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WHAT'S
CO-PUBLISHING?
HOW DOES THE PUBLISHING PROCESS WORK?
Stage 1: Evaluation
We read all the manuscripts we receive, but accept for publication
only a small number of the manuscripts sent to us. We have manuscript
readers who go over every manuscript to see if it can be effective
in the Jewish market (and possibly beyond).
We prefer to receive all manuscripts as Word attachments, but
we can open most programs. You can also send your manuscript
by mail, but please send it to SIMCHA PUBLISHING
COMPANY POB 4636, JERUSALEM , ISRAEL 91044.
If your manuscript does not meet our criteria, you will be notified.
Hard copy manuscripts are destroyed, not returned. Email copies
not accepted for publication are deleted. Usually, a short analysis
of why we did not take your manuscript will accompany the rejection.
If your manuscript does meet our criteria, you will be notified
and a contract sent to you.
Stage 2: The Editing Process
Once we accept your manuscript one of our professional editors
read your manuscript and present you with his/her overall opinion
of what has to be done. The editor will do both story editing,
i.e. suggesting re-writes where necessary, and line editing,
i.e. consistency of spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, agreement
of subjects and verbs, correction of grammar and punctuation,
and other such mechanics of written communication. The editor
will not re-write the book for you, but we will help you with
reorganization, improvement of presentation, content, or literary
expression in consultation with you. The Managing Editor will
supervise this process and intercede only when he thinks clarifications
are necessary. The editing process takes up to three months.
Stage 3: The Proofreading Process
Once all the editing corrections have been made and the book
has been okayed by you, we send it to a proofreader who checks
for the small errors that are often overlooked by both authors
and editors. In effect, the proofreader dots the "i's"
and crosses the "t's" as it were. Before your book
is printed, we usually have another proofreader go over it again.
Stage 4: The Design Process
When your manuscript returns from the proofreader it is given
to one of our book designers. The book designer takes into consideration
any preliminary specifications agreed upon and the nature of
the manuscript. The designer then determines the typographical
style; physical placement of any illustrations, drawings, tables,
charts, and other particular elements which need to be planned
for in producing your book. The book designer will also design
the cover of your book. Usually you are given more than one
design to choose from.
Stage 5: Uncorrected Proofs
Once the designer has layed out your manuscript, we bind it
in book form, called and "Uncorrected Proof." This
indicates to the reader that the book is not yet complete but
at the stage of review. We send copies to the sales reps and
buyers months before your book is actually published. This is
because the chains in particular want to see the cover and at
least part of the body of the manuscript from 4-6 months before
publication. They make their initial buying decisions on these
galleys. Often, we also receive comments about the book which,
in some circumstances, can lead us to change some elements of
the design or even some of the copy.
The uncorrected proofs are also sent to reviewers and well known
people in your field who might be willing to give us a blurb
about your book for insertion on the back cover. These blurbs
are useful for sales promotion.
Stage 6: The Jacket Copy
In tandem with the book design, we ask you for your bio and
a picture of yourself. We then write the book jacket copy. On
the left side of the jacket will be a short "sell"
synopsis of what your book is about. This is designed to both
inform and stimulate the reader's curiosity. On the right side
of the jacket your picture will appear with an "About the
Author" bio. This is a short bio which lists some of your
credentials and some quasi-personal facts about you (usually
confined to unusual hobbies or other interests.
If there is a soft cover edition, some information about your
book will appear on the back and possibly your picture and a
condensed bio. Any blurbs we receive from reviewers will also
appear on the back cover of both the hard and soft editions
of your book.
CO-PUBLISHING COSTS
Since this is a Co-Publishing venture, we invest in your book
and so do you. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to maintain
a marketing and publicity staff and to advertise and publicize
a new title, especially if the author has no previous track
record. Attending major book fairs and conventions like Book
Expo America, The Frankfurt International Book Fair, and The
Jerusalem International Book Fair is very costly, but these
and the dozen or so other fairs and conventions we attend are
designed to get your book out there and possibly sell rights
to your book.
Typically, an author invests somewhere between $12,000-$25,000,
depending on quantity of books, hard and soft cover ratio, number
of pages, etc. As a Co-Publisher, you receive a royalty from
15% up to 40% of the net received by the publisher from the
sale of each book.
Most of our hard cover titles have a list price between $21.95-$27.95;
our soft cover list price is between $14.95-$18.95.
Libraries receive an average discount of 20%, stores from 40%-50%,
and distributors and wholesalers between 55%-60%. The discount
from the list price to the stores and chains averages about
55%.
We have our own warehouse in the United States, Israel and England,
and authors can purchase their books from our warehouse for
50% of the list price.
SUMMARY
OF WHAT YOU RECEIVE
 You
get a professionally designed and published
book.
ISBN
numbers and barcodes are all taken care
of for you.
Marketing
and distribution expertise are provided
so that your book will be available to the major
wholesalers and distributors, as well as the chains,
bookstores, libraries, schools, and other outlets.
Your book is made available in five countries
through our network of salespeople and book
distributors.
We
work with our authors to arrange local,
regional, and, sometimes, national media interviews
and advertising.
The risk
of Co-Publishing is shared (but not
completely eliminated) with a worldwide,
knowledgeable publisher.
You have
the satisfaction of being a "published"
author and seeing your book "in print!"
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