Zeus Publications Subsidy Publishing

SUBSIDY or PARTNERSHIP PUBLISHING - HOW IT WORKS

In subsidy/partnership book publishing, the author shares part of the cost with the publisher. This payment is usually structured in two instalments, payable as the book progresses to print over a period of about eight months. No further payment is required irrespective of how many copies of the book are eventually printed; the more books that are printed and sold, the more both author and publisher benefit. That way the publisher does not take all the risk and you as the author can get more for your work. The publisher takes care of editing and layout. They also take care of stocking, warehousing and distribution.

As an author, you are probably aware of (and perhaps have experienced) some of the problems of trying to get your work published by a commercial publisher. Just having your manuscript read by most commercial publishers is difficult and usually involves long delays. Even if you consult with a literary agent or send your manuscript to many commercial publishers, your efforts may go unnoticed. Because book publishing is dominated by a few powerful conglomerates, it has become increasingly difficult for a new writer to achieve publication; first time authors can enjoy significant sales, but these are often not enough to interest mainstream publishing houses.

The primary reason for this situation is business economics. With mounting costs of production and merchandising, the commercial book Publishing industry is taking fewer risks, becoming more oriented toward the best seller aimed at the mass market and shying away from new or unknown authors and books. The commercial publisher is more inclined to publish books by established authors or well-known personalities even if not written as well as other manuscripts it rejects. Excellent poetry or works on specialized subjects may be turned down simply because the market may be limited or regional. For every manuscript published, many which deserve to be in print are not.

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle was rejected by five publishers. James Joyce's first book of short stories was rejected by twenty-two publishers. Ernest Hemingway's work was rejected. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was initially rejected, as was The Godfather, Love Story, and the recent best seller The Celestine Prophecy.

Subsidizing a book you have written can result in enduring value on a personal level. It can be an effective means for creative self-expression or sharing an experience with others. It may also bring recognition and accelerate your career. If only books considered to be potential best sellers were published, some of our most important writers may not have reached their audiences: George Bernard Shaw, Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alexander Pope, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Henry David Thoreau, and Rudyard Kipling all paid for the publication of their first works.

Every year thousands of worthwhile books are financially backed by universities, religious and business organizations, philanthropists, and government agencies as well as by individual authors or their sponsors.

Subsidy/Partnership publishers offer authors, who otherwise may find no hope of publication, a means by which they can have the satisfaction of seeing their work in print.

In 1997, Zeus Publications was originally formed as an electronic publisher to provide a service to authors and now we actively pursue the print market. We are continuing our philosophy that the opportunity to publish a work should be available to all who have something which they wish to communicate to others and are willing to purchase Subsidy Publishing services.

We publish all categories of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry and offer a choice of programs to suit the needs of various authors and their particular manuscripts. Zeus authors, including some with previously published books to their credit, appreciate our services and the extent to which they can participate in shaping the presentation of their work.

We are particularly pleased to publish books which contain information, ideas, or insights which will add to reader enjoyment, wisdom, or awareness. A book designed to help or educate a relatively small number of people is as worthy of publication, in our opinion, as a book written for millions. A small collection of poetry by an unknown writer may offer as much real truth about contemporary society as a best seller by a famous author. A thoughtful study of a religious issue may generate the insight or inspiration that influences readers' lives. The scientific knowledge of one person may provide others with the data they need to carry on their work. One of the advantages offered by a free society is that individuals, who have the means and desire to pay for publication, can have the opportunity to publish their own work.

If you would like to subsidize a book which displays your thoughts, creativity, and ideas, we provide a Publishing program to meet your needs. This will enable you to put your work into book form promptly and economically.

Under this program, you, the author, expend a fixed sum of money to have your book published. This sum is called the subsidy.

Traditional Subsidy/Partnership Publishing

With our traditional subsidy Publishing program, your work is produced and promoted, within a defined budget, as a Zeus title. We determine the book specifications (size, type, binding, etc.) and print enough copies of the work to fulfil demand for the duration of the agreement. Printing of the book is on-going and our agreement guarantees that we will keep your book in stock and on our list for a minimum of three years.

