| Self
publish, short run book printers.
Print on demand offers
a comprehensive service to publishers & book printers, we pride ourselves
on listening to our clients needs, all the services below are under one
roof in Sable Square in the heart of the Montague Gardens & Milnerton
business district in Cape Town.
Always
wanted to see yourself in print, here is some advice on publishing &
printing your own book.
Many of us would like to see what we have written in print. It may be
our memoirs, our stories, our poems or our family history. Maybe it's
a children's books with our own illustrations, or a collection of our
favourite recipes with anecdotes related to the times these meals were
eaten.
For the majority
of us this will always remain only a dream. Very few aspirant authors
will find a publisher for what they have written.
The answer
to this is to self publish. This is often known as "vanity publishing",
but there is nothing vain about wanting to see your work nicely bound
and on your, your family's and your friends' bookshelves.
Traditionally,
self publishing has been a very costly enterprise. Now, with advances
in technology, it can be achieved at a very reasonable price.
Print On
Demand can help you make your dream come true.
Print On Demand offers a range of services, any combination of which can
help you to get your book into print.
If you require
a book quotation please complete the form click
here
Have you
have already typed everything into a wordprocessing program? If so, we
can help you with editing, copy editing, format design and layout - or,
if you're quite satisfied that what's there is pretty perfect, just get
it ready for print.
If all you
have is a bunch of handwritten pages, we can take this, too, and make
it into a book - although this would obviously not be exactly cheap as
a great deal of work would be needed to achieve this!
We can also
arrange for the printing of your book, and our resident book binder, Colin,
can either perfect bind or stitch bind your book.
In addition,
we can get your ISBN number, if you want your book to have one.
Should you wish to, you can also have your book present on our website
for people to order, or download, depending on your decisions in this
regard.
What will
it cost?
This is not an easy question to answer, because the cost will depend on
what needs to be done, on how you want it printed and on what kind of
paper, and how you want it bound. We can, however, give you some examples:
Example
Printing Costs:
100 A5 books
80 pages black and white text
Cover printed in full colour
Perfect Bound
Cover UV Varnished
R25 per book, excluding VAT
Layout -
R800.00
Cover design - R600.00
ISBN application and barcode - R200.00
Preparation for print - R200.00
Printing (100g, black only for inside pages, full colour on 250g gloss
board for cover) R990.00
TOTAL COST:
R2790.00
A 72 page poetry book, perfect bound, with colour pictures within the
book
Text supplied in final form (i.e. no editing or proofing required), in
a word or similar document.
Pictures supplied as wanted (i.e. no fiddling required to pictures) Layout
required
Cover design required
ISBN number required
2 final books, printed and finished, required
Costs:
Layout - R1 950
Cover design - R600.00
ISBN application and barcode - R200.00
Preparation for print - R400.00
Printing (100g, full colour for inside pages, full colour on 100g paper
for cover) R388.00
Perfect binding: R140.00
TOTAL COST:
R3678.00
The
setup costs form a great portion of the cost of the first copies. Naturally,
the more copies that are printed, the less each book will cost.
But as every book is different, please drop us a line with your requirments,
and we will give you a more acurate idea of the actual costs to produce
your book or publication.
If you require
a book quotation please complete the form click
here
Services
Layout and design are charged at R200 per hour
Editing and proofing are charged at R200 per hour
Typing is charged at R30 per A4 page
Website presence: R120 per annum
ISBN application and bar code: R200
Printing and Binding per quote
It does not
matter where in South Africa, or even the world, you may be as we can
simply send you a print-ready file which you can have printed locally.
What should
I do next?
Complete the online form click
here this just makes it simplier to answer all your questions.
Author Checklist
What to Know Before You Publish Your Book on POD.com
Having your book or documents printed on-demand and published online with
printondemand.co.za is exciting and easy. Just click, “Publish My
Book” (coming soon) on the homepage and follow the instructions
in our 5 Step Publishing Wizard.
STEP 1: Book Information
Know Your Book Title
The book title will be positioned on the front cover and spine of the
book.
Write a Short Book
Description:
Type a maximum 1000 character (including spaces) book description into
a text document and cut and paste it into this section. Check spelling
and grammar carefully. This description is printed on the backside of
the book and will be displayed on the website.
Category
Choose a book category most relevant to your book,such as fiction or business.
Check out the online bookstore categories.
Keywords
Think carefully here. If people don’t know your name or book title,
how would they find you? Fill in 8 keywords (100 characters maximum),
but do not use your name or book title. (These become searchable terms
when you upload your book).
Availability
There are three options from which to choose:
1. Worldwide. Your book appears for sale in our worldwide, online bookstore.
2. Private. Your book is not available for sale in our online bookstore.
Only the writer has access to view and order the book.
3. Private with Member Access Code Your book is not available for sale
in our online bookstore. A special code will be e-mailed to you to share
at your discretion. Only people who know the code can view and order your
book.
Author name
The author name is positioned on the front cover and spine of the book.
Author biography
Type a maximum of 420 characters (including spaces) into a Microsoft word
document and cut and paste. This description will be printed on the backside
of the book and displayed on the website.
STEP 2: Upload and
Print Preferences
Upload Your Book File The most important part is, of course, your digital
file of the book content. Be sure that your book content is formatted
to the same size as your book (see Print Preferences below). POD only
accepts documents in Microsoft Word (.doc) or PDF (.pdf) format. If your
book contains special images such as pictures, letter types, or fonts,
we recommend that you save your document as a PDF. Don't know anything
about PDFs? Don't worry. More information can be found in our FAQ Uploading
Your Book section (coming soon).
