Publishing Questions | Financial Questions | Technical Questions | Printing & Distribution Questions
Below are some of the most commonly asked questions regarding our company and its services. If you have a question that is not on this list, feel free to . We'll quickly get back to you with an answer.
Who is the typical CrossHouse author?
While our authors are far from "typical," they do tend to have two things in common: a wholesome message and a desire for a personalized publishing experience. We work with missionaries, pastors, ministers, professors, and motivational speakers as well as moms, dads, teenagers, and grandparents. We have even posthumously published an author whose children wanted to see their mother's words in print. We publish books about Christian life and theology, children's books, personal memoirs, poetry collections, Bible studies, academic texts, missions materials, fiction, biographies, and more.
Do you publish only Christian books?
While many of the books we publish have Christian topics, not all of our products are overtly Christian. As long as the message is wholesome and upholds Christian values, we are more than happy to add it to our collection. CrossHouse does reserve the right to reject any manuscript that is not compatible with basic Christian theology and principles.
Self-publishing my book is a big personal and financial investment. How do I know that you will deliver what you say?
Once you have decided on CrossHouse Publishing, we will send you a publishing contract to review. This contract is standard in the publishing industry and spells out the exact terms of our relationship. This contract is meant to protect both you and us from any misunderstandings. Many of our authors have commented on how much peace of mind the contract gives them.
I have special needs regarding the publication of my book. Can you customize my publication experience to fit my needs?
We pride ourselves on the highly personalized attention that we give to each author. Perhaps you're a missionary who prefers to communicate via Skype. Or maybe you'd like to do a series of small books instead of one large book. Perhaps you would like to submit your own artwork for the front cover design. Or maybe you have a unique idea for your book that doesn't fit into the typical publication mold. Whatever your situation, we want to meet your unique and individual needs. While we may not be able to accommodate every request, please feel free to ask!
What size books do you publish?
Typically, the black-and-white interior books are 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 8.25 x 11, or 8.5 x 11. The full-color interior books typically are 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 8.5 x 8.5, 7 x 10, or 8.5 x 11. This is not the full list of sizes, however, so feel free to contact us if you have something else in mind.
Do you offer hardback options?
Yes! We can publish your book in hardback as well as paperback. E-mail us at sales@crosshousepublishing.org for more information about publishing your book in hardback format.
My manuscript is pretty long—over 75,000 words. Will there be any additional costs because of its length?
CrossHouse is more than happy to publish longer-than-average books. However, for manuscripts of more than 75,000 words, a 1.5 cent per word surcharge is assessed for every word over 75,000. This surcharge helps to offset the extra time that will be required for our editors to thoroughly review your book.
Of course, a longer book also results in a higher retail price, so you will need to weigh whether it might be beneficial for you to trim down your manuscript or to break your book up into multiple volumes. If you have questions about which of these options is best, contact a CrossHouse representative at 1-877-212-0933.
Am I required to pay the entire publication fee up front?
No. We ask that our authors pay half of the publication costs when they sign the contract and half of the costs once the book has been published. On contracts totaling over $1,000, we offer a $100 pre-payment discount if you would prefer to pay the entire amount when you sign the contract.
What types of payment do you accept?
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and personal checks.
How are royalties calculated?
In our contract, we specify that we calculate royalties based on the "gross" profits. The "gross" is how much money we actually receive for your book from the buyer.
Suppose your book retails for $10.00. (Ten is a round number and easy to work with; your book may retail for more).When we sell the book directly on our own website, we will offer the book for $10.00 retail. If a buyer pays the full price of $10.00, then the gross is $10.00. You would receive 25% of the $10.00, or $2.50 per book.
When we sell the book to bookstores (either directly or through our distributor, Ingram), the bookstores buy the book at around a 50% discount.* This means that the bookstore (the buyer) is paying $5.00 per book. So, the gross is $5.00. You would then receive 25% of the gross sales, or $1.25 per book.
