David Wilk on publishing, continued

This post concludes Conference Chair Kathryn Craft’s interview (click here for Part One) with publishing guru David Wilk, who owns and operates Creative Management Partners, a business providing authors a full suite of publishing services. Note: David's individual appointments for The Write Stuff conference are now full.

Kathryn: What kind of author is the most successful at self-publishing? Is self-publishing a viable option for fiction authors? What services do you provide to authors choosing to self-publish?

David: There are as many different types of self-publishing tools as authors using them so there is no single answer to this question. But one characteristic applies to all, I think, and that is commitment to the process of publishing, which not all authors can achieve. Self publishing is difficult to do successfully for any type of book. It's easier to sell nonfiction, but in the current publishing climate, fiction writers are going to need to self publish, or be willing to participate in the publishing process on a regular basis, as fiction is commercially challenged. Services I offer include advice and consultation on every aspect of the publishing process, guidance in which path to follow, how an author can operate as a business, and if appropriate, I can provide any or all of the actual publishing elements an author will need to be a publisher (developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, book design, type and composition, distribution, sales and marketing, and business administration).

K: Your bio says you have "been involved with publishing hundreds of books, including a number of best sellers." Pick one or two of the bestsellers, tell us your role in its production, and tell us why you think it sold so well.

D: SECRETS OF THE CODE was a New York Times Bestseller for 16 weeks and in various editions has sold over a million copies worldwide. I was the publisher of the original hardcover edition of the book and later managed the marketing of the paperback. It was a very erudite and intelligent companion to Dan Brown's DaVinci Code. We did a full on best seller marketing program for the original edition, worked hard to get important support from the retailers, and of course it was a great book published at the right time, with sales minded editors and many brilliant contributors who all helped make the book a success (and though we were riding the coattails of the most successful novel of our time, ours was by far the best selling companion guide for all the reasons given here).

For more about David Wilk, check out these links to his ongoing projects:

booktrix.com (book marketing and consulting), livewriters.com (video sharing for authors and books), writerscast.com (author and book industry interview podcast), chptr1.com (book browsing), readiac.com (curating enthusiastic book reviews) and rvive.com (republishing lost American classics). He writes about book industry matters regularly, and is the Director of Marketing for Good Business International (good-b.com).

Write Stuff registration is now open! Days to Early Bird Deadline for extra registration savings: 27!