Services
We have an exceptional team ready to bring your book from manuscript to market. Once we receive a finished draft our editorial staff, jacket designers, and interior designers will work with you to make your vision for your work a reality. Additionally, we will provide all of the components which meet the standards set by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for all books and publishers.
Hybrid Publishing
Hybrid publishing is a cooperative relationship between the author and publisher whereby the author pays for some or all of the production costs in exchange for global distribution and a more favorable percentage of royalties. In the hybrid model, the author typically retains the rights to their work. At Plum Bay, we also offer programs that make it possible for authors to earn back up to 50% of their direct production costs by receiving an even higher percentage of royalties until those costs are earned out.
Traditional Publishing
In traditional publishing, the publisher pays the production costs, handles international distribution and retains the rights to the work for a period of time set forth in the contract. Plum Bay has two submission periods annually and we will select one or more titles to publish traditionally depending on what we receive and what is already scheduled for the upcoming seasons.
Producing quality books is not as simple as pushing a button or clicking “submit.” There are many people involved who ensure that the end result is an attractive, marketable, professionally produced volume.
Publishing Team
Project Manager/Managing Editor: This person will create a publishing schedule for your book with deadlines for every part of the process. Highly detail oriented and a stickler for getting things in on time, the Managing Editor will be your link to what’s happening with your work.
Editorial: Different editors work on specific aspects of the overall process. At Plum Bay we offer substantive editors to work with you on overall content and consistency; copyeditors to work on grammar and punctuation; proofreaders to clean up any typos or mistakes before the book goes to press.
Design: Designers will create concepts for the book jacket based on input from Plum Bay and the author. Once an image is selected Plum Bay will fill in all the elements needed to produce a top-of-the-line professional jacket, including original marketing copy for the back. Then the designer will offer examples of the text layout that are coordinated with the fonts and style of the cover. Once a version is selected the entire book will be laid-out and paginated according to professional standards.
Copywriter: Check out the back covers or inside flaps of books the next time you are in a bookstore or library. All of the space on a jacket is prime real estate for marketing, and the copy is professionally written with that in mind. Selecting quotes, positioning the text, and writing a persuasive paragraph or two is intended to catch the eye of a prospective buyer.
Printing: Print-on-Demand (POD) is available for paperback and hardcover formats. Bulk orders for printed books are also provided.
Distribution: Plum Bay works with several distributors that access markets around the world. By creating relationships with multiple POD distributors, we are able to offer maximum visibility for our authors and their titles. We also fulfill wholesale and retail orders through the store on our website.
Marketing: We promote our titles on our website, via social media, and in a monthly newsletter. Advertising and other promotional activities paid for by Plum Bay are done at our discretion. Other marketing and publicity services are available through our sister company, Claire McKinney PR, LLC.
5-Steps to Publish with Plum Bay:
Step 1: Submit your finished manuscript and fill out the accompanying submission form.
Step 2: Within one to two weeks you will receive a response as to whether, or not your manuscript meets our publishing criteria. At this time, we may ask you additional questions about your needs and goals and/or we may set up a phone consultation.
Step 3: We send you an estimate for the book production costs along with an approximate publication date for your book.
Step 4: If you accept the estimate, we send you a contract. You have ten days from the date of the signing to send us the manuscript draft you intend to publish, if different from your initial entry.
Step 5: We get started!
For more information contact us
For wholesale ordering information contact us at orders@plumbaypublishing.com