Finding a literary agenta pt 1

I have been meaning to post this for a few days but just kept getting sidetracked. So here it is for your FYI

 

A

Andrew Lownie Literary Agency
36 Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BU
Tel: (0207) 222 7574 
Fax: (0207) 222 7576
eMail: mail@andrewlownie.co.uk.
One of the UK's leading non-fiction literary agencies with an emphasis on history, biography, current affairs, reference and celebrity books.

Artists & Artisans, Inc.
244 Madison Avenue, Suite 334,
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 924 9619/15 
eMail: Adam Chromy adam@artistsandartisans.com 
Jamie Brenner jamie@artistsandartisans.com 
a full service literary management company representing writers of adult trade fiction and nonfiction. Query by eMail.

B

Blanche C. Gregory Literary Agency
2 Tudor City Place
New York, NY 10017
Tel: (212) 697-0828
eMail: info@bcgliteraryagency.com
This agency is interested in adult fiction and nonfiction. Children's literature will be considered.

Bloominghouse Literary
P.O. Box 9648
Austin TX 78766
Email: bhl_submissions@onebox.com
Interests in : Popular History, History, Americana, Biographies, Current Events, Self-Help & Reference Works, Mysteries, Thrillers, & Supernatural tales which are well-researched, sophisticated, and, above all, non-derivative. 

Brown Ink Books, LLC
4801 Kenmore Ave. Suite 120
Alexandria, VA 22304
Tel: 571-970-1022
eMail: aisha@msbrownink.com
New agency actively seeking submissions for commercial fiction, women's fiction, literary fiction, chick-lit, street-lit, and general fiction. Also interested in current affairs, history, health, cookbooks, spirituality, pop-culture, adventure, biography and memoir Query via eMail.

C

Christopher Little Literary Agency
Eel Brook Studios
125 Moore Park Road
London SW6 4PS
Tel: +44(0)20-7736-4455
Fax: +44(0)20-7736-4490
eMail: info@christopherlittle.net
Based in London the agency represents writers of adult fiction and nonfiction and children's fiction. 

D

Doris S. Michaels Literary Agency, Inc.
1841 Broadway, Suite 903
New York, NY 10023
Tel: (212) 265-9474 
Fax: (212) 265-9480 
Most interested in literary fiction with a commercial appeal and strong screen potential and women's fiction. Also nonfiction including current affairs, biography and memoirs, self-help, business, history, health, classical music, sports, women's issues, computers, and pop culture.

Dunham Literary
156 Fifth Avenue, Suite 625, 
New York, NY 10010-7002
Full service agency represents authors of quality fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children. 

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management 
One Union Square West, Suite 904,
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 627 9100 
Fax: (212) 627 9313
Full Service Agency. Handle genres as diverse as parenting, women's health, and cooking, literary and commercial fiction. 

E

The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
548 Broadway, #5E
New York, NY 10012
Tel: (212) 431-4554 
Fax: (212) 941-4652
eMail: Agent@EthanEllenberg.com
Represents authors and illustrators of a wide range of works, from commercial and literary fiction to children's books and serious nonfiction.

Eve White: Literary Agent
1a High Street 
Kintbury,
Berkshire, UK RG17 9TJ
Tel: +44 (0)1488 657656 
Looking for exciting fiction and non-fiction by new and established authors. Submit query with brief synopsis and three chapters (no eMail submissions).

F

Folio Literary Management, LLC
505 8th Avenue, Suite 603
New York, NY 10018
Tel: (212) 400-1494
Represents professional writers in a variety of genres and subject matters within the realm of fiction and nonfiction. 

G

The Gernert Company
136 East 57th Street 
New York, NY 10022
Tel: 212 838 7777
Fax: 212 838 6020
eMail: info@thegernertco.com 
The Gernert Company represents commercial and literary writers, nonfiction and writers of trade and scholarly nonfiction in subjects ranging from sports and history to current events and science).

Greyhaus Literary Agency
10315 82nd Ave. Ct. E
Puyallup, WA. 98373
Represents romance writers and women's fiction.

H-I

Hartline Literary Agency 
123 Queenston Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15235
Tel: 412-829-2483
Represents fiction and non-fiction books to leading mainline and inspirational publishers. 

Helen Heller Agency: 
892 Avenue Rd
Toronto, ON M5P 2K6
Tel: (416) 489-0396 
eMail: info@helenhelleragency.com
Represents adult fiction and non-fiction. 

J

JCA Literary Agency 
174 Sullivan Street
New York, NY. 10012 
Phone: 212-807-0888
Fax: 212-807-0461
particular areas of specialty are crime & suspense fiction, literary fiction, and serious non-fiction of all types. 

Jane Chelius Literary Agency
548 Second Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Tel: 718.499.0236
Fax: 718.832.7335
eMail: queries@janechelius.com
Accepts submissions from new and unpublished authors. Not interested in children's books, poetry, stage plays or screenplays. No longer handles science fiction and fantasy or category romance. Query by eMail.

K

The Knight Agency, Inc.
P. O. Box 550648
Atlanta GA 30355
knightagency@msn.com 
Represent a broad range of categories, including personal finance, business, music, popular culture, African American history, self-help, religion, health, parenting, romance, and literary fiction. Accepts unsolicited queries.

L

Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency
1029 Jones Street between California and Pine Streets
San Francisco, California 94109
Tel: (415) 673-0939
eMail: larsenpoma@aol.com
Adult book-length fiction and nonfiction.

The Literary Group International
The Stanford Building
51 E. 25th St., Ste. 401
New York, NY 10010 
Tel: (212) 274-1616
Fax: (212) 274-9876
eMail: js@theliterarygroup.com
Genres include Fiction, Business, Biography, Coffee Table, Health, History, Humor, Memoirs Music, Pop Culture, Sports, and True Crime.

Lowenstein-Morel Associates
121 West 27th Street
Suite 601
New York, NY 10001
Accepts both fiction and non-fiction submissions with particular emphasis in the multi-cultural market. 

M

Martin Literary Management
Sharlene Martin 
321 High School Road NE
Suite D-3, #316
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Tel: 206-201-3504 
eMail: Sharlene@MartinLiteraryManagement.com (nonfiction)
Ginny@MartinLiteraryManagement.com (mind, body, spirit)
Currently seeking submissions from new and established writers for non-fiction ONLY. No scripts, poetry, children?s books, or fiction. Queries accepted via eMail ONLY. EMail query letter, bio and short synopsis. 

Mercedes Ros, Literary Agency
Castell 38
08329 Tei
Barcelona - Spain
Tel: +34 93 540 13 53
Fax: +34 93 540 13 46
Email: info@mercedesros.com
Specializes in children's fiction and non-fiction, albums, board books, religion, games and crafts. 

Michael Meller Literary Agency GmbH
Sandstrasse 33
80335 Muenchen
Germany
Tel. +49 / 89 / 36 63 71
Fax +49 / 89 / 36 63 72
Email: info@melleragency.com
Represents fiction, nonfiction and children's books authors throughout the world. As a sub-agency we also represent translation rights from publishers and agencies from English-speaking countries. 

Mortimore Literary Agency
52645 Paui Rd.
Aguanga, CA 92536
Tel: 951-763-2600
eMail: kmortimer@mortimerliterary.com
Most interested in contemporary and historical fiction, romance, women's fiction, young adult and non-fiction. Accepts eMail queries ONLY.

pt2

N-O

Natasha Kern Literary Agency
P. O. Box 1069 
White Salmon, WA 98672
eMail: queries@natashakern.com 
Full service Agency represents commercial adult fiction and non-fiction books.

Nelson Literary Agency, LLC 
1732 Wazee Street, Suite 207 
Denver, CO 80202
Tel: 303.292.2805 (no phone queries) 
Email: query@nelsonagency.com
Represents fiction and nonfiction. See website for specifics.

New England Publishing Associates
P.O. Box 361, Chester, CT 06412
Tel: (860) 345-7323 
Fax: (860) 345-3660 
eMail: nepa@nepa.com 
A full-service literary agency specializing in biographies, business, crime, science, history, and reference/information books, women's issues. This agency does not generally handle juvenile books, poetry, or screenplays and is currently not taking first novels by new clients.

P-Q

Peters Fraser and Dunlop Group Ltd 
34-43 Russell Street
London WC2B 5HA
Tel: 020 7344 1000
Fax: 020 7836 9543
eMail: info@pfd.co.uk
A full service Literary Agency.

Peter Rubie Literary Agency, Ltd. 
240 W 35th Street, Ste. 500
New York NY 10001 
Tel: 212-279-1282
Fiction and nonfiction genres. 

P.S.Literary Agency 
20033-520 Kerr Street
Oakville, ON L6K 3C7 Canada 
Tel: 416-907-8325 
query@psliterary.com 
Representing both fiction and non-fiction.

Progetto Inediti
Piazza Filattiera, 48
00139 ROMA, Italy
eMail: info@progettoinediti.com
Italian literary agency for authors who have published or not yet published a work abroad, - to find the suitable Italian Publisher for their Italian-translated works.