(Just as an FYI about the industry--most publishers subtract their printing costs from the gross sales before determining royalties. We don't do that. We simply give you 25% of what was paid to us. We absorb the printing costs and never pass them on to you. This is an important distinction because you, the author, receive more money per book sold. If you're ever working with another publisher in the future, make sure you ask if printing costs are deducted before royalties are figured.)
*Specifically, we sell our products to Ingram at a 45% discount, to Amazon.com at a 55% discount, and to direct bookstores and wholesalers at 50%.
How often do you issue royalty checks?
We issue royalty checks twice a year—in late March and late September. The check issued in March is for royalties accrued between July and December of the previous year. The check issued in September is for royalties accrued between January and June of that same year. It is the author’s responsibility to make sure CrossHouse stays informed of his or her current address.
What is the likelihood that I will recoup my publishing costs?
The answer to that question depends entirely on you! As a self-published author, you are responsible for marketing your book. What we have found through the years is that some people do not publish their books with the goal of making a profit. These authors are just satisfied with having their book in print—either for posterity or as a legacy for their grandchildren or as a personal achievement. These authors do not tend to recover their investment, but simply see the costs associated with publication as a means to an end.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have authors who are very interested in recouping their costs—and the sooner, the better! For these individuals, the amount of time it takes to do so is directly proportional to the amount of exposure they and their book have to the public. While our distribution methods make your book available to the public, it's up to you to convince them that it's worth reading!
Our most successful authors tend to have a built-in following from prayer supporters, blog/Twitter followers, speaking ministry audiences, or other venues. Those authors with an established customer base tend to not only regain their publishing costs, but actually turn a profit from their books. These authors know that buying books at deeply discounted prices with their author discounts and then turning around and selling these books at speaking engagements or other public venues can be highly profitable with a much greater percentage of return than royalties can provide. We recently had a missionary author who recouped the cost of her entire publishing experience (including 500 copies of her book) within six weeks of her release date.
That being said, many of the authors we assist are still working to establish their ministries and may not yet have a large following. However, time is on their side! With CrossHouse, your book is in print indefinitely. That means that five, ten, or fifteen years from now, you will still be receiving royalties from your book sales. We have several authors whose royalties have actually increased over the years as they have broadened the scope of their ministries and/or established themselves in speaking circuits. For them, recouping their costs has taken time, but, on the flip side, being a published author helped move them forward in establishing their current ministry roles.
What types of options do I have for the look and feel of the interior layout of my book?
We offer many interior layout options for our authors. You will choose from three basic designs in our Layout Design Questionnaire and then customize accordingly. When we begin the formatting stage of publication, we will send you some sample pages to make sure we have correctly implemented the preferences indicated on your questionnaire.
How involved will I be in the design of my book cover?
Very. First, you will fill out the Cover Art Questionnaire to give us an idea of what you have in mind for the cover. You can also submit any artwork or photos that you want to see used in the cover design. Next, one of our graphic designers will develop three front cover concepts for you to look at based on the information you provided in your questionnaire. You will choose one of these concepts and provide any feedback or changes that you'd like to see. Once we have agreed on the front cover, we will design the rest of the cover (back and spine) and send you the entire design for your approval.
I know most books have a blurb about the book on the back cover. Do I have to submit that, or will you write it for me?
Typically, one of our public relations specialists (whose job is to make authors and their books sound good!) will write your back cover copy. However, if you would prefer to write your own, you're welcome to do so. (We typically find that our authors are quite humble and, when they write their own back cover description, have trouble saying nice things about themselves and their writing. We are more likely to tell it like it is and will not hold back in describing your book as "sparkling" or "genuine" or "well-written," if we believe that it possesses those traits.) Regardless of whether you write the back cover text yourself or not, you will be asked to submit a three or four sentence bio and any endorsements that you want to appear on the back cover.
Can I use an outside editor?
