Fresh Ink Group Business Model

• Innovative Model
• Dynamic Strategies
• Author Empowerment
• Marketing
• Websites
• Poised to Grow
• Submission Guidelines
• Author Fiction
• Author Non-Fiction
• Artists
• Query Now

 The Fresh Ink Group, LLC, (FIG) boasts an exemplary collection of member authors, artists, experts, and myriad creators. We publish on a full palette of platforms from print books (hardcover and trade paper) to ebooks (Kindle, Nook, and more) to interactive websites and author sites. FIG’s primary imprint is “Fresh Ink Group,” but expansion plans include “Fresh Ink Urban,” “Fresh Ink Manga,” “Fresh Ink Graphic,” the how-to series “Making It Happen,” and others. Novels currently in pre-production range from literary to various genres, including thrillers, sci-fi, adventure, and historical. Upcoming non-fiction releases include essay collections, contemporary issues, self-help, and inspirational. Fresh Ink Group is aggressively enhancing its publishing arm with new writers, new categories, and new outlets.

Innovative Model

Very discerning, The Fresh Ink Group selects only high-quality writing that meets our standards for narrative prowess with great story-telling and/or valuable expert-caliber content. We reject the increasingly common style of author-participation publishing that accepts all comers, relying instead on acquisitions editors evaluating a project’s potential and readiness, then hand-marking every editorial improvement for careful consideration by the author and our production team. We believe that great books compel audiences to discover the entire FIG family, and that only the best writers deserve to benefit from our devoted reader-members’ expectations of great reads. 

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Dynamic Strategies

Fresh Ink Group stands apart from other publishers by working with authors on mutually agreed cover-pricing, retailer discounts, and Fixed Royalties. Then we operate nimbly, constantly optimizing penetration through our international printing and distribution networks, maximizing accessibility through the major etailers and popular worldwide ebook channels. Because we adapt so FIG books remain available for many years to come, you can build your audience over the long-term, even as you expand your oeuvre for new fans to discover. 

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Author Empowerment

Unlike old-style publishers who alter at will and only reluctantly tolerate author input, or the plethora of POD mills that print any kind of dreck for whoever pays the bill, FIG brings highest-caliber resources to the process while placing the author-partner in charge. The team includes our managing director, project manager, creative director with graphics crew and artists, editorial director with associate editors, webmaster, and a network of freelancers covering ghost-writing to publicity—all working with the author’s input and approval on everything from text revisions and layout and proofing, to image development and cover design. If you are so good that we want your work, then we want you to be so impressed by ours that you continue to help us help you grow your career while the quality of your product helps FIG grow along with you. 

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Marketing

Book and author promotion is ongoing and continually expanding. We work long-term with each author to exploit new applications and adapt to the changing market. We also work behind the scenes with a long list of exposure-optimizing strategies that, frankly, we consider proprietary—techniques that lead to success while competitors stick to the overused conventions long outdated and no longer effective. We are especially excited about working with innovative authors who also bring us ideas we can facilitate. Every author’s marketing efforts play a critical role in our book-selling success. 

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Websites

FIG authors and their books are featured in the www.FreshInkGroup.com website. The BOOKS section sells their work through major etailers while the AUTHORS section promotes the writers and their careers. Writers are expected to provide short content offered to visitors in our “Free Sendable” format, which showcases talent and encourages readers to forward pieces to friends and family, always including links and advertisements for full-length books by the wordsmith who just impressed them. Each author’s exclusive web destination automatically posts all the important information, but also includes four sections the author accesses by password for posting his/her own content, including “My Thoughts” (fan-mail excerpts the author screens and selects for posting), “My Reviews” (from book endorsements to etailer reader ratings), and “My News” (announcing new projects, release dates, appearances, or even non-book information such as where the author’s band will be playing or how to catch his or her stand-up act). FIG also announces new books, shares samples, and provides free content in regular newsletter-style emails to its private list that has steadily grown since 2002. Authors with their own sites are encouraged to link to FIG’s site, too, especially if they offer books through other publishers or feature additional products and services. 

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Poised to Grow

Since its inception in the early 1990s, Fresh Ink Group has focused primarily on managing its handful of writers and artists. Now the publishing industry is changing so fast that we have taken charge of every facet, from development to production to distribution and promotion. After keeping the club small for so long, we are allowing the group to grow strategically—but still keeping it exclusive. FIG is not for every author, and not every author is right for FIG. We encourage you to consider other options, but if your plans have no room for those in-your-face services presenting the low-brow image of vanity presses, or the indifference of traditional houses that refuse to commit to more than a small short-exposure run of your valuable work, then consider the Fresh Ink Group alternative. When you impress us with your submission, we’ll show you our contract, answer your questions, and ask to see more. Fresh Ink Group is making it happen, and with or without us you will, too. Consider the author and artist submission guidelines below. You might just earn your own place in the group, the Fresh Ink Group.

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Submission Guidelines

QUERY by email or snail-mail. If you want a response by snail mail, include a business-size SASE. Do not send any originals. Materials will be recycled, but if you need a bound non-fiction book proposal returned, include a suitable envelope with sufficient first-class postage. Do not send any originals. Allow 2-6 weeks for response. 

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Author Fiction

Whether you offer a query letter or brief summaries, tell us what you want us to know. Please include at least a paragraph or two describing the book’s CONTENT: a summary of the story(s), genre/category, target audience, and your thoughts on how it stands out among its competition. Include SPECS: approximate word count, graphics, cover image(s), editorial needs, and publication history (new book, already self-published or POD-published, traditionally published with reverted rights, etc.). Talk about the AUTHOR: name or pseudonym(s), publishing history, education, career, and how you would present yourself in a blurb. SAMPLES for the initial query should be limited to the first few and last few pages, and may include a synopsis or outline if you already have one. 

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Author Non-fiction

QUERY with a BOOK PROPOSAL only if you already have one. Otherwise, simply tell us what you want us to know. Please include a DESCRIPTION: at least a paragraph or two describing the content, table of contents, genre/category, and how it will stand out against the competition. Include SPECS: approximate word count, graphics, cover image(s), editorial needs, and publication history (new book, already self-published or POD-published, traditionally published with reverted rights, etc.). Describe the AUTHOR: name or pseudonym(s), publishing history, education, career, and how you would present yourself in a blurb. Talk about your PLATFORM: outlets you have or plan to build for promotion, such as workshops you teach, media exposure, client bases, web presence, etc. SAMPLES for the initial query should be limited to the first few and last few pages, and may include a synopsis or outline if you already have one. 

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Artists

Please QUERY to describe your career goals and how you believe FIG might play a part. Include your PUBLICATION GOALS: cover art, graphic design, illustrations, web graphics/design, graphic novels, manga, art collections, etc. Talk about the ARTIST: name/pseudonyms, education, career, publication history, and how you would present yourself in a blurb. Include a few samples of your work in a common file format and/or in 8½x11” color prints, photo paper not necessary at the query stage. 

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Have your materials ready and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Or mail your query to:

Submissions

Fresh Ink Group

PO Box 525

Roanoke, TX  76262

ALL SUBMISSIONS TO THE FRESH INK GROUP ARE CONFIDENTIAL.

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