To submit a manuscript for possible publication as a Personville Press title, you should probably read the guidelines on this page. In many cases, I (Robert Nagle) work with authors to perform a variety of different tasks (sometimes for a fee). See below for a description of some services I can provide and different arrangements for compensation/payment. A few years ago, I prepared a general price list for common editorial services. Here is a general introduction to Personville Press, how it got started and what it does.
Sending Ebook Queries or Book Manuscripts to Personville Press
Sometimes it makes sense for an editorial job to be published as an official Personville Press title. Here are some types of book queries and book submissions which might be a good fit for Personville Press.
- Books which involve a lot of graphics or complex formatting. I have considerable knowledge about how to format and lay out graphics for reflowable ebooks. I use a special coding language (Docbook XML) for single sourcing which makes it easy to do footnotes or to produce multiple versions of the same book (i.e., web-only versions and ebook versions).
- Literary titles (Fiction, Poetry, Plays). But not graphic novels.
- Avante-garde/radical/experimental works.
- Anything with a Texas connection.
- Overlooked authors or out-of-print ebooks (submitted by the author directly or the author’s estate).
- Digitization of public domain titles.
Also, I have a book reviewer guidelines page which details some book topics which I find especially interesting.
While manuscript quality is probably the most important thing, I also have to consider other things when deciding whether a manuscript might make a good official Personville Press title. Such as: current backlog, the amount of work involved, how I can personally help make the ebook a success and the probability of a successful collaboration. Money and market potential are important considerations, but not the primary ones.
As I mentioned above, I do a lot of work for authors for a fee. Even if your book doesn’t fall into the categories mentioned above, I could still help you if we find a mutually acceptable price.
I have made the acquaintance of many authors (both online and in the real world). I am definitely amenable to working with authors I have come to know in other contexts.
Contact Information: Send to idiotprogrammer AT fastmailbox.net and put Personville Press in the subject line. Initially you should send a query and what specifically you are looking for. As busy as I am, I respond to these queries fairly quickly. If you don’t hear from me within say 2 weeks, you should probably contact me again. Sometimes, important emails get overlooked in the flood.
Different Kinds of Publishing Arrangements
Personville Press is a Houston-based micropress specializing in ebooks. In many ways it is just a one person operation. Sometimes Personville Press contracts with outside individuals to perform certain tasks (like artwork, marketing). The world of books and publishing has undergone many changes; frankly, some authors can handle many publishing tasks, and often it can make more financial sense for the author to do some tasks on their own than to contract with a publisher to do it. So I handle a variety of publishing arrangements:
- Getting paid to be a beta reader for a manuscript and providing high level feedback.
- Getting paid by authors to do editorial work on a manuscript and handle the technical details of publishing
- Getting paid to do editorial work and let the author format it and publish it.
- Getting paid to do the formatting and letting the author publish it on one’s own.
- Working with authors to handle all the duties of publishing in exchange for a percent of earnings
- Getting paid to give advice to authors about how to get something published or how to promote it.
- Locating works in the public domain not yet digitized and digitizing them as a passion project or for profit or both.
- Working with an author’s estate to digitize out of print ebooks or to bring an unpublished manuscript to final form.
- Bartering services with authors or artists
Ebook Agreements
Book agreements for ebooks published as an official Personville Press title typically assign the copyright to Personville Press for a set number of years and specify the frequency of reporting earnings and paying them out. Typically the publisher would submit the completed ebook to the distributor and directly receive earnings which it will disburse to the author at regular intervals. Typically the publisher would set the price and determine sales and discounts . The publisher would receive the right to distribute free copies of the ebook to reviewers and occasionally to be used as reader magnets.
Most Personville book agreements allow the publisher to deduct initial publishing costs before earnings are calculated. So the author would not normally start receive earnings until these initial publishing costs are recouped. These initial publishing costs are carefully described in the book agreement and can be negotiated. It may include: author advance, art fees, promotional services. Typically, my labor in editing and formatting ebooks is NOT included in these initial publishing costs. Instead, my compensation derives from a percent of earnings. Occasionally, a book agreement will include a (modest) advance to the author, but this is more the exception to the rule.
On occasion I have done private work-for-hire arrangements with companies or individuals. That includes editorial work for technical manuals, business proposals, dissertations and academic papers. Generally this work goes uncredited. I use a separate Statement of Work Agreement (SOW) for these work projects. (Here is a template I have used for some clients) .
I offer some a la carte services for Authors, but there is a question of what you need and whether I am the best one to do it. Often I do work for friends and associates. Sometimes I do it for a fee; sometimes (rarely) I do it free or as part of a bartering deal. Sometimes we agree to split the profits after publication. Practically speaking, it can be cumbersome and risky for a micropress to receive payment in the form of future earnings. Who knows if anything will ever make money? Sometimes I have agreed to do certain tasks for free as part of a larger deal. Sometimes I have insisted on payments up front, while at other times I have asked for a share of earnings (or a combination of both).
Each ebook project is different, but generally I try to offer author-friendly terms that work with all kinds of budgets.