Time to Make the Cake
Part 8 Let's order your book!
Here are the steps!
Let the printer know your order is coming. A key thing here, be nice to your printer. Keep them informed. Be honest with them. In the print environment Post Covid they are doing their best to give you a schedule and a price that is good. They know their machines and what they are capable of s respect their opinions and even if you don’t do what they advise, be nice. In the current market letting them know your plans weeks or months in advance is going to be crucial.
Get your final files together by having your designers output high res print ready PDF files with crop marks. For the interior, provide the document in single pages. Your files need to be pre-flighted. The printer will also pre-flight so if you can’t do that, don’t worry, it’ll happen. But make sure it happens.
Get your editor and art directors to check over these files. Last minute errors are better than errors on press or in the final goods.
Get your quote together, and ideally your P&L that your team agreed to. These documents should mirror each other and they should mirror the Purchase Order.
Double check your specs. Does the quote and the P&L and the PO line up with the types of paper, the types of printing, the types of binding that you and your team are expecting to receive? If you received a mock up book, do the specs of the mock up match all documents?
Double check your units because things change! Maybe you made a new contact and you feel like you can sell more books than when you made your P&L. Maybe the author with the publishing house is now Oprah’s BFF and will be a book club selection. These things change the amount of books you are going to need. As well, scandals creep up too. Maybe your author isn’t worth what they were when you signed them, maybe there is a book blurb on the back of the book from a personality that has drawn the ire of the internet mob. Do a game time gut check!
Double check your need by date. Can the printer provide the book by that date? Is that date what your sales or marketing team needs? Marketing Teams can often have their own idea of when something is coming or may change their needs but forget to tell you, so make sure you are nice to your marketing team so you can help them be successful. Because you know what? If they are successful and sell the product, you are successful. Easy day right? (Really this is something you need to make sure of many times)
Make sure you understand and agree to the payment terms. If it's your first book then it’s going to be likely, payment at the time of the PO. Some set ups might be 50% at purchase and 50% at shipping. Some might be 30 days net. Make sure you have the money and understand the terms. You want to work with this printer again more than likely, so make sure they get paid without hassle. This goes back to being nice. When you need a favor one day, paying on time certainly won’t hurt your chances.
Send in the PO, make sure to copy anyone internally and externally that need the PO for reference.
On the PO make sure you put the address and the manner in which the product will ship. You need a contact name and number at the location. If it’s a sizable order, make sure the location has a loading dock or the truck has a life gate. Your printer’s shipping team can work this stuff out with the desired locations staff. But make sure you get the contact name and info. Make sure the shipping manner, the type of boxes, is noted. Keep the weight under 40 lbs, that’s standard for most warehouses.
If you do multiple books or products, make a spreadsheet that has the date of order, the expected delivery date, the vendor, and the units so you can quickly reference the info when asked.
The printer will send you back proofs at some point, usually a week later or if it’s a short run press in about 24 hours. Once you approve that it’s time to binge watch Justified and drink TopoChico.
The books will arrive. Take them out of the box. Measure them with a ruler. Check the page numbers that they run sequentially. Make sure all the pages are right side up. Look at the spine. Look at the ink quality. If you are all good, then it’s time for the hard part. Selling them.
I’ll see you again soon with the next steps in the life of your book. Happy Trails!