UK Enterprise Awards 2019

12 | SME NEWS - UK Enterprise Awards 2019 Created to fill a gap in the publishing market, Notebook Publishing offers a truly unique alternative to traditional book publishing and self-publishing which is designed to change the industry for the better. To celebrate the firm’s success in this year’s UK Enterprise Awards we profile it and share the secrets behind its phenomenal success. Apr19457 Notebook Publishing was launched and built in direct consideration to the pain points experienced by aspiring writers across the globe. Owner and founder Hayley Paige was once just an aspiring writer. At the age of twenty-one, Hayley sought out hundreds of literary agents and publishers for her debut work, but all to no avail. Through her experience she realised that traditional publishers would only ever invest in ‘the safe options’, authors who were already known or whose work could be marketed as similar to an existing favourite, with new and inventive projects and riskier concepts not afforded the time or resources. Without another option, Hayley made the decision to self-publish. It soon became apparent that this would never work due to the fact that self-publishing authors were required to have in-depth knowledge and extensive skills in every aspect of the writing and publishing process, from editing and typesetting right through to cover design, distribution and marketing. As such, Hayley’s first book was not a success. It became apparent, at this point, that there was no solution to this issue availed on the market at the time. There was the traditional route, which was notoriously difficult to break and that demanded extortionate royalties and a loss of rights and control, or then the independent route, which, more often than not, would result in a highly unprofessional book, whether in terms of overall quality, cover design, inadequate marketing or a lack of exposure. There were also the vultures and sharks of the industry-the ‘vanity presses’-that were often found to be circling; they were looking to take huge payments for basic publication whilst taking all the rights and often undertaking no marketing, leaving many books to fail. Notebook Publishing: Best Book Publishing House 2019 All of this highlighted a gap in the market, which Hayley decided to fill by creating Notebook Publishing. Since launching, it has positioned its authors’ books as Best Sellers. She is now an International Best Selling author and directs her time and effort to positioning her authors to achieve the same, and all while ensuring they are positioned on the same high platform as those traditionally publishing but allowing them to retain complete rights and royalties. This a key aspect which differentiates Notebook Publishing from its competitors in the industry. This is because one of the most common problems in the publishing industry is that, when publishing traditionally, publishing houses can take up to 85% of an author’s royalties for the lifetime of the book’s success. This is also the case across a number of paid publishing houses, although this tends to be hidden from the writer. The team behind Notebook Publishing believe this to be completely unethical, and as a result all of their writers keep 100% of their royalties, forever. The company charges for its high- level, professional book-publishing services, but there are never any additional costs or charges, allowing for a transparency and trust that cannot be found elsewhere in the book publishing market. From book-writing mentoring programmes, complete with individual book blueprints to assist in the writing of a book, through to complete high-quality publication and worldwide availability across thousands of distribution, retail and wholesale channels, Notebook Publishing is setting the huge goal of changing the publishing industry. The firm is offering an innovative approach to the traditional model which has not been changed in many years and is now outdated and ineffective. The company also offers a selection of unique services, including its approach to cover creation with a view to creating something that will really speak to readers and draw them to purchase any given book. Devised and copyrighted by Founder Hayley Paige, this blueprint, guiding the design and creation of Notebook Publishing’s book covers, is exclusive to the publishing house and is therefore not available anywhere else. The Cover Creation Code (CCC) has been outlined following years of experience in the book-publishing arena, with a great deal of time and research invested in identifying the most fundamental elements inherent in any Best Selling book’s cover design. The results of this research led to the creation of this blueprint, which is now applied across all of the firm’s publications, helping to lead its authors towards that highly sought-after Best Seller status. “The company charges for its high-level, professional book- publishing services, but there are never any additional costs...”