Puttick Literary Agency 
46 Brookfield Mansions
Highgate West Hill
London N6 6AT
United Kingdom
Email: enquiries@puttick.com 
Represents authors for general nonfiction

R

Reece Halsey North
98 Main St., #704
Tiburon, CA 94920
Phone: (415) 789-9191
Fax: (415) 789-9177
E-mail: Info@reecehalseynorth.com
Fiction and Non-fiction. Generally not enthusiastic about children's fiction, cookbooks and poetry.

Richard Curtis Associates, Inc.
171 East 74th Street
New York, NY 10021
40 years experience in a wide range of genres including science fiction, fantasy, romance, westerns, thrillers, and horror. Also narrative and journalistic nonfiction, history, biography, business, computers, medicine, science, and mainstream fiction. Only represents authors who have been previously published by a major publisher.

Richard Henshaw Group
22 W. 23rd St., 5th Floor 
New York, New York 10010
Tel: (212)414-1172 
Fax: (212)414-1182 
Agency specializes in commercial Fiction and Non-Fiction with a special interest in all areas of Crime Fiction. 

The Robert E. Shepard Agency
1608 Dwight Way 
Berkeley, CA 94703-1804 USA 
Tel: (510) 849-3999 
Email: mail@shepardagency.com
Represents serious non-fiction books. Query by email or letter.

S

The Sagalyn Literary Agency
4922 Fairmont Avenue, Suite 200 
Bethesda, MD 20814
eMail: query@sagalyn.com
Full service agency with a focus on upmarket nonfiction business.

Spectrum Literary Agency
320 Central Park West
Suite 1-D
New York, NY 10025
Tel: 212-362-4323 
Fax: 212-362-4562
Accepts fiction and nonfiction works, though the majority of clients write commercial fiction such as science fiction, fantasy, mystery/suspense, romantic suspense, and historical romance. Queries must be sent via mail.

T

3 Seas Literary Agency
Michelle Grajkowski
P.O. Box 8571
Madison, WI 53708
Tel: (608) 221-4306
eMail: queries@threeseaslit.com 
Specializes in romance, women's fiction, and children's stories. Queries accepted by eMail ONLY.

Ted Weinstein Literary Management
307 Seventh Avenue, Suite 2407
New York, NY 10001 
eMail: submissions@twliterary.com
Represents non-fiction works only. Areas of focus include narrative, practical and pop culture: journalism and narrative nonfiction; popular science; biography and history; current affairs politics and contemporary culture; business and personal finance; sports; health, fitness and medicine; food and cooking; entertainment and pop culture (often based on popular Web sites or blogs), and quirky reference books.
Email submissions ONLY - please see web site before querying for full submissions information.

Trident Media Group, LLC
41 Madison Avenue
36th Fl. 
New York, NY 10010
Tel: 212-262-4810 
Fax: 212-262-4849
"Our mission is to represent and manage the careers of authors."

U-V

The Vines Agency, Inc.
648 Broadway , Suite 901, 
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 777-5522 
Fax: (212) 777-5978
Email: JV@vinesagency.com
The Vines Agency is an independent literary agency dedicated to providing full-service representation and management for clients, and offering representation to a broad range of fiction and non-fiction literary properties. .

W-X-Y-Z

Waterside Productions, Inc
2376 Oxford Avenue
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007
Tel: 760-632-9190
Fax: 760-632-9295
Literary Agency for Computer, technical and business genres.

Wm. Clark Associates
Query Form: http://www.wmclark.com/queryguidelines.html Literary Agent, William Clark, represents commercial and literary fiction and quality non-fiction to the book publishing, motion picture, television, and new media fields. Query ONLY by online form.

pt3

1. The New York Literary Agency

1. At the New York Literary Agency, we take pride in finding and developing fresh, new literary talent. We believe that just because you are a new writer ...
   www.newyorkliteraryagency.com/ - Cached - Similar pages

AgentQuery :: Find the Agent Who Will Find You a Publisher

Children's Literary Agencies

For Suzanne in particular :-)

Search Results

added note

This is just one type of contract and is individual to each publishing firm. there is a standards of sorts but it can have wide variations with certain areas. but this does gives you some idea of how things work.

 

Diva

Contracts

So the previous posting was a sample of a single author contract. it is pretty extensive right? Now imagine that doubled or tripled etc, by the amount of authors within the project and you have an idea of what a collaborative contract could look like.

I know this is far from the creative flow of things and the yes we can let's all chip in and git er done! But it is necessary. It's the bread n butter that will keep you fed enough to write another best seller and help you avoid some major pitfalls. Like having someone else reap all the benefits of your hard work and creativity!

The more you know about what a contract entails the better equipped you will be to negotiate your way through, not only this current effort, but future endeavors on your own. 

It goes without saying that you never sign without a lawyer looking over it first and if you are going to go the full out route with a publisher you will want a literary agent as well to help in that navigation. there are several sections that I would pay strict attention to like upfront payments and costs. what expectations they have, protection you have should the book not do well. What they would get and what you would get all that and more. 

If you have publishing or contractual questions let me know and I will do my best to find answers.

Diva

pt7

 

Page 4

   5

 

 PAYMENTS           for a reasonable reserve against returns and nonpayment of

                    invoices for copies billed out by the Publisher.

 

XV. AUTHOR'S             The Publisher agrees to present to the Author 100 (one

    COPIES          hundred) free copies of said Work upon publication, and to

                    permit the Author to purchase from it further copies for its

                    own personal use, at a discount of forty percent off list

                    price. Author shall be billed directly for these copies, and

                    shall make payment therefor within 30 days of invoice date.

                    No consignment sales shall be made to Author. Author shall

                    not receive royalties on sales made to him.

 

XVI. RECOVERABLE         All payments made by Publisher to the Author, whether

     PAYMENTS       under this agreement or not, shall  be chargeable against

                    and recoverable from any or all monies accruing to the

                    Author under this contract and for all other contracts

                    between the parties or their assigns.

 

XVIII. TAX               It is mutually agreed that State, Federal, and Foreign

 WITHHOLDINGS       taxes on the Author's earnings, when paid by the Publisher,

                    are proper charges against the Author's earnings due under

                    this agreement, and may be withheld by the Publisher.

 

XVIII. ASSIGNMENT        This agreement shall be binding upon and shall

                    ensure to the benefit of the parties hereto, their

                    successors, assigns, executors, administrators and/or

                    personal representatives and may be assigned by either party

                    hereto, except that no assignment by the Author shall be

                    valid against the Publisher unless the Publisher has

                    received written notice therefrom from the Author and has

                    consented to the same in writing.

 

XIX. ARBITRATION          Any controversy or claim arising out of this

                    agreement or the breach thereof shall be settled by

                    arbitration in accordance with rules then obtaining of the

                    American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the

                    award may be entered in the highest court of the form, State

                    or Federal, having jurisdiction. Such arbitration shall be

                    held in the City of Seattle, Washington, unless otherwise

                    agreed by the parties. The Author may at his option, in case

                    of failure to pay royalties, refuse to arbitrate, and pursue

                    his legal remedies.

 

XX. NOTICES                Any written notice required under any of the

                    provisions of this agreement shall be deemed to have been

                    properly served by delivery in person or by mailing the same

                    to the parties hereto at the addresses set forth above,

                    except as the addresses may be changed by notice in writing;

                    provided, however, that notices of termination shall be sent

                    by registered mail.

 

XXI. WAIVER                A waiver of any breach of this agreement or of any

                    of the terms or conditions by either party thereto shall not

                    be deemed a waiver of any repetition of such breach or in

                    any wise affect any other terms or conditions hereof; no

                    waiver shall be valid or binding unless it shall be in

                    writing, and signed by the parties.

 

XXII. DELIVERY             This agreement shall not be binding on either the

OF CONTRACT         Publisher or the Author unless it is signed by both parties

                    and delivered to the Publisher within a period of two months

                    from the date of the agreement.

 

The changes, alterations and interlineations made in Articles VII, X, XVI of

this contract and the additional Articles numbered NONE made and added before

execution hereof.

 

 

 

Page 5

   6

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have hereunto affixed their

respective hands and seals the day and year first above written.

 

 

 

LIGHTHOUSE PUBLISHING GROUP, INC.

 

 

 

/s/  JERALD MILLER                            /s/     WADE B. COOK

---------------------------------------       ----------------------------------

By:  Jerald Miller                            Wade B. Cook, Author

 

 

 

     6/26/97

---------------------------------------       ----------------------------------

Date:                                         Date:

 

 

/s/  JODI  COAL                               /s/     ROBIN ANDERSON

---------------------------------------       ----------------------------------

Witness                                       Witness

Name: Jodi Coal                               Name:

 

 

      6/26/97                                     6/26/97

---------------------------------------       ----------------------------------

Date:                                         Date:

 

 

 

 

 

pt6

 

Page 3

   4

 

                    proceeding asserted or instituted against the Publisher

                    based upon the publication sale of the Work by reason of

                    anything contained therein.

