She Writes Press and Spark Press, which use hybrid publishing models, explains that some traditional publishers have been asking authors to subsidize the cost of the publication and/or distribution of their books for years, which in practice would place them in the hybrid category, even though they do not publicly discuss those arrangements.
Morgan James Publishing provides a comparative chart of their services in relation to traditional publishing and self-publishing, addressing aspects like bookstore distribution, expected percentage of royalties, number of copies expected to be purchased by authors, etc.
Through their knowledge and contacts in the industry, many hybrid publishers enable the published works of authors to be distributed to bookstores, which is an important consideration to put the book in front of readers if the main format of a book is the print version. Other hybrid arrangements may be available to nonfiction authors through book publishing companies and other entities, depending on the specific business model of the publisher.
A critical aspect to be taken into account when considering hybrid publishing arrangements is the activities to be conducted by the publisher to distribute and market the book, before and after its publication, and the likelihood that the proposed marketing activities may lead to sustained sales. While hybrid publishers are willing to take on a greater level of risk by working with new authors than traditional publishers, they are still selective when choosing the books they publish. For writers with enough cash to subsidize the upfront publication of their works, hybrid publishing houses may provide more added options than the ones available for self-publishers.
Self-Publishing According to an article published in Fortune, the arrival of Amazon on the ebook scene in 2007 made self-publishing a practical option for many authors who lacked the funding to cover the substantial upfront costs of traditional publication. Since then, the growth of self-publishing has continued.
In 2016, about 40 percent of the four million ebooks on Amazon were self-published, and according to Bowker, the growth rate of self-publishing in 2018 was 40 percent, based on the number of ISBNs issued. Print-on-demand services — the technology that makes it possible to print small numbers of books, usually after an order is placed — are now readily available and can allow writers to make their books available for readers in print format, including paperback and hardcover editions.
- Self-publishing platforms include Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble Press, Google Play, Lulu, Kobo, Book Baby, and others.
- While some of these companies will only make the books available on their own platforms, other services like Ingram Spark and Smashwords allow authors to place their books on different platforms such as Apple iBooks, Kindle, BN.com, etc.
For individuals who decide to self-publish, no book proposals, literary agents, or query letters are required. Authors can do all the tasks involved in the publishing and marketing process themselves, or outsource some specific tasks or services to independent providers or those offered by the self-publishing platforms mentioned above, to produce digital and print editions.
- While the multiple tasks involved in the process of self-publishing a book may seem intimidating at first, there are plenty of resources that can guide authors in this process.
- An article published by Ingram Spark offers a brief overview of the main steps involved in the preparation of a book for publication, and there are many additional resources and specialized websites on the topic.
Preparing ebooks can be a faster alternative to publishing a book in print, particularly if a book is about a trendy topic and needs to be disseminated quickly for greater relevance and impact. It also requires less knowledge of formatting and design than producing quality print editions.
Software tools such as Calibre and Sigil can enable authors to convert their manuscripts prepared in a word processor to epub or other ebook formats, and some word processing programs like Scrivener also enable authors to directly export their files as ebooks. Ebook covers can be created using tools such as Canva, Snappa, or by hiring the services of a designer, which can be done using established services such as 99 Designs.
Preparing print editions usually involves knowledge of more complex programs for cover design, interior design, and image processing. However, those services can be outsourced to graphic designers. Vanity Presses Authors with enough financial resources can hire the services of vanity presses and have their books published, printed, and placed in the catalogs of book retailers.
- Vanity presses provide a platform for the dissemination of messages and ideas in book format that may not have market potential but that are important for authors or their causes.
- In that sense, this approach may be suitable for manuscripts with a very limited audience, those that are unlikely to lead to substantial sales, those that are not accepted by traditional publishing houses, and those whose authors lack the knowledge or interest in self-publishing their books.
While some vanity presses advertise their services as self-publishing, in practice their services normally take care of the different steps involved in preparing a book for publication and its subsequent listing in the catalogs of retailers, usually under the imprint of the company.
Vanity presses can offer the certainty that the book will be ready within a specific time frame. Authors typically pay an upfront fee for all the book preparation services, in addition to the costs associated with getting printed copies and conducting some basic dissemination activities. Vanity presses, for the most part, derive their income from the fees charged to the authors for the services they provide, rather than on the prospective income to be generated from book sales.
