FAQs

General Information

Q. What is One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd.? A. One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd. is the name of the company. BecomeShakespeare.com is a brand of One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd. Q. What is BecomeShakespeare.com? A. BecomeShakespeare.com is the supported self-publishing brand owned by One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd. The services have been specially crafted for authors who have commercial aspirations for their work. Our services bridge the gap between self-publishing and traditional publishing, bringing you the best of both. We wish to make your work the best it can become. Q. Why choose BecomeShakespeare.com? A. While most self-publishing firms have the same set of essential services, we have those and a plethora more which are most required by the authors, like 1. Managing your social media accounts, 2. Getting you that most coveted bookstore for your book events, 3. Getting your books reviewed in newspapers and magazines, and Simply put, you will have – under one roof – all the services needed by an author wanting to be commercially successful, delivered by professionals with several years ofrelevant industry experience. Q. Owner of rights? A. You (the author) will always retain the copyrights to your work if you publish with BecomeShakespeare.com.

Types of Publishing

Q. What are the types of publishing? A. 1. Traditional, 2. Partnered, 3. Supported Self Publishing, & 4. DIY Self Publishing. Pros and cons of the different kinds of publishing – Traditional Publishing Publishers screen content, select manuscripts submitted from authors directly or from literary agents, pay advances (occasionally), publish the book (edit, proof, design, paginate & print), market and distribute the book, and pay the author royalties after they receive revenue from the sales of the book. Pros: No investment. Cons: Excruciating selection process with long waiting and close to zero control on your book. Suitable for –Authors who are commercially inclined (need to make money from the book). – Partnered Publishing The process remains the same as traditional publishing, except that when some traditionally published authors are confident of the success of their work, they pitch in, reducing the publisher’s investment. They also might work on some parts to bargain for a better royalty or get quicker turnaround time. In most cases, they take care of the marketing, in part or entirely. Or, they will take care of the pre-press stages or media relationships. Sometimes they have the ability to sell a large quantity of books themselves, so they buy many in advance, invest together with the publisher and share revenues instead of a meagre royalty. This essentially reduces the publisher’s risk on the project, or helps in taking the marketing beyond what the publisher would generally do. It also enables them sometimes to offer the book at a very aggressive price in the market. Pros: Similar to traditional publishing with better royalties. Cons: Part investment, hence resulting risk. Suitable for – Authors who are commercially inclined (need to make money from the book) and wish to invest into their work while having better deal structures. – Supported Self Publishing The author publishes her/his own work using services from a publishing firm for services she/he deems required. Most work done by a traditional publisher is available in supported self-publishing as paid services. The author here dons the role of an artist-entrepreneur, with complete control on how the process gets delivered, when the book should be released, how the book needs to look, what the pricing strategy should be, which markets to target, in what formats to present the work to the audience, etc. Since the author is investing and it is her/his work, they get the majority of returns. Pros: Complete control of the book and its rights, high quality of services on offer from professional firms, wide arena of publishers to choose from, and the highest earnings per copy of book sold. Cons: The risk of the investment. Suitable for – Authors who are commercially inclined (need to make money from the book) and will go the extra mile to polish their work with professional editing, layouts, and cover design; who will price the book aggressively, market it well, get the book to bookstores, etc. In short, authors who want to put the best possible product in front of their buyers, where it can compete with traditionally published products. This kind of publishing is for authors who want complete control of the publishing process and the rights and are willing to invest time and resources on their own work. They are commercially inclined for maximum returns on their investment. – DIY Self Publishing – Limited and Expanded The author publishes her/his own work using the publishing platforms provided by a publishing firm or themselves. Here the author does the entire work of the publishing process – from the editing, proofing, pagination, and cover design, to marketing the book. DIY is further classified into limited and expanded. Limited: The book is available only on the retailing services of that platform, i.e., Amazon’s Createspace where should you publish the book, it is only available for sales on Amazon’s platforms. Expanded: The book is made available for sales across several platforms. Pros: Zero investment, complete control of the book and its rights, with the highest earnings per copy of book sold. Cons: Without professional services like editing, cover designs, aggressive marketing and distribution, etc., the book’s potential in terms of quality, brand building and sales may get restricted. Suitable for –Authors who want complete control of the publishing process and the rights, while not willing to invest into their work. Best fits hobbyist authors, who are just writing for their own selves or for limited audiences. Q. Can I publish my book with BecomeShakespeare.com and another publisher, too? Also, what if I am approached by a traditional publisher while my contract with you is in force? A.At BecomeShakespeare.com, we sign a non-exclusive contract with you. This means you are free to close the contract, or enter into more contract(s) for your work, without any restriction whatsoever. However, if you choose to discontinue with us, you may do so only after we have received the payment for all the services that were delivered either in part or full. However, we don’t recommend publishing simultaneously with multiple publishers, as in the market, it would lead to confusion and several retailers may have issues on listings. Q. Do you accept colour books? A. Yes, we do. Our standard packages are best suited for B/W books. Books with coloured inside pages tend to get rather expensive when printed in smaller batches or as a single copy POD. Hence, we recommend to work with our help to create a customised service package for such books. Q. Can I publish a non-English book with BecomeShakespeare.com? A. Yes. Q. Does BecomeShakespeare.com offer its services to people across the globe? A. Yes. List of books published by BecomeShakespeare.com

