What Is The Cost Of Publishing A Book
What to Avoid When Booking Bands and Talent?
By Dennis Jarvis
Booking talent is a tricky combination of finding a performer who will entertain your audience at the right cost and still leave everyone wanting more. There are some important things to avoid when booking talent towards this end and years of experience will help you avoid these issues. So let’s take a look at what NOT to do.
A good friend of mine had a scheduled phone interview for a job right smack in the middle of Spring Break towards the end of college. We were out on the Colorado River after a pretty late night. The woman on the phone kindly asked my friend what he wanted to do. Tom replied back with “Well, I know what I DON’T want to do”. Let’s just say he didn’t get that job but his answer is not too far off when planning an event around talent. There are certain things you DON’T want to do and we’re going to walk through the big ones here. Obviously, this is a short list but as professionals of 25 years in booking talent and bands, we’ll make sure to protect you from the rest.
The most common mistake is to be unrealistic in terms of what talent, bands, comedians, or celebrities you can afford. Be realistic…If your organization has a ,000 budget then you can’t afford the Dave Matthews Band or Lady Gaga. Make a list of 10-20 performers that you and your committee will be happy with. Once we have that list, we can find out who’s schedule will work to be in your area and who can perform for the budget that you have allocated. Don’t get your heart set on one band. You need to have a fairly open mind so that you end up with someone you are happy with but who works within their touring schedule and your desires. We can work with anyone out there and we’ll negotiate with a proverbial baseball bat but that doesn’t change what certain talent expects in terms of payment.
Be clear about your budget: If you have ,000 in your budget and you want a performer who costs ,000 you may be ok if you are booking a comedian like Kathy Griffin and her cost is ,000 and all she needs is a sound system and a microphone with a bottle of tequila. If you are paying O.A.R. ,000 and their sound, lights, staging, catering, stagehands, security, etc are going to cost you an additional ,000 that means that the cost of the show is now ,000. If you are selling tickets obviously you will recoup this money through ticket sales but just make sure that you account for all production costs that will be incurred and add them to the cost for the artist. We can help you work up a full budget so that there are no surprises. Obviously if you are a college or non-profit organization you will have volunteers to help reduce costs. Again, don’t focus on a million dollar act when your budget is only ,000.
Time frame for event: If you need a performer for an end of the year Spring concert keep in mind that every other school is looking to book their Spring Fling event on Saturday, April 23 so the competition for talent is going to be fierce. You may consider going a week or two earlier than the other local schools or be flexible with what dates you can hold your event on. Often you will have to work with the artists touring schedule. If your event HAS to be one one specific date then you need to be flexible on a larger list of acts that would be acceptable for you. Remember the cost for talent is a direct result of supply and demand: the higher the demand for a specific artist on a specific date forces the cost of that artist higher. If you can be flexible with dates, you have a better chance of getting the act that you want.
Know costs associated with putting a concert on: Ok, so you want Travis McCoy, Far East Movement and Shwaze for your big Spring weekend. You need to review the artist production rider to see what the costs will be for staging, sound, lights, catering, stagehands, insurance, etc. You also want to make sure that you account for marketing, tickets and any other costs that the venue may charge you. Our organization can help you source the best sound companies, lighting companies, staging, catering, online marketing specialists, etc. If you don’t know all of the costs you could be caught over budget at the end of the event.
Finally, don’t just book the bands that you like: We all love music and if you think that Justin Timberlake is hot or you love Katy Perry you might be tempted to book them. Think twice about that. Book acts that the majority of your audience likes. If most of the students at your college like rock and you book Snoop Dogg you might not have a very successful event. If you book Snow Patrol even though they are not YOUR favorite band but they sell out you are better off than booking the rap act that you like but you lose 0,000 on the show. You can always pay to see the act that you like but when you are spending a budget that represents your organization or school, make sure that the act appeals to the majority of those in that organization.
Now that we’ve spelled out the common pitfalls of booking talent and bands, you can check out the Glitterbox for more articles on ideas for successfully finding talent. We don’t want to be all negative after all. Of course, feel free to contact us with any questions you have.
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Traditional publishing doesn’t have to cost you anything, but I have to be honest with you though that most, if not all, publishing companies instill financial obligations to their clients, if only to keep their business running.
