Why Fish Hook Books®

Does this sound familiar?

You had an idea for a book.  You wanted to go the traditional route.  You discovered that most publishing houses require authors to have agents.  You then found out how much agents charge.  Then you started to do some math:  upfront fee to agent plus agent's percentage of your royalties minus your royalty payment equals, not worth the bother - especially when you consider the length of time it will take for the book to actually hit the shelves!

So you thought about going the self-publishing route.  That's basically printing a brochure.  No credibility.

So why work with Fish Hook Books^®?

Reputation

At Fish Hook Books^®, unlike self-publishing houses, we do not accept all manuscripts.  If your manuscript is not up to our standards, it will be rejected.  You will therefore have credibility.  You will not be printing a brochure. 

Fees

We charge you $3,000 for the editing, proofreading, production and marketing services.  You will also receive five copies of your book.  There are no additional fees - except if you want us to distribute your book for you.  (See Book Sales below.)  So how much will you earn?

Royalties

First, what would you earn with a traditional publisher?  Most publishers only work with agents, and some agents want an upfront fee of $500 plus ten percent of your revenue.  According to the terms of the contract, you get 10% of the sale price.  (By the way, you'll probably get closer to 8%, but let's keep the math simple!)  That's sale price.  That means the price after the bookseller (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local independent book store) takes their share which is usually 40%.  And, of course, there could be special discounts offered.  After all, you have seen it yourself: 30% off stickers on many books at the local store.  So 10% does not mean 10% of the cover price.  It could be 10% of 60% of the cover price assuming the publisher permits a 30% discount and the bookseller takes 10%. But let's assume there is no special discount.  Here's the math:

Price of Book:	$19.95
Store Fee (40%):	$  7.98
Payment to Publisher:	$11.97
Your 10% Royalty:	$  1.20

So what's your revenue after the sale of 500 books?  $600  But, you paid $500 to the agent and you owe them 10% of your payment ($0.12),  So, after the sale of 500 books you have netted $40!

And one more thing:  If you want to order copies of your book from a traditional publisher, you'll be lucky to get a 20% discount off the cover price.  They don't want you competing with them.  With Fish Hook Books^®, we're partners, not competitors.  We want your book to sell and we don't care who sells it. 

Now let's look at the Fish Hook Books^® math:

Scenario#1:  You sell the books yourself, with no discount but offering an autograph:

Price of Book:	$19.95
Direct Purchase Price	$  3.64
Your 100% Royalty	$16.31

So what's your revenue after the sale of 500 books?  $8,155.  But, you paid us $3,000.  So, after the sale of 500 books you have netted $5,155!

Now, of course, that's not exactly accurate.  We're leaving a few things out:

Understand, in this scenario you are selling the books yourself.  It's all on you.  All of the payments will come to us.  We will provide you with the names and addresses of all purchasers and will immediately transfer to you all money received.  We deduct nothing.  At present we use PayPal for credit card purchases.  They will deduct 2.99% of the purchase price plus 30 cents per transaction.  If necessary, sales tax will also be deducted.  (You may use any service that you want.)  (In New York, no sales tax is required for the sale of books over the Internet.)  Additionally, you will have to pay the shipping fees as we will have the books sent directly to you.  The price will depend on the number of books shipped and if you want standard ground shipping or express.  And you will also have to pay for the envelope, label and postage!  (The following numbers are based on a 200-page book.)

Price of Book:	$19.95
Direct Purchase Price:	$  3.64
Your Royalty:	$16.31
Tax:	$  0.00
Shipping:	$  0.47
Postage:	$  2.47
Envelope:	$  1.02
Label:	$    .05
Credit Card Fee:	$    .73
Your Net Per Book:	$11.57

These are, of course, rough estimates.  (Postage is for "Media Mail" which takes approximately one week to arrive.  Priority Mail would cost $5.15 but there would be no cost for an envelope.) And they do not include the sale of e-books.  The bottom line is this: all things being equal, you will earn more through Fish Hook Books^®, and your book will be published quicker - with no loss of quality!

Based on the above scenario, after selling and distributing 500 books yourself, you will earn $5,785, less the $3,000 for a total of $2,785.

Scenario #2:  Your books are purchased on Amazon:

Price of Book	$19.95
Amazon Fee:	$11.32
Your 100% Royalty:	$  8.63

After the sale of 500 books your revenue would be $4,315, less the $3,000 fee you paid us, means a new profit to you of $1,315.

Book Sales

Revenue from books sold through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and independent book stores will be paid to you immediately upon receipt and at no charge.  If choose to sell your book yourself, we will ship all orders directlly to them from the production house (presently CreateSpace) on receipt of payment in full.  You will have a designated page on the www.fishhookbooks.com website to facilitate sales. 