Project Information

Q. What does it mean to have a dedicated project manager? A. Once the project is activated, you get your project manager who is responsible for managing your project until all the services you have purchased are delivered. As soon as the project is activated, the project manager sets up all the key tasks and associated milestones of the project on our project management system, including the other team members. From there on, you can see and interact with everyone working on your project, and all key files – like the contract, the covers, the PDFs – which are stored on the system as they get to the final stages, should you need to reach them at any point of time. Q. What if I am unhappy with any team member or the project manager? A. Should you not be happy with a team member, you are free to report that to the project manager. We will take all necessary actions after understanding the issue. We also take regular feedback about your satisfaction with the work post each stage of the project as we move along; that feedback is shared with the project managers’ seniors, and our author service delight team. Q. What if I don’t like the quality of the service or the final product? A. We always deliver the best we can for your project. At regular intervals, we take feedback from you to ensure your satisfaction at all stages of the project. It is important to have clear communication from both ends for this. Rather than checking with you when the entire process is over, we correspond frequently so as to prevent misunderstanding and dissonance. At each stage in the process please ensure that you communicate any issues you may have so that we can resolve it at the earliest possible. In case you are not happy with the work, we will make changes to it as per your requirements or return your money back to you for the services you did not like. Q. How will global retailers know about my book? A. As a part of all publishing packages, we send your book’s information to all key Bibliographic Databases to ensure that they are aware of your book. Should you wish to make your product available globally, please check our global online distribution services. *Our global online distribution services are a part of all our standard publishing packages. Q. How do I make my payments to you? Will I be able to make payments in instalments? A. You can make the payment via all forms cash, cheque, NEFT, or through credit or debit card (upon request, we will send an invoice to you with a link to a payment gateway). Should paying in installments work better for you, the same can be worked out as per months or as per milestones achieved. Q. I have already published the book with another publisher. Will you help me move the work to you? A. Yes. Several authors have moved from their original publishers to BecomeShakespeare.com; we will be happy to facilitate the transition. We will help with all the files you need to request from the previous publisher, but we will not be able to interface directly with the previous publisher to get your files, as we are not authorised to do so. Q. I have already published the book. The previous publisher’s branding is on the book. Can I still buy some of your services? A. Yes, you may. There are several relevant services you can make use of from BecomeShakespeare.com to add value to your book. The pricing of the individual services are mentioned separately on the relevant page sections. Q. How do I get started? A. Please get in touch with us via a call on +91 8587995915or a simple email to [email protected], or fill up this form. Q. How do I extend my existing contract with you and/or purchase a new service? A. For time bound subscription based services like Social Media Management or Warehousing services, etc., when the period of the contract gets over, you are intimated about the same. You may continue or discontinue the same as per your discretion. If you wish you extend the contract or purchase a new service at this point, we send you an updated schedule/addendum to the previously signed contract. Q. How do I close a contract? A. For individual services, e.g. only editing services, the contract expires once the services have been delivered to the author and the fees have been paid. For any reasons, should you wish to discontinue the services during the process of delivery, depending on what stage of services have been delivered and payments received, the same can be mutually discussed and closed. For discontinuing from an association where payment has been made and services have been delivered, like changing your publisher or moving to a traditional publisher, an email request is sufficient. We will need standard industry timelines for closing the services from our side and handing over any files you may need for yourself. We will ensure all related files of the project are deleted at our end and a confirmation of the same is provided to you. Q. How do I submit my manuscript for evaluation purposes? A. There is no manuscript evaluation necessary before going ahead with a publishing package. However, if you wish to evaluate your manuscript, you can purchase it as a service.

Manuscript Formatting & Related Services

ISBN

Q. What is an ISBN? Is it necessary? ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It is a 13-digit number that’s used internationally as a unique identifier for books.. We need the ISBN to identify each book that is published, and each edition of the same book. ISBN also identifies the publisher of the book. It is the standard ID number used to identify books by booksellers, libraries, book wholesalers, and distributors. If you plan to sell your book in bookstores, to libraries, or through online retailers like Amazon.com, you will need an ISBN. ISBNs are issued to publishers, who then assign them to individual books. This can be done at any time, even before the book is written. ISBN is mandatory if you wish to list and sell it via retailers; if you wish to have the book only for private circulation the ISBN is not necessary. Q. Will you get the ISBN number for the book or do I have to get it? What about the bar code? A. An ISBN for your work is registered under BecomeShakespeare.com and is included with each of our publishing packages. The ISBN will be inserted on the copyright page and on the back cover of the book with the bar code. The barcode is a digital image that sellers can scan to identify the ISBN. Separate ISBNs are assigned for paperback, hard back, and eBook versions of a book. We will assign ISBN(s) and create the required barcode(s) for your book. Q. I have my complete book printed already/ready to print.Can you help me with ISBN and barcode? A. Yes, if you publish the book through us, we will assign an ISBN to you and also provide the barcode. Q. I already have the ISBN number. Can I use it to publish my book with you? A. Yes, you may. Q. Are different ISBNs used if a book appears in different languages? A. Yes, it’s a unique identification for your book, so different ISBNs have to be used. Q. Can I use the same ISBN that I have got from another publisher for the print copy of the same book? A. Yes, you can. However, make sure that the publisher who assigned the ISBN has no objection. Q. Can I get an ISBN registered in my name? How is the barcode registered? A. The ISBN assigned by us is registered in our name. If you wish to have an ISBN registered in your name, you could apply for the same with Raja Ram Mohun Roy Agency, which is the authorised agency to assign ISBNs in India. Barcode for your book is generated from the unique ISBN assigned to your book. It is not registered separately. Is copyright registration needed? Will you get it or do I have to? A. As per most copyright laws globally, if you have created something unique as an art form, you own the copyrights of the same. Once the same is brought to the public domain, it establishes your copyright over the material. While that being the case, one may seek to register her/his copyright with a copyright registering authority as per the laws of your land. You may log on to http://copyright.gov.in/ or http://www.copyright.gov/ or check the copyright laws in your own country for more information.