Self-publishing companies require you to pay to get your book published. However, if you pick the right publisher, you can get a favorable return on your investment.
For instance, Booksurge’s promotional package starts at $799 while leading PoD publisher Xlibris starts at $299. Authorhouse and iUniverse publishing packages begin at $599 too.
There are basically three routes…
First, and hardest, find a publisher that wants to publish your book. It is actually quite worthwhile to read what publishers are looking for as things tend to trend, Dragons are popular one year where other times they won’t touch them…google “Children’s writers’ market” there is a book by that title too check your local book store or library for that. A publishing contract basically will pay you 10 % of the book’s sales, but you don’t have to do any of the publishing work.
Second, and easiest, is called self publishing (sometimes called Vanity publishing) where you pay the printer money and they make your book for you. This isn’t an unreasonable option for some people…if you want a few books to show people or give as gifts. Can be expensive depending on how your look at it (and how much money you have). Chapters/Indigo in Canada has a great little thing where you can self publish and they will put your book for sale on their massive book selling machine (their website)…that is pretty cool. Check out: http://www.iuniverse.com
Finally, you can digital publish, find a copy of Adobe and make your book and save it as a .PDF file and get it out on the Internet for free. You won’t make money, but it won’t cost you much and you may be able to build up an audience (which is what it is all about) for your next book.
what is the cost of publishing a book? where can i find a good publicist?
i want to publish my young adult novel, but im not sure how. i want to find a cheap, yet good publisher. i would like to know an average cost of publishing a book and any good publishers. (And is the cost per book or total?)
You can copyright your ‘text’ so that you can sue anyone in the U.S. who stole your ideas. Try researching this website: http://www.copyright.gov/
According to the link provided next, you can register with Form TX: http://www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html
It costs $65 to register a literary text. Form TX is for literary texts. You will have to mail a manuscript of your novel. When the copyright office has accepted your work, they will mail you a certificate stating that your work has been copyrighted.
If you go to a publisher, just warn them that your work has been archived or saved as a US copyright. After that, they will probably publish your work, pay you, and protect your work.
It will protect your idea as long as the plagiarist’s novel is extremely similar to yours. For example, if someone wrote a novel that is similar to ‘Great Expectations’, he probably can’t be sued.
However, if the plaintiff’s lawyer can prove that every single plot from both novels are basically the same, and that the novels have the same characters who say the same thing a bit differently, then you can make money off of the plagiarist (aka defendant).
But beware, I might be wrong. Research a bit and see if my info helped.
Also, go here: http://www.ehow.com/how_2308006_copyright-novel.html
Submit to a company that pays you. That’s the beauty of talent: you don’t have to pay for acceptance.
Self-publishing – When you print and/or market your own books. Not the best way to go.
Banks…? I doubt it. Have you watched the news lately?
Use your search bar. It’s there for a reason, you know.
How much does it cost to publish a book,What is self publishing,Will a bank loan me the money for publishing?
Ok so I am writing a novel and I am thinking about publishing and I don’t have millions of dollars so… could you help me?
How much does book publishing cost?
I’m writing a children’s book and I think it would be a good book to sell, but I need to know how much it cost to do that. What are all the steps in processing a book? How much does it cost? Is there anything else I should know? A lot of info would really help. Thanks!
protecting your idea and publishing a book cost approx?
i want to publish a book can any of you guide me what is the procedure and how much it will cost? i mean did agent ask for advance or they want the profits from the sales if that ever happen…
more over how can i protect my idea and the story or the theme? and is there a site where viewers can rate something you write like professional writers or critics not the whole thing but may be some part of the book?
little help more i am writing a dialogue what is the best way to write it i mean i want to keep it simple but not dead i mean how should i add emotions to the dialogues i don’t want to make it childish though
well fellows thanks for answers and i think aiming high is a good thing i never said i was going to write my book in English cathrl69 we have to start somewhere
where to find critique partners and forums ? i google it but cannot find anything helpful
What is a breakdown of book publishing cost to shelf price of the book?
ie, % of printing cost, % shipping cost, etc?
I’m looking for info like % of price that goes to author, % of price of distribution, % of editing, typesetting, printing costs, etc.
The final cover price of a book is based on 6x the book’s actual costs. That is industry standard.
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They’re, Their, There – Three Different Words.
Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.
Pax – C