Parson Place Press LLC
Frequently Asked Questions
On this page are some of the most frequently asked questions of Parson Place Press, a Christian publishing house devoted to giving Christian authors and readers a fair deal. If you don't find your question answered here, email it to info@parsonplacepress.com, and you'll receive an answer as promptly as possible. Moreover, if your question is deemed to have a broad enough application, it will be added it to this list. Thanks for your interest in Parson Place Press!
- What does it cost me for Parson Place Press to publish my book?
- Does Parson Place Press offer subsidy publishing?
- What rights do I relinquish when I publish with Parson Place Press?
- Will my book have copyright protection when it is published?
- Will my book have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)?
- Does Parson Place Press consider book proposals from authors outside the United States?
- How long will it take for my manuscript to be published with Parson Place Press?
- How many complimentary copies of my book will I receive when it is published?
- How may I obtain more copies of my book later?
- How much will I have to pay for additional copies of my book?
- Will my book be available for ordering by bookstores and others?
- Will book sellers, like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, etc offer my book for sale?
- Will my book be available in eBook format?
- Will I receive an advance for my book when I publish with Parson Place Press?
- What royalties will I receive when I publish with Parson Place Press?
- How often will I be paid royalties?
- How will I receive my royalty payments?
- What are "returns," and why do they affect my royalties?
- What about publicity for my book?
- What about review copies of my book?
- How long will my book remain in print?
- How do I submit my manuscript to Parson Place Press for publication?
- What does it cost me for Parson Place Press to publish my book?
Parson Place Press does not charge any fees for reading, editing, proofing, cover design, publication, or printing of a book. However, to assist with the author's personal promotional efforts (e.g., personal sales, reviewer submissions, media kits, giveaways, etc.) he/she is asked to purchase a minimum of 100 copies of his/her book at a specially discounted author's price (slightly lower than the wholesale price).
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- Does Parson Place Press offer subsidy publishing?
No, Parson Place Press does not offer subsidy publishing (sometimes called vanity or self-publishing) as an option for publication.
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- What rights do I relinquish when I publish with Parson Place Press?
With Parson Place Press as your publisher, you retain full control over your author's rights. You must, however, license both print rights and reprint rights world-wide, as well as world-wide electronic rights, in order for Parson Place Press to be able to legally publish and distribute your work anywhere in the world in both print and eBook formats. You must complete and sign a standard agreement for granting those rights, which you will receive with instructions for completing it before publication.
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- Will my book have copyright protection when it is published?
According to U. S. copyright laws, any work presented in a final form, such as printing or publishing, whether or not it bears the copyright symbol -- © -- is protected by U. S. copyright laws. It is not required that a work be registered with the U. S. Copyright Office for it to be protected by U. S. Copyright law. Nevertheless, it is strongly recommended that a work be registered with the U. S. Copyright Office as a preventive measure against potential legal challenges after a work is widely published. A valid U. S. copyright registration number will instantly resolve any legal challenge that may arise. Since all works published by Parson Place Press remain the property of the respective authors, the obligation and/or responsibility to register a copyright therefore rests with the author. You must obtain this application from the U. S. Copyright Office. Then you must complete and return it to the U. S. Copyright Office with the appropriate registration fee. The U. S. Copyright Office will then notify you when it is registered and provide any additional information they deem pertinent at that time. It is recommended, however, that you not register a copyright for your unpublished manuscript submission to Parson Place Press, since it is likely to change significantly after the editing process before publication. Therefore, it will no longer be consistent with the work you registered, and the copyright registration for the content submitted will not match the newly published work. For authors living outside the U. S., you must register your work with the corresponding agency in your country for it to bear a copyright registration number and receive the appropriate legal protections.
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- Will my book have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)?
Yes, your book will not only have its own ISBN, but it will also have an accompanying bar code that will make it salable by booksellers anywhere in the world. This unique number will distinguish your individual book from every other publication product in the whole world. Furthermore, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) has set as policy that every unique edition of a published work must bear its own unique ISBN. For instance, a hard cover edition, paperback edition, subsequent edition (such as a second edition, third edition, etc.), and every distinct eBook format edition (such as MOBI, EPUB, LIT, etc.) must bear its own unique ISBN. This number belongs to Parson Place Press and may NOT be used or reused on any other edition of your book, should you choose later to revise and release it as a self-published work. (See also Question #13 below.)
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- Does Parson Place Press consider book proposals from authors outside the United States?
Yes, but all book proposals and manuscripts must be composed in fluent English. "Fluent English" means that the content must be in mostly correct English that is easy enough to read and understand. Therefore, manuscripts that require an inordinant amount of editing for grammar, spelling, and clarity, even if composed by an author from the United States, will not be accepted for publication. You are invited to consider the editorial services and other author resources on the Author Resources page before you submit your full manuscript for consideration by Parson Place Press. However, be aware that your manuscript may yet undergo further editing before publication by Parson Place Press if the managing editor deems it appropriate/necessary.