 

 PLAINTIFF ACTION       B.  The Author hereby grants to the Publisher the right,

 COYRIGHT           if copyright is in the Author's name, to bring in the name

 ASSIGNMENT         of the Author as plaintiff or complainant, any action or

                    proceeding for the enjoining of an infringement of the

                    copyright in the said Work and for any damages resulting

                    therefrom, and the net amount recovered after deducting all

                    expenses of suit shall be divided equally between the Author

                    and Publisher. The copyright shall be assigned by either

                    party to the other on demand, when necessary for bringing,

                    defending or maintaining a copyright action under this

                    agreement, after the termination of which action the

                    copyright shall on demand be reassigned.

 

 COMPETING              C.  The Author will not, without the written consent

 WORKS              of the Publisher, write, print, publish or produce, or cause

                    to be written, printed, published or produced, during the

                    continuance of this contract, any other edition of said Work

                    or any work in any form of a similar character or title

                    tending to interfere with or injure the sale of the Work in

                    any manner.

 

 AUTHOR'S                D.  The Author agrees, in the event that the Author

 PERMISSION         plans to incorporate in the Work any writings or composition

                    previously published elsewhere, to obtain and deliver to the

                    Publisher proper and complete written permission and

                    authorization to reprint same from the owner of the

                    copyright covering same.

 

XII. WITHDRAWAL          In case the Publisher fails to keep said Work in print

OF WORK             and for sale and after written demand from the Author,

                    declines or neglects to reprint the work within six months

                    and to offer it for sale, or in the event that, after one

                    year from the date of the first publication, the Work in the

                    opinion of the Publisher is no longer merchantable or

                    profitable, and it gives one month's notice to the Author of

                    its desire and intention to discontinue publication, this

                    contract shall terminate and all rights preserved, with any

                    plates of illustrations furnished by the Author and any

                    remaining copies and sheets shall be transferred to the

                    Author, provided that Author shall pay the manufacturing

                    costs (including composition) of such plates and the

                    manufacturing cost of such remaining copies or sheets, in

                    default of which payments the Publisher shall have the

                    rights to destroy any plates and to sell remaining copies or

                    sheets at cost of less, without payment of royalty to the

                    Author upon such copies or sheets. In case of the

                    termination of the contract, if the copyright is in the name

                    of the Publisher it shall assign said copyright to the

                    Author.

 

                        The Work shall not be considered to be out of print if

                    it is on public sale in any printed edition, in the United

                    States, or if there shall be in existence a contract for

                    cheap edition publication which provides for publication

                    within six (6) months after the work is out of print in the

                    regular edition.

 

XIII. BANKRUPTCY         A.  If a petition in bankruptcy (as distinguished from

                    reorganization or arrangement) shall be filed by the

                    Publisher, or shall be filed against the Publisher and

                    finally sustained, the Author shall have right to buy back,

                    at his option, to be exercised in thirty days, the rights of

                    publication at their fair market value, to be determined by

                    agreement, together with any plates or remaining copies of

                    sheets, at their fair market value, this also to be

                    determined by agreement, and thereupon this contract shall

                    terminate. However, no reversion of rights under this clause

                    shall take place until after the Author has repaid to the

                    Publisher any indebtedness incurred by him and still

                    outstanding under this agreement. If this agreement contains

                    a clause of option on future books by the Author, such

                    clause shall become null and void in event of the

                    Publisher's bankruptcy or receivership.

 

 AUTHOR'S                B.  The Author, upon his written request, shall have

 EXAMINATION        the right to examine or cause to be examined through

                    certified public accountants the books of account of the

                    Publisher insofar as such books of account shall relate to

                    the Work. If such examination shall reveal errors of

                    accounting (other than those arising from an interpretation

                    of this agreement) amounting to a sum in excess of ten

                    percent of the total royalties earned in the period under

                    examination to the Author's disadvantage, the costs of such

                    examination shall be borne by the Publisher, otherwise such

                    costs shall be borne by the Author.

pt5

 

Page 2

   3

 

                    without compensation to the Author, providing no

                    compensation is received by the Publisher. In case a

                    compensation is received, the Publisher shall pay the Author

                    fifty percent (50%) of the proceeds.

 

VI. REMAINDERS -        A.  If, in the opinion of the Publisher, the Work shall

OVERSTOCK           become unsalable in the ordinary channels of the trade the

                    Publisher may at its option sell part or all of the

                    remaining copies as "remainders" after first informing the

                    Author of its intention to do so.

 

                        B. The Author shall receive a royalty of ten percent of

                    the amount of the Publisher's sale price secured over the

                    cost of production for all copies of overstock which the

                    Publisher deems it expedient to sell at "remainder" prices,

                    i.e., at less than half of the catalog retail price, except

                    when these are sold at or below cost, in which case no

                    royalty shall be paid.

 

VII. SUBSIDIARY         A.  The further and additional rights referred to in

RIGHTS              this agreement are hereby defined to include the rights

                    enumerated below, and are to be shared by the Author and the

                    Publisher in the percentage indicated, less only such direct

                    expenses, including agent's commissions, as shall be

                    incurred by the Publisher in disposing of such rights:

 

 

 

 

                                                                                To Author     To Publisher

 

                    <s>                                                                       </s>

                    1. Abridgment, condensation, or digest......................   50%            50%

                    2. Anthology or quotation...................................   50%            50%

                    3. Book clubs or similar organizations......................   50%            50%

                    4. Reprint..................................................   50%            50%

                    5. Special editions.........................................   50%            50%

                    6. Second serial and syndication (including reproduction

                       in compilations, magazines, newspapers, or books)........   50%            50%

 

                         B.   All revenue derived from the sale of rights not

                    specifically enumerated, whether now in existence or

                    hereinafter coming into existence, shall be shared equally

                    by the Author and the Publisher.

 

                         C.   All such rights shall be disposed of by the sale,

                    lease, license, or otherwise by the Publisher who for that

                    purpose is constituted the attorney-in-fact of the Author.

                    The Author agrees to sign, make, execute, deliver and

                    acknowledge all such papers, documents and agreements as may

                    be necessary to effectuate the grants hereinabove

                    contemplated. In the event that the Author shall fail to do

                    so, they may be signed, executed, delivered and acknowledged

                    by the Publisher as the attorney-in-fact of the Author with

                    the same full force and effect as if signed by the Author.

                    All sums due under this Agreement shall be paid to the

                    Author's agent Money Chef, Inc. or other designated agent.

                    whose receipt shall be a full and valid discharge of the

                    Publisher's obligations and who shall act with the authority

                    of the Author in all matters arising out of this agreement.

 

IX. PUBLICATION     The Publisher, in consideration of the rights granted,

    DATE            agrees to publish the work at its own expense, in such style

                    or styles as the Publisher deems most advisable, not later

                    than 3 months after the Publisher's acceptance of the final

                    revised manuscript (except on account of late delivery of

                    manuscript by the Author, strikes, fires, other

                    contingencies beyond the control of the Publisher or its

                    suppliers, or advisability of postponement because of

                    prospective advantageous trade conditions, in which event

                    publication shall be postponed.)

 

XI. AUTHOR'S           A.  The Author represents and warrants to the Publisher:

    WARRANTY        (a) that the work is original; (b) that he is the sole

                    author and proprietor thereof, and has full power to enter

                    into this agreement; c) that the work has not heretofore

                    been published in whole or part in volume form and that he

                    has not entered into or become subject to any contract,

                    agreement or understanding with respect thereto other than

                    this agreement; (d) that if published it will not infringe

                    upon any proprietary right at common law, or any statutory

                    copyright, or any other right whatsoever; and (e) that it is

                    innocent and contains no matter whatsoever that is obscene,

                    libelous, in violation of any right of privacy or otherwise

                    in contravention of law. The Author shall indemnify and hold

<table><caption>

</caption></table>

pt4

 

V. ROYALTIES             A.  The Publisher shall pay to the Author the following

                    royalties on regular net sales, other than sales falling

                    within (B) through (F) below on the Retail selling price of

                    each copy sold: 10% on all copies sold.

 

 

LIMITED REPRINT          B.  The Publisher shall pay the Author one half of the

EDITION             stipulated royalty, as stated above, on all copies sold from

                    a reprinting of 3,500 copies or less, made after one year

                    from the date of the first publication, this reduced royalty

                    being provided by reason of the increased cost of

                    manufacturing of small reprintings, to enable the Publisher

                    to keep the Work in print and circulation as long as

                    possible.

 

 SALE OF                 C.  Where sheets are sold, except as a remainder, the

 SHEETS             percentage of royalty shall  be the same as for bound books

                    and shall be calculated on the net amount received by the

                    Publisher.

 

 FREE COPIES             D.  No royalties shall be paid on copies furnished

                    gratis to the Author, or for review, advertising, samples

                    or like purposes.

 

 EXCERPTS                E. The Author grants sole and exclusive rights to the

 PERMISSIONS        Publisher in the exercise of its discretion, to grant

                    permission to publish extracts from the Work, whether or not

                    a fee shall be collected on the Work for such use, the

                    Publisher warranting to make no gratuitous grants of

                    permissions, except as shall, in its estimate, advance the

                    sale of the Work or enhance the public esteem of the Author;

                    the Publisher shall pay to the Author one half of all sums

                    of money received as compensation for such grants of

                    permission to reprint extracts.

