Provide a light edit

As our editorial committee examines your work to see if it meets our needs and standards, any errors noted will be reported back to you if your manuscript is accepted. While this can not be considered a full edit, any error spotted and fixed, strengthens your work. (Again this is not a full edit. We turn down 90% of manuscripts due to sloppy editing.)

Typeset your book

Your book will be professionally typeset in a classic format that has proved universally popular. To see a sample of our typesetting, click here to download a free copy of Free to Die.

Publish your book (includes an ISBN)

We use only the best of printers so you are assured of top quality production. Your book will be competitive with any other.

10 complimentary copies

When your book is released, we deliver 10 complimentary copies right to your front door.

Produce a .PDF version of your book

This electronic version will be for sale on your book page. Please note we offer a FREE .PDF version when a reader purchases a hard copy of your book. That way the reader can start reading before the hard copy is delivered to their home.

Make your book available in our web store

We prepare four pages in support of your book: one for you as author, another for notes about your book, another for comments and testimonials, and finally a lengthy page which includes the early part of your book. No other web based bookseller does as much in support of authors. For an example, click here. Or click on the author page for any book.

Provide what booksellers need to know

We produce an extended page especially for booksellers. It includes all needed to make a solid decision. Also included is a book review that can be used in any way that suits their needs. (As the author, you are also free to use this material as you please.) For an example, click Booksellers in the main menu. Then take the More option on any title.

Offer your book at Amazon and B&N.com

As soon as your book is released, it will be immediately available to visitors to both Amazon and B&N.com as well as other online booksellers. It will also be available through the Amazon site in the United Kingdom, which is popular throughout Europe.

Reaching booksellers nationwide

Your book is available to any bookstore who does business directly or indirectly with Ingram or Baker & Taylor. (Not all bookstores have access to these companies.) Even if a store does not choose to stock your book, it remains available to all by special order.

Customers Can Special Order

While many bookstores do not work closely with Ingram or Baker & Taylor, most can special order your book on behalf of an interested customer.

We never ask for any rights to your book.

We only need your permission to publish your book, and to sell the versions we produce. This leaves you free to explore alternatives at any time. Click here to view our Agreement.

An Annual Cost

Our present printer, LSI (Lightning Source, Inc.), charges $12/year to keep your book up on their system, ready to print. We pay this charge the first year on your behalf. Starting the second year, we will notify you when the fee is due.

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We offer two options as follows.

• Plan A - $347: Includes all of the items mentioned in the section above. There are no ups or extras.

• Plan B - $197: This includes everything above except our professional classic typesetting. Our Plan B is for the discerning author who prefers to have his book "custom designed" by Charles King. There ARE additional costs beyond our $197 fee. These additional costs will be determined by King, depending upon your needs, and are to be paid directly to King. (Foremost Press does not share in any fees paid to him.) For more about King's typesetting services and fees click here. See our note below.

An Aside: While our typesetting produces a first class book, competitive with anything on the market, we work only with the best font and size we've found. Charles King, on the other hand, has many more powerful tools available and can do so much more for you that this is clearly the best option for many. For example, he has a variety of great fonts from which you may choose. Further, he can produce some really exciting page layouts with resources not available to us.

(If you'd also like us to include it on Smashwords.com and Kindle, the cost is an extra $35. This is only for fiction that has no special formatting.)

We are looking for quality manuscripts of any kind, fiction and non-fiction. The work must be well written and it must be appropriately edited. Send your entire manuscript as a MS Word .DOC file to Mary@ForemostPress.com. (An Aside: While we prefer a .DOC file, we will also accept a .RTF file.)

If our Editorial Committee approves your work, there are two additional steps that need to be completed.

• We need information about you and your book from which we produce your web pages. For examples, click on For Readers in the main menu, select a book, then click for a look at the author page. We'll provide complete details about what is needed upon acceptance of your work.

• A four-color cover is required. Be sure the artist you work with is acquainted with the CMYK color scheme, required for POD; RGB won't do. While Charles King is the leading book design expert, he may be willing to work with you in producing only your cover. (See About Great Covers on this page.)

An Aside: We do not offer any template covers as many publishers do, for they don't sell well. A custom cover is a must, one that really sells your book. However, since the cover is such a personal statement of your work, it is something you need to work out for yourself. If you do not already have a cover, Charles King may be willing to do one for you as mentioned above. For details on this page, click here.

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In fiction, we always recommend your book be priced from $3.97 to $7.97.

The best price is one on the low side of what titles similar in content and interest are selling at. There is one catch here. Due to printing costs, a non-fiction book can not be priced below what is required of a work of fiction of the same number of pages.

In fiction, the price of your book has nothing to do with its quality. This is unfortunate and kind of sad. But price is all about printing costs, and obtaining the lowest possible price. The table below gives the required price for the number of printed pages.

