Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are you a subsidy publisher?

A: No. CrystalOrb is a small independent publisher that operates under the traditional publishing model: we acquire the print rights to books that we like, publish them under our name and ISBN prefix, and pay royalties to the authors. [Back]

Q: What is your ISBN prefix?

A: Our ISBN prefix is 0-9791897 (under the EAN-13 format). [Back]

Q: If you publish my book, do I pay you anything?

A: No. We make our money from the sale of your book and pay you a portion of those earnings in royalties. (That’s why we only select books that we think will make money.)

Q: Do you contract out services like cover design, typesetting, and editing?

A: Yes. We’re in the publishing business. We focus on identifying proposals and manuscripts that we believe can generate a profitable return in the market, investing the time and money to get them ready, and helping to publicize them to maximize their sales potential.

There are a lot of other small businesses that focus on editing, cover design, typesetting, indexing, and similar services. We identify those that are very good at what they do, and we outsource those services to them so that we can concentrate on publishing. Please contact us if you would like to offer your services.[Back]

Q: Who prints your books?

A: That depends on the nature and scope of the project. We typically use digital printing for initial or smaller print runs and offset printing for larger projects. When we have a project that’s nearing completion, we seek competitive bids from established printers specializing in the printing type that we think is most appropriate for the project.[Back]

Q: Do you use overseas printing?

A: No. While overseas printers offer price advantages, there are risks associated with those savings. In addition, CrystalOrb specifically targets its products at an American audience with the goal of enhancing America’s competitive advantage in the twenty-first century. We consider working with American printing companies to be more appropriate for our business model. [Back]

Q: Do you use print-on-demand (POD)?

A: Yes, sometimes. Bookstores don’t stock POD books, but not every book worth publishing is likely to succeed in the traditional bookstore market. POD can be effective for online sales as well as for supplemental titles and different formats (like large print).

Authors asking this questions are usually comparing us to Lulu.com, iUniverse.com, or another POD subsidy publisher. CrystalOrb is not a subsidy press; regardless of the format that we choose for your book, the costs incurred are ours and the only way that we make money is through sales. [Back]

Q: If you publish my book, will it be available in bookstores?

A: Yes, but it may or may not be on shelves. Books that are digitally or offset printed in advance will be distributed by Midpoint Trade Books, whose sales teams pitch our titles to industry buying agents. Whether a particular chain chooses to stock copies of a title depends on whether the buyer thinks that it will sell.

Many books are not available on shelves. Buyers are extremely selective in filling their limited shelf space, and POD books are never stocked. However, every book that we publish (including POD) is available from major wholesalers and thus can be ordered by a bookstore on request. Your book would also be available through online channels like Amazon.com.

Everyone likes the idea of seeing his or her book on the shelf at a local bookstore, but not every book is right for today’s stores. Remember, we make money from selling your book, so we want it to sell as well and in as many places as possible. We work hard to make that happen.[Back]

Q: Will my book be sold to libraries?

A: Libraries acquire most of their books through distributors. Given the nature of our books, we always seek library distribution, and assuming that we made a good decision on acquiring a book and did our jobs right, the odds are in our favor. Our first title, Spontaneous Tourism, is distributed to libraries by Quality Books.

In the event that no library distributor wants to pick up the book, it will still be made available through a wholesaler and we will take steps to market it to libraries to the extent that we believe we can generate profitable sales.

Remember, we make money from selling your book, so we want it to sell as well and in as many places as possible. We work hard to make that happen. [Back]

Q: Who sets the cover price for my book?

A: We make that decision based on the cost of publishing it and the sale price of competing books, taking into account what makes each book unique and what we think people will pay.

If you have a strong opinion on how the book should be priced and can explain why, we will certainly take your preferences into account. Remember, though, that we have to price each book high enough to make a profit after subtracting your royalties as well as our costs, while keeping the price competitive so that it sells at all. It’s a complex decision, and one that we ultimately have to make. [Back]

Q: Will my books be returnable?

A: We offer our books to the trade under standard terms, which include discounting to distributors and wholesalers as well as accepting returns. These terms do not apply to retail or direct sales, nor to most sales in the gift or business markets, but with since this question only comes up with regards to trade sales, the answer can be summarized as “Yes.”

Authors who ask this question are usually comparing CrystalOrb to Lulu.com, iUniverse.com, or another POD subsidy publisher. Remember, CrystalOrb is not a subsidy press. We sell all of our books under standard industry terms to create the broadest possible market. [Back]

Q: Can I purchase copies of my book at a discount?

A: Yes. Like all traditional publishers, we will offer you the option of purchasing copies of your book at a substantial discount off the cover price. This is in our best interest, because you can most likely generate additional sales as an individual author that are difficult for publishers to create through broad efforts like publicity and advertising. [Back]

Q: Do I have to purchase copies of my book?

A: No. Unlike a subsidy press, we do not require you to purchase copies of your book. The decision to publish the book is ours, and we take responsibility for whether or not it makes money. [Back]

Q: Do I get royalties on orders that I generate?

A: Sure. We treat all order the same in terms of calculating author royalties. [Back]

Q: My book has been previously sold as an eBook. Would you consider it for print?

A: As long as you own the rights to it, certainly. Your book already has a sales track so it’s easier for us to get an idea for how it might do in the print market. [Back]

Q: How can I ask a question about publishing that isn’t listed here?

If you have a question that we didn’t answer, please email info@crystalorbllc.com and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can. [Back]

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