Intrigue Publishing – What’s the holdup?

Some writers have told us that one reason they self-publish is that they don’t want to wait forever to see their books in print.  Their faces fall when I tell them that if they publish with us they can expect their release date to be a year from the day they sign the contract.  And that’s twice as fast as some big publishers work. 
“But,” they protest, “I sent my manuscript to a Print-On-Demand publisher and had books in my hand in less than a month.”  That reaction tells me that the author doesn’t realize all the steps involved in the process.
The fact that we believe you have a well-written story worth publishing doesn’t mean your work is done.  We’ll have suggestions for improvements that will drive rewrite number one.  Then your manuscript will go to a professional editor.  She will work with you on the structure, flow, pace, plot, character development and dialogue.  Armed with a marked-up manuscript and a four or five page evaluation, you launch into rewrite number two.
Then the book goes to a proofreader who seeks out spelling and grammar errors and looks for inconsistencies.  Another staffer will make sure the mistakes are really mistakes and don’t mess with your voice.
Once we agree that the manuscript is as good as it can be it’s time for formatting and designing the interior.  Meanwhile we send the manuscript to our graphic designer to create a cover, plus matching bookmarks, print ads and related promotional materials.
At this point we should still be more than six months from release.  A galley proof returns from the printer and both the author and one of our staff read through it to ferret out the last formatting errors.  About this time the e-book version is formatted.  This is rather different from formatting a print book. 
The first shipment of books should arrive about five months from the release date.  These are really ARCs – Advance Reader Copies.  Some will be sent to other authors with requests for blurbs.  Others will go in review packets assembled the month before.  Most reviewers want to receive books at least four months prior to release, so they can read the book and get their reviews into their publications to coincide with the book release.
But we’re not done yet.  A book-specific web page needs to be built.  Press releases must be written.  Files must be uploaded to ebook sources.  And, while each book’s promotional plan will be different, many will include ordering a video trailer, mailing books to independent bookstores, placing print ads in a variety of publications, or arranging for blog tours or talk radio tours.  Each of these is a time consuming activity that must be done weeks in advance.
Oh, and let’s not forget the fun part – planning for the book release party.  Again, each one is unique.  Your book’s release isn’t an action – it’s an event!
There are a few other details of course, but this hits the high points and hopefully helps to explain why it takes so long for a good book to be born.