Authors should be aware, however, that vanity presses are for-profit entities that may do little or no marketing for the book, unless specifically included as part of their services. Even in cases when there are some marketing activities included, the responsibility of leading the design and implementation of the overall marketing strategy, along with the costs associated with the marketing, publicity, and advertising of the book, will remain with the writer.
Another consideration is that some of these companies may hold the intellectual property rights of the titles they publish, which may make it difficult for an author to use a different publisher or self-publish the book later on, due to potentially non-competitive clauses in their agreements. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America warns authors that some of these companies may present themselves as a different type of publisher than a vanity press, often as a marketing ploy, and that since their business model is based on the fees charged to authors, their incentive to invest resources in quality production, marketing, and distribution of their titles is reduced.
Chances are that if a writer sees an ad to get their book published under the imprint of a certain company, and publishing packages start around $2,000 and even go over $20,000 in some cases, the company may be a vanity press. As self-publishing expert Derek Murphy pointed out, in many cases these companies sell services to authors that do not really increase the sales potential of the book.
- Other vanity publishers, however, do not openly advertise that there are significant costs involved for authors until the books they submitted have been selected for publication, at a point when the authors have already invested substantial time and effort in the process.
- Determining what type of publisher is the most appropriate for a given book, or at a specific stage in an author’s publishing career, makes a substantial difference in the process of publishing a book.
The next article in this series provides additional information on that selection process. This article is part of a series. Click on the link below to read the next article.
Identify potential agents. While having an agent doesn’t guarantee your book will find a publisher, it certainly helps. Most agents and agencies have websites which stipulate their preferences, along with methods for querying. The annual Writer’s Market publication also compiles a list of all working agents.
Download Article Cite a website in MLA or APA Download Article Finding the author of a website is important if you’re writing a paper or doing a project that requires citations. This information can be difficult to determine, however, especially if the website you’re looking at isn’t article-based.
- Check at the top or bottom of an article for the author’s name. You can also search for a “Contact” or “About” page.
- Look in the terms and conditions or the website’s copyright information. Sometimes, you’ll find the author displayed next to the copyright.
- Search Google or WHOIS to find out who the domain is registered to.
- 1 Look at the top and bottom of an article. Many websites that employ contributing and staff writers will often display the author’s name at the top or bottom of an article. This is the first place you should look for an author.
- The author might be listed in an “article info” section, under the article title, or at the end of the article in an “about the author” section.
- Note that if you can’t find the author, your APA in-text citations will use the article title instead. Check out our complete guide to parenthetical citations for more info.
- 2 Find the website’s copyright information. Some websites will display the author next to the copyright information at the bottom of the page. This may be the publishing company as opposed to the actual author.
- You can also try looking at the “term of use” page to find more information about the publisher.
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- 3 Look for a “Contact” or “About” page. If the specific page you are looking at does not have an author and is on a reputable website, it was probably authored under the authorization of the company or agency that runs the site. This can serve as the author if no specific author is listed.
- 4 Ask the owners. If you can’t find contact information for the website, you can try sending an email and asking for the author of a specific page or article. You aren’t guaranteed to get a response, but it may be worth a shot.
- Look for “contact information” or “contact us” in the website’s footer.
- 5 Search Google with a portion of the text to look for the original author. If you’re reading a website that isn’t being ethical, it may be displaying information copied from another source. Copy and paste a paragraph of text into a Google search to see if you can find who the original author is.
- 6 Use WHOIS to find the website owner. WHOIS is a database of website registrations, and you can use it to try to track down a website owner. This will not always work, as the owner is often not the author, and many owners and companies use privacy services to hide information.
- Visit whois.icann.org and enter the website address into the search field.
- Look for the “Registrant Contact” information to find who registered the domain. You can still try to contact the owner through their proxy email if the registration information is blocked.
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- 1 Find the title of the page or article. You’ll need the title of the article or page you are on as part of your MLA website citation or APA website citation. Even if it’s a blog post, you’ll still need the title.
- If you’re looking for more citation information, check out our guide on citing sources in MLA format,
- 2 Get the website name. Besides the title of the article, you’ll need the name of the website. For example, this article’s title is “How to Find the Author of a Website” and the website name is “wikiHow.”