 

                         The Publisher is authorized to permit publication of

                    the Work in Braille, or photographing, recording and/or

                    microfilming the Work for the physically handicapped without

                    payment of fees and

 

 

 

pt3

 

Page 1

   2

 

                    he requires or which are necessary for the correction of

                    actual errors after the plates have been made in conformity

                    with the last proof as corrected by the Author. The

                    Publisher shall upon request keep the Author informed of

                    such excess charges.

 

    SUBSEQUENT          E.  When the Publisher considers it necessary, it shall

    REVISIONS       have the right in its sole discretion to call upon the

                    Author to revise the Work, and the Author shall make such

                    revisions. The provisions of this agreement shall apply to

                    revision of the Work by the Author as though any such

                    revision were the original Work being published for the

                    first time, except that the manuscript of the revised Work

                    shall be delivered in final form by the Author to the

                    Publisher within a reasonable amount of time; further, no

                    initial payment shall be made in connection with such

                    revision. Should the Author not provide the revision within

                    a reasonable time, or should the Author be deceased, the

                    Publisher may have the revision done and charge the cost of

                    such revision against royalties due or that may become due

                    the Author, and may display in the revised Work, and in

                    advertising, the name of the person or persons who revised

                    the Work.

 

    RETYPING            F.  If in the opinion of the publisher it is considered

                    expedient to have the manuscript retyped in as many copies

                    as shall be necessary, the cost of such retyping shall be

                    borne by the Author.

 

    PUBLISHER'S         G.  The Publisher shall be free to prepare the

    DETERMINA-      manuscript of the Work for the printer in such manner as

    NATION          shall be consistent with their publishing house style.  All

                    details as to the manner of publication, distribution and

                    advertising, including the format and price of the Work in

                    its manufactured form and the number and distribution of

                    free copies, shall be left to the sole discretion of the

                    Publisher.

 

                         H.  The Publisher will use the same care in protecting

                    the manuscript and other material supplied to it hereunder

                    as is its customary practice in protecting similar material

                    in its possession, but it shall not be liable for damages,

                    if any, resulting from the loss or destruction of such

                    materials or any part thereof.

 

IV. ADVANCE              The Publisher will pay to the Author as an advance

                    payment against all monies accruing to the Author under this

                    agreement the sum of: None

 

 

pt2

 

                    manuscript, approximately 70,000 words in length,

                    satisfactory in form, style, and content and acceptable to

                    the Publisher in its sole judgment and discretion.

 

    FORM OF            A.  Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Author shall

    MANUSCRIPT      furnish promptly and free of charge to the Publisher,

                    complete and ready for reproduction, all drawings, maps,

                    photographs, charts and designs which are a part of or

                    necessary to the text. If the Author fails to supply any

                    necessary drawings, maps, photographs, charts and designs in

                    satisfactory form and within the specified time, the

                    Publishers shall have the right to have them made and the

                    charges and expenses of making them shall be paid for by the

                    Author.

 

                        B.  The Publisher may, at his discretion, cause an index

                    to be made of the work and charge the cost thereof against

                    any sums due the Author hereunder.

 

    AUTHOR              C.  The provisions as to satisfaction and acceptability

    COMPLIANCE      to the Publisher and time of delivery of such copy are

                    material terms of this agreement and upon the Author's

                    failure to comply with any of such provisions, the Publisher

                    may at its option by written notice to the Author terminate

                    this agreement, whereupon the Author shall return to the

                    Publisher all amounts which it may have advance to him. In

                    such event, if the manuscript should be completed

                    subsequently, the Author shall nevertheless be obligated to

                    offer the same to the Publisher, which at its option, shall

                    have the right to publish the same upon the terms of the

                    agreement.

 

    CORRECTIONS         D.  If the Publisher is directed by the Author to make

                    alterations in any proofs from final copy as delivered,

                    which shall cost more than ten percent of the cost of

                    composition of the Work, the Author agrees to pay said

                    excess. The Author shall pay in full for any corrections in

                    the plates which

 

 

PUBLISHING AGREEMENT sample pt1

 

LIGHTHOUSE PUBLISHING GROUP, INC.

                              PUBLISHING AGREEMENT

 

 

         This AGREEMENT is effective the 1st day of May 1997 , between Wade B.

Cook of Seattle, Washington (hereinafter called the Author) and Lighthouse

Publishing Group, Inc. , whose principal place of business is at 14675

Interurban Avenue South, Seattle, Washington, 98168-4664, (hereinafter called

the Publisher).

 

I.   GRANT OF       The Author hereby grants, assigns, and transfers to the

     RIGHTS         Publisher the following exclusive rights and privileges to

                    and in connection with a Work, presently entitled Business

                    Buy The Bible which Work is a book.

 

                        A. The sole and exclusive book publication rights in the

                    United States, its territories, dependencies, and

                    possessions, the Republic of the Philippines, and Canada,

                    and the right to sell copies of the Work in the open market

                    throughout the world.

 

                        B. The sole and exclusive subsidiary publication and

                    performance rights set forth in Article VIIA below. These

                    subsidiary publication and performance rights are granted to

                    the Publisher for the United States, its territories,

                    dependencies, and possessions, the Republic of the

                    Philippines, and Canada, and include the right to authorize

                    others to exercise in any foreign country any of the rights

                    granted to the Publisher.

 

II. COPYRIGHT           It is understood and greed that the copyright shall be

                    secured by the Publisher in the name of the book and the

                    Publisher is hereby authorized to take all steps required to

                    secure such copyright in the United States of America. The

                    Publisher agrees to print an appropriate copyright notice in

                    each and every copy of the published work and to require all

                    parties to whom it grants licenses in connection with the

                    work to do the same. The party in whose name copyright is

                    registered shall hold for the benefit of the other such

                    rights as the equities hereby created may prescribe. Unless

                    it specifically agrees to do so in writing, the Publisher

                    shall not be responsible for securing any copyright outside

                    the United States of America.

 

III.  MANUSCRIPT    The Author agrees to deliver to the Publisher not later than

                    May 28 , 1997 three finally revised copies of the

 

Owning A Self Publishing Company

Back in 1996 I decided after holding onto a play for four years that I wanted to have it published so that I could then put it out there for theatre companies to use and of course get recognition along with royalties, I also wanted to publish a book on poetry and found that it was not so popular with bigger publishing companies.

There were smaller ones of course but in looking into them the comparisons to somehow publishing it on my own or using one of them seemed to close to favor the latter, especially when the fact became clear that having my own company  gave me more control over what I chose to publish and when as well as the benefits of allowing me greater opportunities to publish other things besides books.

It opened up the possibility of magazines and greeting cards, posters you name it. So I created Valentine Baby Publishing and armed with my block of 100 ISBN numbers, I put out two publications The play 'Cinderella Rated X The Untold Story [a bawdy english style retelling of the age old tale not porno peoples] and my first book of poetry

 

 

'The Lovers Illustrated book of Poetry'  

 

 

 

followed by 'Healing Ground Peaceful Waters'

During this time my film and television career began taking off again and so was my craft business so VBP languished a bit although I did use it to copyright all my murder mysteries and create a book of murder mystery titles for hire. I also used it to copryght the screen play versions of said mysteries for a project to shop to HBO. 

I continued to write and have three books  near completion. still until this last year I had not really had the chance to get back to it for more than a short amount of time. the great thing is those numbers never expire and the company can lay dormant for as long as need be then I can reactivate as time allows. 

Which, thanks to PNN lighting a fire under my writers behind, has reignited the flame so to speak and made that time much closer at hand. I can say that I really like the ability to publish as I choose and with this option, though I incur upfront costs I make money on distribution without having to pay a middle man. nowadays it is as easy as creating the web presence a decent page with your book a short bio maybe a chapter or two and publicity publicity publicity  to get the word out there and put your book in demand. the tricks of getting noticed  coming in the next article. 

 

 

 

Current works waiting in the wings to be published some more poetry 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Start a Publishing Company

You've written a great manuscript, but you can't get an agent or publishing house to give you the time of day. There are several options open to you, including starting your own publishing business. You don't have to share the profit with anyone, and you have total control over your project. And once you learn how to run your publishing business, you can begin publishing other authors' work.

PRINT ON DEMAND SELF-PUBLISHING SERVICES

Print on demand (POD) is the commonly-used term for the digital printing technology that allows a complete book to be printed and bound in a matter of minutes. Digital printing makes it easy and cost-effective to produce books one or two at a time or in small lots, rather than in larger print runs of several hundred or several thousand. 

Digital printing has a number of applications. Commercial and academic publishers use it to print advance reading copies, or when they can't justify the expense of producing and warehousing a sizeable print run--for instance, to keep backlist books available.Small presses use it as a more economical fulfillment method, trading minimal startup costs against lower per-book profits (due to economies of scale, digitally printed books have a higher unit production cost than books produced in large runs on offset presses). Last but not least, there are the print-on-demand self-publishing services, which offer a fee-based service that can be described, depending on one's bias, as either vanity publishing or self-publishing.

What is a Print-on-Demand Self-Publishing Service?

