Rootstock Publishing and the Alternatives

Rootstock Publishing looks forward to cultivating a partnership with you (author, copyright holder, and paramount creative force). We are a full-service hybrid publisher with worldwide distribution, and are pleased to offer an array of expert services, including professional editing, proofing, cover design, interior layout, and printing. But we don't stop there. We work with you on promotion, obtaining reviews, and distribution of your book through both independent bookstores and chains, such as Barnes & Noble, as well as with online print-book and e-book retailers and distributors.

We hold to a high standard of quality for the books we publish. In fact, we are very picky. In the end, however, the level of commitment you make to your book is decisive. We will not work with an author who is not proactive, willing to get out there doing readings and interviews, and solicit events, reviews, and blurbs. Self-promoting authors are a crucial part of the book market today and the author that understands the adage “the more doors you knock on, the more doors will open,” is the author most likely to be successful.


How are we different from other publishing houses? First and foremost, we don't make promises we don't keep. In fact, we don't make promises. We make contractual commitments for services and support, but we'll never present false expectations to you about the potential of your book.  Far too many authors' experiences with publishers involve all kinds of promises for promotion, publicity, author signings, reviews, and other substantial marketing that are never realized.  

 
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Most traditional publishing houses take over ownership of your work, and hang onto it as long as possible, even if it goes out of print. In the end, many major publishers simply do not make your book a priority. Who gets priority?  Well-known, best-selling authors and celebrity authors. It is rare that a new author receives the same level of priority and financial commitment from a major publishing house. And then you have self-publishing and vanity press companies you can choose, at your own risk.

 

Hybrid or Partnership publishers like Rootstock have gained great success in the market, with both sales and recognition awards for high literary standards. As such, books published by hybrid publishers are receiving significant recognition in the marketplace, because of our high standards.  

Finally, one of the surprising discoveries you may have made is that many publishers won't even consider your manuscript unless it comes through a literary agent. And connecting with a literary agent can be very difficult. 


Self-Publishing, Phew!

Self-publishing involves spending money (sometimes a great deal) and committing yourself to significant work beyond the writing of your book. Costs can range up to $20,000 (or even more) to self-publish. If you are committed to self-publishing a well-written, well-produced, high-quality book, and you decide to go it alone, here is our Phew! list of what you will need to consider to edit, proof, design, print, promote, and distribute your book:

  • Hire an editor ($1500 to $10,000, or more).

  • Hire a proofreader ($500 to $2000).

  • Hire a book cover designer who knows the correct formats for print and e-books, and can utilize the template provided by your printer ($1000 to $4000).

  • Hire someone to convert the interior pages and layout for e-book publishing, meeting the differing requirements from various e-book platforms ($500 to $1500).

  • Register for and purchase the ISBN and eISBN.

  • Register for the LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number).

  • Register for and purchase a barcode.

  • Write the press release and create a press kit.

  • Obtain blurbs from other authors and press praising your book.

  • Choose a printer and manage the quality of the print job.

  • Review the printed final proof.

  • Determine the initial print run, pay for books to be printed, and pay the shipping to get them to you.

  • Submit your e-book version to individual e-book distributors.

  • Print Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of the book and send to appropriate book reviewers, newspapers, and journals for reviews.

  • Identify and promote your book to award groups and contests.

  • Pack and ship all orders for printed books that you receive from friends, libraries, bookstores, and individual mail-order customers.

  • And the list goes on . . . Phew!

Of course, many self-published authors spend very little (sometimes nothing) to edit, proofread, and design their books and, ultimately, it’s obvious.

 

Self-publishing can produce a very high-quality book, particularly if you put in the money and work yourself, but distribution can be scarce. For instance, in our experience, most independent bookstores will not carry Amazon/CreateSpace books. While most local bookstores like to promote and sell local authors, they do have some restrictions. Ask your local bookstores about this.

If you are serious about publishing a beautifully written and professionally finished book . . . 

There is a better way.


 

Partnering with Rootstock Publishing

Rootstock Publishing maintains a commitment to books that reflect competence, creativity, political and social awareness, and a distinct voice. We are selective about the books we publish. In other words, we carefully curate and assess all submissions. The experience for authors with Rootstock Publishing is very much akin to that of working with a traditional publisher, except that you maintain full control and ownership of your book from start to finish, and you earn a higher profit margin on the net income of each printed book and e-book than you would with a traditional “big five” kind of publisher. We are able to provide retail store and library distribution through Ingram, the largest book distribution company in the world. And instead of having to coordinate everything in the Phew! list above by yourself, your partnership with Rootstock supports the creation of a great book by utilizing our professional experience to do the pre-publication and post-publication work in collaboration with you.

Rootstock Publishing offers a partnership publishing agreement and promotional support services for authors, utilizing our professional expertise and guidance.

