Frequently Asked Questions

PUBLISHING F.A.Q.  (for authors with contracts)

 

Q:  What are the timetables for completing the manuscript or revisions etc.?

A:  Your contract will spell out when things are due, such as photos, back cover matter, foreword, and all things pertaining to the proper release of your book.  If these are not received on time, it will delay the release of your title. 

 

Q: After I submit my manuscript, what is next?

A: Step are listed below for the 12/12 package (additional steps are performed for the premiere packaging in which premiere authors will receive a specified link to review.)

​

STEP 1 Manuscript revision, proofreading, editing, 

 

STEP 2: ISBN is assigned as well as a Library of Congress number; Approval of Final cover design for both front and back.

 

STEP 3: We begin advanced marketing of the book title to retailers, and a release date is scheduled.

 

STEP 4: We begin social media and book trailers; the author approves the final print proof, and the book is released.

​

Q: I am on the installment payment plan (usually 4 months or 4 equal payments sooner than 4 months) Can I have proceeds you get from my book sales through retail be applied to what I owe?

A: We generally receive payment in full before a book is officially released. In most cases, we like to align the installments with the steps above so that with every step there is another payment made to complete the process at the same time authors complete their 4 installments according to their contract/agreement. If an author desires to have their book released with a balance owed, they would need to request a promissory note to sign guaranteeing the balance being paid at a later date. With a promissory note, you would commit to a monthly payment. Your monthly royalties can offset, but not replace. For example, if your monthly payment is $300 and your royalties from retail total $50 that month, you can request the $50 as a credit and only pay $250 for that month. We do not do I.O.U's. or mini payments over years from your sales; we do not accept unstructured payments. 

 

Our promissory notes are legal documents in which if there is a default, the distributor is able to pull the book from all channels, and we are then able to turn the balance over to the collection agency. 

 

Q: If I want to revise my book once it has been approved by me, how do I do this?

A:  Text Revision after a layout and cover has been approved by you is considered a Post approval revision.  You may be charged a revision fee of UP TO $175 to pull your project from production and all marketing channels, revise it, then re-release it.  Some retailers will return ordered books once there is a revision done, and some will sell the current inventory and then order newly revised copies. Our revision fee helps offsets copies that are returned from retailers. 

 

Q:  I have a romance novel I want to do next year; can you do this?

A:  Yes we can publish any genre, but keep in mind each project is different and is considered by us on a case-by-case basis.  Although we have contracted with you for one title, does not guarantee we will for another.  Our team discusses each project, timelines, budget and current contracts when deciding if a new book project will fit within these parameters.

 

Q: My book is an Ebook right now, how do I get print copies?

A:  Every book format is considered another edition of the book and requires a layout, design, a new cover and separate ISBN number.  If your contract contains one edition, an addition edition is priced in the program you selected.  This also includes translation into another language (edition).  We need up to 60 days for completion of an additional edition of your book.

 

Q:  Even though I am represented by Dreamer Reign, can I still promote my book and help market it?

A:  Yes, you can promote your book as the Author, but you need to know boundaries in marketing, and items that are solely our responsibility.  For example, when someone retains an attorney, it was very inappropriate for the client to decide to start interviewing witnesses on the side, or write letters to the judge etc.  Your legal representative handles those matters, timetables, and matters as they know the protocols and law that is involved.  Clients of lawyers also do not draft letters then ask their attorney to sign them.   A lawyer's does not have the time to give you legal courses and explain everything that he/she must do or not do in the process; you have to trust them at some point.  You cannot manage everything they do.  

 

That being said, when you are represented by Dreamer Reign, we will follow a plan of action to market your title globally utilizing all tools that are available to us.  It is important for authors to think ahead, so they have all ideas and questions in place prior to the release of the book.  It becomes very hard "after the fact" to handle a bunch of "new ideas" that now we are expected to discuss, approve and implement, when such plans need several weeks to go through the process of completion. We have individual marketing plans/campaigns available to you. Pay attention to the timetables items, and price included in such plans.

 

Q:  How do I handle book signing and events?

