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While we try to acknowledge receipt of manuscripts promptly, it often takes a few months for us to decide if we can take your project any further, so please be patient. We give priority to books that will appeal to a wide range of readers in New Zealand and overseas, and to books where sponsorship or other funding is available to assist with printing costs. Please send a covering letter with your manuscript explaining who you think your book will appeal to, and how you think the book should be marketed. We often need to edit manuscripts to bring them to a publishable standard. You must be prepared for us to improve your text where necessary. We consult with you fully on this.
If we accept your book for publishing we will need to negotiate a contract. This includes the amount of royalty we will pay you as author. The standard royalty in New Zealand is 10% of retail sales. This recognises the economics of publishing. Take for example a book which retails for $20. The retailer's margin is at least 40% or $8. Distribution and marketing costs around $3. The author's royalty at 10% is $2. GST is around $1. This leaves the publisher about $5 from which must be deducted printing costs, time for editing, designing and typesetting the book and general business overheads. Publishing and marketing a book takes many months, during which we aim to develop a partnership between the author, illustrator and others involved in the project. |