Editing

Q. In what format would you accept my manuscript? A. We prefer accepting the work in Word format. Q. After signing the contract, what is expected in the manuscript submission? A. All the material you wish us to edit, must be sent as a part of the submission. A tentative indication is below; please feel free to submit whatever you think should be a part of your work, all components are not mandatory:

1. Acknowledgements
2. Dedication
3. Table of contents
4. Copyrights & publisher’s page. Should you need help, we shall help with our standard formats. Should you have anything special as a part of any legal disclosure to make, please do indicate the same.
5. Prologue/Epilogue as applicable
6. About the author
7. About the book: A tentative back cover blurb (which goes on the back of the book) – Preferably within 1800 characters (including punctuations and spacing)
8. References, citations, credits and permissions used
9. Glossary of terms
10. Short notes marked along with context
11. The full manuscript of your book

Q. Sometimes author can make mistakes in typo, sentence making etc. Will that be rechecked before going for print? A. We would suggest you to take one of our editing services. Depending on the editing service taken, we will first get your manuscript edited and so if there are any error it would be corrected as per type of editing opted for. You will need to then just recheck if you are happy with the editing done. Q. Can I have direct communication with the editor who is working on my book? A. Yes, you will absolutely have all required direct communication with the editor working on your book, only in case of Extensive Editing. However, for copy editing and proofreading, the co-ordination will be through the project manager. The communication will be over emails and our project management system. Meeting in person is rather difficult as we have editors all across the globe and won’t be able to ascertain if the most suitable editor for your work will be in your city. Q. If I am not happy with your editing service, can you give me a second round of free editing? A. Yes, we will help with an additional round, if so be the case. Q. Do you provide genre specific editors as per the script, like horror or spirituality or Sci-Fi? A. Yes, we do. Q. Are the editors working for BecomeShakespeare.com, employees ? A. We have an editorial team, who also evaluate the work of other editors. Also, not all the editors are employed with us full-time. We consistently keep adding more verified editors to the team. Each editor has passed our internal assignment tests and is a qualified one; hence we are assured of the quality we can deliver to the work we undertake. Additionally, we have a wide variety of editors who are genre specialists. Q. Will the editor give me necessary feedback on my book? A. It depends on the editing service taken. If the author has taken extensive editing or book mentoring services, then the editor will be giving the necessary feedback for the book. Please read more here on the various types of services we offer in editing. Q. I need a better understanding of which service best fits the requirements of my work, will you be able to help? A. Yes, we can. Should you wish us to evaluate the work for its requirement, we will be happy to help. Please do mail us the work on [email protected] and we shall come back to you in 72 working hours with our assessment.

Printing Services:

Q. What formats do I need to submit the files for printing? A. We prefer the inputs in print-ready PDF files, including the cover and inner pages. You may send the cover design files in any popular format like InDesign, PSD, etc. The print-ready PDF file should have crop marks and 3 to 5 mm bleed area. Q. I don’t have the print-ready files (soft copies/PDF files), just the printed book/material; how do we proceed? A. We would recommend that you try for the print-ready files as the work entailing conversion of printed material to print-ready files in soft/digital format is a cumbersome process with high likelihood for errors. Yet, if the same is not possible, there are a few options you may explore:

1. Use an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to scan the work; the same will enable the work to get captured as characters in Word format instead of JPEG images of a regular scanner. There are several software available, which are free and can be used on a smartphone to do this exercise as well, e.g. Goggles from Google is a software that we recommend. You will get it on your Android Play Store or iOS App Store. Use the same on all pages and extract the text to a Word file. Please check adequately before you begin laying out the same into a book format on Word or PDF, as OCR does not register some alphabets if the printing is not of great quality.
2. If you wish to skip it, try using professional services, from a service which may have a drum scanner, the same will provide you a better scanning result than your regular flatbed scanner (which is commonly used in households/offices). Also drum scanners can have inputs from different types of page sizes, maps, etc.
3. If you think your regular flatbed scanner can do the job, try it. Change its settings to 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution scan for a better result.
4. We don’t provide these services as a lot of time is spent in corrections as per the available printed material. Yet, if you don’t have any other option, we will be happy to help. However, as we mentioned, the quality of the scanned files is dependent on the printed material available. The charges and time required for the same, will need to be discussed upon seeing the material.

