Hard questions to ask publishers

Is my book returnable to the distributor?
Big bookstores like Barnes and Noble, B Dalton, Walden Books and Borders order through distributors, not the publisher. The main distributors are Baker and Taylor and Ingram. For bookstores to consider stocking your book, they must be able to order through the distributor AND return through the distributor. If the bookstore can't sell your book, they want the option of packaging up the books and sending all the ones that didn't sell back to one location. There are hundreds of book publishers and the stores don't have the time or desire to pack a box for each publisher.

Book publishers sometimes will claim their books are returnable but they mean that the store can send it back to them and not the distributor. Bookstores don't like that so you will not get signings and you will not get books on the shelf. Get it in writing that your book will be returnable to the distributor.

Are you printing a run on my books or are they print on demand?
A run of books is when a large quantity of the same title are printed at one time then stored. Print on demand books are stored electronically then printed as there is demand. Books are printed in smaller quantities.

Why does this matter? In the end, it affects your cover price. A run of books is less expensive to print so the publisher can set a lower cover price to be competitive and still make a profit.

What will my cover price be?
Get the cover price in writing before you sign anything. Now go to your local bookstore and find books in your genre that have the same number of pages. What are those cover prices? If there's a difference of 10-20% you're still in a competitive range. If your book is double or triple the price of similar books in the bookstore, your publisher thinks you aren't going to sell many books and they are jacking up the cover price to compensate.

If you want to be a best seller, run away from jacked up prices. If you just want to sell to family and friends, this is OK if your friends and family are comfortable financially. For a high cover price, make sure you're not paying any upfront fees like a subsidy publisher asks.

Are you going to charge me for editing?
A traditional publisher will either turn you down because of your editing or they will cover the expense to clean up your manuscript themselves. Publishers that offer in-house editing services offer it to make more money.

How will you publicize my book?
A traditional publisher will put a lot of time and money into publicity. The amount will depend on the size of the publisher of course but they have a vested interest in high book sales.

The first thing I suggest is getting in writing whether through email or directly in your contract the detailed steps the publisher takes for publicity. This is insurance for the future if you find out they aren’t what they claim to be.

If the publisher asks for a list of your friends and family to notify about your book, expect little else from them. This is the first sign you will be doing a lot of your own legwork and should consider an outside publicist. Honestly, have you not told everyone you meet that you are publishing a book? Why do you need the publisher to duplicate your efforts?

If they tell you they are contacting your media, make them be specific in writing. A particular publish on demand company declares they are traditional but the only media contacts they perform is sending a flyer to your local media notifying them of the book. There is no follow up. There are no targeted media groups. Most authors find themselves told after publication they should consider hiring an outside publicist if they want to see more sales. By that time, it’s too late for great publicity.

What are the distribution responsibilities of the publisher? What are my responsibilities?
I represented an author who published through a supposed traditional publishing house. It would stand to reason that the publisher -who should have a lot of experience with distribution -would guarantee that the book was listed correctly with all major sales venues including Amazon.com,BN.com Barnes and Noble stores, both distributors Ingram and Baker and Taylor before the release date.

The book wasn't listed on Amazon on his release date. It was not correctly listed for a week after his book was released. The book wasn't listed with the distributor Ingram at all and Baker and Taylor had incomplete records until I started giving the author ammunition to get the publisher to do something about it.

Two months into his publicity campaign you still couldn't go to Barnes and Noble and order the book much less find it on the shelf. His whole campaign was crippled because the publisher did not do things correctly. Unfortunately, there was no clause in the contract stipulating the publisher's responsibilities.

The publisher needs to have distribution set up and ready before a publicist is ever involved. Make sure you have a stipulation in the contract detailing what the publisher is going to do for you. Ask questions to find out what the leaves for you to do.

What if I am unhappy with your services? Are you going to sue me if I complain on a public forum?
I have been hearing dirty little rumors that some contracts stipulate you cannot complain about the company on any public forum. This includes internet forums or blogs. Unfortunately, you don't read about this sort of thing because the writer is liable to be sued if he or she makes defamatory remarks. Watch closely for anything in the contract impeding your first amendment right to state your opinion about your experience with a publisher. (Of course don't take that as the right to spread lies.)

Another facet to this (in my mind at least) scam is companies trying to intimidate authors who complain about their services. I worked on an author who published through a publish on demand company. She didn't read the fine print or research the company so the realization that she wasn't going to sell millions of books was hard for her. She complained to the company and she got an email demanding an apology for her opinions! I'm proud to report that she didn't apologize for stating her mind. Intimidation to keep authors in their place is not a flattering tactic for a publisher to use.

Make sure you don't sign anything with any language implying you can be sued for stating your opinion on their services.


What will the quality of my finished product be?
This is a very important question but a hard one to get a straight answer that you will understand. I am discussing with an author about his book that was subsidy published and the margins are horrible! You can't read the book without breaking the spine. Remember: your margins matter.

I worked with another author that thought he had a traditional publisher but it was actually an imprint of a larger label that I'm not sure is all that large. I read through his final book and the printing quality was horrible to the point that letters were missing. Remember: the printing quality matters.

If you choose an in-house cover designer, you may not be getting a professional. Once you and he or she decide on a cover, get outside opinions from people that will give you honest answers. If your cover doesn’t excite people, tell the cover designer to redesign. People still judge a book by its cover. Remember: the cover design matters.