We undertake clearly defined promotional activities for your book through our marketing and promotions department. It is helpful to our efforts if you, the author, work in cooperation with us. This involves contributing whatever personal assistance you have to offer. If you are an able speaker, this may involve speaking engagements. If you are a creative promoter, contribute your ideas to the project. If you are a salesperson, make your "pitch" to the bookstores, libraries, etc., in your vicinity. Please be sure to let us know, in advance, about any promotion you plan to implement on your own. In our Promotion Data Information form we mail to all new Zeus authors, we request that you suggest to us any ideas or opportunities known to you which can supplement our own efforts.

How is this different from Vanity Press?

Vanity Press publishers are basically just printers who operate under the 'Publishing' banner. They will publish anything, provided the author pays a fee for doing so. A vanity publisher (a.k.a. a book producer or book manufacturer) prints and binds a book at the author's sole expense. Costs include the publisher's profit and overhead, so vanity publishing is usually a good deal more expensive than subsidy-publishing. The completed books are the property of the author, and the author retains all proceeds from sales. Vanity publishers do not screen for quality--they publish anyone who can pay--and provide no marketing, warehousing, distribution or promotional services.

Subsidiary Rights

Subsidiary rights are comprised of book club, paperback, hardback reprint, paperback reprint, serial reprint, dramatic, motion picture, television, radio, translation, and other such rights. While Zeus does not usually seek out opportunities for the sale of subsidiary rights, should an opportunity present itself, Zeus may sell the subsidiary rights for your book. At this point, we will negotiate with you on a case by case basis.

Order Processing

Bookstores, wholesalers and libraries can order Zeus titles directly from us using our on line catalogue. Most orders which are received are a result of the promotional efforts which we agree to perform on behalf of your book or from your own efforts.

We calculate appropriate discounts, credit the author's payments account, prepare an invoice, ship the book(s), and bill the customer. Our authors need not be concerned with shipping or invoicing as we handle these services for them.

Book Sales and Author Payments

We do, of course, hope as does the author, that some book sales will result from our promotional efforts. Zeus attempts to increase awareness of your book's availability and to generate some interest in it, specifically in local and/or specialized media and outlets. Should you become a Zeus author, we will pay you 20% royalties based on "Net Publisher Receipts," which equal the payments the Publisher receives from sales of the Work, less any charge-backs, discounts, or disputes. Royalty cheques will be issued each six monthly period as long as the royalties are in excess of AUD$20.00. If royalties are not $20.00 or more, the money will be carried forth to subsequent periods until the balance exceeds $20.00. Publisher will send Author a statement of account of sales of the Work on a half yearly basis.

If, after your personal supply of author copies is exhausted, more books are desired, you may purchase additional copies of your own books at 20 percent off the retail price. Because we are obligated to keep an inventory of books for a minimum of three years following the date bound books are first available, we cannot provide these additional copies authors may desire free of charge. Upon termination of the contract, all copies in inventory are available to you at the normal author discount rate.

The Process

One of our editors will edit and read your manuscript. By this we mean reading the manuscript to improve consistency of spelling, capitalization, and hyphenation; agreement of subjects and verbs; correction of grammar and punctuation; and other such mechanics of written communication. We will perform no rewriting, reorganization, or improvement of presentation, content, or literary expression without consultation with the author. If questions arise during the editing process, we will communicate with you directly. We work closely with you on all aspects of the subsidy Publishing process. Your manuscript may require only occasional corrections of typographical errors and minor lapses in punctuation, grammar, and consistency. Incorrect sentence structure or other details of the mechanics of writing may need attention. Whatever the case, you are given an opportunity to approve the revisions before we proceed to the next stage of publication.

When your manuscript is ready for production, our 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 manuscript is then given to a typesetter.

The first proofs the typesetter prepares are called "galley proofs," in which the content of the manuscript now appears in print but has not yet been broken down into individual book pages. In a very complex project, a set of these proofs may be sent to you for your review. With new computer technology, however, the typesetter now often eliminates this stage, immediately preparing page proofs for review.