Print-on-demand self-publishing services (I'm going to call them POD services for short) utilize digital printing technology to provide publishing services to writers. They range all the way from bare-bones services like Lulu.com, which provides free online templates that allow anyone to upload and format a book that can then be ordered from the service's website, to super-fancy (and extremely expensive) packages that include editing, custom cover design, enhanced marketing, and other extras.

Most POD services charge a fee, ranging anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars (though as noted above, some offer a basic free package). They don't typically screen submissions; if they do, it's usually only to exclude pornography or hate literature. If you want editing, proofreading, custom design, or book marketing, you will probably have to add these on to the basic publishing package, at additional cost. Though most POD services' contracts take only nonexclusive digital and epublishing rights, the lion's share of a book's sales price still goes to the service, to offset printing and production costs. The author's income is in the form of a royalty.

POD services do provide a form of self-publishing (some will let you put the name of your own imprint on your book, set your own cover prices, designate a royalty percentage, etc.), but there are important differences between a POD service and true self-publishing:

• Control. With self-publishing, the writer controls all aspects of the publishing process, from cover art to print style to pricing. With POD services, choice is limited to the package of services the publisher offers.

•  

• Revenue. With self-publishing, the writer keeps all proceeds from sales. With POD services, payment comes in the form of a royalty. Basically, you're paying the publisher twice: once upfront, and once with each book produced and sold.

•  

• Rights. With self-publishing, all rights remain with the writer, who has full ownership of his/her books, including the ISBN number. With most POD services, the POD service owns the ISBN, and has a claim on digital and/or electronic publishing rights, even though it's usually limited and nonexclusive.

As Ron Pramschufer of the very useful Publishing Basics website puts it, "If you are not the publisher...you are not a self-publisher, nor are you self-publishing." In practice, POD services more closely resemble vanity publishers--which is how they're generally regarded by readers, reviewers, and booksellers.

Pros and Cons

For writers who don't want to go through the submission process required by commercial publishers, or aren't concerned about commercial potential, or just want to produce a few dozen copies of a family memoir or genealogy or recipe book for private distribution, a POD service can be an excellent option. The best of the PODs provide attractively-designed books at a far lower cost than traditional self- or vanity publishing (although costs are steadily rising, and some of the fancier POD packages are nearly as expensive as old-style vanities), and offer many of the same benefits, including guaranteed publication and the absence of editorial interference. Also, since the book is produced only when ordered, you don't risk winding up with a garage full of unsold volumes. 

POD services offer an opportunity to established authors seeking to bring their out-of-print books back into circulation. A number of POD services offer programs specifically targeted to such authors, often in association with professional writers' groups. The Authors' Guild, for instance, has teamed with POD service iUniverse for its Back In Print program, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors offers a similar program via ASJA Press.

A POD service can also be a good option for niche nonfiction projects. These can be a tough sell for commercial or academic publishers, but they can do well for the motivated self-publisher who has a way of reaching his or her audience, and is able to devote time and money to self-promotion. Writers who can exploit "back of the room" situations may also do well with a POD service--someone who lectures or conducts workshops, for instance, and can sell books at these occasions, or a restauranteur who wants to make a cookbook available to his or her customers. 

If you're a new writer looking to establish a career, however, a POD service is probably not a good choice--except possibly as a fallback option for a manuscript that has failed to find a home. POD services' policies on pricing, marketing, and distribution severely limit their books' availability (see the Issues section, below), and are likely to result in tiny sales and readership, even for authors who diligently self-promote (see the Sales Statistics section, below). It's unlikely that a book published by a POD service will be considered a professional publishing credit, or that, as many authors hope, it will provide a stepping stone to commercial publication. According to a 2004 article in the New York Times, out of the 10,000 or so titles published by POD service Xlibris, only 20 had been picked up by commercial publishers. 

If you spend time on the Internet, you will probably encounter people who are eager to dispute this. They'll tell you that commercial publishing is on its last legs, and self-publishing is the way of the future. They'll claim that the stigma traditionally associated with self- and vanity publishing has all but disappeared, and it's becoming ever more common for self-published books to be picked up by bigger publishing houses. They'll often be able to point you to a news story about a writer who parlayed self-publishing into a lucrative commercial contract.

But bigger publishers have always been interested in self-published books that sell robustly. There's nothing new about that; just Google What Color Is Your Parachute? or The Christmas Box. Anyone who is able to shift several thousand copies of their self-published book in the first few months of release will probably be able to get interest from an agent or editor--in part because agents and editors know how extremely difficult it is to accomplish this. For most self-pubbed authors, however, sales figures will be in the low three digits. It's not very likely 

Sales Statistics

The average book from a POD service sells fewer than 200 copies--mostly to "pocket" markets surrounding the author--friends, family, local retailers who can be persuaded to place an order--and to the author him/herself. According to the chief executive of POD service iUniverse, quoted in the New York Times in 2004, 40% of iUniverse's books are sold directly to authors. 

POD services' own statistics support these low sales figures. AuthorHouse's online Fact Sheet, updated in September 2008, reported 36,823 authors and 45,993 titles. According to the New York Times, AuthorHouse reports selling more than 2.5 million books in 2008, which sounds like a lot, but averages out to around 54 sales per title.

iUniverse's 2005 Facts and Figures sheet reports that the company published 22,265 titles through the end of that year, with sales of 3.7 million: an average of 166 sales per title. Obviously some titles can boast better sales (Amy Fisher's If I Knew Then sold over 32,000 copies)--but not many. According to a 2004 article in Publishers Weekly, only 83 of more than 18,000 iUniverse titles published during that year sold at least 500 copies. And in a 2008 article in The New York Times, iUniverse's VP, Susan Driscoll, admitted that most iUniverse authors sell fewer than 200 books.

As of 2004, stats for Xlibris were similar. According to a Wall Street Journal article, 85% of its books had sold fewer than 200 copies, and only around 3%--or 352 in all--had sold more than 500 copies. Things looked up in 2007: according to Xlibris's own internal reports, recently obtained by Writer Beware, 4% of its titles had sold more than 1,000 copies. However, the averages still aren't good. As of mid-2007, Xlibris had 23,000 authors and had published 23,500 titles, with total sales of over 3 million--around 127 sales per title.

Once independent companies, AuthorHouse, iUniverse, and Xlibris are now all owned by the same company, Author Solutions. In a New York Times article published in early 2009, Kevin Weiss, Author Solutions' CEO, put the average sales of titles from any of the company's brands at around 150.

Lulu.com, one of the most popular and cost-effective of the POD services and still independent despite the apparent trend toward consolidation among POD services, is explicit about its long tail business model. In a 2006 article in the Times UK, its founder identified the company's goal: "...to have a million authors selling 100 copies each, rather than 100 authors selling a million copies each." A Lulu bestseller is a book that sells 500 copies. There haven't been many of them.

POD Issues to Consider

Issues to Consider

Apart from the lack of sales and credibility discussed above, there are a number of additional issues to consider if you're thinking of using a POD service.

• Booksellers don't like dealing with POD services. In order to sell books in significant numbers, you need bricks-and-mortar bookstore placement. Don't believe the hype about the power of the Internet: only around 10% of all new books are bought online. Bookstores are still where most people do their bookbuying. 
  
  Books from POD services are generally available through the service's website, and from Amazon and other online booksellers. Most POD services also list their books in the catalogue of a major wholesaler such as Ingram, which ensures that they'll be available for order at just about any bookstore in the US. But "available" doesn't mean "stocked" (a fact that some of the more deceptive POD services do their best to obscure). By long tradition, booksellers are accustomed to a particular set of buying protocols--discounts of 40% or more, 60- or 90-day billing, and full returnability. Many POD services don't offer industry-standard discounts, and most require that orders be pre-paid. And while some services do offer returnability if authors pay an extra fee, it's usually a fairly restrictive policy that booksellers may not find attractive. All these factors, together with the POD services' reputation as vanity publishers, make booksellers reluctant to stock a book from a POD service. 
  
  If stores won't stock the books, they should at least be willing to order them. But booksellers' policies on this vary. Some will order any book you ask for. Others are selective--Barnes & Noble, for instance, which owned a minority stake in fee-based POD iUniverse, at one point would only order iUniverse books--and some booksellers refuse to carry books from POD services in their computer systems at all. 
  
  Authors who are willing to go door-to-door can be successful in persuading local bookstores to stock their books (though often they must sell them on consignment, or agree to buy back unsold copies). By and large, however, books from POD services, like ebooks, are available only through online sources.

•  

• Books from POD services are expensive. POD services base their pricing on the amount of paper it takes to print the book. Some make an attempt to hold prices down with flat or negotiable rates, but in most cases your book will cost more--often a lot more--than a similar book from a commercial publisher. Readers may balk at paying $25 or $30 for a trade paperback-size book, especially when its commercially-printed counterpart costs around $16.

•  

• Books from POD services may be of poor physical quality. POD-produced books can be almost indistinguishable from traditionally-printed trade paperbacks. But some POD services skimp on paper and cover stock, and don't pay enough attention to production standards. Books from these companies can be shoddy in appearance, with covers that curl and pages that fall out as you're reading them. POD-produced books are also often bound with a narrow spine, so that they look more like pamphlets than books. 
  

