We’re not in the business of rejecting books, we’re in the business of printing them! You do not have to wait three or more months after a submission only to find out you have been rejected. We welcome and encourage new authors, and do not believe publishing is limited to an elite few. As long as you follow the guidelines for our standards, your book is welcome here.
If for some reason your book is not a good fit for us, we will refer your work to another publisher.
We accept any and all submissions, as long as they conform to our standards for family-friendly (rated G-PG-13) books. See our Terms and Conditions.
We encourage hardcover books, because they last longer and more durable over time. We offer several cover types, case laminate in glossy or matte finish, blue or gray simulated cloth cover with gold stamping on the spine (with or without dust jackets). We also offer paperbacks, and can do them in perfect bound for 18 pages or more. We can do EBooks as well. See our Book Options page for more info.
Absolutely! All covers are printed in full color. A cover is essentially like an ad for your book, and despite the saying, people DO judge a book by its cover. Unless for some reason, such as a book having a nostalgic theme, most people prefer to have full-color covers.
You certainly do. Unlike many companies, we believe the author knows their book the best. We may offer suggestions and input, but you decide on the final cover design. You can do the basic design yourself, and/or give us suggestions and samples. Then we take it and format it to make sure it meets the printer’s precise specifications.
Keep in mind that the cover is essentially an advertisement for your book, and people do judge a book by its cover.
This depends on many variables including book trim size, cover type, paper, ink and especially the page count. If someone had their manuscript completely done, they could probably have a text-only book printed for around $434, which includes all cover design and its technical proofing, an ISBN with bar code, and initial set-up fees. However, for just a little bit more, they can get the Basic Bundle which includes everything one could need for a nice print book. The Basic Bundle is only $567, and includes copyright registration.
Choose a Bundle package that fits your specific needs. You can get the Basic Bundle that includes all the bare-minimum items a book needs. Each additional service has a set amount, or you can choose a larger package that includes anything from copyediting to promotional websites. There are plenty of options to choose from. See our Store for pricing details. We try to price our services as reasonably as possible to remain competitive.
There is a first-time $97 set-up fee for a new book. This includes a thorough checking over and any adjustments to make sure it is print-ready and will pass the printer’s rigorous technical specifications.
Once the book title goes live, if the book needs corrections it must be resubmitted and the resubmission fee is $67. This is why it is so important to get it all correct the first time. If there are changes made, it is equivalent to a whole new book for our printer. Once a book is set up correctly, there is no additional set up fee and it is in the printer’s file system.
If you are purchasing one of our many Publishing Bundles, this cost is already part of the bundle.
Far more than just a discount, we allow authors to buy copies of their own books “at cost”, that is the cost of the materials that go into the book. (The printer offers an additional 2% discount on orders of 100 or more, 4% on 500 or more, and 7% on 1000 or more.)
We do not mark-up or make any profit on “at-cost” books like some POD Publishers. We merely offer to order them directly from the printer and have them shipped to your address as a courtesy service for our Authors. (Just another perk for publishing with Picky Press!)
Note: The author does have to pay shipping and handling on all at-cost book orders. (The printer’s handling charges are $1.99 per order of up to 50 books, and $4.99 for 51 or more.) Shipping costs will be according to what the printer’s shipping company charges, and we have no control over this. We will invoice you for the amount that we would pay. Orders will not be placed until the invoice is paid in full.
No. Nice idea to buy your own books to make them become best-sellers, but it doesn’t work that way!
Any books bought at cost will not count as actual book sales when it comes to ranking, simply because it bypasses the book sellers that report the sales.
Yes. That is the beauty of Picky Press. Even if we get your book copyright for you, it is still in your name only. We are the publisher, you are the owner. We have you sign a contract with us, so everything is legal and binding, and protects both Picky Press’ and the author’s rights.
If for any reason you need to cancel a contract, it must be done in writing. You still own your book, but we cannot publish it.
Yes and No.
Yes- as long as it is a different type of book, you can publish it with another company. For example, if you had a paperback with us, but no EBook or no hardcover, you could publish a hardcover or EBook with another company.
No- if it is the same type of book, such as another paperback in a different trim size, you would not be able to. As has happened before, an author previously had published all three types elsewhere, but wanted to do a paperback with us. They had to terminate their contract with the other publisher that did their paperback in order to publish with us.
Our contracts are “non-exclusive”, meaning that since an author always retains the rights to their own books if they publish with us, they are free to use another company for a type we do not publish. You must make sure that the other company also is non-exclusive. If for any reason you need to cancel a contract, it must be done in writing. You will still own your work, but after a contract has been cancelled, we cannot publish it.
We really do hope that you will stay with Picky Press for all your book types!
As per our contracts, you receive 50% royalties on net profits from your book for any copies purchased by libraries or through any retailers. (This does not apply to any books that you may buy at cost.) Royalties are determined by list price minus book manufacturing cost and the bookseller’s discount price (industry standard of 55%).