Partnership Publishing Agreement

The Rootstock publishing fee includes every one of the services listed below—everything necessary to assess, edit, proof, design, print, distribute, and promote your book:

  • We commit to providing a book that meets the Industry Standards Checklist for a Professional Published Book, as determined by the Independent Book Publishers Association.
  • We provide a professional editor for your book, as an essential step to a quality publication.
  • We work with you to make certain you obtain all permissions and credits necessary.
  • We provide a professional proofreading of the final manuscript.
  • We provide professional book cover designs from working designers to achieve a cover we both love.
  • We provide the design of the interior pages and final file layouts for book printing in both paperback and hardcover formats.
  • We provide the design of the interior pages and layout for the e-book publishing, which meet the differing requirements from various e-book platforms.
  • We provide the ISBNs for the paperback, hardcover and e-book versions.
  • We provide the LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number).
  • We provide the Bar Code, required by bookstores and all other retailers.
  • We send ARCs & eARCs (electronic Advance Reader Copies) to book reviewers and media, in accordance with the contract.
  • We coordinate with the printer and manage the quality of the print job.
  • We provide direct print and eBook sales from our website, as well as through all the major download sites around the world.
  • In partnership with you, we review the final printed proof.
  • We adhere to current standards for production of your book, meeting all design protocols for the interior, front cover, spine, and back cover.
  • In partnership with you, we determine the initial print run.
  • Your book will be available through our distribution partner IngramSpark and independent booksellers nationwide, as well as online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and many other online retailers worldwide.
  • We send eARCs and some print ARCs to a traditional list of book reviewers, such as The New York Times, Associated Press, New York Review of Books, Boston Globe, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, LibraryThing, Los Angeles Times, Foreword Reviews, as well as to select media in your local and regional area.
  • If your book serves a well-defined niche market, in partnership with you, we identify and promote your book to appropriate reviewers, newspapers, and journals, as defined in our author contract.
  • We manage and maintain the metadata used in cataloging, promoting, and marketing your book.
  • We create the four-color sell sheet and press release, in accordance with the contract.
  • We provide a platform for book award services and story marketing through Book Award Pro and help promote or submit your book to other book awards and reading groups.
  • We pack and ship all individual mail-orders for the printed book that are directed to Rootstock Publishing, according to the terms of the publishing agreement.
  • In partnership with you (according to the author contract), we promote to regional booksellers' conventions in your area.  For instance, if you live in New England, we promote (using sell sheets and samples of your book) to the New England Independent Booksellers Association, to the New England Library Association and to the Boston Book Fair. All this promotion is done in partnership with the Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE). We do the same thing in other parts of the country with the appropriate regional associations.
 

The all-inclusive fee for these publishing partnership services is:
$6,800.00 for prose (fiction, memoir, nonfiction, etc.)
or
$4,000 for full-length poetry / $2,000 for chapbooks.
Each fee is paid in three installments, according to the terms of the agreement, and includes a full marketing package.

 

You will notice that printing is not on either list. The cost of printing is the responsibility of Rootstock authors, and is in addition to the cost of the Partnership Publishing Agreements. It is intentional that our services packages do NOT include printing. We will work with you to determine a first print-run, with a view toward keeping the costs manageable, and we will talk through sales expectations utilizing a pre-order campaign. While we recommend our Print On Demand (POD) process through IngramSpark, we can also talk about the possibility of a short print-run by a traditional book printing company. The advantage of POD through IngramSpark is significant in terms of immediate distribution channels available for your book. Because you pay for the printing, the royalties you receive from book sales are much higher than through a traditional publisher. 

Keep in mind that the author makes the highest profit margin on books sold directly. Here’s an example: if the author pays $4.75 per book, including shipping in, and sells the book to an individual customer for $16.95 (plus local tax, if applicable), the author pockets the difference: $12.20. There is no share with Rootstock Publishing. For all other distributor and wholesale sales generated by Rootstock Publishing, the royalty sharing is determined by the licensing agreement.

Most importantly, you maintain personal creative, copyright, and financial control of your work, earning you a much higher profit margin. This represents the crucial difference between our hybrid partnership model of publishing and the traditional form of publishing, where you give up virtually all of your personal control and rights as author. With Rootstock, you have the right to sell the book to another publisher at any time, if you so choose, and you retain the right to sell the broadcast and movie rights, at your discretion.  

Finally, we want to emphasize that times have changed, and the book publishing world has become much more focussed on authors who are willing to promote themselves and their books. Your personal commitment to creating an author presence online, by generating as many social media vehicles as possible, is crucial in this current publishing environment. We will support you in these efforts, using our experience within the publishing world to provide ideas and creative guidance, urging you on to success.   

 
The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.
— Ursula K. Le Guin
Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.
— William Faulkner