- 3 Try to find the publisher. This is the company, organization, or person that produces or sponsors the website. This may not be different than the website title, but be sure to check. For example, a health organization may run a separate website devoted to heart health.
- You can typically find the publisher at the bottom of the page, in the copyright information.
- 4 Find the date the page or article was published. This isn’t always possible, but you should always try to find the publication date if you can.
- 5 Get a version number if possible (MLA). If the article or publication has a volume or version number, make sure to note this for MLA citations.
- 6 Get the article or web page URL (APA and older MLA). Depending on which method of citation you’re using, and your instructor’s guidelines, you may need the URL of the page or article.
- MLA7 no longer requires including the URL for websites. The page title and site title are sufficient. Check with your instructor if you use MLA for your citation format.
- You don’t need to include the “https://” part of the URL.
- 7 Get the DOI (digital object identifier) for scholarly journals (APA). If you are citing an online scholarly journal, include the DOI instead of the URL. This ensures that the reader will be able to find the article even if the URL changes:
- For most publications, you can find the DOI at the top of the article. You may need to click an “Article” button or a button with the publisher’s name. This will open the full article with the DOI at the top.
- You can look up a DOI by using the CrossRef search ( crossref.org ). Enter in the article title or the author to find the DOI.
- Some journal articles will have a button called “cite this source” or similar. This will generate the citation automatically for the article!
- 8 Construct a citation from your available information. Now that you’ve gathered everything you can, even if you don’t have an author, you’re ready to create your citation. Use the following formats, skipping the Author entry if you can’t find one:
- MLA : Author, “Article Title.” Website Title, Version Number. Website Publisher, Date Published. Web. Date Accessed.
- Use “n.p.” if there is no publisher and “n.d.” if there is no publishing date.
- APA : Author, Article Title. (Date Published). Website Title, Issue/Volume Number, Pages Referenced. Retrieved from
- MLA : Author, “Article Title.” Website Title, Version Number. Website Publisher, Date Published. Web. Date Accessed.
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Add New Question
- Question How do I find the publisher of an article? This is usually at the bottom, with a copyright symbol and a year.
- Question What can I do if there isn’t an About Page? Try to find details of an email, then type the email or number into Google and a name might pop up.
- Question When looking at the author of a website, how do I know if they are credible? First, look at the author’s credentials. See if they have any professional experience in the field they’re writing about, and if so, look at what they did, how long they did it, and where they did it. Usually if someone has extensive experience in a particular field or about a particular topic, they are considered credible. Then, do some research about the author. Are they generally considered to be credible or are they completely unheard of? Has that author’s work ever been published in any reputable journals? These questions and answers should help you decide whether or not an author can be considered credible.
See more answers Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Submit Advertisement Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement Article Summary X 1. Look at the copyright info.2. Locate the About or Contact page.3. Search Google for a portion of text to find the original author.4. Look up the domain name with WHOIS. Did this summary help you? Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 534,983 times.
How do I find reference information from a website?
Last Updated: Jul 25, 2023 Views: 133886 – To find information such as title, author, or date on a webpage sometimes you need to do some digging around the website. Most of the information will be found in the header or the footer of the website. The header of a website will include the name of the website, and sub organization links or titles.
If the information that you are seeking is not on the page that you are looking at, move up the website. For example: if the web page www.something.com/article.htm does not contain information such as the author, move up to www.something.com to find the information. Articles or blogs published on websites will usually have the publication date along with name of the author.
Example of an internal page of a website URL, article title, author and date published Example of a blog footer: The footer of this web page contains the sponsor information for a blog citation. Footers may also include useful information such as contact information, about us, and address.
How to cite a web page in Harvard style with many authors – Formula: Author Last Name, First Middle Initial et al. (Year published) Web page title. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year). Example: Burton, P.A et al. (2012) The world’s oldest castles.
- Available at: http://www.castlesofspain.co.uk/ (Accessed: 14 December 2018).
- Need help learning how to write an annotated bibliography ? Trying to make an in-text citation for a website ? Cite This For Me has citing guides and tools to help you with this and more! How do I format an in-text citation for a webpage with no author in APA style? If the webpage’s author is not available, use the title of the webpage in the in-text citation.
