To publish your book
Many new authors are overwhelmed as they try to choose a publisher or attempt to get their book published because they are unfamiliar with the publishing process and the insider jargon language. We believe an informed author is an empowered author.
We will work with you at each step. There is always a juggling of author skills, costs, and a top quality book. For example, all manuscripts require an editor. At a minimum every manuscript will require a technical editing for consistency of style, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc. Some manuscripts may require help in focusing the author’s very good ideas, so that the book will be a success. The best editor is not the author. Many books fail because the editing easily identifies them as do-it-yourself projects.
You need to know
What follows is a list of the details to be addressed in getting your manuscript to a published book. An informed author is equipped to participate in the publishing decisions.
- Manuscript preparation
Have a specific audience in mind and focus on that audience in preparing your manuscript. Some writing coaches recommend that you have one specific person in mind and write to that person. Focus! Focus! Focus! The more clearly your manuscript is focused on a specific audience, the greater the potential for success of your book.
Prepare your manuscript on a computer (MAC or PC) in one of the popular word processing programs (WordPerfect or Microsoft Word). It is best to send your manuscript to us on a disk or by uploading to our FTP site. When manuscripts are sent as e-mail attachments, the e-mail program sometimes replaces certain characters requiring considerable editing to reconstruct the manuscript. Manuscripts prepared on one of the older proprietary word processing systems will require a file conversion, which can add a cost.
- Library of Congress Control Number
The Library of Congress issues a control number that is used by libraries in cataloging books. We will obtain this information from the Library of Congress for subsidy-published books.
- Editing
- Subsidy publishing. For every book published under the Quill House imprint, we will do a basic technical editing for consistency of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, style, etc., following the Chicago Manual of Style. If we feel the manuscript subject has merit but requires a more substantive content editing, we will refer the manuscript back to you, recommend an editor, or work with you to provide a substantive editing.
- Self-publishing. If you wish to self-publish your book, we recommend a professional, basic technical editing. After all the work and cost of publishing, you do not want the book to receive a poor reception because it was not properly edited.
How well the manuscript is written may be a factor in the decision to publish a book. The book must be professionally edited.
- Cover design
It is said that a book cover has seven seconds to engage a possible purchaser. If he/she does not turn the book over to read the back cover text or open the book to look at the table of contents in seven seconds, you have lost the sale. We prepare a professionally-designed, custom cover.
Early in the process you may communicate ideas, photos, and/or art you would like incorporated into the cover design. We will work with you on a custom design; we do not rely on templates.
- Typesetting (formatting and design)
Commonly, authors think a document formatted in Word is sufficient for a professional publication. It isn't. The inside formatting and design of your book is an art, assisted by the spacing and kerning power of professional graphics software. Some type fonts are not appropriate for the text of a book. Some type fonts will not convert to the PDF formats required by the printer. Achieving a professional book requires a professional designer. Certain book subjects suggest a specific design or page format. The present printing technology requires PDF files for printing. We will do the book formatting and design so that printing problems are eliminated.
We professionally design the interior of the book. Our files will convert to a PDF so that printing problems and cost overruns are eliminated.
- Copyright registration
Protect your work! Your manuscript should not leave your computer without a title page and a second page as a copyright page. On that copyright page you should put the following notice: `Copyright 20XX (year) Your Name. All rights reserved.` (e.g., `Copyright 2006 Jane Doe. All rights reserved.”) If your manuscript consists of several self-contained items, such as poems, you will want to program your software to put your copyright notice as a footer on every page of your manuscript.
Your book may be copyrighted in your name or in the name of the publisher.
There are a number of steps to protecting your work. To print the copyright notice overleaf from the title page and file two copies of the printed book with the U.S. Copyright Office is a legal copyright procedure. However, a direct application for a copyright certificate may be made to the copyright office. There is a copyright office charge for the certificate.
Normally, requests for permission to quote from your book will be directed to the publisher of record.
For a book published as a subsidy publication, we will file the two copies with the copyright office.
- ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
The International Standard Book Number is the number used by distributors and bookstores to identify the publisher, order the book, and track inventory. We supply the ISBN for subsidy-published books. Self-publishers will have to purchase their own block of numbers.
- The barcode
A standardized barcode graphic is incorporated into the back cover design. The barcode is used at the checkout by bookstores and for inventory purposes. We can obtain the barcode for the subsidy-published books and for self-published books.
- Printing and binding of the book
Book manufacturing is a unique skill. You cannot walk into any printer and expect that they will have the knowledge needed--the appropriate design and formatting expertise, inks, UV coatings, signature impositions, etc.--to give you a quality, professional book.
We only employ companies that specialize in book printing.
- Marketing plan
- Subsidy publishing. We will work with you to create an outline for a basic marketing plan and assist you in drafting a preliminary marketing plan. We will prepare basic marketing pieces and promotional materials for you
- Self-publishing. We will provide you with a guide to developing a marketing plan and provide additional assistance as a cost for services.
Book marketing is the skill of finding the right niche to which to publicize the book and then to make it available to those who seek it out. You have written with a specific audience in mind, therefore, your involvement in developing the marketing plan is important.
- Order fulfillment
- Subsidy publishing. We will place your book in our inventory and fill orders that come to us. We guarantee order fulfillment support as long as you keep your book in our catalog for a minimum of two years.
- Self-publishing. If you choose to have us do order fulfillment, we will fill orders that come to us as a result of your publicity efforts, or orders that you forward to us. There will be a warehousing fee based on the number of copies to be stored.
Quill House is equipped to receive orders from book purchasers and fill those orders. We have a toll-free phone number, a fax number, an online catalog [BOOKSTORE], and an email address. Order fulfillment adds a cost to each book. Customers pay a shipping and handling fee which seldom covers costs of computer order entry, packaging materials, packaging, postage, and delivering to post office. Retailers and distributors do not pay shipping costs, so those additional costs are deducted from income received.