•  

• Books from POD services are unlikely to be reviewed in professional venues. Good reviews in major newspapers and magazines, as well as trade journals like Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, can be a boost to sales. But trade journals will only review in advance of publication, and POD services rarely produce galleys or advance reading copies--or, if they do, charge extra for it. Also, as noted above, reviewers are wary of books from POD services.

•  

• Your book will not be publicized. As has already been mentioned, POD services aren't publishers, but purveyors of publishing services to writers. Their primary interest is in selling their service to you. Selling your book to readers is of secondary importance. A listing on the company's website and with various online booksellers, as well as inclusion in a wholesaler's catalogue, is all the publicity most POD services provide. If you want more, you will have to arrange it yourself.
  
  Many POD services offer marketing packages or media kits for an extra fee. But prices can top $1,000, and packages tend to be based on minimally effective methods such as press releases, postcard mailers, and mass solicitation of media contacts (for a more detailed discussion of the inadequacies of these marketing techniques, see the Writers' Servicespage). They're usually a waste of money.

•  

• There may be extra expenses. The basic cost of a POD service can be increased by additional costs not included in the initial package: renewal fees, distribution fees, extra charges for non-template cover design, charges for corrections in proof, etc. Be sure, when you're assessing a service, to check for these kinds of costs.

•  

• Your contract may be nonstandard. In commercial publishing, contracts vary in their particulars, but tend to share a basic boilerplate. With POD services, there's no standardization. Many of the services offer decent time-limited, nonexclusive contracts, but others can be very author-unfriendly.

•  

• Royalty income may be less than you think. POD services are likely to base royalties not on a book's retail price, but on its net price--the retail price less discounts and/or the publisher's overhead (sometimes not specified, so you're not sure exactly how much will be deducted). What looks like a high royalty percentage may not actually work out to a lot of money.

•  

• Problems and delays are possible. Some POD services have trouble with timeliness in book production and order fulfillment, and one of the biggest, AuthorHouse, is known for providing poor customer service. Before choosing a service, it's a good idea to scout for complaints, and to contact writers who've used the service.

•  

• A trend toward consolidation? Consolidation, which changed the face of the commercial publishing industry in the 1980's and 1990's, appears to have come to POD self-publishing. In 2007, Author Solutions, the parent of AuthorHouse,acquired rival POD service iUniverse. In early 2009, it purchased another rival, Xlibris. Is this a trend, or just one company expanding? It's too soon to tell, but still something to be aware of.
  

•  

• Ignore the hype. POD services often portray themselves as a revolutionary new publishing model that's opening up a world of opportunity for writers locked out of the market by the narrow standards of the monopolistic commercial publishing industry. Heady terms like "paradigm" and "democratization" are tossed around. But there's nothing new about paying to get published--or about the opportunity it offers, which is mainly for the publisher to make a profit. Most of the traditional difficulties faced by authors who pay to publish are duplicated in the POD service model.

If You Decide to Use a Service

Go into it with your eyes open. Consider all the issues and challenges identified above, and factor them into your plans.

Have concrete goals in mind. Know what you want to accomplish by self-publishing. Draw up a list of what you'd like to receive from a POD self-publishing service. Decide what you're able to spend--and don't fail to factor self-promotion into your budget. Being clear on these things ahead of time will make it easier for you to evaluate POD services and decide which one to use.

Do your research. Make sure you carefully read POD services' websites--including contracts, which are usually available online--so that you know exactly what's being offered. Many authors miss extra fees, for instance, because they don't take enough time to peruse the fine print. Research the companies' reputations--not all are reliable (there are resources below to help you do this). If possible, contact other authors who've used the services you're considering to find out about their experiences. And don't forget to order a couple of the service's books, so you can assess physical quality and ordering efficiency.

Keep your expectations realistic. Know the possible limitations--and, depending on your situation, the possible strengths--of POD self-publishing, and understand what it is and is not likely to accomplish for you. Writer Beware gets many complaints from authors who believe they've been scammed by self-publishing companies, when in reality it's their expectations that were faulty--whether because they didn't read their contracts carefully enough, or erroneously assumed that self-publishing was a viable avenue to commercial-style success.

Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know

25 continued

7. Have a clear goal for your book.

 

This will help dictate what service you go with. For instance, if your objective is to create a book for posterity's sake (so your friends and family can read it for all eternity), you won't have to invest a lot of time or money to produce something that's quite acceptable. Lulu is probably your best bet. However, if yours is a commercial venture with big aspirations, things get pretty tricky.

8. Even if it's great, there's a good chance your book won't sell.

If your book is really mediocre, don't expect it to take off. But even if it's a masterpiece, there's a good chance it won't fly off the shelves. In other words, quality isn't a guarantee of success. You'll be lucky to make your investment back, let alone have a "hit" that brings in some real income. Don't quit your day job yet.

9. Niche books do best.

This seems to be the mantra of self-publishing. Nonfiction books with a well-defined topic and a nice hook to them can do well, especially if they have a target audience that you can focus on. Religious books are a perfect case in point. And fiction? Well, it's next to impossible. But then again, the majority of fiction books--even ones from "real" publishers--struggle in the marketplace. That's why traditional publishers stick with tried-and-true authors with loyal followings.

10. Buy your own ISBN--and create your own publishing house.

If you have market aspirations for your book, buy your own ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and create your own publishing company.

 

Even if you go with one of the subsidy presses for convenience sake, there's no reason to have Lulu, BookSurge, CreateSpace, iUniverse,Xlibris, Author House, Outskirts, or whomever listed as your publisher. For $99 (what a single ISBN costs) and a little added paperwork, you can go toe-to-toe with any small publisher. Lulu.com sells ISBNs. BookSurge does not. I bought mine at RJ Communications, which also provides author services. The complete list of sellers is here.

11. Create a unique title.

Your book should be easy to find in a search on Amazon. It should come up in the first couple of search results. Unfortunately, many authors make the mistake of using a title that has too many other products associated it with it--and it gets buried in search results. Not good. Basically, you want to get the maximum SEO (search engine optimization) for your title, so if and when somebody's actually looking to buy it they'll find the link for your book--not an older one with an identical title.

12. Turn-key solutions cost a lot of money.

You've written your book and God knows you'd like to just hand it off to someone, have a team of professionals whip it into shape, and get it out there. Well, there are a lot of companies that will offer to make just that happen--and do it in a fraction of the time a traditional publisher could. But those "packages" range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to upwards of $25,000 for the deluxe stuff at BookPros with some marketing/PR extras rolled in. (BookPros says it's selective and aims to take on books that it thinks will sell).

These folks can potentially put together a really nice book for you. But I've also heard a lot nightmare stories where people come away disappointed with the process and feel ripped off. Read this interesting interview with iUniverse CEO Kevin Weiss. Then read the comments in the comments section. You'll catch my drift.

13. Self-publishers don't care if your book is successful.

They say they care, but they really don't care. You have to make them care.

14. Buy as little as possible from your publishing company.

Self-publishing outfits are in the game to make money. And since they're probably not going to sell a lot of your books, they make money by selling you services with nice margins. That's OK. Some of the services are worth it--or at least may be worth it. In an experiment, I've invested in BookSurge's Buy X, Get Y program that pairs your book with an Amazon bestseller. While it's pricey--it's normally $1,000 a month, but during a special sale, I bought 3 months for the price of two--and may not help you sell all that many books, it does put your thumbnail image in front of a lot of people. (I've participated in the program for three months and while I'm still trying ascertain how effective it is, one things seems clear: You get the most benefit from being paired with a book that's in the top 25. In the two months that I had a very high-ranking book, I felt I had some success with the program--and it was worth it at the price I paid. However, $1,000 seems a little too steep, especially if you don't get a great pairing. I'll offer further updates in the future.)

Personally, I'd never work with BookSurge's in-house editors, copy editors, and in-house design people. That doesn't mean they're bad at what they do (I've seen some covers that are well done). But if you can, it's better to hire your own people and work directly with them. Ideally, you should be able to meet with an editor, copy editor, and graphic designer in person--and they all should have experience in book publishing.

 

25pt3

15. If you're serious about your book, hire a book doctor and get it copy-edited.

OK, so I've just told to avoid "packages" from publishers and yet I'm now saying you need editing and copy-editing. So, where do you go? Well, before I sent my book out to agents, I hired a "book doctor" who was a former acquisition editor from a major New York publishing house (like most editors he worked at a few different houses). He happened to be the father of a friend from college, so I got a little discount, but it still wasn't cheap. However, after I'd made the changes he suggested, he made some calls to agents he knew and some were willing to take a look. His name is Jerry Gross and he's part of Independent Editors Group (IEG), a group of former acquisition editors who take on freelance editing projects for authors.

While I didn't use his copy editor (I used a friend of a friend who currently works at a big publishing house), he and other editors in his group can suggest people. To be clear, this isn't going to be a better deal than what you'd get from a package deal with a self-publisher, but these people are experienced and are going to be upfront and honest with you. They're not just pushing your book out to move it along the line on the conveyor belt, though they are trying to make a living. (Warning: They don't take on all writers).