Q. Should I submit my print files in CMYK or in RGB colour mode? A. We recommend CMYK mode as that is what the printers are going to use. When one transfers the RGB files to CMYK files, it is possible that there will be differences. Yet, if you already have designed the files in RGB, we can help to convert them to CMYK; we will get the proofs approved from you before we take it to printing. Q. How does one know how the spine’s width will turn out and how much text it should carry? A. The spine of the book is dependent on four factors:

1. The number of pages,
2. The type of paper used,
3. The binding used (perfect binding, section sewn, etc.), and
4. The cover used (paperback, hard case, etc.).

Using our calculations, we can give you the spine thickness as per the standard paper that we use to design the same, or for an extra fee we can take care of adjusting the spine size by making changes in the open file. The spine should carry the title and subtitle of the book, along with the author and publisher’s imprint/name. If the book’s spine is too thin or not as tall, a few parts should be dropped. Q. What other aspects do I need to check on before submitting the file for printing? A. Some thingsto ensure when submitting a file and checking if it is ready-to-print:

• It has to have clear crop marks
• It has to have a bleed of 3mm – 5mm
• Does it have – Publisher’s logo, ISBN, Barcode?
• Are all the images used in the file a resolution of 300 dpi or more?
• Are all the final files in PDF format?

Q. Can there be colour variations between the printed cover and the digital proof? A. Yes, there are strong chances: the same file printed by two different printers has almost a 99% chance of giving varying results. How many copies will you print? We will take care of fulfilment of the orders as the book keeps selling. The book is printed only when there is a sale on any ecommerce site, there is no limit for the number of copies. Additionally, we provide the author with complimentary copies as per the packages. In the Basic package, you get 10 copies, in Essentials – 20, Pro – 30, and Pro+ – 60. Q. What happens when those copies get over? A. In the publishing packages, the same moves to digital POD, i.e. we print and deliver a copy even if a single copy sells. Also, if you wish to opt for bulk printing at that point, we could help you with the same as well. Q. What are POD, digital printing, offset printing, and web printing? A. With digital printing technology it is possible to print as many copies as are needed. POD is a subset of the same, where if need be a single copy is printed whenever needed. Offset is the technology where the books are printed in higher volume and the papers are inserted in sheets while printing 4/8/16/32 pages at one time via a plate, while in web printing the same is for very high volume to be printed in a very short time – the machines are far larger and the paper is fed in rolls. Digital printing technology does not require the creation of printing plates. It has a very short turnaround period and relatively low cost of printing per book. This method is generally used for short print runs and personalised printing. Print run: Less than 1000 copies. Offset printing is the traditional method of printing that involves the creation of printing plates. Offset printing offers you economies of scale. Though digital printing technology has substantially reduced the costs of printing per book for short print runs, when print runs are larger than 1000, offset printing works out to be more economical. Print run: More than 1000 copies. Offset Web Printing is generally used for very large print runs. The printers used in these processes are huge and run at a speed of 3000 ft per minute or faster. Print run: More than 5000 impressions Q. How will you ensure the quality of the book? Can you provide me any samples? A. Printing is a very standard process, and we use the best printers as our vendors; you should not have any issues with the printing we deliver. As a part of the process, we will send you a dummy/proof copy before we go in for printing the entire lot, which would give you a clear indication of how your book will look. We proceed only once your approval has come in. Q. Is there any extra cost for dummy/proof copies, if required? A. The cost of the proof copies is included in the package. Should the requirements be significantly different from standard, we will intimate you before the contract gets signed. Q. What will be the size of the book? A. We recommend the standard book sizes like 8.5×5.5”, 8×5”, 9 x 6” for most books, but if you need a special size, the same can be worked out. Q. I have a certain specialty finish/embossing/flap requirement that I would like a quote on. Can you assist? A. Yes, but please be aware that specifications outside our normal print parameters will cost significantly more, and we will provide a custom quote for the same.

eBook Creation and Distribution

Q. What is an eBook? A. An eBook (Electronic Book) is a book whose contents are in an electronic format. The same may be adapted to various different devices, e.g. laptops, computers, e-readers, mobile phones, other handheld electronic devices, etc. Q. How important is it to have your book in an eBook format? A. Readers globally have started accepting and preferring eBooks over paperbacks. Due to their digital nature, eBooks come with inherent advantages like the following:

1. Most eBooks are priced at less than their paperback versions,
2. They are environmentally friendly,
3. They can be made available globally across several retailers with ease,
4. They are accessible immediately once purchased,
5. They now have facilities like subscription, where one can access millions of books at a miniscule monthly subscription cost,
6. Similarly, there are several eBook library vendors as well, where one can lend an eBook for a monthly fee,
7. The reader can invariably read a given section of the book as a sample before making the purchase,
8. With eBooks, you go never out of print.

