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AN OVERVIEW OF OUR SERVICES
LOOKING TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR BOOK?
Authors On Line Ltd is the ORIGINAL UK based Author Service company to offer 'Print On Demand' (POD) digital publishing, with full distribution. Long gone are the days of authors having to spend large sums of money on volume print runs. Nowadays, technology allows us to print anything from several thousand books down to as little as a single copy. If your manuscript is of an acceptable literary standard, Authors OnLine can help you to realise your dream and put your book into print with whatever level of distribution you require.
Since we first introduced this revolution to the UK in 2001, the technology has grown and improved, and many authors have themselves acquired the knowledge and software to prepare manuscripts and cover designs ready for publication. In response to this growing trend, Authors On Line are now able to offer an even more flexible and up to date service catering for all levels of technical ability. If for example, you are fully conversant with producing Acrobat PDF files to our specification and can use graphics packages such as PhotoShop, InDesign or CorelDraw, then you can greatly REDUCE YOUR COSTS. Alternatively if you feel that you would like us to do everything for you then we are perfectly placed to do so. WHATEVER YOUR NEEDS, and budget, we can hopefully suit your purposes. You don't even have to publish the final book with us!
All our Print On Demand paperback books are produced to the highest professional print standard, using white or creme 80 gr. (gsm) paper, a black and white interior together with four colour laminated gloss cover - Perfect Bound (paperback), Case Bound (hardback) or Case Bound with dust jacket.
THE SERVICES WE OFFER
OUR BASIC SERVICE - PUBLISH YOUR BOOK PRIVATELY FOR FREE
You may only wish to publish for private use. Perhaps it's a private family story, or you are preparing it for submission to a trade house for consideration, or you are a school, company or organisation requiring a few copies (or even a few hundred). Whatever your reasons, you may not wish to have the book made available for wider distribution.
If this is the case you can:
EITHER
1) Download our standard templates, format the book to our own specification, publish it to PDF and then submit the finished book cover and text PDF files to us for publication.
OR
2) Purchase whatever areas of our expertise you feel you need using our MODULAR SERVICE (see below)
THEN
Place an order of how ever many books you require at £1.00 each plus 2p a page/copy* and we will publish your book for FREE!! (*Black and white text up to 18.9 x 24.6 cm CROWN QUARTO only - larger sizes and colour interior books prices available on request)
NB The minimum page count for pricing purposes is 108 pages, but the minimum physical page count for a black and white book is 48. Therefore all books with a page count of between 48 and 108 will be charged as 108 pages. The maximum number of physical pages is 740.
OUR MODULAR SERVICE enables you to buy services according to the level of technical expertise you feel you require, and the needs of the book itself.
If you are able to download one of our standard templates and lay the book and cover out yourself, then we would be pleased to accept your finished word processed book. You may also have the technical ability, and the software, to then print it to Acrobat PDF format ready for us to upload to our printers. On the other hand you may feel you need help with some of those procedures. In which case you will need to purchase one or more of our MODULES. You may then want to make your book available to a wider audience, so you will need to purchase an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and if you want us to distribute it for you, you can add that MODULE as well. You can simply use whatever part of our service you require. PLEASE CLICK ON SELF FORMATTING TO LEARN MORE.
STANDARD MODULES
| Formatting your word processed text to one of our standard book sizes | |
| Formatting your cover design from your artwork to one of our standard book sizes | |
| Conversion of your word processed file to print-ready Acrobat PDF format | |
| Conversion of your cover file to print-ready Acrobat PDF format | |
| An ISBN - International Standard Book Number, required for all ordering by retail outlets | |
| Distribution - AVAILABILITY through all retail outlets in the UK or USA and North America including Internet Bookstores such as Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk | |
| A Sample copy | |
| Library copies to the British Library and Copyright Libraries Agency - a legal requirement - 6 in total | |
| Website presence to make your book available via our online bookstore, which includes: your own fully editable secure area on our website where you can follow your sales, a downloadable e-book and links to Amazon websites. | |
| Annual fee to remain in print and maintain distribution links (Invoiced annually) | |
NB - Much as we hate to be negative, we must stress at this point that we offer these MODULAR facilities in good faith and unless there is something wrong with our procedures or downloads, our staff are not able to give telephone or e-mail 'tuition' on how to format books, lay out covers, or convert to PDF files. We simply offer this service to authors on the strict understanding that it is for those who have the technical knowledge to carry out these procedures or follow our written instructions. We do put up help menus, which will be expanded and changed as experience dictates, but if you can not operate within our guidelines, then I'm afraid you need our 'chargeable' services and our submissions staff will advise you accordingly.