For a webpage title, enclose the title in double quotation marks and use title case, not sentence case, in the in-text citation. In case the title is too long, use a shortened version. Webpage Example In-Text Citation With No Author: Narrative: “Nephrology in 2020 and Beyond” 2020 states (paraphrase) The article “Nephrology in 2020 and Beyond” (2020) states that Parenthetical: The article explains the theory that future nephrology will focus on proactive kidney disease diagnoses (“Nephrology in 2020 and Beyond,” 2020).
- For a shortened version, use only the noun in the noun phrase of the title: (“Nephrology,” 2020).
- How I format a reference-list entry for a webpage with no listed author in APA style? If the webpage’s author is not available, use the title of the webpage first in the reference entry.
- Webpage Example Reference Entry With No Author: Nephrology.
(2022, January 25). In Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephrology How do I format an in-text citation for a webpage with no author in MLA style? When a webpage does NOT have an author, use the title of the article or webpage to reference it within the text.
Unlike other formats, do not include the year in which the webpage was created. If the title is long, use a shortened form, creating a noun phrase and excluding beginning articles. The phrase must include the first words shown in its citation on the Works Cited page. Format: Parenthetical Citation (“Title of the article”) ( Title of the Webpage ) Example: Parenthetical Citation (“All Things Elon”) ( Writing Characters ) Format: Narrative Citation According to “Title of the Article,” it is known that,
According to Title of the Webpage, it is, Example: Narrative Citation According to “A Crow’s Voice,” the crow is one of the most intelligent of all birds out there. According to Investing in NFTs, these digital assets are one of the fastest growing sectors.
How I format a works-cited-list entry for a webpage with no author in MLA style? As per the MLA 9 handbook, if you don’t find an author’s name, don’t state it as “Anonymous.” Instead, omit the author’s name and fill in the next element of the works-cited entry: the name of the webpage. Format “Title of the Article or Individual Page.” Website Name, Publisher, Day Month Year Published, URL.
Example “Stanley Crane Dies at Smithsonian’s National Zoo.” Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institute, 9 Feb.2022, https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/stanley-crane-dies-smithsonians-national-zoo How do I format a footnote for a webpage with no authors in Chicago style? For footnotes for a webpage with no authors, include as much of the following information as possible: the title or description of the page, the title of the website, the owner or sponsor of the site, and the URL.
If available, include the publication date or modification date; if not available, include the access date. Template “Title of the Webpage,” Title of the Website, Owner of the Site, Published/Updated/Accessed Month Day, Year, URL. Example 15. “Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic,” World Health Organization, WHO, last modified October 14, 2021, accessed February 19, 2022, https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019.
How do I format a bibliography entry for a webpage with no author in Chicago style (notes-bibliography)? For a bibliography entry for a webpage with no author, include as much of the following information as possible: the title or description of the page, the title of the website, the owner or sponsor of the site, and the URL.
- If available, include the publication date or modification date; if not available, include the access date in your citation.
- When formatting the citation for your bibliography, include the site owner at the beginning of your citation in the author field.
- Template Website Owner Name.
- Webpage Name.” Website Name.
Published/Updated/Accessed Month Day, Year. URL. Example U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “New Era of Smarter Food Safety.” FDA. Last modified January 27, 2022. https://www.fda.gov/food/new-era-smarter-food-safety.
Do you need to cite publisher?
Seventh edition style for book and book chapter references – That’s right, you heard (read) it here first (at least I hope you did): Publisher locations are no longer included in APA Style references for books and book chapters, Hooray ! Yes, while the tenure of publisher locations lasted, it was great for us to learn that “AK” is the abbreviation for Alaska and that “Vienna” is more than a sausage.
But it was a real headache to open a book and see New York, NY; Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Madrid, Spain; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada as the publisher location options. Multiple publisher locations in a book made it really difficult for writers to determine which, or all, locations should be included in a book or book chapter reference.
And don’t get me started on the problematic referencing of a book with more than one publisher in various locations. If there were, for example, five or more publishers associated with a work, a writer would feel compelled (similar to the go-to technique used by vampires on an off-the-air popular TV show that shall not be named because I don’t want any copyright infringement issues) to include all of their locations, resulting in a lot of overthinking and a behemoth of a reference.
