Every year we receive hundreds of manuscripts that are publication worthy and yet we end up turning them down due to a variety of reasons, such as resource limtitations, the subject matter not directly related to our current publishing focus or redundant with our existing list, works with no or very little market potential etc.. booksPLUS®, our highly flexible, custom publishing and related services division, attempts to address this situation by providing publishing services in both print as well as electronic (e-book) formats. The primary objective of this service is to facilitate the publication of good works of scholarship regardless of their market potential. The service works as follows:
1. We do all the pre-press work but the pre-press costs are paid by the author, unless we receive an advance purchase commitment sufficient to offset our pre-press costs. Pre-press work typically includes copy-editing, page design and layout, cover design and preparation, and index generation (optional). We do not offer "content" editing or rewriting services, and prefer not to get involved with stylistic changes to an author's work. If a work comes to us in a "print ready" form that meets our acceptance criteria, the pre-press costs can be drastically lower.
Note - Even with custom publishing, we do not accept all works for publication simply because the pre-press costs are being paid for by the author or the copy is coming to us "print ready." We are selective with what we publish. We do NOT offer a "production line" type publishing arrangement like many online publishers who are motivated solely by "quantity" rather than "quality." As a result, our costs tend to be higher. We are of the opinion that any serious author, after putting in the effort to "write" a book, would like to see it come out "right" as well, and would be willing to pay for it.
2. The books are printed "on-demand" at our cost. This approach allows us minimize the market risk and keep the books available for a long time. Books are assigned an ISBN and offered for sale through the major national wholesalers as well as internet booksellers, as we see appropriate. The books are also made available through our own website. The books are listed in most of the major book databases to further enhance their visibility and availability. Author's efforts with promotion and marketing are encouraged but not required. The books that we determine to have no potential of sales to the general public are printed for author's personal use only.
3. The author receives ten free copies of the book upon publication as well as discounts on future purchases, if any. A royalty payment may be considered once the book sales surpass a certain number of copies.
The above constitutes a general description of how our booksPLUS® division operates. Project specific variations should be discussed with us separately.
