Publishing FAQ'S

Pink Kiss Publishing Company ~ Book Publishing, Book Printing, Book Marketing & Promoting, Bookstore, Book Publishing Resources

1) I’ve written my book. What is the next step?

Once you have made the decision to publish through Pink Kiss Publishing Company we will email you our contracts for your review. The Publishing Agreement gives us permission to publish your book. The Author Order Form is where you will list the details of your book and the author information. This is also where you will select your publishing package.

Once contracts are signed and returned to us, we will add you to our company roster and we will begin the production process for your book.

2) What’s all involved in the production process?

Our graphic design team will work closely with you to create a cover design that matches your vision for your book. Your manuscript will be proofread, critiqued and sent to editing. Your book will be assigned an ISBN. Your website or web page (depending on publishing package selected) will be designed. Once editing is complete your manuscript is again proofread by another member of our staff before it is sent to you for review. Once approval has been given on the final edited manuscript, your manuscript will go to typesetting. This is where the interior of your book will be designed. Typesetting is where we take your manuscript text and lay it into book form. We give your book’s interior a polished and professional appearance that coordinates with your book cover design. This is also where we determine the book size, and final page count. After your book is typeset you will be provided another file for proofing. Once we have your final approval on the cover and interior, we go to print!

3) How long does the production process take?

We typically work on a schedule of 30 – 45 days from the time all materials are submitted. *Some books could take longer, depending on the complexity.

4) How do I calculate my royalties?

Depending on the publishing package chosen, you will either receive 50% or 75% of the net on books sold through Pink Kiss Publishing Bookstore, but you will receive 100% of all net royalties earned through distribution sales (sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.).

Here's how you calculate your royalties.

*Example for sales through Amazon, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble etc.

Books-A-Million bookstore wants to order a copy your book. Your book retail price is $15.00.

You have set the wholesale discount at 50% so Books-A-Million pays $7.50 per copy of your book. Your book print cost is $5.

Your formula is:

Retail price (minus) bookstore discount (minus) cost of book printing = net (you keep 100%)

$15.00 - $7.50 - $5.00 = $2.50

I know this doesn’t sound like much, which is why we allow our authors to keep 100% of ALL royalties earned on distribution sales, but on the other hand, if that bookstore ordered 500 copies you just earned $1250.00.

*Example for sales through Pink Kiss Publishing Bookstore.

Your formula is:

Retail price (minus) cost of book printing = net

$15.00 - $5.00 = $10.00

(You earn 50% or 75% of net depending on the publishing package chosen.)

5) How do I set the retail price for my book?

When the physical characteristics of your book (such as final page count, covers, binding, book size, etc.) are finalized, Pink Kiss Publishing will calculate a single-copy printing cost (but we’ll give you an estimate long before this point however).

This price is based on trim size, binding, cover stock, colors, etc – all the “physical” traits of your book. You then need to decide the Retail Price.

The retail price should be based on your appraisal of the target audience – this includes the value your product provides to the reader, as well as what price point OTHER competitive products are selling. The retail price should be at least 2.5 times the single-copy printing cost to allow for a reasonable margin (to cover our costs and your payments) after trade discounts are factored in. The Retail Price also helps establish the Net Sales Payment amount – the amount you, the author, make from each sale.

6) How do I determine the print cost of my book?

There are several factors that determine the print cost of your book (such as page count, covers, binding, size, etc.). Once these physical characteristics are finalized, Pink Kiss Publishing will calculate a single-copy printing cost.

7) How will my books be sold?

There are typically TWO ways books get sold:

1. Through “distribution” - Which is places like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, other retailers and wholesale outlets like Ingram and Baker & Taylor distributors.

2. Direct to consumer - books can also be sold direct to the consumer via our Pink Kiss Publishing Bookstore.

Also, although authors are not required to purchase copies of their own books, we do suggest that our authors keep a personal inventory on hand to make face-to-face sales to consumers they come in contact with on a daily basis. Readers enjoy purchasing directly from the author, and you make a bigger profit when you sell directly to your consumers.

For example, (using the formula above) You purchase your book at the $5 print cost and sell it for retail at $15, you just earned a $10 profit.

8) Will my book be available in e-Book?

If you purchased our Standard publishing package or our Professional Premium package your book will be released in electronic (e-Book) format in addition to print. As per our policy, we have a minimum wait time of three (3) months after your book has been released in print before your book is formatted for e-Book. Our reason for this is we have found that once your book is available in e-Book format, usually, printed book sales decrease. Earnings on e-Book sales are not as great as printed book sales because you have to price the book low in order to gain sales. Not only that, but after the e-Book distributors’ percentage is deducted, we split the remaining percentage, so, you would earn 50% of the net on all e-Book sales.

9) What are trade discounts and why should I offer it?

This is the standard discount off the cover price at which the publisher sells books to resellers. Standard is anywhere between 40% to 55%. We suggest offering a wholesale discount of 55%. The higher discount makes the product more appealing to resellers, especially if you desire to get your book on the shelves of brick-and-mortar bookstores.

10) How do I order my own supply of books?

Pink Kiss Publishing handles your order fulfillment. We also give you (the author) a discount on quantity orders.

11) What is a proof?

A proof is a printout of your book's pages and cover design. The purpose of a proof is to check for errors before the job is printed.

We will provide a proof copy of your book and cover image for your approval prior to going to print.

12) What is an ISBN?

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies books and book-like products published internationally. In short, it’s like your book’s social security number.

The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify one title or one unique edition of a title from one specific publisher. An ISBN allows for more efficient marketing and cataloging of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers, and distributors.

13) What is an LCCN?

The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a unique identification number that the Library of Congress assigns to titles that it is likely to acquire. The LCCNs purpose is to help the Library of Congress maintain its catalog records and to help other librarians acquire Library of Congress cataloging data as an aid to creating their own catalog entries for new acquisitions.

14) Do I retain rights to my book?

Yes, as the author of the work, you retain all rights to your manuscript.

15) When will I get paid?

Royalty checks will be issued quarterly (twice yearly) and will be mailed 90 days following the

close of the quarter, provided the author has reached a threshold of at least $25 and has

completed one (1) full quarter. Any royalties due which are less than $25 in any one quarter shall

be carried over and payable in the next accounting quarter.

At Pink Kiss Publishing Company we want you to be informed and happy with your decision to publish your book through us, so if you have any additional questions or concerns please do not hesitate to let us know!

Glenda A. Wallace / CEO of Pink Kiss Publishing Company

glendawallace@pinkkisspublishing.com

(228) 366-6829 / Office

(228) 357-5821 / Fax