- For information on copyright and permission guidelines, please see Chapter 12 in the Publication Manual,) Now, we can all put away the headache medicine and temporarily halt those 3:00 a.m.
- Emails to instructors, librarians, and [email protected] (probably not).
- APA Style just made one of its simplest reference formats even simpler.
In your reference after the book title, include only the publisher name or names (or imprint or division) as shown on the copyright page of the book. Then add the DOI or URL associated with the work if available (see Sections 10.2 and 10.3 in the Publication Manual ).
Unknown Author and Unknown Date – If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation “n.d.” (for “no date”). Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students succeeded with tutoring (“Tutoring and APA,” n.d.).
What is an example of a publisher?
Not all book publishers operate in the same way. The size of their operations and the type of arrangements with authors make a significant difference – By Jay Silveratus |Updated April 8, 2020 There are two main approaches to book publishing: traditional and nontraditional. Traditional book publishers can be subdivided into large, medium, and small publishers. Nontraditional publishing can be classified as hybrid publishing, self-publishing, and vanity presses.
This article provides additional information about each of these types of book publishers. Large Publishing Companies Trade publishers and large book publishing companies are responsible for most of the titles sold in bookstore chains. Examples include the ones known as the “big five,” which include Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster.
These companies are usually the ones that are financially able to provide larger advances to authors after signing their publishing contracts, and offer royalties from the sales of the books they publish, which is a strong motivation to pitch nonfiction works to these publishing companies.
- Large companies are also better able to implement more expensive publicity, marketing and advertising campaigns, use teams of salespeople, and benefit from their established relationships in the publishing industry to have their books widely distributed and reach more readers.
- These publishing companies, however, are less likely to take a chance on an unknown author, which makes the process more difficult for those trying to pitch their first books.
Authors may have better prospects of publishing a book with these companies by using the services of an experienced and qualified literary agent. Mid-size Traditional Publishers Like large traditional publishers, mid-size book publishing companies can be profit-driven or mission-driven, and are usually looking for manuscripts that are likely to attract healthy profits or disseminate the type of knowledge that contributes to their institutional or strategic goals.
- Many mid-size publishers are sometimes supported and sponsored by larger institutions, like in the case of university presses, NGOs, media groups, and the publishing branches of professional associations, among others.
- In the cases of existing affiliations, their publishing goals may be closely aligned with the genres closest to the mission of the sponsoring institutions.
These publishers are usually less likely to offer significant advances on royalties for writers without a proven track record of sales and profits. The earnings for authors may be substantially less, but their publishing processes may be less cumbersome than those of large publishers.
- These companies may be more open to niche nonfiction works as well.
- While the most profit-oriented companies prefer submissions prescreened by literary agents, some of them also accept direct submissions by authors, as long as their submission procedures are closely observed.
- Small and Independent Publishers For writers making their first expedition into publishing, small presses, also known as independent publishing companies, may be a good choice for initial submissions.
These publishers are usually more open to experimental and innovative works, alternative points of view, and unusual nonfiction works. Books that do not closely fit within established genres, or those with small and/or specialized audiences, are also more likely to be considered by small publishers.
Examples include books of creative nonfiction and fictionalized accounts of real events, also referred to as “faction.” Some small publishers are also mission-driven, so they are more likely to publish books whose contribution to public knowledge, the dissemination of lessons, or the advancement of a cause is more important than monetary considerations.
The downside of small and independent publishers is that their ability to market the books they publish is often limited, and they usually lack the publicity and dissemination channels enjoyed by larger companies. These constraints oftentimes translate in low volumes of book sales, which is particularly relevant for authors looking to secure economic benefits from their book sales.
- Acknowledging this situation, many of these companies encourage the authors to lead the marketing efforts of their books, coaching them in the process of building their author platforms and supporting them in this journey with some limited marketing, advertising, and promotions.
- For those authors interested in disseminating their ideas and who do not care much about the economic benefits derived from book sales, small publishers may be an option to consider.
Many small publishers normally accept simultaneous submissions. This means that authors can send proposals to more than one of these publishing houses at one time, which can speed up the acceptance process and can allow writers to make the most efficient use of their time and efforts.
- Checking the requirements of each publisher and following their instructions is the best way to ensure that submissions are read and evaluated fairly.
