How to Pick a Custom Publisher

You surf the web, call prospective publishers and whittle down your choices to a group of 3 to 4 finalists. What happens now? Choosing a custom publisher can be overwhelming after weeks or even months of research. Pick the right custom publisher for your marketing needs.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Schedule a presentation. After soliciting a Request for Proposal (RFP), invite the publisher to come to your offices and make a presentation outlining their company and services to you.
2. Encourage a group visit. The visit should include any team members involved in the project on a daily basis such as an account executive, managing editor or graphic designer. Interacting with key staff gives you a good feel for the personality of the company.
3. Request samples of their work. Share samples with different folks in your company to glean a variety of opinions of their work.
4. Insist on reviewing a contract or agreement. Consider inviting your manager to the presentation as well as any other members of your company who will participate in the decision-making process.
5. Take into account the publisher's scope of work. Ask for additional guidelines or policies on items such as fact-checking, third-party advertising and proofing policies.

Tips & Warnings

• The search process could last 6 weeks to 6 months, but the time from the initial contact to a proposal presentation shouldn't need to be more than 3 or 4 weeks.
• The custom publisher should bring a copy of a contract or agreement for you to review. The contract should be sufficient to have your attorney review it and for you to pay special attention to issues related to copyright and ownership of materials.
• A document—called a Creative Brief, Strategic Outline, or Scope of Work—specifies the editorial services, the amount of art budget (for photos/illustrations) and distribution information.
• The custom publisher should bring hard copy samples to the meeting in addition to providing you with electronic copies like an emailed PDF.
• Make sure to ask about the amount of freelance staff that will work on your project.
• Be aware of the "over-promise, under-deliver" paradigm. While custom publishing is rapidly growing, it is still made up of a great many small companies operating on a shoestring.