HERTER STUDIO LLC brings an innovative and experienced publishing perspective to a wide range of clients, including book and magazine packagers and publishers, consumer brands, Internet and entertainment companies, design firms, ad agencies, brand-name authors, literary agents, gift and stationery suppliers, retailers, individuals, and non-profit organizations.

One of the things we do best --- having spent many years on “the other side of the desk” in sales, acquisitions, and retail --- is to provide a thorough publishing education (an essential reality check) for clients unfamiliar with the business: how it all works, how long it takes, what will be expected of you and what you can expect in return by way of creative, marketing, and financial support. We specialize in long term, multi-book, multi-format strategies for individual creators, institutions, organizations, or big consumer brands --- and the agencies that promote them.

 The following services are available, in whole or in part, on a consulting basis. If at any time during the process, we mutually agree that HERTER STUDIO will take on a project as agent or packager, a portion of fees incurred to date will be credited against Herter Studio’s  future participation in earnings.

PUBLISHING STRATEGY

Evaluation

What is the book, gift, or magazine potential of your basic idea,
your imprint, your brand? Is it worth pursuing?  If so, how?

What needs to be done to realize your vision? 
What kind of help will you need, and where do you find it?
Is this something you can do yourself, or do you need a packaging partner?

How much money, roughly, are you likely to make

(in a best and worst case scenario)?

What will be expected of you -- contractually, creatively,
and from a marketing standpoint? What can you expect in return?

Concept Development

How can your idea be strengthened to attract its core audience? How do you package and position "the product" to distinguish it from the competition and to maximize sales, rights, and brand extension opportunities?

If you have a brand, a market, a product, a collection, or a store of unique content, are there viable book and gift concepts (or whole programs) to be built from your valuable, untapped assets? What are they, specifically?

We develop editorial and creative briefs, book maps, pricing specifications, publishing schedules, development plans, prototypes, and detailed projected financials for individual titles and entire lists, as needed.

Proposal Development

In a highly competitive marketplace, how do you position, package,
and present your idea to attract the best possible publishing partners
(and the largest possible consumer base)?

We direct and edit, or execute (as needed): 
the cover letter, written proposal, and design presentation.

Marketing Strategy

All proposals include a fully developed sales and
marketing strategy as a matter of course.

Submission Strategy

Where should the proposal go? How, when, and to whom? Who is the best fit editorially; who has the design and production capability; who has the right distribution and marketing reach? Who pays?  We take the view that there are only a handful of publishers capable of meeting the unique needs of each project. And that not all great publishers are big.

Please note that we only make submissions  directly (e.g. represent the project)

if we are functioning as the agent and/or packager.

Negotiation and Contract Review

You have an offer! Is it any good? Can it be improved?

Publishing agreements are notorious, as are most royalty-based contracts,
for ambiguities and loopholes that can drain earnings and
undermine creative autonomy.  Most of them can be avoided
(or at least modified) if you know what to look for.

We evaluate, coach, and/or actually get in there and
negotiate on your behalf --- either through resolution
of major deal points or through finished contract, as needed.

Ongoing

Once a deal has been signed, we offer sales, rights, and marketing supervision;
direct contact with the publisher and/or major accounts; and seasonal sales
 and royalty statement  reviews  -- all on an ongoing basis.

BRAND EXTENSIONS

In an increasingly brand-resistant world, books and ancillary gift and stationery products are an ideal marketing vehicle:  a revenue -generating  "ad" that communicates the brand promise with subtlety, integrity, imagination and the sort of longevity that no other medium offers. Whether intended for premium use or retail distribution, books are a unique and highly effective way to spark publicity, build brand loyalty, expand distribution, and significantly broaden your consumer base. They are also meaningful gifts for valued employees, vendors, and key retail customers.

If you have (or represent) an established  brand,  a specialized market, a great backlist, a hot consumer product,  a private or institutional collection, or  any other store of unique content, are  there viable book and gift concepts (or whole programs) to be built from your valuable, untapped assets? What are they, specifically, and how can they best be developed and sold?

Are there other opportunities worth exploring, and if so, how? We develop full business plans, names and logos, detailed prototypes, and investment strategies for magazine and website ventures inspired by best-selling brands.

In short, we translate brand identities -- be they authors, products, or services -- into publishing properties that generate significant revenue and exposure for the client. It is one of the things we do best, and one of the things we like to do most.

CUSTOM PUBLISHING

As an extension of these services, we also develop and produce finished proprietary book and gift ideas for corporate and retail customers. Please see Creative Development and Packaging for more information.

GIFT AND STATIONERY STRATEGY

Herter founded the gift and stationery division at Chronicle Books, which has rapidly become a market leader in both the publishing and gift and stationery industries, and is known for consistently innovative, imaginative, and successful ancillary product.  If you are thinking of expanding into this area, if your current program needs help, if you have gift and stationery lines with publishing potential (or a brand-name author with gift and stationery potential), we provide evaluation, concept development, production, distribution, strategic planning, and licensing services to help you maximize the  ancillary potential of what you own.

MAGAZINE AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

We work with specialized partners to develop full prototypes, business plans, and investment strategies for publishing-related magazine and website ventures.

ILLUSTRATED BOOK PUBLISHING

A special area of expertise.  Imprint development, acquisition strategy, design and production considerations, distribution, marketing, brand extensions, packaging, representation, and more. See Herter bio.

OTHER

BRANDSTORMING

We offer an experienced general publishing perspective for non-publishing clients (agencies, design firms, magazines, websites, film studios, institutions), and can be a valuable addition to brainstorming sessions for new clients or ventures seeking to reposition or extend their brands.

NAMING

We love to work on naming projects, and are smart, focused, fast, intuitive, and reasonable. We give you a name you can use, without $100,000 worth of "context." We can also oversee legal clearance and logo design, as needed.

START-UPS

We have also been hired to help prospective publishing start-ups assess

their risks and opportunities, and can provide a map for moving forward intelligently --- or not moving forward at all --- as the case may be.

Submissions

If you an individual author/creator and would like us to help with any of the Publishing Strategy services listed above, please send us query letter at books@herterstudio.com. See Representation for additional submission guidelines.

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