Q. If I am taking only the eBook conversion and distribution service, what format do you want the input files in? A. For the individual service of the eBook conversion, we accept the book laid out in PDF or Word format. When you take a publishing package with us, we take care of all the requirements internally. Q. What are the various eBook formats you will convert my book to? Which retailers do these formats work with? A. Most major eBook retailers globally accept the three standard formats: secured PDF, ePub & Mobi. We will help with all the three formats. Q. I have a paperback ISBN, can I use the same for the eBook version too? A. As per the ISBN authorities, the eBook and paperback versions should have different ISBNs. A few retailers carry the same ISBN, while most prefer not to. We strongly recommend separate ISBNs. Q. Where will my eBook be available for purchase? A. All across the globe, across all major eBook retailers such as https://kindle.amazon.com/ https://play.google.com/store/books https://store.kobobooks.com http://www.barnesandnoble.com http://www.thecopia.com http://www.angusrobertson.com.au/ebook http://www.waterstones.com http://www.hugendubel.de http://www.bol.de/shop/home http://www.thalia.de/shop/home/show/ http://www.buch.de http://www.wheelersbooks.com http://www.bookworld.com http://www.libris.nl http://www.chapters.indigo.ca https://www.toshibabookplace.com http://www.easons.com https://www.overdrive.com http://www.whitcoulls.co.nz Q. Do I choose how much my eBook costs? A. Yes, you will decide the same. Q. Can my eBook have colour pages/ images? A. Yes, it can. However, eBook colours will reflect as black and white or colour depending on the device. Q. How much royalty do I earn from eBook sales? A. 70% of the Net Receipts Q. What is the process of eBook distribution? In how much time do the eBooks go live? A. Post conversion, we start listing the book on various platforms. The process generally takes about a week or so for the key retailers, and a maximum of about four weeks to cover all major eBook retailers. Q. Is there a chance post the conversion that my eBook will get rejected for sales via any eBook retailer? A. Yes, the listing and sales from any particular retailer is at the eBook retailer’s discretion. Generally, we don’t have such issues, unless there is a copyright violation by the author, plagiarism, or if excess content is copied from the public domain in the book. If such an issue arises, the author is asked to put up her/his case before a formal rejection happens. Q. How many devices will be allowed to share one file? A. The same depends on the eBook retailer’s policies which are mentioned on their respective websites. They are different for each retailer. Q. What if my eBook undergoes post-publication corrections? A. If there are any corrections, the entire eBook’s page settings need to change sometimes, the same will apply on the PDF of the book, the paperback and the eBook. It is possible to make the changes; charges will apply as per the number and quantity of changes suggested. Q. Is your eBook conversion process secure? A. Yes. Our eBook conversion process works within secured systems, hence there will not be a case where anyone outside of the systems will be able to access your eBook during the conversion process. Q. How safe is the eBook with the various eBook distributors/retailers where you propose to list it? A. The sales of the eBook are managed by a system called DRM (Digital Rights Management). DRM is a system for protecting the copyrights for digital media. The purpose of DRM is to prevent unauthorised redistribution of digital media and restrict the ways in which consumers can copy content that they have purchased. Typically, DRM is implemented by embedding a code/digital watermark that prevents copying, and specifies a time period in which the content can be accessed or limits the number of devices that the media can be installed on. Q. What are the risks associated with eBooks and their digital distribution? A. DRM products were developed in response to the rapid increase in online piracy of commercially marketed material, which proliferated through the widespread use of peer-to-peer file exchange programs, e.g. Torrents. Although digital content is protected by copyright laws, policing the Web and catching law-breakers is very difficult. The eBooks will be uploaded to servers of eBook retailers, e.g. Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple iBooks, etc., and the above mentioned risks exist for the eBook. Q. Do you have an Audio Book service currently? A. Yes, we do. It is a customised service, hence it is not listed as a standard service. We can help with a quote once we understand the requirements. Q. If I want to provide the eBook for free, how do I do it? A. The same is possible with a few eBook retailers, and can be explored via us. We facilitate e-book listing on Newshunt, Google Play, Kindle and Smashwords.