A:  Your contract indicates the number of DREAMER REIGN sponsored book signing events that come within your package (if any) A DREAMER REIGN sponsored book signing will occur within the first 90 days of a release date of a title.  If 2 or more events are listed on your contract, they will be scheduled at least 30 days from each other.  At our sponsored events, the author will be notified of the proposed date and time and how to dress.  The author will be required to greet guest and sign books that will be supplied by us.  As stated in contract, author does not receive any compensation at a DREAMER REIGN event, although they may receive net revenues credit for each copy sold, depending on the terms of their contract.  An author may have their own events or book signings or release parties etc.  

 

However, as these are not DREAMER REIGN sponsored events, the author bears all responsibility, marketing and supplies and sells their own books from their own inventory.  All proceeds belong to the author for their own events; DREAMER REIGN is not required to attend or assist with these events.

 

Q:  When do I hear about how well my book is doing?

A:  As stated in your contract, reporting on sales is made available according to a schedule set by your rep.  Currently most projects report sales quarterly in a quarterly statement made available to our clients on our portal. This report gives total sales, and any comments or concerns by us regarding the report.  The report will give totals from retail outlets, not individual customer information, locations etc.  It is the responsibility of our marketing team to make projections and do sales analysis for our titles in print.  We cannot legally provide printer, distributor sales or statistics, pricing, and other sensitive data provided by our distributors and retail partners.

 

Q:  My agreement states I will receive free books, when do I get them?

A:  If you placed an initial order of your own books for your own inventory, the extra books are ordered at the same time and you will receive your ordered books along with the extra books, usually prior to release date, provided your release day in further in advanced to allow such a preorder of an approved title.  However, if you do not order books for your own inventory to sale, then any books promised will be sent to you within 45 days of the release date of the title.

 

Q:  An online retailer shows my book as not available right now, what does this mean?

A:  Retailers decide what books they will carry and when.  They get books directly from a distributor, not from us the publisher.  So once a distributor has access to inventory from the printer, they catalog the units in their inventory for retailers to place orders. A retailer may order 50 units or may order 1000 units; a retailer may decide not to order new books right away depending on their inventory and commitments to others for product placement etc.  The publisher or author does not contact any retailer to scold them or demand answers concerning their book availability etc.  The publisher does not send books to retailers, the distributor does.

​

For example if someone who has a line of salad dressing on the market- goes to Walmart and discovers their salad dressing is out of stock, they do not harass the Walmart managers or bring 2 boxes of it in from the trunk of their car (lol), there is a process and your responsibility is to simply be patient.  [Customers can also purchase books directly from us, but they will be shipped directly from the distributor.]

 

 

Q:  Can my book be a best seller?

A:  Anything is possible!  However, there are a few things that are considered for Best Seller placement.  Although the number of immediate sales is a strong factor, there are other elements that contribute to these sales and the overall large scaled success of the book.  Who is "presenting" you and your book to the world? If you are a self published author, it would be you.  If you are a published author (rather royalty or vanity) the presentation of your book and you, the author, needs to be done by a 3rd party for maximum creditability.  That is why our initial approach with marketing books we feel have elements to be best sellers is "DREAMER REIGN PRESENTS......" so there is no smell of self publishing in the air.  For example you will see major animated features, regardless of who has written or produced them, state "Disney Pixar Presents....."the world knows they have the backing of someone, a marketing team, etc and are able to meet the supply and demand and/or quality standards to be worth an investment.  

​

In other words, if someone or some entity feels they are worth an investment, they may think, "we need to look at them seriously.  Whereas without the presentation of another, a project may come across as common or just like something they too are working on rather than another level of product with backing and thus worthy of their support.  Too many times, authors who first thought of self publishing, then contracts with a publisher, but yet keeps a self publishing mind set and attempts to micro manage and control the process and scrutinize each element, saying to themselves, "that's NOT what I would have done, etc....they feel they are not in control anymore.

​

An author has to decide to manage their own book project, or surrender it to another.  There should never be a tug of war between an author and the publisher.  A publisher should assume ownership of it and make the author's dream a reality.  The goal of a true author is to move from just having some best-selling book, but to be a bestselling author, which has nothing to do with sales, but the consistent integrity of their work.

 

 

----revised January 4, 2022