What kind of publishing company are you?
Bluefish Bay is a publishing services company that combines the low cost and speed of POD (print on demand) publishing with the quality and control of self-publishing. Like self-publishing, you are the actual publisher of your book, although we actually take your book through the publishing process for you. You choose the publishing package and determine your editing needs, and we will take care of getting your raw manuscript published.
How do you get paid? Do you take a commission?
Unlike POD publishers which take 20% to 50% of the profit from your book sales, we don’t make any commission on the books you sell. We ask for a reasonable up-front fee for the time it takes to do the publishing, which is comparable to POD publishing setup fees, and then flat-price book printing for when you need to order books. That’s it. We also offer editing and other add-on services, but these are optional.
Is there a minimum order for books?
Minimum orders are 50 books, about the size of one small box, and there is no maximum order. The more books you order, the less you pay per book.
Do you do editing?
Yes--but only if you ask us to. We don’t force you to have this done, although we highly encourage it, as paying for editing and proofreading will produce a much higher quality book. Check out our editing services on our editing page.
Do you do layout?
Yes--but only if you ask us to. We provide all authors with guidelines as to how to format and lay out their own manuscripts, but if you want to pay for professional layout services, we can do it for you. Check out our layout and graphics services on our graphics & design page.
Do you do covers?
Yes. Our basic and professional packages include your choice of a cover template. We’ll use your photos or illustrations. Or you can arrange for a custom cover, illustrations, and layout. Check out our graphics & design page. |  |
Do you set the price for my books?
No. The pricing of your book is totally up to you. Many POD book publishers set your book prices so that they can be assured they’ll cover their costs. The problem with this is that they often set inflated prices, making it difficult for you to sell books that may be 25% to 200% above that of competitive books. Bluefish Bay has no such requirements. You set your own price.
How much will it cost me to publish and purchase copies of my books?
There’s a one-time up-front cost for publishing your book, starting from $299. In addition, every time you order books, you pay for the printing, which varies depending on the number of books you order.
How do my books get sold?
You are the primary marketer for your book. But we can help. Check out our section on marketing & sales, which shows you the best approaches to go about it. In addition, authors who choose our professional book package are automatically given a one-year membership in a book promotion service and online bookstore. If you need one-on-one help, Bluefish Bay can do some personal coaching to help you direct your approach. Just let us know how we can help.
But I don’t want to be the one who sells my books.
The problem is, unless you are lucky enough to have your book accepted by a mainstream traditional publisher who spends money to market your book for you, there’s really no other option. Every other publishing method requires you to actually do the bulk of the sales. You are your own best marketer.
How do I get into bookstores?
It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible, especially if you have a high-quality book. Read the guidebooks that we list on our marketing & sales page, which will help you quickly sort through the maze of signing up with distributors and getting listed with booksellers.
We don’t recommend selling through traditional bookstores, however, because they require huge discounts and regularly send returns back to you, which can be damaged. In addition, you’ll make only a few cents for each book. A few on-line bookstores are usually your best retail option, but even Amazon sends back returns and takes a huge cut. We recommend our online bookstore--POW100.com-- which takes a smaller cut than any other stores we’ve seen. One other thing--if you’re thinking about selling your book through bookstores, even on-line bookstores (except for POW100.com), you’ll have to be published through our professional publishing package, because it includes the ISBN numbers required to order books through them.
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I’d like to sell to libraries.
Libraries buy books, and are often a lucrative outlet for authors. They buy books at full price, and you don’t have any returns, unlike with bookstores. Selling to libraries needs one extra piece of information placed in the beginning of your book called a Catalog-in-Publication, which we provide for free with our professional publishing package. |
What about fulfillment? Who actually takes orders and ships books?
The way to make the most money on each of your books is to take and process your orders yourself. Guidelines and help can be found in the books we suggest on our marketing & sales page. In addition, if you are signed up as a member of our POW100.com book promotion service and the POW100.com bookstore, you can direct all orders there to handle all your fulfillment for a small fee.
How long does it take to get my books?
The time it takes for us to do the publishing varies from as little as two weeks to as much as a couple of months, depending on the complexity and whether everything you’ve sent to us uploads well and the process goes smoothly. Book printing also depends on our printers’ timeframes--from as little as three days from when you order them from us, to as much as a month. Although rare, unforeseen events can cause this timeframe to vary.
It’s easy. 