Cover Design, illustrations and More

Q. What is covered in the cover design service? What add on services do you offer? A. The cover design service includes the design of front cover, spine, and back cover. Should you want the inside front cover and inside back cover designed, additional charges are applicable. Q. How will the designer know what I have in mind for the cover? A. We have a comprehensive cover design brief. Once you fill out the same and send it across, we will get working on delivering your vision for the cover of the book. We have been able to deliver several high quality covers for books. Q. Can I have direct communication with the designer who is working on my book? A. No, the process will work over emails and our project management systems are overseen by our project manager. Q. What information do I need to submit for the cover? A. 1)Duly filled cover design brief, which would contain the title, subtitle, references, about the book, about the author, etc. 2)Anything specific you need on the cover – such as Author’s photograph, any special art work already designed, etc. (The images you submit, if any, need to be high resolution, i.e., 600/300 DPI) Q. What are the different types of cover designs? A. We offer three types of cover designs. In Basic cover design service, we use suitable typography in plain backgrounds. In case you have any high resolution images to be given, we will put as is on the cover. In Standard cover design service, we use suitable typography along with free stock images available in the public domain. We will be happy to use any images you may have clicked for the cover as well. In Customised cover design service, we create a work from scratch, be it art or illustrations or paid images from reliable vendors, for something very specific in a given brief. Q. What if I provide the cover design? What will be the cost then? A. Should you provide the cover design and we just need to make it adaptable to the book’s cover in our format, we offer the service at a 50% discount of the standard book cover design service. Q. How many options will I get for the cover design? A. Two options Q. Who owns the digital files for the book cover once the same is finalised? A. You do. We hand over the same to you once it is finalised. Q. Before I approve my cover, what do I get to review? A. You get to review the digital files if you are taking stand-alone design services. If you are taking our publishing packages or design and printing services, we help with a digitally printed proof as well (Here digitally printed refers to the technology used in the printing and not the nature of the soft copy). Q. What is the difference between the Standard and Custom layout? A. We have well-designed standard layouts/templates suitable for most books which just need the text to be laid out. Our page layout templates ensure a clean and readable copy, and a uniformity of presentation. In the custom layout service, we create a customised page layout for your book, in keeping with the theme of the cover design. This includes choosing the right font style and size that match the cover design, and ensuring a unique look for the entire book. Q. What all do I need to submit for the layout/pagination? A. All material in the order you want them to appear in the book needs to be submitted in one word file. Please do mention the title and author’s name which need to go on each page of the book. Please do understand that if the sequence of the material is not proper, the same amounts to extra work from our end, which results into additional expenditure from your end. If certain images, diagrams, etc., need to be inserted, please supply them separately and clearly mention the sections where the insertions need to take place on a separate sheet. Q. What is a recommended sequence in a standard book? A. Style guides such as Chicago Manual of Style and Oxford Style Guide provide a recommended sequence. However, it is not mandatory to follow the same for every book. One can pick only the relevant points. Chicago Manual of Style, recommends this: 1) Half title page (just the title), 2) Series title, list of contributors, frontispiece or blank page, 3) Title page, 4) Copyright page (including publisher information, permissions, editor names, illustrators, etc.), 5) Dedication page or epigraph, 6) Table of Contents, 7) List of Illustrations, 8) List of Tables, 9) Foreword, 10) Preface, 11) Acknowledgements (if not part of the preface), 12) Introduction (if not part of the text), 13) List of abbreviations or chronology, 14) Text of the book, 15) Appendix, 16) Notes, 17) Glossary, 18) Bibliography, 19) List of Contributors, 20) Index, 21) Author biography and/or photo Q. I want some images/line drawings/illustrations/maps/diagrams inserted in the book; how do we do that? A. The creation of all the above, and the charges for the same, can be worked out after understanding the requirements clearly. Q. Can I use an image that is not my picture or illustration? A. You may, only if you have the rights to the same from the copyright holder, or the same is in the public domain. Q. What are CMYK and RGB color schemes? What do you work in? A. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, black. RGB stands for red, green, blue. Both of them are colour schemes used in different mixtures to create colour images, whether they be on your TV, computer screen or on paper. Most computer screens use RGB mode to produce a picture, while most printers prefer CMYK to produce great quality printing. We produce the files in CMYK files to help produce high quality printing.

Book Marketing Services

Social Media Management

Q. How do you show the results of my social media pages? A. There will be periodic reporting on all activities done for your social media as well as the performance of your pages. You may request for a sample report before you purchase the service. Q. Can I submit my own content to my social media pages, apart from what you do? A. Yes. You have the admin access to your page which means that you can edit posts and create new ones as well. Q. Can I replace social media marketing with something else that is similar to it? A. We wouldn’t recommend it. The chances of being able to target your readers on social media is higher than any other form of media, as most others are fragmented and expensive. Q. What is the best social media platform to promote myself as an author? A. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are the most popular platforms currently. Q. What are the social media platforms you are present on? A. BecomeShakespeare.com is present and active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Q. Why don’t you promote authors on YouTube? A. We only promote authors who avail for our book trailer service or already have a book trailer on YouTube as there is only one type of content that can be posted on YouTube and that is video. It isn’t like Facebook, where you can post content on a regular basis and interact with your followers. It is a broadcasting channel. Q. I only want to promote myself on Facebook. How much will you charge for just Facebook? A. We will need to put in the same effort to find content, design it, and post it on Facebook along with the advertising campaign on Facebook and hence, since Facebook is the bigger chunk of the social media pack, we cannot offer a discount on the social media package. Q. Can you guarantee 1000 followers for my Twitter handle? A. We don’t commit on the Twitter followers your handle will attract, as we will do the entire exercise organically, i.e. without using Twitter advertising options. That being said, based on the quality of the content we create, we have seen wonderful results. Q. What will be the charges of sending out mass mailers to your existing database of readers and reviewers? A. We don’t offer such a service. Q. I want a world-class author fan page that will get me a lot of book sales. Please help. A. We can use all our resources to give you an excellent fan page on your social media sites and help build audience. But book sales and social media promotion cannot be directly linked right away. At the end of the day, marketing is done just to enable your book to reach its readers. Whether the reader wants to purchase your book, is totally their decision. Q. What activities will you do on Twitter apart from the usual? A. We will use Twitter to create a fanbase of readers and tweet about your book, about the author and also interact with fans. Also, some posts from Facebook that perform well will be shared on Twitter. Q. What if I only want one month of service? Why is it mandatory to take three months? A. Before we begin the work, we need to strategize the content we will create for your handle, then work on the copy and then the design aspects of the same. Currently, the social media content strategy is complementary with the three months social media management package. Q. How much budget should I have to gather 1000 likes on my Facebook page? A. We will have an exclusive advertising campaign for you and your book on Facebook, and depending on how well the ads do, your likes will increase. Q. What is the Marketing Suite and how will it help me? A. Our marketing suite encompasses all essentials of marketing a book. Please check here for more information about the same.

