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For your convenience, we have divided our frequently asked questions into 9 basic sections:
- Snowfall Press overall questions
- Questions related to the business of publishing
- The technical aspects of getting a book printed
- Experts page – companies that can help you prepare, edit, and market your book
- E-Commerce
- Shipping
- General industry information for writers and publishers
- Investing in Snowfall Press
- ISBN Numbers and how to get one
If you do not find what you are looking for, please send your question to:
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Snowfall Press - overall questions
How does Snowfall Press help me (author, publisher) be successful?
At Snowfall Press, we provide the tools to allow publishers and experienced authors to bring their books to market quickly and sell their books more profitably than before.
Is Snowfall Press a publisher?
No. Snowfall Press is a DIY (do-it-yourself) digital printer enabling authors and publishers to carry less risk and realize more profit to the bottom line of their business. With the Snowfall model, you are either an existing publisher trying to optimize your business and wanting a print-on-demand solution, or you are an author now venturing into the world of micro-publishing…and as such, now starting to take on the responsibility for printing your own books.
If I am an author, can I use Snowfall Press?
Yes! Whether this is your first book, or you are a veteran author, Snowfall would love to work with you to maximize your margin opportunity for each book that you sell.
Will Snowfall Press market and sell my books?
No. Snowfall Press does not market your books. We have a list of trusted experts who can help you market your books (click here for more information).
The marketing process can be a rewarding experience and no one can market their book better than the author. Using an expert to help guide you in this process can be an important asset.
Does Snowfall Press help me sell my books?
Snowfall Press provides a service to print your books and can point you to other service providers who can help you sell your book, whether with marketing, PR, or sales and distribution. Please see our list of experts (click here for more information).
Does Snowfall Press integrate with web-stores?
Yes. Snowfall Press can integrate with your current web-store operations allowing you to take an order from your own website, electronically place the order through Snowfall’s servers, and have the book printed and shipped directly to the consumer or retailer who is ordering the book.
Does Snowfall Press recommend a particular web-store solution?
Yes. Snowfall Press recommends Magento as a simple, economical e-tailing solution.
What is the perfect print run for Snowfall Press?
Snowfall Press specializes in print runs of as few as one copy, but can print as many units as is required.
Are there any hidden fees?
No. There are no hidden fees.
Are there set-up or change charges at Snowfall Press?
No. You are welcome to change your book as often as you like. Every time you change the interior of the cover, just upload the changed PDF to your account and print a proof to ensure the printed copy is as you wish. Voila! The book is changed by you at no additional cost.
How much royalty does Snowfall keep?
None. Our goal is to bring back more gross profit margin to authors and publishers.
Will Snowfall Press own my book rights?
No. All book rights remain yours. Snowfall Press is a service provider, a printer. Book rights will always stay with you.
Is Snowfall Press a printer?
Yes. Snowfall Press is a printer first, and a great resource for the publishing community second. Snowfall Press is not a publisher.
Is Snowfall moving towards e-books?
Yes, we are. Snowfall anticipates offering its customers the ability to create e-books over the next 12 months. Longer-term, Snowfall Press plans to invest significant R&D funds to develop software that will offer its customers a more dynamic environment than the current generation of e-book technology and next-generation e-book content development tools.
Do I need to sign a contract with Snowfall Press?
No. Customers are required to agree to our terms and conditions in order to open an account, but there are no contractual obligations to Snowfall Press with an account. You are free to print as little or as much as you would like and are free to print your books with other printers. (Click here to open an account now)
Does Snowfall Press do the printing or is it “jobbed-out”?
Snowfall Press does all of its own printing on its state-of-the art print equipment in a growing network of print facilities worldwide.
How long do shipments take?
Snowfall Press offers customers shipping options through UPS and the US Postal Service. We anticipate offering shipping through Federal Express in the near future. Customers can choose the shipping option they prefer given the price and time to ship. We encourage customers to educate themselves on how long it will take, using different shipping carriers and option, for their books to ship from our printing facility in Phoenix (zip code: 85040) to their office.
Does Snowfall Press offer discounts?
Because Snowfall Press is a digital printer, and you are supplying the print-ready PDFs, the economies of scale have already been reached with your first book. We are able to offer low prices with no minimum order quantity – the volume discounts have already been achieved with the first book. This can be a hard concept to grasp for people who are used to traditional offset printing methods. Ask an offset printer what one book will cost and you will appreciate what Snowfall is offering.
What are the payment terms for Snowfall Press?
All payments for orders on our website are made by credit card.
What is your return policy?
Like other printers, Snowfall Press highly encourages customers to print proofs before ordering multiple copies. Any issues with printing will show up in the proof. Any changes made to a book interior or cover should also prompt the printing of a proof. Unless the book has a manufacturing defect, we do not take returns or replace books.
