Ebook Publication FAQ

Answers to your ebook publication questions

Q. Can you give me a definite price for your ebook publication service?

A. Unfortunately, other than to repeat that all our work is done at $80/hour, we can’t.

Every ebook is unique. Some have few hyperlinks, tags and anchors, while others have many. Features push the cost of production upwards, but…

You ought to plan for the ebook you want to have in the long run rather than the ebook that is more economical at the moment.

Q. How long will it take to produce an ebook?

A. Depending on our schedule, it is possible your ebook can be ready within one week. When you let us know your schedule for sending us your ebook, we can be sure to have time set aside for you.

Q. Can I have pictures?

A. No problem. There will be  preparation costs on our end  and a larger download fee from your ebook distributor. In view of this, we generally include no more that 2 to 4 in our own books, but that’s us. You ought to have the book you want.

Q. Do I have to choose fonts and sizes or do you do that?

A. Either of us can do that, but it doesn’t matter much what the choice is since e-readers have default settings. As an ebook packager, we choose one font and size, but when your ebook gets loaded on the buyer’s e-reader, your title will be seen in that e-reader’s default font and font size. We suggest minimizing the time and energy devoted to details that don’t add up to much.

Preparing for an ebook publication is largely about technical work rather than esthetics. The default settings on the buyers’ ereaders and will change the esthetic choices you made for your ebook. Except for the cover, fancy hard-copy design is usually left out of the ebook.

Q. Do you guarantee your work?

A. You will have ample opportunity to test every feature of your ebook. If links don’t work once we send the manuscript back to you, we will tweak them on our nickel. This guarantee does not cover websites you list that have closed down or have changed their URLs. It is the responsibility of the author to verify that the links work before accepting delivery of the ebook.

Q. What if my manuscript needs editing?

A. We will be happy to provide you with editing prior to publication. Why invest in ebook production if your eBook is not ready to go out in the world? An economical writer sees to it that an ebook has been properly edited before spending money on book production and publication.

If you need help with writing the eBook, we also offer coaching and ghostwriting.

Q. Can you upload to the various ebook seller sites for me?

A. Yes, we will be pleased to do this for you.

Q. Can Amazon or Smashwords do this service for me for free?

A. Yes, they will convert your PDF manuscript into a flow-formatted ebook. When we have used this service ourselves, we have found the resulting ebook not what we are willing to accept for our marketplace and have both reworked them into fixed-format and corrected glitches that the computer-generation process does not pick up. We have been much more satisfied with the book once we have retooled it. If you want your eBook to look good, you need to invest in it. The free options are not always the cheapest solutions.

Q. Will you be my publishers?

A. No. We are book packagers. We are not publishers. That is, we package your manuscript, your photos, and whatever else you want to include in the finished ebook into a file that goes to the electronic book distributor. The resulting ebook looks just like you wanted it to when we worked together planning it. We have done book production innumerable times. We know how to make it work for you.

Q. Can you define what a publisher is? Is it a printer?

A. Random House is an example of a publisher. So is Doubleday. A publisher buys a manuscript from an author and pays for it through book sales. The publisher does all nine yards of preparing the book for publication (book packaging) and foots the bill to have the book printed. Subsequently, the publisher undertakes marketing—if the company believes that it will make money off your title (otherwise your book is on its own!).

Commercial publishers buy a book and it becomes their property and the writer gets a royalty—usually 10%—if there is any income. (Six out of ten commercially-published books simply break even so there is no income to generate a royalty payment.) The publisher—and not the writer—makes the decisions about packaging. Your book can turn out looking very different from what you had hoped it would look like.

No, the term publisher is not synonymous with printer although publishers may have printing departments. Printers do the physical work of putting words on the page. Publishers and their book packaging departments prepare the book for the printer to print for them. With an e-book, there is no printer. Everything is digital.

Q. How will you help me to market my eBook?

A. We help with ebook publication only. We do not help with marketing other than to provide references to individuals and companies that  provide marketing services.

We will, however, be happy to post an article about your ebook on our blog and provide a permanent link to your sales page.

Q. Can you send me samples of eBooks you have e-published?

A. Yes, of course.

Below is a copy of a memoir and of a non-fiction how-to. Click on the book(s) you wish to review to get your free copy.

The cover photo of The Nice-Nice Club Holds Its Last Meeting links to a memoir.

If you have a non-fiction book, click on the above cover image for an ebook sample.

 Take the next step. Call us today!

I’d love to walk through the ebook production process with you.

Call 207-353-5454, M-F, 9-5 ET, or  email us to set up a complimentary consultation. Suggest three dates and times that work for you and we will confirm one.