As the name suggests, page proofs show each page and section of a manuscript exactly as it will appear in the finished book. A set of these proofs is sent to you electronically in PDF format for review. At this point, you see precisely how all the pages will look. After the typesetter has made any final corrections, the book is ready for printing.

While the typesetting is being done, creative details concerning the book jacket or paperback cover are worked out. The mechanical editor prepares "about-the-book" and "about-the-author" copy, which will appear on the flaps and/or back panel of the jacket or cover. Every Zeus book jacket or cover is designed in an effort to convey the theme of the work in a way which we hope you will feel is attractive. We believe that our jacket and cover design efforts are quite professional, and our authors tell us they are pleased. The proposed copy and jacket or cover sketch are submitted to you for your review. After all of your questions have been answered, the necessary materials (including a photograph of you, if available) are prepared and sent to press.

If illustrations, drawings, tables, or charts are to be prepared by us, we assign an artist to the task. The book illustrations are submitted to you for your approval. Unless there are special circumstances, all illustrations or photographs in our books are in monochrome. (black and white)

Next the books are printed. Typically, under our traditional subsidy Publishing program, we print and fold 100 copies of a book. The final stage of production takes place at the bindery, where 100 copies are trimmed, bound, and covered. It is always exciting to see an attractive newly bound book which the author and our staff have worked so hard to produce. Author copies of your new book--the result of your long and hard efforts--are then shipped to you.

We believe that the hard work of the creative writer should be rewarded with publication, and we provide the means to that end.

The Copyright of Your Book

The year in which your book is copyrighted appears on the copyright page of every book. The copyright law now mandates that for works created after January 1, 1978, the copyright runs from the time of the work's creation, through the life of the author, and for fifty years thereafter.

Manuscripts and unpublished works are protected by common law and statutory law. As a reputable subsidy publisher, Zeus Publications will not use material submitted to us without your written permission.

Become a Published Author

We can do it together!

You've got a great story to tell. You've invested a lot of time on research and writing your manuscript. Now, who will publish it? If your name is Danielle Steele or Stephen King, the answer is easy. Big New York publishing houses will offer million-dollar advances and multi-book contracts. Unfortunately, most authors don't command that kind of attention. That's where the Subsidy Publishing Program at Zeus Publications can help. We'll become publishing partners with you, sharing the expenses and profits. Best of all, we won't just dump the finished books on your doorstep the way a vanity publisher or book packager would do. We'll help you market them, too! Our Subsidy Publishing Program will guide you through an easy process of getting your book printed, marketed and sold.

STEP 1: EVALUATION

Your manuscript will be read and we'll provide a written evaluation of its market potential. Some books can be targeted to a specific market while others are better suited to a general audience. If you wish us to return your manuscript, please provide return postage.

STEP 2: EDITING

If your manuscript is accepted for publication in our Subsidy Publishing Program, we'll provide complete editing services by professionals. We may suggest a different focus or rewritten passages but, unlike other publishers, you'll be involved at each step of the process.

STEP 3: TYPESETTING AND DESIGN

After the manuscript has been edited, we'll design and typeset your book using the latest computer equipment. We'll handle all the details, including cover design and color separations. We can provide original drawings or photos through our contracts with professional artists and photographers. You'll receive an inkjet proof of the galleys for changes and corrections, or we can send you the file in PDF format.

STEP 4: PRINTING

Your electronically prepared book is sent on computer disc to the printer. The printers we work with use the latest high-resolution equipment and meet our quality standards.

STEP 5: DELIVERY

We'll handle all the details of delivery and storage of your finished book.

STEP 6: MARKETING

Our marketing efforts truly set us apart from many other publishers. We work closely with more than a half dozen national and regional distributors. We have contacts with book reviewers and special expertise in preparing press material. Whilst every effort is made to promote books, there is no guarantee given or implied that books will be stocked by bookstores. This decision is purely the domain of the book buyers.

Important - read the new author guidelines here.

If you want to become a published author, please email us today at: info@zeus-publications.com

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