The business of publishing
How does Snowfall Press differ from a publisher?
First of all, Snowfall Press is not a publisher. Snowfall Press is a service provider. Like the Home Depot motto, “You can do it, we can help,” our motto could be ‘You want to print your book, we can help.” Snowfall Press is a strategic tool in your publishing toolkit.
When should I use a traditional publisher?
First, understand the different types of publishers in the market place. Then determine how much risk you are willing to take, how much revenue you are willing to give up (or keep), and whether or not you want to be in control of the process, or abdicate that control to someone else. Here are some helpful definitions of other options in the marketplace: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/vanity/
A commercial publisher purchases the right to publish a manuscript (usually together with other rights, known as subsidiary rights), and pays the author a royalty on sales. Most also pay an advance on royalties. Commercial publishers are highly selective, publishing only a tiny percentage of manuscripts submitted. They handle every aspect of editing, publication, distribution, and marketing. There are no costs to the author.
A vanity publisher 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 self-publishing. All rights and completed books are the property of the author, and the author retains all proceeds from sales. Vanity publishers may exclude objectionable content such as pornography, but otherwise do not screen for quality.
A subsidy publisher also takes payment from the author to print and bind a book, but contributes a portion of the cost and/or provides adjunct services such as editing, distribution, warehousing, and marketing. Theoretically, subsidy publishers are selective. A subsidy publisher claims at least some rights, though the claim may be limited and non-exclusive. The completed books are the property of the publisher, which owns the ISBN, and remain in the publisher’s possession until sold. Income to the writer comes in the form of a royalty.
Self-publishing, like vanity publishing, requires the author to bear the entire cost of publication, and also to handle all marketing, distribution, storage, etc. However, rather than paying for a pre-set package of services, the author puts those services together himself. Because every aspect of the process can be put out to bid, self-publishing can be much more cost effective than vanity publishing; it can also result in a higher-quality product. All rights, the ISBN, and completed books are owned by the author, who keeps all proceeds from sales.
Isn't everything moving to e-books?
No. Popular books have already begun the migration to offer e-book editions alongside traditional print editions. There are very few books that are in an e-book only edition. Many other books have not been viable in the e-book format for a number of reasons including graphics, pictures and color. With the introduction of the recent iPad, there will be more of these types of products moving into digital editions.
According to Bowker, a leading industry aggregator of sales data, e-books sales in early 2010 still represent less than 3% of overall book sales, despite the buzz around the platform. In fact, e-books are not growing the market in terms of total numbers sold, they are simply cannibalizing their sales from the overall market.
ISBN Numbers
Do I need an ISBN number?
You only need an ISBN number if you are planning on selling your book at retail. This includes Amazon.com and other online retailers. If you are publishing your book for family and friends, or solely for other distribution purposes, you do not need an ISBN.
What is the purpose of an ISBN?
The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition, allowing for more efficient marketing of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers and distributors.
Who can assign ISBNs to a publisher?
There are over 160 ISBN Agencies worldwide, and each ISBN Agency is appointed as the exclusive agent responsible for assigning ISBNs to publishers residing in their country or geographic territory. The United States ISBN Agency is the only source authorized to assign ISBNs to publishers supplying an address in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico and its database establishes the publisher of record associated with each prefix.
What do I do when I receive the ISBN and where is it printed?
An ISBN should be assigned to each title or product, including any back list or forthcoming titles. Each format or binding must have a separate ISBN (i.e. hardcover, paperbound, VHS video, laserdisc, e-book format, etc). A new ISBN is required for a revised edition. Once assigned, an ISBN can never be reused. An ISBN is printed on the lower portion of the back cover of a book above the bar code and on the copyright page
How do I get an ISBN?
Click on the following link for additional information: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp
Technical aspects of printing
What kind of bindings does Snowfall Press use?
Currently, Snowfall Press offers perfect binding (paperback). The prices on our website reflect perfect-bound books only. With quantities in excess of 100, Snowfall offers a coil-bound option for an additional fee per book of $1.00. Within the next 6-12 months, Snowfall Press anticipates offering saddle-stitched books (stapled on crease) and case bound (hardback) books. Additionally, we plan to offer more flexibility for coil-bound book orders within that timeframe.
How do I stop a print order?
Because of the rapid turn-around of the Snowfall Press print process, your book is often printed very soon after you click on print and therefore impossible to stop. For that reason, we urge you to print a proof of your book first before printing larger quantities. If you have made a mistake please send us a message marked “Urgent” to:
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What is the average turnaround time for printing?
Usually within 1-3 business days of the order being placed, the order will ship. Many times, we are able to complete orders the same day they are placed, though customers should allow for up to 3 business days.
What are the trim sizes Snowfall Press offers?