Media Review Service for Books

Q. What guidelines do you follow while contacting the media? A. We always keep in mind to be professional, polite, and direct. We are considerate of their time while getting our point across and make sure to follow up with them. Q. Will I get a list of media houses that you would be sending the books to? A. Yes, you will. We shortlist the media houses according to the genre and theme of your book. We will send you the list of media houses that the books are being sent to. Q. Would I get a list of the 10 book bloggers? A. Yes, you will get the blog links. However, we refrain from sharing the coordinates of the blogger as per company policy. Q. How will I know the number of books that are being sent for review? A. You get a master report of the number of books that are sent for reviews. You also get an update each time books go out for reviews. Q. I want my book to be reviewed by the Times of India. Can you do it for me? A. We have a database of newspaper dailies and magazines. Times of India is definitely in the list, but we cannot guarantee a review from the Times of India. We will send across the book with a letter to the Editor, but have no influence over their decision on whether they want to review your book. Q. How many reviews can you guarantee? A. The decision to review a book or not is completely that of the media. Guaranteeing organic media reviews is not ethical; however some media have formats of ‘advertorials’ where they allow publishing the review as a paid service, those can be explored should you want so, the same is not a part of our standard service.

Author Website

Q. Is there a defined template for the author website or is the website customised? Is there a demo website I can see? A. We share WordPress templates for you to choose from. Also, before the website goes live, we share the dummy website for approval. For a customised website, additional charges will be applicable. Q. Is it a single web page or will there be a detailed multiple web page based site? A. It is a multi-page website. Q. Will you create content for the website as well? A. We offer you help to decide whatcontent to put up, but we don’t create the content. We list your book(s), other published works, use images of the author, the books, etc., and add basic content such as about the book, about the author, extracts from the book, reviews, and sample chapters.

Video Trailer

Q. Do I have any control over how long I want the video to be? A. As per your package you will be told the maximum length of the video; you are free to choose a shorter format if you need to. Q. Where can I use the video trailer? A. You can use the video on any of your social media pages, your website, YouTube, or anywhere else you wish. Q. Can you make an animated video trailer? A. Yes, charges for the same will be extra. Q. Can I have a voice over for the video? A. Yes, charges for the same will be extra.

Press Release

Q. Who are the 100 parties to whom you send the press release? A. We issue the press release through our Business alliance – Businesswire – a press release distribution company. They send it to 100 media houses and journalists. They have not disclosed the list to us, hence we are afraid we cannot do the same.

Book Launch

Q. What deliverables are a part of the book launch/event service? A. We take care of the following:

1. Custom designed invite, for printing and for digital use,
2. Back drop/Standee designing and printing,
3. Event script formation,
4. Technical arrangements like mic availability, seating arrangement, gift-wrapped books, etc.

Food arrangements, photographer, host, and venue costs will be charged extra as applicable. Q. I want to have the launch at a specific location. What will be the cost? A. The cost will depend on the city and the bookstore/venue you want to have the event at. Also, the other requirements you may have for the event such as refreshments, host, PR, etc. will determine the costing. Q. What kind of pre-launch buzz can you do for my book? A. We believe that the best time to start promoting your book is only once your book is listed on the eCommerce sites and is available for purchase. As a new author, it is important that your marketing efforts don’t go to waste. But we offer some options like promoting the event on social media, for a pre-launch buzz. Some additional services like marketing at bookstores with posters etc., can also be done on demand. Q. What is a dedicated marketing manager? A. A dedicated marketing manager is someone who works on all key strategic aspects of marketing your book to help you set, strategise, and achieve your goals in terms of sales and brand building for you as an author. We do not guarantee sales as it would be unethical. Yet with strong training from experts in the traditional publishing business of our sister concern, which has build some of the largest-selling titles, we understand the process which goes into the making of a commercial bestseller. We develop the plan asking difficult questions, and provide solutions based on best practices followed the world over by traditional book publishing firms. A few questions to think through would be:

1. How much sales do you wish to achieve?
2. To achieve the sales, how many people would we need to reach out to in the target group?
3. In how much time does this need to be achieved?
4. How do you measure the reach of the same consistently and track sales numbers based on the marketing work being done?