- Many companies do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, for instance, so it would be wise to review the information on their websites first.
- Hybrid Publishers An article published in Writer’s Digest indicates hybrid publishing “occupies the middle ground between traditional and self-publishing.” These arrangements are also known as assisted publishing, partnership publishing, cooperative publishing, and entrepreneurial publishing, among other terms.
The basic premise in hybrid publishing is that both the publisher and the author provide some of the resources needed to publish their works. In the most common scenario, authors pay for the cost of publishing their books while collecting higher royalties from book sales.
This model reduces the level of financial risk for publishers, since the upfront investment to publish a book is shared with the author. If the book does well in terms of sales, the writer has the potential for a higher level of rewards than the ones offered by some traditional publishers. Brooke Warner, publisher at She Writes Press and Spark Press, which use hybrid publishing models, explains that some traditional publishers have been asking authors to subsidize the cost of the publication and/or distribution of their books for years, which in practice would place them in the hybrid category, even though they do not publicly discuss those arrangements.
Morgan James Publishing provides a comparative chart of their services in relation to traditional publishing and self-publishing, addressing aspects like bookstore distribution, expected percentage of royalties, number of copies expected to be purchased by authors, etc.
- Through their knowledge and contacts in the industry, many hybrid publishers enable the published works of authors to be distributed to bookstores, which is an important consideration to put the book in front of readers if the main format of a book is the print version.
- Other hybrid arrangements may be available to nonfiction authors through book publishing companies and other entities, depending on the specific business model of the publisher.
A critical aspect to be taken into account when considering hybrid publishing arrangements is the activities to be conducted by the publisher to distribute and market the book, before and after its publication, and the likelihood that the proposed marketing activities may lead to sustained sales. While hybrid publishers are willing to take on a greater level of risk by working with new authors than traditional publishers, they are still selective when choosing the books they publish. For writers with enough cash to subsidize the upfront publication of their works, hybrid publishing houses may provide more added options than the ones available for self-publishers.
- Self-Publishing According to an article published in Fortune, the arrival of Amazon on the ebook scene in 2007 made self-publishing a practical option for many authors who lacked the funding to cover the substantial upfront costs of traditional publication.
- Since then, the growth of self-publishing has continued.
In 2016, about 40 percent of the four million ebooks on Amazon were self-published, and according to Bowker, the growth rate of self-publishing in 2018 was 40 percent, based on the number of ISBNs issued. Print-on-demand services — the technology that makes it possible to print small numbers of books, usually after an order is placed — are now readily available and can allow writers to make their books available for readers in print format, including paperback and hardcover editions.
Self-publishing platforms include Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble Press, Google Play, Lulu, Kobo, Book Baby, and others. While some of these companies will only make the books available on their own platforms, other services like Ingram Spark and Smashwords allow authors to place their books on different platforms such as Apple iBooks, Kindle, BN.com, etc.
For individuals who decide to self-publish, no book proposals, literary agents, or query letters are required. Authors can do all the tasks involved in the publishing and marketing process themselves, or outsource some specific tasks or services to independent providers or those offered by the self-publishing platforms mentioned above, to produce digital and print editions.
While the multiple tasks involved in the process of self-publishing a book may seem intimidating at first, there are plenty of resources that can guide authors in this process. An article published by Ingram Spark offers a brief overview of the main steps involved in the preparation of a book for publication, and there are many additional resources and specialized websites on the topic.
Preparing ebooks can be a faster alternative to publishing a book in print, particularly if a book is about a trendy topic and needs to be disseminated quickly for greater relevance and impact. It also requires less knowledge of formatting and design than producing quality print editions.
- Software tools such as Calibre and Sigil can enable authors to convert their manuscripts prepared in a word processor to epub or other ebook formats, and some word processing programs like Scrivener also enable authors to directly export their files as ebooks.
- Ebook covers can be created using tools such as Canva, Snappa, or by hiring the services of a designer, which can be done using established services such as 99 Designs.
Preparing print editions usually involves knowledge of more complex programs for cover design, interior design, and image processing. However, those services can be outsourced to graphic designers. Vanity Presses Authors with enough financial resources can hire the services of vanity presses and have their books published, printed, and placed in the catalogs of book retailers.