Snowfall Press offers any trim size from a minimum of 4”X6” to 8.5”X11”.
What paper is used by Snowfall Press?
Currently, Snowfall Press offers white paper with two thicknesses. The standard offering is 60# (also called 24 lb. or 90 GSM). The thin paper offering is 40# white. Very soon Snowfall Press will offer 50# cream color as another option.
Do you print photos and grayscale illustrations?
Yes, we do print excellent B&W photos and grayscale illustrations within the text of a book.
When will you start printing books with color interiors?
Most likely it will be early 2011 before we start printing color interior books.
Do you do hard covers?
Not currently. We plan to add this option within the next 12 months.
What is “bleed” and how does Snowfall Press deal with bleed?
Bleed is a printing term referring to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet after trimming. Bleed ensures that the color on the cover goes all the way to the edge and no “white appears at the edge.” In Snowfall’s case, the recommended bleed is 1/4th of an inch on each side.
In designing a cover for Snowfall Press, the bleed should be designed into the cover size. For a book that is 6 inches wide, the cover will be 12.25 inches + the spine width (6” for the front; 6” for the back; plus 1/8th inch for front and back bleeds plus the spine width).
Do you laminate or UV coat covers?
We laminate covers. UV coating is currently not an option at Snowfall Press.
Do you offer matte finish on your covers?
No, but we plan to offer matte finish on covers in the near future.
How do I get my “out-of-print books” printed?
If the rights have not reverted back to the author, simply scan (digitize) the body and the cover and submit the book as a PDF per the normal uploading procedures.
How do I scan my out-of-print books?
There are a number of services that will take a physical book and scan it to prepare digital files for digital printing. The best services will actually take the scan and re-typeset the book as well as create e-book files at the same time.
How do I make a PDF?
Click here for a full discussion on this subject.
What is font embedding?
Embedding is a way to ensure that all the fonts and graphics you have used in designing your book will be printed. For a more complete discussion on this subject, click here
How do I upload a book?
For full instructions, click here
What if my PDF file does not work?
Snowfall Press recommends using a Microsoft XPS or PDF/X-1a file for uploading to our servers. For a full discussion regarding how to make a PDF or XPS file, Click here
How can I get help with formatting my file(s) for printing?
Snowfall Press has worked closely with a number of experts who can help you with a single issue, or can be a long term resource for printing your book and bringing to market.
Experts
A full list of experts coming soon – look here during the first week of July.
E-Commerce
With Snowfall Press, it is possible to link orders from a shopping cart on a website to automatically print with Snowfall Press, who can then ship directly to the end customer. This seamless integration allows publishers and authors the freedom to realize more profits without printing, distributing, or shipping the book. For more information, click here
Shipping Options
At Snowfall Press, we give customers full control over the shipping process. After the shipping destination information is fully entered online, shipping options and their prices for the order will appear onscreen. The customer can then choose the shipping option they prefer.
Typically, the following shipping options are offered for orders:
- USPS Priority Mail
- USPS Priority Flat-Rate
- UPS Next Day (and Next Day AM)
- UPS Second Day
- UPS 3-Day Air
- UPS Ground
- We anticipate FedEx shipping options will be added shortly.
Can I use my own shipping number for shipments from Snowfall Press?
This feature will be added in the immediate future so that customers can use their own shipping rates with UPS, Fedex, or USPS. In the future, shipping directly to Barnes & Noble and Amazon will be allowed using their shipping numbers as well.
General Industry Resources
Links to blogs about printing
www.bookbusinessmag.com
Links to blogs about industry
www.michaelhyatt.com
www.garydfoster.com
www.shelf-awareness.com
The future of media/publishing (news, trends, opinions)
Digital Book World, with free online weekly roundtables discussing issues of the day
Mike Shatzkin's blog, one of the most well-known publishing futurists
Magellan Media's Brian O'Leary
Clay Shirky, a tremendous thinker
Dan Blank, showing how it's done
Marketing, community building, audience development
Seth Godin's blog, marketing and life
Chris Brogan, one of the first and best for online community building
FeverBee, information about online communities
Write better (or blog better) for online sites and audiences
CopyBlogger
ProBlogger
Live up to your full potential and/or offer a better product/experience
Good Experience (Mark Hurst)
Sanders Says (Tim Sanders)
37Signals
Derek Sivers
Stay up-to-date on the tech world
ReadWriteWeb, hardware/software/online developments
Mashable, focused on social media news and tips
The book you need
Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz (online and offline platform building), be sure to bookmark Katz's site, too.
Author websites to check out
Seth Harwood
Scott Sigler
John Green
JA Konrath
Cory Doctorow
Christina Katz
Investing in Snowfall Press
If you can see the potential for a fully automated group of networked digital print facilities around the world and would like to invest in this opportunity, please write to Brent Barnett, our CFO at:
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