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- How long will it take for my book to be published with Parson Place Press?
The time it will take to publish your book depends upon the length of your manuscript, how much editing is required before sending it to the printers, how many changes you wish to make to your digital proof, and whether or not it has extensive tables, charts, graphs, photos, etc. Note that all tables, charts, graphs, photos, etc. will be printed in black and white. While full-color printing is available, it is considerably more expensive, even to the point of being cost-prohibitive. Therefore, unless your proposed book is a photo or art collection, full-color printing is not recommended. Note, too, that changes to your proof should be minimal when you return it. This is not the time for a re-write of your text or any other major alterations! Significant changes to your digital proof will greatly delay its readiness for printing and may even result in having your book rejected for publication. Be sure your book is ready for publication when you submit it to Parson Place Press. The purpose of receiving and reviewing a digital proof is to correct any writing errors that were missed up to that point, or such other problems as incorrect pagination on the contents or index pages, improper hyphenation of words, or unequal page margins, just to name a few. The bottom line is this: it will take as long as it takes to get it right, though you should never expect it to be absolutely flawless.
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- How many complimentary copies of my book will I receive when it is published?
Since your book will be a "print-in-demand" product, you will receive two complimentary copies of your book upon publication. Furthermore, Parson Place Press will send one complimentary copy of each unique edition of your book upon its publication to The United States Library of Congress. Unfortunately, this does not necessarily mean your book will be shelved by the Library of Congress. After about six months to a year, you can check with the Worldcat Library system to see which libraries, including the Library of Congress, have shelved your book. You are welcome and encouraged to contact any/all librarians you choose to request they obtain a copy of your book for shelving in their respective libraries. Inform them that your book is available for ordering via Follett School Solutions, which many libraries use for their book ordering.
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- How may I obtain more copies of my book later?
If you wish to order more copies of your book for other relatives and friends, or if you want to sell them on your own Web site, Parson Place Press will provide you with special ordering instructions upon request.
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- How much will I have to pay for additional copies of my book?
As a special privilege to authors, you may purchase copies of your book at the same wholesale price as other book distributors and sellers, minus your royalty share (which you would get back anyway). This will make your cost slightly lower than the wholesale price.
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- Will my book be available for ordering by bookstores and others?
Yes, when your book is published, it will also be listed in the Ingram Book Group digital books in print database and the Bowker's books in print database. Many other book distributors, wholesalers, retailers, libraries, and others use both Ingram's and Bowker's books in print databases to make their stock ordering decisions. For local bookstores, you can provide them with the book's ISBN, and they can order it from either Ingram or Spring Arbor (Ingram's exlusive Christian wholesaler), because it is listed in the digital database for Ingram Book Group and Bowker. This will make it much easier for you when you do local book signings, by negating the need to carry cases of books in your car, as well as eliminating the negotiation of special arrangements with bookstore managers for consignment sales (for those rare managers willing to make such deals in the first place).
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- Will book sellers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, etc. offer my book for sale?
Yes, since these online retailers are notified by Ingram, they will automatically list your book as a new release when they receive the updated database from Ingram and/or Bowker, though they will not stock your book in their brick-n-mortar stores without patron requests. Therefore, you should urge your family and friends to make frequent requests of their local chain bookstores to stock your title. It normally takes anywhere from one to six weeks for your book to appear in these online stores' stock lists. Just check their sites everyday by searching on your book's ISBN until you find it listed. If you find any errors in their listings, however, please notify Parson Place Press immediately, and Parson Place Press will submit a request via its CSR at Lightning Source, Inc. to contact the respective vendor to make the correction.
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- Will my book be available in eBook format?
The Parson Place Press Managing Editor is currently working to convert all existing Parson Place Press titles into EPUB format (for Nook) and MOBI format (for Kindle). These are the two most popular eBook formats. Future published titles will be made available in eBook format as soon as feasible after they are published.
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- Will I receive an advance for my book when I publish with Parson Place Press?
No. As a small publishing company, Parson Place Press cannot afford to pay advances to its authors at this time.
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- What royalties will I receive when I publish with Parson Place Press?
Presently, Parson Place Press pays 15% of the net profit from all wholesale purchases of the print edition(s) of your book and 15% of the net profit from all eBook sales of your book. The net amount for print editions is what is left after the wholesale discount off the suggested retail price (SRP) for vendors is applied and the cost of printing is deducted. The cost of shipping is excluded from royalty calculations. In the case of eBook sales, Parson Place Press will share 15% of the net profit it receives from Amazon (for Kindle eBook sales) and Barnes and Noble (for Nook eBook sales). In these instances, the net profit is the amount left after deducting the pertinent percentage share, the download delivery cost, and any other fees charged by Amazon and Barnes and Noble for selling through their respective platforms.