            Pages  Price
        104 - 120  10.97
        124 - 160  11.97
        164 - 196  12.97
        200 - 236  13.97
        240 - 280  14.97
        284 - 320  15.97
        324 - 360  16.97
        364 - 400  17.97
        404 - 440  18.97
        444 - 480  19.97
        484 - 500  20.97

Our books are trade paperbacks with a finished page size of 6x9". They are perfect bound. And there are limits to what this process can handle. The minimum number of pages is 108. And the maximum number is 740, which makes the book difficult to handle. We do not want to exceed 500 pages for any reason. Even at this page count, the better plan is to publish in two volumes.

Booklets

We can publish as few as 48 pages. However, there is no spine. Send details and we'll work with you as possible. Most, however, find it more cost effective to use a printer with an off-set press.

Hard Cover

We can also publish with a traditional hard cover, with or without a dust jacket. However we can not recommend this approach, for increased costs force the selling price too high to be competitive. Further, many attractive bindings, such as lay-flat, are not available in POD. It is generally more effective to print hard cover books in a traditional manner with a print run of 2,000 copies or more.

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Authors

Copy that has not been edited is not going to be read. Before sending your work to anybody, either hire an editor or do it yourself. Here's one approach to the latter.

On This Page What We Do For You Our Fees What We Need from You The Price of Your Book Do You Write the Right Stuff? Royalties Author Price About Great Covers Excellence in Book Design For Comparison Shoppers Have You a Question? Other Pages Editors We Recommend Special Services Available About POD Ideas for Promoting Your Book Useful Articles Agreement

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We pay royalties monthly provided the amount due is more than $50. Else we pay all due quarterly. They are computed as a percentage of the retail price as published on our website and on your book. Amounts are credited to your account as follows.

• 20% on hard copy sold through our website at retail

• On wholesale orders, as from a bookstore, 50% of the net receipts as collected by Foremost Press

• On sales of electronic versions, we hold $0.97 as the transaction cost, then split the balance received with you, 50-50.

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If you do not have a book cover, we urge you to check with Charles King. (See Excellence in Book Design below.) While he is the guru in POD book design, he may be willing to do only a cover for you. Given a photograph, a great image, or a workable graphic concept, he can create a custom cover for about $150.

Take care in working with other artists. Fees are generally much higher and many are absurd. Further, not all artists understand the CMYK color scheme, as required for POD, to produce a top quality cover.

If you already have a cover that meets the requirements of POD, you will need to add a few items to it in order to meet our needs.

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For excellence in styling, we turn to book design expert, Charles King. He gets our vote for the finest book designer available. For outstanding typesetting and a cover that sells, Charles is the best. Since we want sales, just as you do, we feel you can't afford to settle for less. The book cover generally runs about $150. And for a book of 50,000 words, the typesetting generally runs between $200 and $400. If you have special needs or much editing is required, the price goes up. more about Charles King

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An author's first question is often, "What's this going to cost?" The answer is not always easy to find, particularly on the Web where hidden or non-obvious costs can be easily overlooked.

On this page, we've tried to include all factors. If we overlooked something, it was by accident, not design. If you're unclear about any point or need further information, write and ask. It's to your advantage to hang in and get the full picture. Here are a few of things that need to be considered.

• How does the quality of books we produce relate to your sales volume?

• How will the retail pricing of your book by another publisher affect your sales? Compare and you will discover our retail prices are the lowest available.

• Can the publisher you're considering beat our author price? Or does it look as if they're making money off of authors? We believe our pricing may be unbeatable. Certainly it makes it possible for you to profitably sell your own book as in book signings, through your website, and so forth.

• How many copies of your book must you buy to obtain an Author Discount? If it's more than our minimum, 10 copies, does this increase the risk of unsold inventory?

• Does the publisher offer better royalties? We do not know of one who does.

• Does the publisher have a web store in which to promote your book? If so, is it as visitor-friendly and comprehensive as ours?

• We ask for no rights to your book, only permission to sell the versions we produce on your behalf. What rights does the publisher you are considering require?

• The reason we do not ask for any rights to your book is that we want you to be free at all times to search for and take a better offer. We may be the only publisher of any kind who holds this view.

• Does the publisher offer an electronic version of your book? If so, what is your royalty compared to what we offer?

In shopping for a publisher, be fair to yourself. Factor these things into the equation as you consider costs. When comparing our program with that of others, particularly those which appear to have a lower initial cost, consider all of the above. Most who look closely come to see our program as a bargain. We hope you discover this is so.

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Grab a copy of Free To Die by Bob McElwain, a great fast-paced action thriller you'll love. Click here now.

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The cost to you of a printed copy of your book is 50% of the retail price. The minimum order is 10 books plus shipping. You may order as many copies as you like. And the shipping cost per book decreases on quantity. (To find the cost of shipping to your address, go to UPS.com. LSI is located in La Vergne, TN; the zip code is 37086. Enter this zip code, and your own. Use one pound for weight--a book of about 200 pages--and you'll get a good estimate.) If you like, contact us and we'll check with our printer and get you the exact shipping cost.

This price gives you maximum profit on sales you arrange yourself, as with book signings, through your website, etc.

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We'll be happy to answer any question you may have. Send your question email to mary@foremostpress.com Or click here to use our Contact Form We'll be glad to help in any way we can.

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