Print Preferences
Select one of five different book sizes IMPORTANT: Please be sure that
your book content is formatted to the same size as your book i.e., if
you chose to have your book printed in a 6 x 9" size, set the margins
of your book content at 6 x 9.
Printing Select color
or black and white. Note that your choice will be applied to the entire
book meaning the text and pictures. However, it does not apply to the
dust cover (if you are ordering a hardcover).
STEP 3: Cover Layout
Select Author picture or image Optional. A picture or image can be uploaded.
This image is printed on the back of the book cover and displayed on the
website. It is a great way to add interest to your book. IMPORTANT: Please
make sure the image is high quality (minimum 300 dpi)
Front Cover Picture
POD gives you three choices for your cover art: If you have your own cover
art, upload it as a JPEG file. Please make sure this image is high quality
(minimum 300 dpi). The image should be the same size as your book i.e.,
if your book size is 6 x 9, your cover art needs to be 6 x 9. If not,
our software will resize it automatically, which sometimes distorts the
image. In the last step of the wizard, you will receive a preview of your
cover, and you still have the chance to make changes.
If you do not have cover art, select no cover picture, or choose from
one of POD cover art images.
Choose a background
color
This color becomes the background color of your back cover. Choose a color
that complements your front cover.
Dustcover
Select hardcover or paperback.
Dustcover Layout
This applies only if you choose a hardcover edition.
Letter Color
This is the color in which your author bio and book description will appear
on the back cover. This text is placed on top of the “background
color” you selected earlier. Be sure to choose a letter color that
stands out against your background color.
Step 4: Profile Data
Confirm your personal information. Use our link to PayPal to set up your
account. POD makes monthly deposits from your book sales into this account.
Select your royalty rate. You may choose 0% to 200%. Please note: your
royalty rate affects your book price on the website.
Step 5: Confirmation
Confirm all data you have entered. Preview your book cover and manuscript
excerpt. At this step, you can decide to go back and make changes to your
cover. Purchase five copies of your book, which will be printed and shipped
to you. Payment can be done with one of the common credit cards or online
banking services. As soon as that transaction is confirmed, your book
will be available immediately for sale on our website. Congratulations!
Additional questions?
Please refer to our FAQ section or email us at book@printondemand.co.za
Extra Helpful Hints
from POD
POD will not add blank pages to your book. This means the first page of
your book will automatically be the first page you read when you open
the book. If you prefer to have your book look as professional as possible,
insert two blank pages, then a title page (page 3), followed by a copyright
page (page 4). It is recommended that you copyright your work using ©
2008 (Insert Your Name). You can see a sample copyright page if you download
the Free Publishing Guide on the homepage.
If you have an ISBN number, it can be added to the copyright page.
Colin Doyle
book@printondemand.co.za
If you require a book quotation please complete theform click
here
General
Information
If you are an unpublished author,
it may be difficult to get your first book published. These simple guidelines
are designed to help you with the process.
The list of FAQs below is extracted
from a book published by Penguin in 2005 called Get your book published
in South Africa: (A hands-on guide for authors)
Question Short
answer
Can I do my own publishing using DTP? No, DTP is a way of designing and
typesetting, not a way of publishing
Do I need an agent? : Only if you want to get published in the UK and
US.
Does a book need to be registered somewhere? No. All you need is an ISBN
(International Standard Book Number), which you can get free from the
(State) National Library of South Africa. Contact Magret Kibido on +27
(0)12 4019718.
Does copyright protect ideas? No, only the expression of ideas. To protect
an idea you need a trademark or a patent.
How does a publishing contract work? Like any contract: it imposes legal
obligations on both parties. In this case the author has to deliver a
manuscript; the publisher has to publish and market the book at her cost.
How long should I wait once I have submitted my manuscript before I phone
the publisher?: A month
How long will it take from the time I deliver my manuscript to publication?
Nine months, on average
How many copies does the average general book in South Africa sell? 2000-3
000
How often are royalties paid? Once or twice a year, in arrears for sales
of the previous period.
If I use a publisher, who controls the copyright? The publisher, but it
normally reverts to you when the book goes out of print.
Should I bring my manuscript in personally and wait for an editor to see
me so that I can explain the plot or contents face to face?: No
Should I share my ideas with a publisher won't he steal it? He won t steal
it but don' t share ideas write something first, otherwise no one takes
you seriously
Should I use colour in my book? Not unless absolutely necessary. It is
much more expensive but of course some books demand it by their very nature.
What discounts do booksellers get? For trade (general) books, about 47%;
for educational books discount is lower
What is a backlist book? A book that has been around for more than a year
What is a frontlist book? A new book
What is a reasonable royalty percentage? 15%, but it varies depending
on publisher, type of book, and the leverage you have.
What is a trade book?: A general book selling into the consumer market
What is an imprint? It is a trade name or brand or logo, like Penguin,
Juta or PrintOnDemand.
What is the best way to approach a publisher? Use a written proposal
What kind of style should I follow in the book? Use a style guide in a
consistent way, either a general one like the Oxford Style Manual or one
provided by the publisher.
What software should I use for writing my book? Microsoft Word
When and how can I get the rights to my book back from the publisher?:
After the book goes out of print
When do I need copyright permission? When quoting a substantial portion
of another work
Where can I get information about publishers? On the PASA website www.publishsa.co.za
Where does one get ISBN numbers? The State Library
Which people in a publishing house do I deal with? Mainly the commissioning
editor
Who owns the copyright on a work? The author, unless he cedes the copyright
Why does one need a publisher? For financing, technical expertise, and
marketing
Basil van Rooyen ©
Got some
questions please complete the request form click
here
|
