Some organizations choose to do parts of the publishing process on their own, such as designing the cover, formatting the book, and more. We can help with the technical details if your organization chooses to go this route to reduce costs or increase engagement.
Stories, poems, essays, and themes can be chosen to encompass your mission and objectives. Social emotional issues can have a profound impact. Most organizations include one piece from each member while others choose to host contests or select content for inclusion in other ways. Either way, your enthusiastic participants write their stories according to your guidelines.
We are happy to help design the project to meet any number of objectives as part of our base service. For an additional fee, we offer online or on-site writing and professional development assistance.
The preparation process flows from the writing and illustrating phase. We will accept your material in a variety of digital formats, most often Word or Rich Text documents for text and JPG or PNG for images.
You have the flexibility to do as much of the interior and cover preparation as you choose. If you engage staff or volunteers to prepare digital files, we will provide the specifications, guidance, and technical review. Pen & Publish will reduce the book pricing based on the time savings.
The printing process begins with providing an electronic galley proof of the inside pages and cover proof for your approval. Next, we print two or more copies for you to display while you take advance orders. Your main order is delivered within 2 weeks, and subsequent orders of any size in even less time. We partner with the top POD (Print On Demand) printer in the world, and we use offset book printers when quantities warrant.
Our printed books are professional trade quality, which is the dominant quality you see in bookstores.
These are the most common types of books we print:
Pen & Publish will provide templates you can use, and/or you can follow these guidelines to prepare your files:
There are no upfront costs with Pen & Publish. Your group takes advance orders and payment to eliminate risk and determine your initial order. You can order additional copies at any time, in any quantity. A larger initial order can mean a reduction in your per-book costs, thus increasing your share of each book sold.
Your organization's cost per book is based primarily on the final page count, book size, quantity ordered, and any additional services you may choose. Once we talk with you about your book contents and number of contributors, we will provide you a price ($10–$12 for most books, delivery included) that you can base your sales price on. Your book cost could end up being lower. There are no upfront costs or hidden fees.
Your selling price and profit are totally up to you. Most organizations using the book as a fundraiser add $5 or more and non-fundraisers usually add $2+ for advance orders, and subsequent sales usually are priced an additional $2–$4. Bookstore sales generally pay $1–$3 per book . (Most of the sale price goes to the bookseller, wholesaler, and printer.) Your estimated price gives you a fixed cost to plan on and your actual cost may be lower than the estimate based on quantity ordered and various other factors. The estimated price will only increase if the scope of your project changes (large increase in pages, changing to color interior).
An anthology can be a great opportunity for fundraising. The sales process usually begins early with setting goals, use for the funds, organizing volunteers as needed, and choosing a chairperson. Some options include:
You are free to include advertisers or sponsors in your book. Advertisements, special mentions, personal notes, or acknowledgments can easily be included in your publishing and fundraising plans. We will include as many ads or sponsor-related pages as you provide. There is no cost unless we have to invest excessive graphic artist time in creating the ads or add an unexpected number of pages.
Yes, people often want additional copies once they have seen the book. You also may decide to offer books for direct sale through your organization, local merchants, or on your website. There is no minimum order, and books are available to you direct indefinitely and through booksellers for at least one year.
Yes, we can help you create your own imprint for your organization. Contact us today for details.
In addition to your direct sales, we normally make your book available for order through most chain, independent, and online booksellers, including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, through our affiliation with international book wholesaler Ingram Book Group. Out-of-town relatives and friends will be able to easily order books. Publisher direct orders from our website can also be arranged.
ISBN is an acronym for International Standard Book Number. This is the number you will find on the copyright page and on the back of your book. This number identifies a book and makes it possible to be sold in wholesale and retail markets around the world.