If you would like us to handle the sale of your book so that you won't have to package, label, stamp and ship it yourself, we will do so for a flat fee of $2 per book above the cost of envelopes, labels and stamps. (The approximate cost for a 6" x 9" 200-page book sent "Media Mail" will be $7.00; $9.00 if sent "Priority Mail.")

Just as the cover price of the book is your decision, it will also be your decision to offer discounts on both print and e-book versions of your book.

Production Time Line          

We will edit and proofread your book.  We will supervise its production using popular print-on-demand, e-book production and distribution sites.  All you will be required to do is to proofread the initial edited manuscript and the galley proofs, and write an Index based on the galley.

Here's the process and approximate timeline (for authors in the United States):

Day 1:    You submit your final manuscript to us.
Day 11:  We return to you an edited Word document.
Day 18:  You return to us the Word document with your edits.
Day 28:  We proofread and return to you the document.
Day 33:  You return to us the approved draft.
Day 50:  We proofread the draft and prepare a mockup of the book, including the Index (if needed).
Day 55:  You return the mockup with your final edits.
Day 65:  We send you the galley of the book for final review.
Day 70:  You return the galley with any changes.
Day 90:  The book is published.

Within three months your book should be published, produced and ready for purchase!

But that's not all that happens!

On Day 11, once we have approved the manuscript, we will reserve for you a page on our website and provide you with an e-mail address.  We'll send you a high resolution copy of the book's cover which you can embed on your website.  We will place it on your page on our site, along with a brief description of the book, your photo, your bio and a link for pre-publication discount purchases.  You will immediately be able to market the book and start collecting royalties.

For your $2,500 fee you will receive:

1. The Fish Hook Books^® brand
2. Editing and proofreading services.
3. Copyright protection.
4. Preparation of the Index.
5. Marketing assistance including access to our network of over 33,000 individuals and a consultation with a publicist (see Marketing/Distribution below).
6. Fish Hook Books^® quality and professionalism.

Copyright

We will hold the copyright on your book.  We do so in order to protect our brand, copyrights and trademarks.  You are solely responsible for assuring that you have not used any copyrighted or trademarked material in your book.  If for any reason you choose to publish with another publisher, we will not stand in your way.  On request, we will immediately transfer all rights to the text of the book to you, excluding the title "A Hooker's Guide to..." if the book was published within the Hooker's Guide series.  The only condition will be that in subsequent editions you clearly note that the first edition was published by Fish Hook Books^®, whether a part of the series or not.

Quality

Your book is not just a reflection on you.  It is also a reflection on us.  We demand the highest quality.  What makes a book appear to be second rate?  Typos!  They're inevitable but your book will be proofread multiple times by our staff, and at least three times by you. 

Branding

Your book will be part of the Fish Hook Books^® brand.  Every book published as part of the A Hooker's Guide series will have the same cover.  It will be instantly recognized as a quality publication, as will all book bearing the Fish Hook Books^® logo.

Marketing/Distribution

Your book will be distributed through our production partners, similar to traditional publishers and available for purchase on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble and traditional book stores.  It will also be available through such distributors as Ingram and NACSCORP, and to libraries and academic institutions through Baker & Taylor.  Presently, e-Books will be formatted and available for sale through Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, B&N Nook and iBooks.  Of course, as with traditional publishers, the more you promote the book on your social media sites, the better.

Additionally, you will have your own page on FishHookBooks.com.  We will also secure a unique URL - yourbooktitle.com -  which will be linked to your Fish Hook Books^® webpage.  Readers will be able to purchase books on-line from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  You will also have the option, through our website, to directly sell your book yourself - meaning that you will be responsible for shipping and handling costs, but all monies will be directly deposited into your bank account.  You will be able to offer discounts, or not.  You're choice! 

Authors will also have access to Mark Macias of Macias PR LLC.  Mark is a former journalist who understands the media inside and out. As an Executive Producer with WNBC, he vetted and approved story ideas from publicists, reporters, producers and viewers. As a Senior Producer with WCBS and Investigative Producer with King World Productions, Macias honed his ability to identify a story’s narrative. This intuitive understanding of the media has helped Macias PR get their clients publicity in some of the most influential news publications.  For details read the Press Release on our Welcome page.

The Submission Process

Interested in publishing under the Fish Hook Books^® imprint?  Visit the Proposal Submission page and tell us about your idea and your qualifications.  If we like what we read, we'll ask you to send us a chapter.  If we then decide to proceed, you will be sent a contract.  The ideal length of a book is 45,000 words.

Payment Schedule

On approval of the sample chapter we will send you a contact.  You will then be required to submit an initial payment of $500.  If your book will be part of the Hooker's Guide series, the title and subject will be reserved for you.  On receipt of the full manuscript, if approved, you will then be required to pay the remaining $2,500.  If the manuscript is not approved, the $500 will be returned to you.  If within six months you do not provide the final manuscript, you will forfeit the $500 payment.