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Dear
Author:
The following has been put together in response to
the many inquiries we get at DC Press (as well as InSync Press) to
consider a manuscript for submission and possible publication.
DC Press is an independent publisher interested in
reviewing prospective publishing projects in the areas of business,
psychology, self-help and encouragement, healthcare (for professionals
and lay readers), and ethics and character (as they apply to business,
parenting, education). Our
interests are quite specific and well defined.
It is best that you review the attached guidelines for submitting
proposals and manuscripts before sending anything to us for
consideration.
If you do submit a project for our consideration, the following will be
adhered to:
· Books,
with rare exception, should run roughly 200 printed pages minimum (that
would be approximately 320 manuscript pages – typed and double spaced)
– but these are rough estimates.
· All
manuscripts must be available to the publisher in MSWord or WordPerfect
format. No projects will be
considered that are not produced and available on computer disk. (It is preferable that all manuscripts be available for
e-mail attachment.)
· The
publisher prefers original manuscript, free of the use of copyrighted
material from other authors. It
is our goal to provide our readers with fresh material in which the
author establishes their own unique points of view, without relying on
the positions taken by other writers.
It is also important to understand that in this “electronic
world,” it is more difficult for authors to obtain permission to cite
copyrighted material in books (because of the Internet and the wider
distribution of copyrighted material).
· No
advances against royalties are paid to authors for manuscripts accepted
for publication. (Royalties
are paid twice annually and after the close of the previous half-year.)
· Because
DC Press is active in the creation and execution of workshops and
seminars, we prefer to sign publishing agreements with authors who are
also strong speakers. It is
preferable that manuscripts lend themselves to workshops and seminars
that the company can promote in addition to your book.
Please give this serious consideration prior to submittal.
· Any
author that we contract with must be agreeable to working closely with
editors who will most likely make recommendations that will alter, even
slightly, the original manuscript.
All manuscripts go through this process.
· Since
no book will be successful without some degree of publicity (PR), it is
very important that an author be willing to get involved in promotion of
themselves and their book. This
simply put means that it will be deemed important that the author be
willing to talk with, evaluate, and work with a publicity professionals
during the project (a person or company that the author will ultimately
select). The cost of PR will be underwritten by the author.
A full discussion of this aspect of the project should be fully discussed with the publisher prior to
signing any publishing agreement. The
publishing process is intense and expensive.
This aspect of the project is important to the potential success
of any book and cannot be overlooked or downplayed.
While PR will not guarantee the success of a book or the number
of units that the book will ultimately sell, no book is every successful
without a publicity plan.
If any of the
processes described above pose a problem for you, it would be best that
you not submit your manuscript. If,
on the other hand, you feel you have a strong manuscript and our
guidelines are acceptable, I encourage you to submit your project to us
for review.
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