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- How often will I be paid royalties?
Parson Place Press will pay royalties to its authors annually in the months of April and May for the previous calendar year's sales. This is to allow time for all sales to be paid to Parson Place Press for the month of December and to adjust for any returns. If there are returns of either print editions or eBook editions of your book, your royalty payment will be adjusted accordingly. (See Question #18 below for more about returns.) Copies of sales reports for both print and eBook sales will be made available to Parson Place Press' authors as soon as feasible after each report is received by Parson Place Press.
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- How will I receive my royalty payments?
All royalty payments to Parson Place Press authors (whether they reside inside or outside the United States) will be paid in U. S. dollars (USD) by business check and delivered via the postal service.
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- What are "returns" and why do they affect my royalties?
Returns are when a book buyer (usually a retail bookseller) returns the books that did not sell from a previous order. This often happens when an author has conducted a book signing in which a significant number of books are ordered but do not sell during the book signing event, though there are also other possible reasons for returns. Since these returns are destroyed by the vendor by removing the covers and returning them to the wholesale distributor for reimbursement, the distributor then deducts the wholesale cost of these returns from future payments to Parson Place Press, thus generating a loss for Parson Place Press. This is a very unfortunate but necessary cost of doing business in the book-selling industry.
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- What about publicity for my book?
Due to the small size of Parson Place Press as a publishing company, there are simply no resources available for promotions and publicity for individual books and/or authors. Therefore, while Parson Place Press will be glad to assist with the distribution of an initial press release announcing your book's publication by email and/or fax to your local media using a contact list you provide, Parson Place Press simply cannot conduct any advertising on television, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc. Nevertheless, publicity and promotion of any book is as much the author's responsibility as the publisher's. Thus, you are encouraged to check out the Author Resources page here on the Parson Place Press site for links to resources that will help you publicize and promote your book(s). Your book's success, as defined by large sales and favorable reviews, depends more upon you as its author than upon its publisher, regardless of who that publisher is. Therefore, if you are unwilling to tackle the hard work of promoting your book after it is published, perhaps you should pursue one of the multitude of self-publishing opportunities now available to you. If you think you may be interested in becoming your own publisher, however, Michael White (the founder and managing editor of Parson Place Press) has written a 150-page primer on how to do this. It is entitled A Publishing Panacea: How to Be Your Own Publisher in the Digital Age (ISBN 978-0-9888528-4-6), and it is available for purchase in both print and eBook formats here in the Parson Place Press Bookstore. A special Be Your Own Publisher digital package is also available to help you with this endeavor on Michael White's personal Website.
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- What about review copies of my book?
Since Parson Place Press uses the print on demand (POD) model for publishing, there are no pre-release review copies or galley proofs available for distribution to reviewers, or for press kits, etc., unless special arrangements are made to print these before the scheduled release of your book. Furthermore, it is the author's responsibility to provide review copies of his/her book upon a reviewer's request. You may purchase additional copies of your book at the usual wholesale price (minus your royalty share) for review copies after your book's release, or, if you wish to launch a publicity campaign through a publicist prior to your book's release, the public release of your book may be delayed and advance copies may be printed for the purpose of distribution to reviewers, etc. before it is finally released to the public. Since this needs to be decided before your book is released to the public, you should mention/discuss this option with the Managing Editor during the manuscript editing and preparation process, once your book has been accepted for publication by Parson Place Press. There is also the option of using an electronic review copy in PDF format.
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- How long will my book remain in print?
A book's life in print lasts only so long as the publisher wishes to continue offering it, and that all depends upon the reading public's interest in reading it. The reading public's interest is gauged primarily by quantity of sales. When a book's sales drop below a bare minimum of ten per year, it is no longer worthwhile for Parson Place Press to keep it available, since there is an annual fee to list it in Ingram's digital catalog, and after splitting the net profits with the author, Parson Place Press must earn at least enough to cover this cost to justify maintaining the title on its list of publicly distributed books. Paltry sales is a sign of poor promotional efforts or reader disinterest or both. How can the reading public buy your book if they don't know it exists, and how can the reading public know it exists if you don't market and promote it? Therefore, when a book's sales decline below this minimum, Parson Place Press will give the author the option of purchasing the balance of the shortfall below ten copies each year when the annual database renewal fee is due or letting the book drop from distribution, though it will still be available for sale in the Parson Place Press online bookstore and for ordering by the author indefinitely. A title which has been previously dropped from distribution may be added back to worldwide distribution simply by paying the renewal fee.
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- How do I submit my manuscript to Parson Place Press for publication?
Simply follow completely the instructions on the Author Guidelines page. If you still have questions after reading that page, send an email to info@parsonplacepress.com for help.
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