GUIDE TO PUBLISHING

GUIDE TO PUBLISHING 1124 Oneida Valley Road Rt 38, Chicora, PA 16025 724-287-2120 Fax: 724-285-9231 This guide is designed to help you understand the different methods for publishing your manuscript and the procedures used to get it into print. PUBLISHING VS SELF-PUBLISHING • PUBLISHING - To get a manuscript published you must find a publisher interested in your work, and willing and able to invest their money into the final preparation of the manuscript, printing, marketing, selling and shipping. This is not easy to do, especially for novice writers or for works of special limited interest such as genealogies. If your work is accepted for publishing, the publisher not only invests its money and time into the project but also pays you a royalty for each copy sold. You have no control of inventory, sales prices, etc. You also have little investment of your time and money. At Mechling Bookbindery we are interested in publishing books of western Pennsylvania interest, especially those of historical and genealogical value. • SELF-PUBLISHING - When you self-publish a book you order a set number of books to be printed and bound. You purchase all the books and manage the inventory, marketing, sales and shipping. All proceeds from the book sales are yours. • Quantities - Your book can be printed in any quantity as few as one book. What method we use to print your book depends on the quantity required. Generally, for orders of less than 100 copies, we would produce it on a digital printer. Larger quantities would be printed on our offset printing presses. Color pages and full color covers are digitally printed. • Bindings - Your books can be bound in any combination of hardcover and softcover bindings. There are many options available in both binding types. We would be happy to review those options with you. Samples of various papers, leather and bookcloth are available. • Payments - We will give you a price quote on your project including a realistic estimate of layout charges. We require a 50% deposit to be sent with your order. The balance will be due at delivery. We always print extra books so expect to purchase a few more books than ordered. Normal turn-around time is 4 to 6 weeks depending on the time of year, and the complexity of your project. We can usually expedite orders for special occasions and deadlines. SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT FOR PUBLISHING/PRINTING • Make sure your manuscript has been carefully composed and edited. Obtain any and all permissions for material you have used from other sources. Be sure to give credits to other authors who have given you permission to use or quote any of their work. In some cases you may have to obtain a licence and/or pay a fee to reprint material. Previously copyrighted material may be used without permission if the copyright has expired. Generally, material with copyrights older than 75 years old can be reproduced in full or in part by anyone for any use without permission. This material is known as “public domain”. You MUST use the original printing and not a reprint. Changes could have been made to the reprint and a new copyright secured. To be certain of current copyright laws consult an attorney or someone who specializes in this field. When you submit your work for publishing or self-publishing at Mechling Bookbindery you will be required to have all permissions secured. • Submitting your manuscript - PC computer files are accepted. (See separate guide to prepare files.) High quality printed copy is also accepted for text and graphics. Copied photographs are not accepted due to poor reproduction results. PRE-PRESS • Once we receive your order, your project will be scheduled in our pre-press department and assigned to a graphics designer. You will be contacted if questions or problems should arise with your files. • Proof Copies - Once work begins, we will assemble your files and may convert them to a layout program (PageMaker) then impose the pages into another program (Acrobat). At this point we will either e-mail a file or send you a printed copy by mail for your review. You will need to review the entire book to be sure all the text, photos, graphics, etc. have been added, making sure it is complete. Also check to see that photos and captions match, and page numbers are correct on indexes and table of contents. After you have thoroughly reviewed and noted any changes to be made, return the work to us to be updated. We will make the changes and again return it to you for final approval. Once approved, we schedule printing and binding. PRODUCTION • Printing and binding times vary depending on the quantity of books to be printed and the binding types. We PLACING AN ORDER will contact you when the books are finished and ready to • Make backup copies of all your computer disks. Send all ship, or to be picked up. disks, original photos, graphics and, if possible, a printed Being a small business, we are able to assist you on a copy of your manuscript. more personal level in reaching your publishing goals. www.mechlingbooks.com info@mechlingbooks.com