Creating Opportunities for Writers

To become a successful author you need to write a good manuscript, publish a quality book and have direct access to the marketplace. Once your manuscript is complete, learn your options and publish according to your personal goals. If you publish independently you must produce a quality book with guidance from experienced professionals. The INDI Publishing Group is for writers who choose to publish a professional book independently with a group that has direct access to the market. Our model is the future of publishing, we welcome your submission. Please request our free Guide to Publishing. It’s a great place to start.

INDI Publishing Group

Independent Publishing Program

If you’re a writer with a professionally edited manuscript or merely researching your options for publishing, consider the INDI Publishing Group. We are seeking writers of quality manuscripts interested in investing in their writing. We provide an opportunity to compete in the national marketplace with other titles.

Our goal is to raise the bar on the quality of the independently published book. We are seeking the highest quality manuscripts from writers wanting assistance from developing or editing to eventually publishing their own work. We want to do for books what IFC has done for film.

The INDI Publishing Group is focused on assisting writers in publishing the highest quality, most professional book possible. We advise and consult while the author retains all rights and ownership. Our program includes complete sales and distribution services to all booksellers on a national basis.

For submissions, send your book proposal or manuscript to Jerry D. Simmons via email. If you have a previously published book and are seeking a re-launch and new direction, contact Jerry for mailing instructions.

The Trend in Publishing is Changing

The trend in publishing today is away from the traditional New York big publisher model to the independent. The reasons vary, but the publishing industry has made it extremely difficult for new and talented writers to break into the business. One viable option for a writer to gain serious recognition for their writing is to publish independently. This is how a group of professionals are helping writers with the INDI Publishing Group’s Independent Publishing Program. 

We select and publish books to the exacting standards of the largest publishing companies in the world, but with some huge exceptions: the author owns all rights to their work and maintains complete ownership over their writing!

The INDI Publishing Group’s business model has two clear and distinct advantages over the competition. First—as our author you will receive personal step-by-step guidance by Jerry D. Simmons, founder of INDI Publishing Group. With over 30 years of experience working with hundreds of New York Times bestselling authors, thousands of New York Times bestselling books, generating hundreds of millions dollars in book sales.

Second—the INDI Publishing Group can provide access to booksellers nationwide through a direct sales group utilizing established national distribution channels. This means your book is not simply made “available” to distributors but in fact is sold directly to book buyers from among the largest booksellers in the country. Our direct sales and national distribution program mirrors that of the largest worldwide publishers and their books.

Many wish to label writers who self-publish as unqualified for authorship. There has been some success at attaching the label of poor quality to most print-on-demand and self-publishing books. We all recognize that many independently published books lack a certain quality.

The INDI Publishing Group is breaking that mold and destroying that image. Our program is for writers making a choice to publish independently. This group was formed to focus on publishing quality books by writers who want to invest in themselves and retain rights, control and ownership of their work by publishing independently. 

We are seeking quality writing on subjects that expand the mind and challenge the status quo. We are searching for writing that informs, entertains and enlightens. We publish books that compete on all levels with all titles.

If your manuscript is selected for our program you will receive start-to-finish assistance and consultation in publishing your own manuscript. I assist the author through every important stage of professional book production including:

            -    Editorial development

            -    Cover and interior design

            -    Market positioning

            -    Strategic marketing

            -    Direct sales and national distribution to booksellers.

Our group of professionals provide their own individual expertise in assisting our authors with a beginning-to-end publishing program under my personal guidance.

Due to the nature of the business, not all writers will qualify. This program is seeking quality manuscripts and only the best of previously published books looking for a new publisher with greater opportunities for sales. Our program has limited space and compels us to exercise a selective approach where only the best manuscripts and previously published independent books can be brought under one imprint. Our goal is to supply the market with quality writing that readers want to purchase and enjoy.   

INDI Publishing Group is not a traditional publisher and thus does not pay for rights to publish. Each author is responsible for the cost of each service offered through the INDI Publishing Group. Writers are not obligated to use any of the professionals associated or recommended by this program. Each has the option of selecting his or her own service provider. The goal is to provide a complete publishing package and produce a quality, professional book.      