OUR BASIC SERVICE with DISTRIBUTION
If you provide us with fully print ready files and you are looking to make your book available to be purchased from UK and USA bookshops and most internet bookstores, then this package is perfect for you, and we believe, the best bargain you will find anywhere! It offers you, an ISBN*, a sample copy, statutory copies sent to the British Library and Copyright Libraries Agency, the first year's annual fee and full website presence. (* If you are providing your own ISBN and publishing under your own imprint the price of the ISBN module will be deducted)
OUR STANDARD SERVICE incorporates all our STANDARD MODULAR services, gives you 6 free copies of your book and a financial saving. Your book is laid out and formatted to a high standard, using your own separately edited copy and cover design. You will work closely with our production department to ensure that you achieve the quality you require. You will be in control and asked to approve the work at all stages of production.
| Prior to publication the author is asked for their final approval of the digital files. Once given the book is ready for our printers. | |
| You then receive one sample copy of the book. This is not a proof-copy (proofreading has already been done at this point) but experience has shown that a large number of authors may wish to make corrections once they hold an actual copy in their hands. You are welcome to do so, but they are subject to correction charges. | |
| Following this we send you 5 further copies, and thereafter you are able to purchase copies at print cost plus 25% of the retail price. |
Authors using our STANDARD SERVICE who require either proof reading, or a cover design can of course purchase these as additional MODULES.
ENHANCED MODULES
| Proofreading | |
| Cover Design | |
| Indexing | |
| Typing |
OUR ENHANCED SERVICE incorporates our STANDARD together with Proofreading and Cover design from our ENHANCED MODULAR services, gives you 20 free copies (instead of 5) as well as making a financial saving. With this service we work closely with you through all aspects of the publishing process to give you a top quality book to your complete satisfaction. Your allocated proofreader and cover designer will work closely with you to ensure our work is to the standard you expect before the work goes to our production department for lay out and formatting and, after your complete approval, to the printers.
| Prior to publication the author is asked for their final approval of the digital files. Once given the book is ready for our printers. | |
| You then receive one sample copy of the book. This is not a proof-copy (proofreading has already been done at this point) but experience has shown that a large number of authors may wish to make corrections once they hold an actual copy in their hands. You are welcome to do so, but they are subject to correction charges. | |
| Following this we send you 20 copies and thereafter, you are able to purchase copies at print cost plus 20% of the retail price. |
COVER DESIGN. You can of course DESIGN YOUR OWN COVER but please check for technical specifications before doing so. If therefore you would like a top quality cover design we can put you in direct contact with one of our skilled designers. They will ensure that the cover matches the quality and content of your book.
- To see our existing covers, please visit here
ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING All our ENHANCED and STANDARD service books are also published and sold as E-BOOKS in protected Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Reader formats, to download from our own website. Authors not wishing to publish in hardcopy are welcome to publish in e book format only.
HOW YOU EARN MONEY
If you use our worldwide distribution system we pay you 60% of the NET revenue from any retail sales and we deal with all the distribution and paperwork. By Authors OnLine registering your title with the various ISBN agencies, your book is then automatically available to be ordered via any bookshop in the UK and North America, who purchase from us at a standard discount (usually 40%). We then pay you 60% of the remainder, minus print costs.
If your book is published for distribution (as opposed to private publication) you can also of course buy books directly from us. We sell them to you at print costs plus 20% of the retail price if you use our enhanced service, or 25% if you use our Standard Service. You can then sell them yourself for whatever price you like keeping any profit. There is no minimum or maximum you can order but you will be liable for freight costs plus £1.25 handling charge per book order. The freight costs are proportionally cheaper per book the greater the quantity ordered. UK mainland customers enjoy free freight on all orders valued over £100.
PROMOTIONAL IDEAS
Authors OnLine is an Author Service company that helps authors Self-publish their books. It is not a mainstream publisher and as such therefore does not judge your book for commercial potential. Our job is to take your manuscript through the various stages of production to a finished book available for sale through retail outlets, deal with any royalties due to you and provide you with copies for yourself when required. We cannot guarantee to sell a single copy and Authors OnLine does not wish to give any potential author unrealistic expectations as to earnings.
Having said that, we are in a position to offer sound marketing advice and even if necessary put you in touch with outside marketing companies specialising in the book trade. We can initially help with press releases and fact sheets as well as offering help on organising book signings and preparing prospect lists. We can also help with certain types of merchandising.
Initially you will be dealt with by our submissions department, who will guide you through to the production department. Once you are published you will be passed onto our post-production department who will help you with both purchasing books for your own purposes and guide you through the marketing process. Please also read our Marketing Page
NEW FOR 2009 - Send unlimited press releases to over 8000 + UK journalists using our Press Releases module (Payable annually) via entertainment4media.com - In conjunction with Entertainment4media.com, Authors OnLine have the availability to send unlimited numbers of press releases, in either full HTML including high resolution pictures, or plain text, to 8000 + British journalists across a wide range of the media from, national and local TV and radio, national and local newspapers, and scores of magazines covering every subject imaginable. If something is relevant to your book you can tell now 'The Press' about it, instantly!
GETTING STARTED
To get your work published could not be easier. Please either send us a synopsis and a couple of sample chapters and, if it meets our literary standards, we will ask you to send the manuscript on disk, CD or e-mail. Once we receive the manuscript and payment a contract will be sent to you. You are of course welcome to ask for sight of this in advance. You retain all intellectual property rights and are free to remove the book from our website and distribution system at any time.
DOWNLOAD OUR BROCHURE FOR READING OFFLINE (right click to save to your hard drive) |
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