“All roads lead to Rome”, as the saying goes. But there's many ways to reach a destination, and just as many ways to choose between when determining how to present your story – especially the story of how your organization became what it is today.
There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all format that suits every subject or sector. This chapter is intended to shed light on the advantages as well as the disadvantages of various ways of presenting oneself, to help you determine which approach is best for your particular organization.
Time and time again, we see that larger organizations prefer to manage book projects by themselves, giving the task to an in-house department. This is undoubtedly an advantage when it comes to the chain of communication, as well as proximity to the book’s topic – generally, it’s only going to be a few steps from door to someone else’s office to gather the information needed.
However, the choice to keep development in-house can often be a mistake, particularly if it’s permanent employees assigned to the project. They may be well versed in the subject, but they often lack the necessary writing skills and experience for large-scale book-writing, which will have a negative impact on the book’s readability.
This problem can be avoided by turning to the writing experts, perhaps as freelancers. But, in addition to the possibility of costs increasing as the project grows, commitment to one individual may run the risk of losing flexibility once energy and resources have been invested in them. If it turns out during the collaboration isn’t a good fit, the project becomes interrupted, a new search must begin, and more time is spent in familiarizing a new collaborator with the project. It costs the client time, money, and energy.
As a more solid alternative, we always recommend working with an external provider who specializes in copywriting. These companies generally have an entire pool of experienced and accomplished copywriters, authors, journalists, translators, and editors at their disposal, so an agreement with one provider results in a multitude of skillsets and writers.
But, just like any other market sector, the cheapest offer should not necessarily be the first choice. It’s easy to find Internet platforms offering extremely low prices “per word”. But those cheap rates come at the expense of high quality standards, where relevant professional training or experience in copywriting or editing may be sorely lacking. Furthermore, if the offer seems amazingly cheap, a quick search into what the organization’s writers are paid will probably also sour their appeal.
In the end, the development of a specialized book is a long-term project, and the end result will act as a representative for the publisher, as well as your company. If you decide to work with an external service provider, you’re entering into a long-term relationship of trust. So, it only makes sense to perform extensive background checks, such as confirming author qualifications, their ability or interest in being involved over a longer period of time, and – if desired – whether they’re able to work on-site, either temporarily or permanently.
At the very least, always insist on an individual work sample before you decide who to work with, such as a short text with clear specifications attached! Even if this will cost you a small fee, it is worth the trouble and the expense. Only begin negotiating the entire project after you’re convinced of the service provider’s potential and abilities. Remember that good quality does cost – but is worth the price.
Sample Book Chapter
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