William Young’s phenomenal success with The Shack, a self-published book, turned industry heads after attaining the #1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list and selling over seven million copies. The success of other authors who were originally self-published such as Christopher Paolini and Kathleen McGowan have established the fact that there is a viable market for quality independently published books. We’ve developed a program with an imprint that is acceptable to booksellers across the marketplace.   

The focus of the INDI Publishing Group is to provide a viable sales opportunity through established channels for quality independently published books. By providing personal, one-on-one, professional, experienced service and consultation to writers who want to see their manuscript through a publishing process that involves true quality, we can offer direct sales and national distribution.   

The book distribution portion of this program provides access to major booksellers across the United States through established sales channels. Access to these accounts is granted only if certain guidelines are met. In order for booksellers to open their market to independently published books under our “INDI BEST” imprint, each title must pass the test for editorial, design and production quality.

Here are the criteria under which major booksellers agree to purchase books from the INDI Publishing Group for inclusion in their stores:

-    Each title must be professionally edited

-    Production must be consistent with the quality established by the market

-    Categorization must be consistent with retailer qualifications

-    Retail pricing must be in accordance with those established by the market

-    Titles must be offered as returnable and use the standard book discount

-    Each book must be published under an acceptable imprint, and

-    Every author has made a firm commitment to actively market their book(s)

Publishing, sales and distribution are not without risks. Sales and distribution does not in anyway insure the actual sale of your published book. Due to the nature of the publishing business, bookselling customers may or may not accept your published book and make it available for purchase through their systems. In the event the bookselling customers buy and distribute your book, there are no guarantees the public will purchase copies. Every author should understand that, due to the nature of the book industry, unsold copies of your published book may be returned for any reason regardless of whether you publish with our program. However, with our Independent Publishing Program your published book will be professionally published which maximizes your potential—and will have an opportunity for direct sales and national distribution to compete with all published books.   

The INDI Publishing Group is doing everything possible through the strength of our combined experience to avoid and reduce risks for the author. Wrong decisions without professional assistance may lead to mistakes costing time and money. Individual authors and most small independent publishers seeking access to major booksellers are faced with considerable obstacles and incur substantial costs. INDI Publishing Group has been successful at removing the barriers and combining the costs representing a huge opportunity for every author who enters this program.

Cost is always a consideration and the INDI Publishing Group was created to offer a quality independent publishing program in a business that is in need of a new paradigm for publication. Independent book publishing through our group allows good writers an excellent opportunity to pursue the creation of a professional written product and to introduce it to consumers through direct sales and national distribution. 

When you submit your manuscript to us, our editorial staff will review. Once we determine your writing has the necessary quality to adequately compete in the market, now you have a decision to make. We offer three options for publishing:

Option 1: Pre-publication advice and consultation through the entire process but no direct sales or national distribution.

Option 2: The complete Independent Publishing Program including everything a writer needs to publish a professional quality book that will compete on a national level.

Option 3: Writers who prefer to leave the requirements of professional book production to the INDI Publishing Group while still maintaining ownership and rights over their manuscript.

The cost varies with each option but the value is clear—you get a personal, professional, experienced publisher assisting you through every stage of production, direct sales and national distribution.

Once we have reviewed your manuscript you will be provided a “good faith” estimate for the cost of publishing a high quality book in our program. The options above excluding editorial, includes the following services:

-    Pre-publication consultation and collaboration at every stage

-    Direct sales and national distribution with expert guidance

-    Original cover design and development

-    Interior design, manuscript formatting, printer ready digital file

-    Basic marketing plan and implementation

-    Estimated cost of printing to market demand

Our program is unique in the fact that so much professional experience is available in one group to provide the level of competency necessary to separate your quality manuscript from all the rest. It provides access to new markets by utilizing a direct sales and national distribution channel, previously unavailable on a wide scale to most independent authors and especially unavailable to the largest, most recognizable names in print-on-demand and other self-printing/publishing companies.     

This group of professionals offers each of our authors expertise unsurpassed anywhere in independent publishing. The experts are seasoned veterans—many with New York experience and some who have won awards in their field. We recognize the importance of producing quality books.

I hope you will consider being published with INDI Publishing Group. Please contact me with your questions. We create opportunities for your writing and make dreams come true.  

Jerry D. Simmons,

Founder, INDI Publishing Group

Request our free Guide to Publishing now!

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