Preliminary Author Questionnaire –
Port Yonder Press
1. What do you expect
Port Yonder Press to do for you? What
are your expectations of us?
2. Do you realize the
necessity to be intimately and primarily involved in marketing your book? How do you plan to do that?
3. Would others say
you are an easy person to work with? How
should we expect you to handle edits and suggestions by editors?
4. Do you have family
or work responsibilities that might get in the way of your writing schedule for
this book?
5. Do you feel your
book will need some / moderate / or much editing?
6. What do you feel
an acceptable price will be for your book (be reminded, we will *never*
overprice our books; we seek to provide “affordable quality”). Would you prefer hardcover or paperback
(hardcover will raise the price, of course; if hardcover, why?)?
7. Are you comfortable
with our books-without-remainder system of printing and distribution? Do you expect to find your book in your local
bookstore or library? What will you do
on your part to make sure your book gets there?
8. Who are you
considering to get to endorse your book?
(At least two or three recognizable names, please.)
9. Will your book
profit from illustrations / b&w sketches?
How many would you like to see?
10. Do you have an idea for a book cover? Will you work with us on finding a striking
design and be open to our suggestions?
11. At what stage of completion is your book? If incomplete, when do you expect to finish
it? If a serial, how far along are you on the other(s)? Do you realize we are
under no obligation whatsoever to purchase other titles in your series (our
decision will most likely be based on sales figures from the first book)?
12. Would you like to see your book in ebook as well as softcover? Large print? Audio book? Foreign language
(which one)? Other?
13. Realistically, how many buyers do you think will purchase
your book in the first year through your own contacts/efforts? (Please do not rely on a publisher to sell
your books; our marketing is of necessity minimal. Like almost all publishers today, we cannot
guarantee sales, only production.)
14. Are you comfortable with an advance as low as $25-50?
(Some small presses pay less; some more)
15. In your estimation, why do we offer authors from 40 to
50 percent net royalties on books sold?
16. Do you have comments, concerns, questions, or other
information would you like to share with us?
17. Word count of
your book?
18. Is this a simultaneous submission?
19. List the title and author of the last five books you've
read.
20. Are you comfortable with the fact that we will send out less than ten (10) softcover review copies (though we'll send out PDF's to anyone who will guarantee a review on Amazon and their own blog, at the very least). Can you come up with a list of those to whom you will send review copies? We will hit the big boys, most likely, such as Publisher's Weekly and Midwest Book Review, and possibly one or two more, but the bulk of review copies will have to be sent by you, the author.