The Book Success System
The Book Success System is the six-stage methodology every Gravitas Press engagement runs on. It is available through Gravitas Press only.
How the six stages work
Positioning Diagnosis
Before any writing begins, the book's specific thesis, the reader it is written for, and the chapter architecture are defined. A book with a precise position is easier to write, easier to market, and easier for its intended reader to recognize as written for them.
DELIVERABLE: A written positioning thesis, target reader profile and chapter architecture before any writing begins.
Manuscript Development: the Voice Capture Protocol
Authors who do not have time to write speak instead. Structured, recorded interviews are scheduled around the author's calendar, then transcribed, structured and drafted into a manuscript in the author's own voice. Authors who arrive with a finished manuscript move straight to editorial.
DELIVERABLE: A complete first-draft manuscript in the author's voice.
Editorial Development
The manuscript receives a structural and line edit with attention to the author's field and its terminology. Review checkpoints come before final design, so the author approves the substance before it is set in type.
DELIVERABLE: A structural and line edit, with review checkpoints before final design.
Production and Imprint: Gravitas Press
The book is designed and published under the Gravitas Press imprint, in hardcover and paperback, with cover, typography, paper and binding specified for a professional readership. It is released through our distribution network to major retail and library channels.
DELIVERABLE: A finished book published under the Gravitas Press imprint.
Launch Engineering
A planned launch period covers the retail listing and category selection, outreach to the author's professional network, and podcast and press outreach relevant to the author's field.
DELIVERABLE: A launch plan and a record of the outreach completed.
Revenue Integration: the Book-to-Pipeline Bridge
The book is mapped to the author's business development: how it is used in client, hiring, investor, board and partnership conversations. This is the stage that connects a published book to the work it was written to support.
DELIVERABLE: A written plan for putting the book to work in the author's business.
What the system defines, and what it does not promise
The Book Success System defines the work and the deliverable at each stage. It does not guarantee sales, rankings, bookings, clients or any other business outcome. What a book produces depends on how it is used, which is why the sixth stage exists.
Who it is for
The Book Success System is delivered through Gravitas Press engagements, from $25,000 to $45,000, for authors publishing a book to support a professional practice or business. Columbia Publication's other programs deliver the services listed in their own package.
Apply to Gravitas Press → About the Gravitas Press imprint →