Are you a traditional publisher?

We DO NOT operate as a traditional publisher. We offer writing and self publishing services to those who desire to publish their books with excellence, adhering to the rules and guidelines of professional publishing. We ensure that the final product meets the quality standard of even traditionally published books. You can actually source all the services we provide for yourself; maybe even find people to volunteer and do it for free in your circle, but very often this results in a lower quality product. We provide all the required services you need to publish your book so you can just focus on writing.

What are the cost involved to publish my book?

Each service comes with its own cost. There is a standard rate for each of the services we provide, but the final cost will be determined based on word count of the manuscript and quality of writing. We offer full publishing packages, full writing/developmental editing and publishing packages or you can utilize individual services as you require. Provide the word count for your manuscript and a sample of your writing so we can provide a quote.

Will I be required to make full payment before the book is published?

All the services we provide to publish your manuscript are paid services. The moment you hire us, the Graphic Designer begins working on your cover design and the Editor starts working on the manuscript. These service providers must be paid promptly, so we usually ask that at least 60% of the full cost be paid upfront to get started on your book. The balance is due prior to uploading the final documents.

Why do you charge for your services?

Graphic Artists, Editors, and Interior Book Formatters are all service providers who charge for their time and talent. We provide these services to you and we also pass the charges on to you. The alternative is for us to fund the cost of these services for your book, which is what a traditional publisher would do. Traditional publishers also assume rights over your book, and give you a minimal royalty (often 5%). Because we provide the services to you, which are also paid for by you, you get to keep all the rights to your book and all the royalties earned on the sale of each book.

Do you do a book launch or book signing for my book?

No we do not. However, if you are located in the United States, Canada or the UK, it is easy to organize a book launch with your nearest Barnes and Noble store once the book is published. We would just need to use a different print on demand platform to publish your book. If this is yoru desire, please let us know when you approach us with your project.

Will I get printed copies of my book?

We do not include a cost for printed copies of your book in our prices. You will own and monitor your print on demand account, so you are able to login and purchase “Author Copies” of your book at publishers price, which is usually $2.13 upwards per copy, depending on the final page count. This is ordered through Amazon and does not include shipping cost or any custom fees that may be applicable.

Will my book be available for sale on the global market?

Yes, definitely. Your book will be available in print and kindle/ebook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble a few days after the final files are uploaded, and approved. Overtime, it will also appear on other smaller online book stores, and even on Ebay.

What are the different packages and prices that you offer?

If you only need one or two of the services we provide, we can give you a quote for that. If you need a full publishing package, we can give a quote for that. We also work with speakers who want to turn their presentation into a book, so developmental/content editing is involved before the publishing process begins. So, the different packages and prices will depend on what your needs are.

What kind of books do you publish?

We publish non-fiction, fiction and poetry or other anthologies.

Is there a monthly fee to keep the book in print?

No.

How is payment made?

For local clients, payment can be made through Scotiabank. For international clients, we use PayPal, Zelle, Cashapp or Bank of America.

What percentage of the sale of each book will be mine?

Royalties are much higher for self published books than traditionally published books. You can get as much as 40% royalty on the sale of print books, and 75% or more on ebooks.

Who markets my book?

You will do most of the marketing. We do have some paid options that can be utilized, but there are no guarantees in terms of getting massive sales. We have seen books achieve best selling status in a particular category with multiple sales in a short space of time, but it depends on the kind of book and what readers are looking for. If you already have a platform, for example, you are a speaker, pastor, etc, it will be much easier to market your book. If you don’t have a platform, we recommend you start building one on social media now before your book is published. Social media is a good starting point for new authors.

Will my book sell automatically without marketing?

Not very likely, unless you already have an online platform, for example, a website with traffic where you can post your book so your visitors will see it. If you just put a book on Amazon, it will be among millions of other books so the responsibility is on you, initially, to get your book in front of potential readers. If you get sales, and get reviews, then Amazon may start noticing your book and do some marketing for you as well, but you will need to put in the work to get those sales and reviews initially, which is why having some platform is necessary.

How do I get printed copies of the book after it is published?

We use kdp.amazon.com (local clients) or www.ingramspark.com (international clients) to publish books. These accounts will be opened with your email and a password of your choice. You can login at anytime and order printed copies of your book in any quantity. You can choose where your book is printed, so if you are in the United States, you can opt to have your book printed in the United States so there will be no additional customs charges to get your books. If you are in the Caribbean, books will be printed in the United States and shipped to you, so customs will be involved. The alternative is to seek a local printery to produce your book from the final cover and interior book files that we can send to you. Ensure that you compare prices though as local printing can still be far more expensive than buying from amazon, shipping them to you and paying custom fees.

Will my book be available for sale on Amazon?

Yes.

Where can I see samples of your previously published clients?

You can see our published clients here: http://hcpbookpublishing.com/our-clients/ or here: https://www.christianplaywright.org/writing-publishing-services/

What is royalty?

Royalty is calculated on the sale of each book minus the production cost. When clients order a print copy of your book, Amazon assumes the responsibility to produce that book and ship it to the client and whatever they charge to do this is taken out of the total cost of your book, and the rest is yours (royalty). When publishing your book, Amazon will let you know what the production cost will be. The book cannot be priced below this cost, and the amount you choose to sell the book for above the production cost will determine your royalty. So, to some extent, you can choose what your royalty on each book will be. We do caution authors not to price their book too high, unless they already have an established name and/or the content is worth the money.

Is your price negotiable?

Our prices are always negotiable for new authors who want to get their books published, but cannot afford our normal prices. We do have ways to reduce the cost per service for selectecd clients, so talk to us.

Should I do any special format to the manuscript before sending it to you?

Please don’t. Just type your manuscript normally in word and don’t do any formatting as this will all have to be undone (which is time-consuming) before we can proceed with your project.