How we operate

Wind and Wheat Fields Publishing (WWFP) is a full-service partnership publisher.  What does that mean?  It means that we are 'full-service' in the way that a traditional publisher is with committing financial resources and marketing efforts to see your book published and marketed in a way that will be successful for you, the author and us the publisher.  All of the production, printing, distribution and marketing costs for your book are paid by us.  There is no cost to you as an author.  None up front, and none as you continue to work with us.  None ever.  Your job is writing the book.  Our job is everything else.  

We are different from a traditional publisher by way of who we work with.  You have probably discovered by now that even traditional publishers require you to be involved in the marketing of your book.  In fact, they won't publish your work if you don't have the audience that you're expected to market the book to for them.   We encourage authors to try the traditional route first.  There are books that sneak past the gatekeepers if someone in the company pounds the table hard enough and long enough to convince the powers that be to put their neck on the line for your manuscript.  It's a once in a blue moon occurrence, but it happens.  

You will find that if you're one of the few non-influencers that is able to get your work accepted by one of the 'big five' publishers, that they have financial resources and connections that smaller publishers like WWFD doesn't have.  WWFD is here for those that no one pounded the table for.  Don't be mistaken, we would love for you to have a huge following as well and we will ask for your help to market the book to that following if you have one, but it not the main factor in who we decide to work with.  We work with authors who literally have no social media accounts and no 'built in' audience.  We prefer quality over quotas.  

We are also different than a traditional publisher in our financial relationship with our authors.  In traditional publishing, authors receive an advance on royalties.  Once the book has sold enough copies to pay for the advance and other costs of marketing and producing your book, you will start receiving royalties on each copy sold.  Usually in a range between 10% and 15% for print and around 25% for digital editions.  Keep in mind that this is net of all costs. 

We do not pay our authors an advance.  Once the same costs have been covered that traditional publishers incur, we share in the profits 50-50 with our authors.  Traditional publishers usually pay authors once per year.  We pay authors twice per year.  We are in a true partnership with our authors, thus the name 'partnership publishing.'

The reason we do not pay advances is that we use that money to invest in the production cost of the book (editing, artwork, etc.) and marketing.  We are out less money than a traditional publisher and thus exposed to less risk.  The additional risk is why traditional publishers only want 'slam dunk' candidates with a built-in audience.  Please understand that WWFP is still taking substantial risk in taking on any project.  But we believe our proven marketing strategy can create a market if a product is exceptional and we believe in it enough to warrant the risk taken.  

There are no guarantees that this will work.  Despite our best efforts, not every book will make money.  WWFP will lose money on some (you, the author are not at risk of losing money), break even on others and many will be profitable for both you, the author and us, the publisher.  We are banking on it.  It is our business model.  We are taking all the risk as a publishing company.  You, the author are taking none.  You will incur no cost working with us.  Ever.  We would like for you to purchase 100 of your books at a reduced price (for you to use as gifts or to resell if you have speaking engagements, etc.) to help the sales numbers for your book and to help recoup a small fraction of the costs that we have put into the project (keep in mind that this will help the project break even sooner and help you get closer to the goal of getting paid), but we do not require this.  

We are not a 'vanity' publishing company.  Vanity publishers require that you pay them to publish their book.  Their business model allows them to make money even if your book doesn't sell one copy.  This allows them to not be picky about who they choose to work with.  If you have money, they want your book.  Yes, they hope that your book sells well because they will make money on that as well.  But they have planned on the vast majority of the books they publish not selling.  And they have the salesforce to prove it.  

Have you ever wondered why vanity publishing is the only publishing model that has salespeople?  They are paying their salesforce to round up as many authors as they can because if you agree to publish with them, they will make money.  Traditional publishing and partnership publishing does not make money unless your book sells enough copies to make back the publisher's investment.  We require your book to be successful if we are to make money.  Vanity publishers make money if you sell zero copies of your book and self-publishers make money if you sell one book.  

If you are in the crowd that just wants your book to be published and doesn't think that it will sell many copies, we recommend that you save thousands of dollars and do the research necessary to self-publish.  If you have a book that you feel is for the masses, we recommend trying the traditional publishing route first and coming to a partnership publisher like WWFP if traditional publishing doesn't work out.  Your odds of getting a book published with us are much higher.  

We do not require that you have a literary agent to work with us.  We accept agent submissions, but it is not necessary to have an agent to enter a publishing agreement with us.