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Publishing FAQs
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• What is meant by "book
packaging" or "book producing"?
• Is a book-packaging service the same
as a vanity press?
• So, why not just take my book to a printer?
• How much will it cost to produce my book?
• What are "imprints and credentials"?
• What is Print on Demand? What is Digital
PQN?
• Will my book sell?
•
What is meant by "book packaging" or "book
producing"?
"Self-publishing is the fastest-growing segment of the
publishing industry . . . authors may find it worthwhile to
farm out production to a pro." U.S. News & World
Report.
Tabby House is a production pro! Our experienced staff will
see that your book has a quality cover, the necessary credentials,
is professionally typeset, and that it is well edited and
proofread for book style. Our staff will discuss with you
the marketing potential, press run, type of cover, etc. Some
books need considerable editing and rewriting; others very
little. We will give you our best advice on what we feel will
make your book sell, and we will work with you to achieve
that goal.
Tip: Do not let editors, illustrators or
designers charge you by the hour. Work with fair, agreed-upon-in-advance
charges for the entire project. This will help you keep your
costs under control. One of our objectives is to help you
adjust the size of your press run to your own level of marketing
energy, and then price your book so that you can recover your
investment by the time you sell half your books. Then you
can start putting money in the bank.
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• Is a
book-packaging service the same as a vanity press?
No! "[Book packagers] are different from vanity
publishers. Book [packagers] work for a pre-set fee; profits
are yours. Vanity publishers offer only a royalty after charging
you to produce the book; complaints about quality and marketing
are legion." U.S. News & World Report.
Vanity (subsidy) publishers and many e-publishers will usually
apply their ISBN (International Standard Book Number) to your
work, and sometimes take the copyright, too. You, the author,
usually will receive only a few copies of your book and be
told you can buy more "at cost," even though you
have already paid for the entire publication. Promises will
be made about "marketing" that will rarely result
in sales or the recovery of your investment.
Some subsidy "publishers" are only printers in disguise.
These presses will print your pages exactly as you submit
them, without proper page design or editing. This process
is not only expensive, but can often result in an inferior
product.
With Tabby House you will retain all the rights to your book,
receive your entire press run, and get continuing marketing
assistance. Tabby House prides itself on its reputation for
honesty, quality, and author assistance during and after book
production. Our productions have received many review accolades
and national awards.
See what our clients
have said about our services.
References are available and gladly given.
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• So, why
not just take my book to my local printer?
You can, but keep in mind that printing is only part of the
publishing process. A printer is not a publisher or a book
packager, although some will offer to typeset your book or
design your cover. Printers usually do not have an editor
on staff who is knowledgeable about book style, and they are
not familiar with accepted cover design standards. If you
have your book printed without the necessary credentials,
or with a cover that is less than professional, the end result
may not be marketable.
Tip: Be careful to work only with a reputable,
experienced packager. Ask to see samples of his or her work
and compare those samples to mainstream books at your local
bookstore.
At Tabby House, your book will receive the careful attention
it deserves from our talented editors, artists and typesetters,
and it will be printed and bound by quality book manufacturers.
We want you to be proud of your finished product.
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• How much
will it cost to produce my book?
The cost to produce a book varies widely, depending on the
difficulty of the project. Call or e-mail us with the specifications
of your book: number of manuscript pages, word count, final
page size desired, and the number of copies you anticipate
needing. Give us your thoughts about the cover and whether
there will be any art or photographs included.
Fill
Out Our Self-Publishing Form Here
Better yet, send us about 25 sample pages along with the above
information. We will provide you with a ballpark estimate
for the job. If the proposal is to your liking, we will work
up a contract, take a deposit, and get going with the project.
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• What
are "imprints and credentials"?
Your imprint is the name and logo that you have selected to
identify your publishing business. It is an important advertising
tool and should be selected after careful thought. We can
help you pick a name that will speak to your market. Your
book must have credentials to be sold in most bookstores or
through distributors or wholesalers-ISBN, Library of Congress
Catalog Control Number, copyright, and bar code.
As book producers, we can help you establish yourself as a
publishing company so you can have your own imprint and ISBN,
or, under certain conditions, we can publish your book using
either our Tabby House imprint or our Strathmoor Books imprint.
Importantly, with Tabby House you will always retain all the
rights to your material.
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•
What is the difference between "POD" and "regular"
book printing?
Regular book printing (offset printing) is done either by
a sheet-fed press or a web press.
Sheet-fed presses use a stack of large sheets of paper that
will later be folded and trimmed to make a "signature."
Signatures are groups of pages that books are made of. Each
signature has a certain number of pages, always divisible
by 8. The number of pages in a signature depends on the size
of the book. Smaller books may be printed in signatures of
32 pages, larger books as few as 8 pages. Sheet-fed presses
use printing plates and ink, and are best suited to medium-sized
press runs, 500 to 7,500 copies.
Web presses also use plates and ink but the paper comes off
huge rolls and is cut to sheet size after being printed. Then
the sheets are folded and trimmed as sheet-fed output is.
Web presses are very fast and are best suited to long press
runs, more than 7,500 copies.
POD as it is incorrectly termed, is really better called "digital
press." Digital press is best suited for short-run work.
The initial set up work with digital press is less expensive
than offset because there are no printing plates and no ink.
The material is supplied to the printer as a digital (computer)
file, which is downloaded into the digital press. The books
are printed by a machine that is somewhat like a copy machine,
using small sheets of paper and toner rather than ink. Because
the digital press does not "mass-produce" books,
the process, overall, is more expensive per copy than offset.
Digital press production for 600 copies will cost about as
much as 1,000 copies done by offset.
Now, since books are produced individually by digital press,
many titles can be in the que at any given time, each with
a different number of copies to be printed. This ability gives
rise to the Print on Demand (POD) feature that allows a bookstore
to order a single copy of a listed book (see page about Tabby
House's Print & Distribute program) for a customer request.
Publishers whose books are stored electronically in digital
press data banks are able to order the number of books they
want (PQN - print quantity needed) for any upcoming event
or sales promotion. They can also stock their titles with
wholesalers or distributors just as they would have had they
had a larger, offset press run. Publishers cannot order single
copies, only publisher short runs.
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•
Will my book sell?
There are no guarantees. A book is like any other product—it
should be created with a market in mind, and it takes a lot
of faith and persistent effort to succeed. The salability
of any book is enhanced by a professional cover, the right
title, the proper credentials, and an author/publisher who
will work tirelessly for sales.
You must be prepared to generate the demand for your book.
Tabby House will help you get started on the basics of publicity,
booksignings, and speaking engagements. We can put you in
touch with wholesalers and distributors, provide you with
contacts for talk shows, and offer suggestions for direct
mailings and sources of reviews. There are a number of individuals
and organizations that specialize in assisting self-publishing
authors and independent presses with their marketing.
It is worth noting that a number of self-published books have
been sold to book clubs or national publishers after establishing
a strong sales record, or after having attracted reviewer
or talk-show interest. Ultimately, though, author effort is
the key to the success of any self-publishing project.
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