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Self-publishing service
A new world in publishing
By Kevin Mak
Being an author is probably a dream of most writers. Alas, it can be ex-tremely difficult for an unknown writer to get his work accepted by traditional publishing houses.
This is where self-publishing services come in. Forecast Publishing Company celebrated its third anniversary this February. It claims to be the first company to provide self-publishing services in Hong Kong.
Michael Lee, editor-in-chief of Forecast, said the demand for self-publishing services is high in Hong Kong.
“The introduction of our service enables the dream of self-published books to come true. Now, more people are eager to pay in order to get their work published.
“In fact, making this happen was one of our goals in setting up the company,” Mr. Lee explained.
“We have tried to create a new world in publishing not only for the sake of maximizing profits,” added Mr. Lee.
Weslie Siu, director of Forecast, said their customers fall into two groups.
The first group consists of unknown writers who dream of being an author.
“Traditional publishers find it risky to invest money in unknown writers.
“We understand that people seeking self-publication may not be professional in terms of language use. We have staff to suggest changes in language,” said Mr. Lee.
Mr. Siu pointed out that self-publishing services differ from traditional publishing houses in that the former give writers a greater degree of independence. Writers also have control over their books’ contents, promotion and design.
“Even if traditional publishers help people publish books, they place certain rules on the authors, or restrictions on their contents,” said Mr. Siu.
Forecast does not screen manuscripts or reject manuscripts that are poorly written or are about uncommon subjects.
“With services from a company like ours, people have more say and pay less to publish,” Mr. Siu said.
Forecast’s second group of customers consists of professionals in many fields.
“They seek the service to share their knowledge of the field. This helps to boost their reputations,” Mr. Siu explained.
Forecast makes their business from self-publishers, and although there are many more people now who are eager to self-publish books, times were hard for them when they first started their business.
In their first year of business, they published only about 20 books. This was due to limited resources and the fact that they were a new player in the publishing industry.
“As a new publisher, we had less capital and few staff. We had to manage everything ourselves.
“Therefore, our reach to potential clients was low.
“Moreover, how could we expect people to have confidence in us when we were not known in the field?” asked Mr. Lee.
With sheer determination and individual experiences from previous jobs, they managed to pull through, however.
Mr. Lee had been an editor at a fashion magazine, and Mr. Siu and Forecast’s Creative Director Jackal Lo were writers.
“As a result, we were able to find sources within our circle [of contacts] to get started,” said Mr. Lee.
Their efforts paid off and they now publish an average of 15 books each month.
Mr. Lee revealed that they charge about $15,000 for 2,000 copies of a 100-page book.
“We look into the manuscripts from anyone who wishes to publish a book. We make comments on their manuscripts and discuss improvements before they confirm the publication,” Mr. Siu said.
After a client agrees to proceed with publication, Forecast starts working on the book cover.
“We design several sample book covers, and then the writer discusses them with us, choosing the final version.
“Page design and style are important for the sake of more sales,” said Mr. Lee.
Besides focusing on the appearance of a publication, Forecast pays equal attention to the content.
Mr. Lee said, “After designing the cover, we proofread the text at least three times.”
After writers approve the final versions of their manuscripts, Forecast send the work to printing companies for film output for printing. It then starts working on marketing the book and contacting bookstores.
Finally, in the last stage of self-publishing, some printed copies are sent to bookstores and the rest are kept in the company’s storeroom.
What’s left is for the author to wait for people to buy his books.
Self-publishing compact discs
‘I always dreamt of producing my own songs’
By Kevin Mak
Eo Tang, 25, has self-published compact discs and 18 articles relating to his music with the help of Red Publish, a company providing compact disc self-publishing services.
“I have been very active [in music] since I was about 15 years old. I was eager to perform.
“When I grew up and listened to music from other countries, I was so impressed. At the same time, I was depressed about local music.
“So, I always dreamt of producing my own songs,” said Mr. Tang.
In late 2002, an incident made him determined to take action in producing songs.
“My girlfriend left me. I wanted to write some songs for her.
“Also, I wanted to grasp the chance to take the first step in a music career,” Mr. Tang said.
He published 18 articles together with his music because he felt that the songs alone were not enough to express his feelings.
Mr. Tang arranged all components of the production himself. He created the melody, wrote the lyrics, sang the song and monitored the production himself.
“I also took photos and designed the cover myself,” Mr. Tang said.
“It was very difficult yet enjoyable to get my works done.”
Although the finished product was different from his initial expectations, Mr. Tang concluded that the experience was worth it.
“Although the market oriented opinions from professionals and limits of a tight budget hindered me from shaping my dream copies, I think it is good enough that I achieved my goal. I am proud of myself.”