By no means is IEG the only game in town. There are plenty of good book consultants out there, including Alan Rinzler, who has an excellent blog and straddles the line between being an executive editor at an imprint of John Wiley & Sons and providing services to private clients. I expect that as the publishing industry contracts further, you'll see more editors--and former editors--becoming guns for hire.

Note: I had the added advantage of my agent being a former editor at a publishing house. So, he was able to suggest changes that made the book better (alas, not good enough to entice a "real" publisher into buying it).

16. Negotiate everything.

BookSurge and other self-publishing companies are always offering special deals on their various services. There isn't whole lot of leeway, but it doesn't hurt to ask for deal sweeteners--like more free copies of your book (they often throw in free copies of your book). It also doesn't hurt to ask about deals that have technically expired. In sales, everything is negotiable. Remember, these people have quotas and bonuses at stake. (For their sake, I hope they do anyway).

17. Ask a lot of questions and don't be afraid to complain.

BookSurge charged me $300 to join the BookSurge club so to speak. Companies like Lulu and CreateSpace have complete DIY options and require no upfront setup fees. That's great, but when you're dealing with a superbasic package, you're most likely going to be doing customer support via e-mail or IM, which I don't love. I want to be able to call up and bitch (in a nice way, of course) directly to a live person on the phone and I'm happy to pay an extra $300 for that privilege (which is really the only thing you're getting for $300).

I will say this: The customer service at BookSurge has generally been great. You can't always get through to your sales rep, marketing rep, or customer service reps right away (yes, the company is very regimented), but they do get back to you pretty quickly and all my issues have been resolved within a day or two.

18. Self-publishing is a contact sport.

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to self-publishing is that they expect to just put out a book and have it magically sell. They might even hire a publicist and expect something to happen. It's just not so. You have to be a relentless self-promoter. Unfortunately, a lot people just don't have the stomach or time for it--which is part of the reason I anted up for BookSurge's Buy X, Get Y program, which is essentially a form of advertising.

What's the secret to marketing your book successfully? Well, the first thing I advise--and I'm not alone here--is to come up with a marketing plan well before you publish your book. The plan should have at least five avenues for you to pursue because chances are you're going to strike out on a couple of lines of attack. It's easy to get discouraged, so you have to be ready to move on to plan c, d, and e (and the rest of the alphabet) pretty quickly.

These days there's a lot of talk about a "blog strategy" and many well-known authors do virtual book tours where they offer up interviews to various blogs. You probably won't have that luxury, but you can certainly research what blogs might be interested in your book and prepare pitches for them. There are local media angles to pursue, organizations to approach, and all kinds of out-of-the-box gambits you can dream up. None of this will cost you a whole lot--except time and perhaps a little pride.

Then there's the stuff you pay for. And it's tricky to judge what's a good investment and what's not because the results vary so much from book to book. A friend of mine who has a "real" book from a traditional publisher experimented recently with placing $1,000 in Facebook ads targeted to people in "cold" states (his book is called the History of the Snowman and it does very well around Christmas). He's still trying to figure out what impact the ads had, but Facebook does have some interesting marketing opportunities. Google AdWords/Keywords is another popular option.

The author MJ Rose has a marketing service called AuthorBuzz that caters to both self-publishers and traditional publishers. She says the best thing for self-publishers is a blog ad campaign--it starts at $1500 for a week of ads (the design work is included) and heads up in increments of $500. She says: "We place the ads in subject-related blogs, not book blogs. For instance, if it's a mystery about an antiques dealer, we don't just buy blogs for self-identified readers--who are not the bulk of book buyers--but rather I'll find a half dozen blogs about antiques, culture, art and investments and buy the ads there and track them." Rose claims she can get your book in front of at least a half a million people with that initial investment. She also says that you can't really spend too much, you can just spend poorly. I agree. However, I can't tell you what impact a week or month of ads on blogs will have on your specific book's sales. There are simply too many variables.

Bonus tip: When it comes to self-promotion, there's a fine line between being assertive and being overly aggressive in an obnoxious way. As one friend told me, the state you want to achieve is what she likes to call "comfortably tenacious."

19. Getting your book in bookstores sounds good, but that shouldn't be a real concern.

You may have always wanted to see your book in a bookstore but bookstores aren't keen on carrying self-published books and it's extremely difficult to get good placement in the store for your book so chances are no one will see the three copies the store has on hand anyway. Furthermore, your royalty drops to 10% on in-store sales. Some of the self-publishing outfits offer distribution through Ingram. BookSurge offers it through Baker & Taylor. BookSurge says: "Your trade paperback book will be available for order through Baker & Taylor on a non-returnable basis. For an additional yearly fee, your book can be made available through Baker & Taylor on a returnable basis with our Baker & Taylor Returnable Program. You'll receive a 10% royalty on all wholesale book orders purchased through Baker & Taylor."

Note: A while back I had a nonfiction book published by a traditional publisher, Faber & Faber. My local Barnes & Noble in New York had three copies of it. It felt good seeing it on a shelf--for about 10 minutes.

 

25pt4

The Write Stuff Author Pick

My 1st Author pick:  JessicaLee,

Story title: Not Even Once  

There were several Authors that truly touched my heart for different reasons

This story resonated deep within me far more than the comment I made after reading it and it has stayed with me making me think of my father remembering happier times. I was daddy's girl and for a moment through her words I celebrated him.

Her story is uplifting and inspirational and filled with a daughters love for a father, who chose family over selfishness and addiction. JessicaLee's piece is a testament to her father's love and commitment to family and is a truly loving tribute from a daughter who turned out rather well it would seem. 

Not Even Once

Crown Copyright & Licensing

Crown Copyright & Licensing

 

About Copyright

What types of works are protected?

Literary work

(Covers works in electronic and paper formats)

Memoranda, e-mail messages, journals, books, magazines, text books, talking books (the underlying work, not the recorded voice), periodicals, monographs, government records and reports, pamphlets,

newspapers, poetry, genealogical materials, letters, statistics, computer software, statutes, law reports, judicial decisions, forms, court records, databases, published and unpublished research papers,

brokers' reports, stock reports, annual reports, manuscripts, microforms (print on plastic), theses, conference proceedings, industry standards, Braille, postings to Internet newsgroups, large print materials, compilations of literary works on CD-ROMs and databases.

 

Dramatic work

Video recordings, documentaries, films, radio, television and cable programs, plays, choreography, CD-ROMs containing compilations of dramatic works.

Artistic work

Patterns, art slides, maps, atlases, paintings, architectural drawings, plans, stage and costume designs, digital images, drawings, photographs, charts, mosaics, art prints, compilations of artistic works on CD-ROMs and on Websites.

 

Musical work 

Sheet music, songs with or without words, audiocassettes, audio CDs.

 

Sound recording

CDs, talking books, oral history tapes, vinyl albums, phonographs, audio books, audio cassettes, papers recorded at seminars, audio tapes of speeches and lectures, sound effects, spoken word recordings, language cassettes for ESL, compilations of sound recordings on CDs.

 

Performer's performance

Recorded performances of actors, authors, singers, musicians and dancers on tapes, cassettes, CDs, CD-ROMs, video recordings and films, compilations of performances by performers on records, CDs and in audiovisual formats.

Communication signal

Television and radio signals

http://publications.gc.ca/helpAndInfo/cc-dac/types-e.html

Canadian copyright law

---

Tips & Warnings

• Always hire a copyeditor and a proofreader to go through your books prior to printing.
• Send all your books to the US Copyright Office for official copyrighting.
  Diva note: COPYRIGHT LAW IN CANADA
  http://users.trytel.com/~pbkerr/copyright.html
  
  
  
• Don't name your business Bob's Publishing, it just doesn't have a professional edge.

Government of Canada ISBNs

Contents

• Introduction
• What does ISBN stand for?
• What is an ISBN?
• What identifies the government of Canada in an ISBN?
• What if I have an X in my ISBN?
• Can my department have its own ISBN block?
• What should have an ISBN?

Introduction

ISBNs should be assigned to all appropriate government of Canada publications. Their use is mandated under the Treasury Board Communications Policy.

ISBNs are assigned to most goverment of Canada publications by the DSP. The DSP administers two blocks of ISBNs that have been delegated to it by the Canadian ISBN Agency which is a part of the National Library of Canada.

What does ISBN stand for?

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. The abbreviation ISBN is international and is used in both English and French.

What is an ISBN?

As defined by the Canadian ISBN Agency, the ISBN is a system of numerical identification for books, pamphlets, educational kits, microforms, CD-ROM and braille publications. By assigning a unique ten-digit number to each published title, the system provides that title with its own, unduplicated, internationally recognized "identity". Publishers, booksellers, libraries and other participants in the book industry use ISBN to identify publications in order to expedite their handling and retrieval. ISBN ensures that ordering, inventory control and accounting are executed more efficiently.

An ISBN is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies each specific edition of a book or book-like product. This 10-digit number is divided into four parts of variable length; each part is separated by a hyphen or space.

The four parts of an ISBN, in order, are:

• the group identifier: "0" and "1" are the group identifiers used by the ISBN agencies for Canada, the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom;
• the publisher prefix: a number which identifies a particular publisher within the preceding group;
• the title identifier: a number which identifies a particular title or edition of a title issued by the preceding publisher;
• the check digit: a single digit at the end of the ISBN which validates the accuracy of that ISBN.