Q. Can same social media platform be used for second book in future?Can my cost come down? A. You remain the owner and admin of theaccounts /pages, even if we manage the social media accounts. We always recommend that the authors create social media pages by their own name, instead of the book’s title. The same enables the author to keep adding on her / his fan base by using the same social media accounts to promote all future books as well.

eCommerce Distribution Services

Q. How many eCommerce platforms would you list the title on? Can you provide a list? A. We list the title on the following eCommerce platforms: Indian: Flipkart.com Amazon.in rediff.com Snapdeal.com International: Amazon.com (USA) Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom) Amazon.it (Italy) Amazon.de (Germany) Amazon.fr (France) Amazon.es (Spain) Q. Who pays the delivery charges when it’s purchased online? A. Generally the buyer needs to pay the delivery charges, unless specified by the ecommerce sites as a part of special promotions. Q. What are the different costs that are incurred which can help determine the MRP? A. MRP is calculated after taking into account the printing and distribution costs associated with your book. Also, market price of other books in the same genre with similar number of pages should be considered while pricing the book. These days most of the newer releases tend to be priced at 1:1 ratio of no. of pages: MRP. For e.g. a 200 pager priced at Rs.199 or Rs.200. Q. How is the author royalty calculated? A. Net Receipts is calculated as the difference between the MRP and expenses incurred on the book. Profit = MRP – Expenses (Production Cost + Distribution Cost). Authors get 70 per cent of the net receipts as royalty. Q. Why is the net receipts higher when I sell via the BecomeShakespeare.com Store? A. Booksellers and ecommerce websites usually charge a 40% – 50% distribution fee on MRP on the books they sell. Hence, the royalty you receive is lower than what you receive via our own online store where no distribution fees are incurred and so the you get the advantage for earning better Royalties. Q. Do you guarantee Sales of my book? A. We don’t and no one can. We shall make the book available for sale in agreed formats (paperback, ebook, etc) across retailers as per contract. We won’t be able to guarantee that people will purchase the book. Q. Can I distribute my books without warehousing it at your end? A. Yes, you may, by choosing our POD (Print On Demand) facility. Q. I have a printed book already, I just want to you to manage the eCommerce for me. How does that work? A. t’s simple. We warehouse the copies for you and list them on various websites for sale. When the ecommerce retailers sell the book to someone online, we bill the book and ship it to them. The ecommerce retailers charge their commission on the MRP of the book. Of the balance that they pay us, we deduct the logistics expenses and pay you your royalty. The warehousing expenses for quantity and period are mentioned Q. Is it possible to offer the book at certain discounts on e-commerce site? If yes, who decides the extent of discount? A. There are some options possible. However the same are not standard and are dependent on the retailer. Hence we cannot commit on the same.

Retail Bookstore Distribution

Q. How do I know about the sales in this service? A. We will be providing monthly sales report for the number of sales. Q. I have published my book with another publisher. Will distributing/marketing of my book with you affect my relations with my publisher? A. If the contract is a non-exclusive one with that publisher, then it will not affect your relations with them because you have the right to market your own book through whatever channels you can. We will have our own logo though for the distribution. Book Pricing The MRP of the book should ideally be around 4 – 5 times of the printing cost of the book. Also, market price of other books in the same genre with similar number of pages, should be considered while pricing the book. These days most of the newer releases tend to be priced at 1:1 ratio of no. of pages: MRP. For e.g. a 200 pager priced at Rs.199 or Rs.200. Sales Reports, Royalties & Remittances Q. How frequently is the sales reported? A. The sales is reported on a monthly basis via email. Q. How frequently are the royalties paid? A. The payable royalties are remitted on a quarterly basis. Q. In what currencies are the royalties paid? A. We pay the royalties in your local currency or the one of your choice. Q. How are they remitted? A. We remit the same to your bank account directly if you hold a Resident Indian Bank account or via Paypal if you don’t. Q. What is PayPal? How much do they charge? A. PayPal is a payment gateway for sending and receiving money globally in several currencies. Their fees are listed here. Q. How much royalty do I get? A. You get 70% of the receipts we get, less all direct costs for selling the book. This means, if a paperback copy sells via POD on an Indian e-commerce site, e.g. Flipkart.com, the direct costs which will be deducted will be the retailer’s (Flipkart’s) charges, and printing cost of the book. Certain sites make shipping free for the customer and deduct it from the margin of the seller (like us); in such cases the shipping cost is also deducted along with other direct costs. In case of ebooks, the only deduction is the amount the retailer charges for selling the book. Post these deductions, whatever sum we get, the same is considered Net Receipts, the author gets 70% of the net receipts as Royalty. The same applies for all formats of the product, whether the ebook or the paperback. Q. Who takes care of my book proceedings post contract?What are the charges for continuation?How is it handled? A. The agreement is valid for the term of the copyrights. However, the timeline for the Purchased Services availed will be as mentioned in the specific Schedule of each Service availed. For the distribution services, royalty reporting, royalty payment, no charges are payable by the Author. Q. What kind of taxation do I face ? A. All International and local taxation norms are diligently followed at our end. If there are any tax deductions from our end, you shall get tax receipts for the same.