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Price traps waiting to snare you

A costly trap is assuming that individuals or businesses offering the highest priced publishing services offer the highest quality of service.

A safer path is to learn the prevailing rates and stick to companies or persons who offer services at or near the prevailing rates.

It may be hard to penetrate the industry well enough to learn what the prevailing rates are. Obtain quotes from several sources and carefully compare the actual services offered to be sure all the help you need is included, and check the credentials of each source.

For example, three firms may offer editing services, one for $1 per 300 words, one for $4 and a third firm for $20. The $1 firm probably only checks for obvious spelling glitches, while the $20 firm may specialize in developmental editing.

Another price trap: The less you pay the better the bargain

You probably do not have any illusions about getting something for nothing. But be careful about paying the lowest price without checking first.

It is easy to slide toward the lower end of the price scale when selecting publishing services. "Word-for-word editing, $1 a page!" shouts the headline. "We'll publish your book for $99!"

For every low-price publishing "deal," there is a trade-off. In printing, low prices may mean that low-quality paper, poor ink or antiquated equipment. If pricing and quality both maintain high value, your tradeoff may be waiting for your job to "gang" with similar jobs. You may need to print 10,000 or more books to take advantage of the most efficient printing equipment. Or you may find the job will be printed in another country, with shipping and dock fees quickly swamping any price savings.

Physician Publishing represents a line of editorial and design work offered by Griffith Publishing, providing book publishing services since 1988.

Choose what you need

We offer top quality services for web design, brochure and posters, book and newsletter design, and logo design. All design projects are one-on-one with an award-winning West Coast designer. We never use templates.

We also offer custom-designed packages for virtually every communication need, including CD and DVD production, audio tapes, group presentations, and business reports.

We don't try to do everything ourselves, and neither should you. We evaluate and choose the best, and you receive the benefits.

Call Joyce Griffith at
800 359-9503