What identifies the government of Canada in an ISBN?

The Government of Canada as publisher is identified by the prefixes 0-660 and 0-662. The block of numbers beginning 0-660 is used for priced publications; the block of numbers beginning 0-662 is used for free publications.

The DSP has subdivided these blocks so that the ISBN will indicate the language of each publication, or at least the official language. At present, the sub-blocks 20000 indicate English unilingual, 60000 indicate bilingual and 80000 indicate French unilingual.

For example, the number 0-662-63498-3 would indicate a government publication which is being distributed free of charge and which is bilingual in one volume (or file). Since 1978, the numbers preceding 10000 have been reserved for publications in non-official languages. The numbers following the language indicator are applied in order as publications are prepared for press.

What if I have an X in my ISBN?

An X can appear in the last digit of an ISBN (for example 0-660-64321-X). It is simply acting as a 10 in the check digit. An X in any place in an ISBN other than the last digit is an error.

Can my department have its own ISBN block?

Attempts to loan out blocks of ISBNs to other agencies within the government have proved very unsatisfactory on the whole, both in terms of record-keeping and in terms of the workload of all concerned. At present, only the National Museums and Statistics Canada hold apply and report on blocks of ISBNs sub-contracted to them by the DSP. The multiplicity of publishing points in many agencies and the turn over of publications staff seem to make it impracticable at present to loan out the assignment of ISBN.

What should have an ISBN?

An ISBN is applied to a particular publication, not to the whole group of issues of a serial publication. The ISBN identifies the particular physical document. In the case of a work issued in more than one volume, an extra ISBN is used to identify each volume.

An ISBN is required for:

• each individual new publication, other than a periodical issued more than once a year; including
  
• each annual edition,
  
• each issue in a series,
  
• each revision or new edition,
  
• each separate language edition,
  
• each set of a work issued in more than one volume, and each volume in the set.
• alternative formats

 

Distribution options

BRITISH COLUMBIA

---

The Heritage Group
17665 66A Avenue, #108
Surrey, BC
V3S 2A7
(604) 574-7067 (Tel)
(800) 665-3302 (Toll-free tel)
(604) 574-9942 (Fax)

distribution@heritagehouse.ca

www.heritagehouse.ca

---

Raincoast Books
9050 Shaughnessy Street
Vancouver, BC
V6P 6E5
(604) 323-7100 (Tel)
(604) 323-2600 (Fax)

info@raincoastbooks.com

www.raincoast.com

---

University of British Columbia Press 
2029 West Mall
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
V6T 1Z2
(604) 822-5959 (Tel)
(604) 822-6083 (Fax)

info@ubcpress.ca

www.ubcpress.ca

---

ONTARIO

---

Firefly Books Ltd.
66 Leek Crescent
Richmond Hill, ON
L4B 1H1
(416) 499-8412 (Tel)
(416) 499-8313 (Fax)

service@fireflybooks.com

www.fireflybooks.com

---

Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited
195 Allstate Parkway
Markham, ON
L3R 4T8
(905) 477-9700 (Tel)
(800) 387-9776 (Toll-free tel)
(800) 260-9777 (Fax)

godwit@fitzhenry.ca

www.fitzhenry.ca

---

Georgetown Terminal Warehouses
34 Armstrong Avenue
Georgetown, ON
L7G 4R9
(905) 873-2750 (Tel)
(905) 873-6170 (Fax)

info@gtwcanada.com

www.gtwcanada.com

---

HarperCollins Canada
1995 Markham Road
Scarborough, ON
M1B 5M8
(416) 321-2241 (Tel)
(800) 387-0117 (Toll-free tel)
(416) 321-3033 (Fax)
(800) 668-5788 (Toll-free fax)

hcorder@harpercollins.ca

www.harpercanada.com

---

Jaguar Book Group
100 Armstrong Avenue
Georgetown, ON
L7G 5S4
(905) 877-4483 (Tel)
(905) 877-4410 (Fax)

sales@jaguarbookgroup.ca

www.jaguarbookgroup.ca

---

Lit DistCo 
LPG Distribution Collective
100 Armstrong Avenue
Georgetown, ON
L7G 5S4
(800) 591-6250 (Toll-free tel)
(800) 591-6251 (Toll-free fax)

orders@lpg.ca

www.lpg.ca

---

Publishers Group Canada Inc.
559 College St., Suite 402
Toronto, ON
M6G 1A9
(416) 934-9900 (Tel)
(800) 747-8147 (Toll-free tel)
(416) 934-1410 (Fax)

www.pgcbooks.ca

---

Random House Canada
2775 Matheson Boulevard East 
Mississauga, ON
L4W 4P7
(905) 624-0672 (Tel)
(888) 624-6217 (Fax)

www.randomhouse.ca

---

University of Toronto Press
5201 Dufferin Street
North York, ON
M3H 5T8
(416) 667-7777 (Tel)
(416) 667-7832 (Fax)

www.utpress.utoronto.ca

---

Author's Choice Publishing Group
ON
(905) 605-1592 (Tel)
(905) 602-9842 (Fax)

www.authorschoice.ca

---

NOVA SCOTIA

---

Nimbus Publishing
3731 Mackintosh Street
Halifax, NS
B3K 5A5
(902) 455-4286 (Tel)(800) 646-2879 (Toll-free orders)
(902) 455-5440 (Fax) 

<table><tr align="left"><td width="30"> </td><td width="97%"> </td></tr></table>

Publishing book collaboration information

So my goal here is to post all the boring legal and drudge stuff we need to know for the book. For example any information on the title search and publishing do's and don'ts. costs, contracts, royalties.

I am currently trolling the web to find the best up to date information out there for us on all of that stuff. Anyone else who wants to be a part of the publishing sector please let's get together. So we don't end up duplicating, maybe we can each take one area of publishing and garner that information.  

I am gonna grab the comments I made the other day and post them here so I can add to them from the information I have gathered and as well as some articles I have come across that may prove beneficial as well. 

One thing I want to stress is that the more informed we all are of all the ins and outs of publishing the better. since many want to be published on their own as well as through this venture it is beneficial to learn as much as you can, so you can manouver through the sharks out there who will take advantage if given the chance. As Oprah says don't just sign the check read the fine print! I am betting that's why she can give away cars ;-)

Here's a thought... so that it is easier for those of us who are adding information or posting on the book, what if we all created a collaboration section on each of our pages to make it easier for others to find our input and such, This way folks can find it easily without madly searching through each section to find it. Just a thought

Why Self Published Books Fail

Diva note: I will be posting the article he mentions here from it's original source]

Recently I've been spending a lot of time researching self publishing in an effort to make sure I'm well informed as I proceed with self publishing my own book. One of the things I see over and over again are statistics about how self published books sell so poorly.

Here are the main reasons I believe so many self published books don't sell more than a hundred or so copies:

#1: The book was intended for a very small niche audience.
A lot of self published books are published with the intention of selling a few copies to family and friends. These might be family or personal histories or books about a local event. The authors generally don't publish them with the intention of selling many copies or making any money; they simply want those who are interested to be able to purchase the book if they choose. These books can often be picked out by their lack of an ISBN.

#2: The author never did any marketing.
This is probably the most common reason why self published books don't sell. The author writes their book, does some editing, uploads it to the POD service of their choice, and that's it. They might order a few copies to give to family and friends, and there's almost definitely a copy displayed prominently on their bookshelf. But they never bother to market it. They don't take advantage of the Amazon book pages. They don't have a blog or even a basic website. They don't engage with people who might be interested. They don't send out review copies or contact bookstores to persuade them to carry the book. They do nothing once the book has been printed.

#3: The book is very low quality.
This is the one that is mostly responsible for self publishing's negative image. Someone writes a book. They show it to their mom, or their spouse, or their best friend, and that person says it's great. The may try submitting to traditional agents or publishers for awhile but when that proves fruitless, they turn to self publishing. They never ask themselves why their book wasn't picked up by a publisher or an agent. They don't bother with trying to get an independent critique by someone who doesn't know them and doesn't feel like they have to be "nice". They format their book according to the free guide their POD printer of choice offers, sometimes disregarding the information on good font choices or consistency or margins. They make a cover using free clip-art that came on their computer or a photo they took themselves. They send it off and then wait for the rave reviews and orders to start coming in. They might market more heavily than the authors in #2, but their product just won't hold up.

If you're considering self publishing, don't fall into the traps of #2 and #3. Realize that self publishing is a business. It takes work. You need to know how to market yourself and your book. And make sure before you put your book out there that some independent, critical eyes have looked it over a few times. Hire an editor if you can afford it. Hire a copyeditor or at least a proofreader (or find a friend whose grammar and spelling is good enough to do it for you). Even if your spelling and grammar are impeccable, you need a third party to double check things. Make sure you're putting out the best product you possibly can. Study books in your genre or niche and see how yours stacks up against them.

And most importantly, look beyond the numbers in statistics and think about the methodology. While the numbers might be sound, they may not mean what you think they do.