Vanity presses provide a platform for the dissemination of messages and ideas in book format that may not have market potential but that are important for authors or their causes. In that sense, this approach may be suitable for manuscripts with a very limited audience, those that are unlikely to lead to substantial sales, those that are not accepted by traditional publishing houses, and those whose authors lack the knowledge or interest in self-publishing their books.
While some vanity presses advertise their services as self-publishing, in practice their services normally take care of the different steps involved in preparing a book for publication and its subsequent listing in the catalogs of retailers, usually under the imprint of the company.
Vanity presses can offer the certainty that the book will be ready within a specific time frame. Authors typically pay an upfront fee for all the book preparation services, in addition to the costs associated with getting printed copies and conducting some basic dissemination activities. Vanity presses, for the most part, derive their income from the fees charged to the authors for the services they provide, rather than on the prospective income to be generated from book sales.
Authors should be aware, however, that vanity presses are for-profit entities that may do little or no marketing for the book, unless specifically included as part of their services. Even in cases when there are some marketing activities included, the responsibility of leading the design and implementation of the overall marketing strategy, along with the costs associated with the marketing, publicity, and advertising of the book, will remain with the writer.
Another consideration is that some of these companies may hold the intellectual property rights of the titles they publish, which may make it difficult for an author to use a different publisher or self-publish the book later on, due to potentially non-competitive clauses in their agreements. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America warns authors that some of these companies may present themselves as a different type of publisher than a vanity press, often as a marketing ploy, and that since their business model is based on the fees charged to authors, their incentive to invest resources in quality production, marketing, and distribution of their titles is reduced.
Chances are that if a writer sees an ad to get their book published under the imprint of a certain company, and publishing packages start around $2,000 and even go over $20,000 in some cases, the company may be a vanity press. As self-publishing expert Derek Murphy pointed out, in many cases these companies sell services to authors that do not really increase the sales potential of the book.
- Other vanity publishers, however, do not openly advertise that there are significant costs involved for authors until the books they submitted have been selected for publication, at a point when the authors have already invested substantial time and effort in the process.
- Determining what type of publisher is the most appropriate for a given book, or at a specific stage in an author’s publishing career, makes a substantial difference in the process of publishing a book.
The next article in this series provides additional information on that selection process. This article is part of a series. Click on the link below to read the next article.
Is the copyright the publisher?
Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 10/27/2020 – 8:43pm Usually, the author of the creative work is the owner of the copyright. But in the publishing industry, the owner of the copyright may be the publishing company due to an agreement between the author and the publisher,
Some of the big names in book publishing are Random House, DoubleDay, and Penguin, Sharon Boone discusses why this is the case very concisely: In some cases, the author of written material will sell the copyright of the material to another person or company, making the purchaser of the copyright the new owner of the copyrighted material.
Additionally, there is a long list of transferable rights for the written material which the copyright owner can contract to other parties or individuals when seeking to profit from the copyrighted material. Sometimes, even though a book is published by a major publisher, the author still owns the copyright.
- This is because the author can give a license which gives the publisher temporary limited permission to use the story, instead of a full assignment, which permanently transfers all rights to the book.
- Boone elaborates on the issue: The publication of copyrighted material by someone other than the owner require the copyright owners permission which can be accomplished by a licensing agreement or by contracting specific usage rights to the other parties or individuals.
Neither these actions will require the author to sell or lose their ownership of the copyrighted material. This is the ideal situation for an author because it allows them to determine whether to authorize an adaptation of their book (making the book into a movie) and other commercialization ventures.
- Due to the creative authority retained by the author, it is difficult to negotiate such a contract.
- If you are a writer looking to see who owns a copyright in a specific book or just curious, feel free to contact New Media Rights via our contact form to find out whether you qualify for free or reduced fee legal services.
We also offer competitive full fee legal services on a selective basis. For more information on the services we provide click here, Find additional articles by
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What is considered a publisher?
‘Publisher’ can refer to a publishing company or organization, or to an individual who leads a publishing company, imprint, periodical, or newspaper.
Final Thoughts – An author and publisher are not the same person and have very different roles to fulfill while working towards the publication of a book, However, there are some distinct overlaps in their responsibilities and they must communicate and share ideas consistently throughout the entire process, from editing to sales.