Use the Royalties Estimator to calculate how much you will get paid. If your book is bought in a different country, the royalty amounts may fluctuate up or down, depending on the value of that country’s currency at the time of actual payment.
We do not pay “advancements” to any authors, no matter how famous they are. Here, everyone is treated alike.
If any of your books are bought through booksellers, royalties are paid every three months around the beginning of the month of each quarter. This cycle starts on the month after your book is available for sale. Royalties will be issued through your choice of PayPal, Zelle or a mailed check.
Note that if you want payment by physical check, the amount must be over $5 at the time of payment. If it is under $5, it will roll over to the next month and accumulates until it does reach $5 or more.
Our Publishing Agreement (contract) is a binding legal document that allows us to publish your work in whichever format (hardcover, paperback, and/or EBook) that the Author chooses. It is designed to protect both the Author and Picky Press. It states that the Author owns their own work, and we act as your publishing agent, since the Author owns all rights to the work.
Our contracts are different from most Traditional Publishers in that the Author, not the Publisher, owns the work once the contract is signed. Plus, our contracts are “Non-exclusive”, meaning that the author is free to publish the same work in a different format with another Publisher if they so desire.
It also states the royalty payments in writing, when they are paid, and identifies each book format by ISBN as well as title, so that there is never any confusion or “gray area”.
We also require the filling out and signing of a Form W-9, so that we can report your royalty payment amounts to the IRS on any amount over $10. Every year we will report them to you on a Form 1099 as you are considered an independent contractor.
Yes, we can accept checks if they are mailed to us. However, we prefer that Authors use Zelle, Stripe or PayPal to submit payments to us. It is far easier and safer to pay by credit and debit cards through these payment processing services, where no credit card information is ever stored on our site.
It depends on the progress of your manuscript. If you submit a completely finished document, it may only take a week to a month. (For those with pictures, either the pictures should be inserted or it contains notes telling us where to place them, and all original pictures must be submitted.). If most of it is done, but it still needs a lot of edit work and picture insertions, it could take up to a few months.
Some larger traditional publishing companies will take anywhere from 9 to 18 months. Once your book is finished, gone through Pre-Flight, and accepted by the printer, it can be only a matter of 48 hours before your book can be available for sale. (Although we strongly recommend that you order a proof copy to make sure everything has turned out okay prior to your book being launched.)
Only one, there is no minimum! We do Print-On-Demand (POD). Unlike other companies, we have no minimum or maximum order quantity. You don’t have to buy 25 or 100 books, and then have the extras sitting around taking up space or gathering dust in your garage. No matter how few books you order at a time, you pay the same price per book. It is far more economical.
Plus, instead of having them delivered to you and then you sending them out, your books can be shipped directly to wherever you need them.
Although covers cannot be personalized, you can order special copies of your book with the first page completely personalized! For $5, one extra page can be added, so that the very first page is unique from regular copies.
See Personalized Book Page for examples of what styles it can be done in. It can contain pictures or even a smiley. Use it for a dedication, gift greeting, poem, anything you might like. Order multiple personalized copies for book club meetings or special events.
Note: Unless your book is already in color, any added images will be in Black & White only. A white box will be placed over the ISBN to denote that it has been personalized.
POD is very high-quality and accurate because it is all-digital. It is the latest in technology, and unless you want a specialized limited-edition art book with custom leather cover in an unusual size, POD is just as good as off-set press. Perhaps even better, because it costs far less to produce POD books, and there is no minimum or maximum to have to purchase. See our Publishing Comparison page.
Even though we are Print-On-Demand, our book materials such as the paper and binding that go into them are very high-quality. Books are durable, well-made and done properly. Our printer does not skimp on time putting books together. The process, especially for hardcovers, is not instant, as the laminate is applied and glues take a certain amount of time to dry. All of this ensures books of excellent quality. If for some reason a book is defective, please take pictures and let us know what the problem is. Our printer guarantees their work, and if it isn’t satisfactory, they will replace it.
Some color differences may occur between print batches. Some batches could be darker than others depending on our printer’s ink supply. Although the color of printed books may vary slightly from copy to copy, it is usually barely noticeable unless you hold two books together from different batches or printing locations. The quality of binding and print clarity will still be the same.
See our Book Options page for trim sizes, bindings, cover types, paper and ink choices. We offer suggestions as to what sizes go with what type of book. If you want to quickly compare how much different options cost, use our Print Book Cost Calculator.
No, not at all. When you order a personalized page, it is custom done with your Personal Editor. It is one-time per order. You can order multiple copies with the same personalization, say for a book club meeting. These personalized copies do not ever go into distribution, and a special sticker is put over the ISBN to make sure they never get mixed in with regular copies.