How to Submit Your Book

Getting your book printed and published is easy, but your manuscript must be formatted first. We can do this for you, or you can do it yourself. If we're doing it, the easiest way to submit is in Word with no formatting other than page-breaks before the start of each new chapter. If you want to get started on the formatting yourself (and save time and money) you can download our free template , a blank Word document that is already set up to our specs. First copy and save the template to your own computer. Then paste your manuscript into the template and rename it. Add pages as needed. Do your own formatting -- fonts, spacing, etc. -- and insert graphics, if any. Print out some sample pages. Make the manuscript look exactly the way you want the book to look, and then send it to us. We may still have to do some formatting, but the more you do, the better. Your book will look the way you want it to look, and you'll save some money. If you have questions or need formatting help, just let us know.

If you're doing the formatting, you can submit your manuscript as a Word document but you might prefer to submit it as a PDF, which "locks in" your formatting and ensures that what you submit is what you get back from us in the book. You can download a free conversion program, CutePDF Writer, from www.cutepdf.com . If you don't download our template and are formatting from scratch, make sure your pages are set to 5.5 x 8.5 inches, with left and right margins 1 inch each, and top and bottom margins .8 of an inch. If you use a footer for your page numbers, put it at least .5 of an inch from the bottom of the page. Put the page numbers in the right order, so that odd-numbered pages are on the right side when the book is opened. If you use headers for your name and/or title on each page use the same spacing, .5 from the top of the page. If you want your book to be a different size, we can handle up to 8.5 x 11 inches, but there may be additional fees – agreed in advance – since we're set up primarily for trade paperbacks.

If you do not want to do the formatting yourself, we can do it for you for fees starting at $100.

Our system relies on a new technology for "perfect bound" books, the standard in the publishing industry for trade paperbacks. Our posted prices are based on the assumption that you'll use our standard 20-pound recycled bright white paper and 110-pound cover stock. If you have other requirements, such as linen-finish or glossy covers, or higher-quality text paper, we may ask you to share the cost. We may at some point have the capability of producing hardcover books, but for now we're going to stick to paperbacks.

We can provide proofs, and encourage them for new customers, especially those placing big orders. We make books one at a time and much of the process is by hand, and we can't do everything that big mass-production publishing, printing and design houses can do. To get a proof, you can make a modest additional payment for shipping and handling (USPS, UPS or FedEx) when you place and pay for your order. We'll make a single copy of your book and send it to you. Then you get back to us with any changes. We can make a few minor changes for no additional charge, but major changes that require re-formatting, and especially lots of text editing, can add to your costs. The bottom line: make sure your book is the way you want it when you give it to us, because it can get expensive to keep going back into the file and tinkering.

We may charge more --always checking with you first -- if you present us with a particularly tricky formatting job, such as for a long book or a book with many fonts, graphics, headings and subtitles. Just bring in your manuscript or mail it to us on a disk at 1022 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn NY 11218 or e-mail it to us.

For your cover you can send us a finished design or you can send us graphics (photos, illustrations) to use with suggested colors, fonts and graphics. Most of the time there is no additional charge, but complicated design jobs may add additional charges ñ again, we will check with you first before doing any work that requires additional fees. We also encourage you to work with a graphic designer, and we are attempting to put together a list of freelance designers who can help authors with their covers. Once we have digital versions of your cover and formatted manuscript on disk, printing your book is a relatively simple matter. For short runs of 50 books or fewer, we typically can have your books ready to ship in a week or two, and sometimes a few days. For simple jobs we can offer overnight or same-day service, but there may be an additional charge, a rush fee, to cover overtime if needed.

Any questions? Ask us via email. Any special projects or unusual customizing needed? We'll work with you within the limits of our hardware, software and wetware. Our goal is to help you produce an edition of your book that will make you proud.