If you believe that your manuscript requires more than the mechanical edit that we provide and you do not wish to purchase our more substantive editing service, you are welcome to hire an outside editor. However, please understand that the outside editor's involvement needs to occur prior to your sending us your final manuscript. Once we receive your final manuscript, you will not be able to add additional text, delete words or phrases, or make any significant changes to the work. Once you submit the final manuscript to us, we prepare it according to your package specifications, and then you receive page proofs (a PDF copy of what your book will look like in print). At the point when you receive page proofs from us, the only changes that can be made are corrections to obvious errors such as typos or misspellings, so an outside editor will be of no benefit.
Will I have the opportunity to see my book before it goes to press?
Yes. You will see your book twice before it goes to press. The first time you see your book, it will be in page proof format. This is a PDF copy of what your book will look like in print. Since you will have already seen sample page of your layout, there should be no major surprises at this point from the look and feel of your book. The reason we send you page proofs is for you to be a third pair of eyes (Remember: at this point, two editors have already been through your manuscript!) to look for any flagrant errors or typos in the work. We want your book to be as error-free as possible. However, professionals in the industry will tell you that no matter how many people proofread a book, a few errors are always going to be present in the final, printed version. By sending you the page proofs and asking for your corrections, we can minimize those errors.
The second time you will see your book before it goes to press is when you receive the proof copy. This is an actual bound and printed copy of the book from the printer that will look exactly the same as the final printed edition. At the time that you receive your proof copy, no additional corrections can be made to the work. Our goal in sending it is simply so you can see the book before the rest of the world does.
Printing and Distribution Questions:
What type of printer do you use—print-on-demand or offset?
Because of our roots in traditional publishing, we have relationships with offset printers that we utilize when completing print runs of 500+ copies.
However, for the most part, we are a print-on-demand company. Print-on-demand is a relatively new technology. It utilizes digital printing instead of traditional offset printing. Print-on-demand printing has made major strides in the past ten years—with the quality having improved exponentially. This technology allows much more freedom in printing because it allows for print runs as small as one book at a time.
Amazon.com and Ingram both utilize a print-on-demand printer for order fulfillment, meaning that instead of warehousing copies of books that may or may not sell, they simply fire up the printer and print off the quantity needed as book orders come in. Their turnaround times for printing these books is typically less than 24 hours. This model is not only more economically viable to authors who don’t need thousands of books on-hand, it is also very “green.” Books are only produced as needed, which is much more earth-friendly.
If you are interested in viewing a sample of print-on-demand printing, please contact us at sales@crosshousepublishing.org and we will be happy to send you a sample product.
Can I make changes to my book once my book is in print?
Yes! After the book goes to print, you may decide that you want to make revisions to the interior text or to the cover text. After all, once the book is in print, you may receive additional endorsements, or you might need to update your website information or make other corrections. The very best time to make revisions is simultaneous with a book order. If you request revisions at the same time that you place an order for 250+ copies of your book, we will waive the revision fee altogether. If you do not need more inventory but would still like to make revisions, the revision charge is $125 for unlimited interior text corrections and $125 for unlimited cover text corrections. Any revision, regardless of how minor, will require that the book be taken out of print for approximately five to seven business days.
How soon after my book is in-print will my book be available to bookstores and/or for purchase on websites? What about the eBook version?
It takes about seven to ten days for all of the web servers to synchronize. At times, your book information will appear on the Internet prior to the cover picture. If this happens to your book, just be patient; the system will update within a few days to show the full listing of your book.
The Amazon.com “Click to Look Inside” feature usually does not become active until three to four weeks after the Amazon.com listing first appears on the website.
The eBook version will become available approximately 30 days after your book is officially in-print. We cannot begin production of the eBook until the print book is finalized, which is why the two versions are not released simultaneously.
Will my book be available internationally?
Yes! CrossHouse currently holds contracts with Ingram for distribution in the UK, Australia, Europe, and Canada. We will soon be expanding our reach to South America, as well.
