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Once I have finished the DIY publishing process, how do
I order copies of my book?
You can place orders by contacting a customer support member to get a book quote that includes
your discounted author price. Request an price quote for books through e-mail or Live Chat.
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How much will I pay for a copy of my book?
You can order a copy of your book for the discounted production cost of the book.
The discounted production price will be determined during the production process, based on the cover cost and page count for your book.
Is there a minimum number of books that I must order?
No, there is no minimum. With Print on Demand technology, you can conveniently order
books as you need them. You can order one, 50, 200, 1,000 or as many books as you need
whenever you wish.
Is the cost of shipping included or separate from the price?
The cost of shipping is not included in the original price of the book. The shipping
charge will be determined when the order is placed and depends on the shipping address
(how far it will travel) and shipping method (how quickly it needs to get there).
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What shipping options are available?
Books delivered with standard shipping are sent via UPS ground. Additional options
include U.S. Postal Service media mail, UPS 2nd day air and UPS overnight delivery.
Please note that UPS does not deliver to P.O. Box addresses. Also, media mail does
not supply tracking information.
How long does it take to receive my POD book once I place
an order?
Our books are printed using the latest Print-on-Demand (POD) technology, which means
that books are printed to each order. Once you place an order, the books require approximately two to three business days to print, plus additional time to ship the book depending on the
type of shipping you choose and your location. If ordering in the United States,
books are shipped from Tennessee. Most areas in the eastern half of the United States
can expect a ship time of two to three business days with standard UPS ground. On the western half
of the United States, expect three to six business days for standard shipping, depending on your location.
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What do I do if I receive a book that is damaged?
If you receive a damaged title, we can replace the book for you. Please contact our customer
service representatives for more information through live chat, e-mail or phone.
Who will be able to buy my book?
With our standard DIY publishing, your book will be available for purchase through
the CraigsPress.com Bookstore online on our Web site. Individuals and retailers can only order
your book through CraigsPress.com, unless you have upgraded with the ISBN and Retail Channel Distribution.
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Can retailers order my book?
Yes, retailers can order your book directly through our online Bookstore. However,
in order for retailers to order your book through their own supply channels, your book must have an ISBN and Channel Distribution, which you can purchase through
our Services Store. Once circulated within
the retail distribution channel, most retailers will be able to purchase your book through
their own suppliers (approximately 25,000 retailers).
Who will be able to buy my book if I purchase an ISBN and channel distribution?
If you purchase an ISBN and channel distribution, your book will be accessible through thousands of
retail outlets such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc. We rely on Ingram
as our main distributor. Ingram is one of the largest distributors, and therefore,
almost all retailers use it as their information source. Ingram has a huge database
of information called ipage®, through which retailers get their information
and order books.
Visit Ingram's Web site www.ingrambook.com for more information.
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Do I need to purchase distribution for my book?
Depending on your intentions for the book, distribution may or may not be necessary.
If only you will be purchasing the book, then you may not need distribution. However,
if you are interested in actively selling your book and making it available to as
many people as possible, especially retailers, you should definitely purchase distribution.
Most bookstores prefer to order books through
their own suppliers, so they may not be able or willing to order through CraigsPress.com.
With distribution, retailers are able to access your book in their own systems,
not just in the CraigsPress.com Bookstore online. Distribution also gives customers more options, while earning your book more visibility online because orderable copies will be listed on many popular sites, like
Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.
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What is a distributor? What do they actually do?
Our distributor, Ingram, supplies book details and information about a book's availability
to various outlets; they are an information hub for publishers, retailers
and printers. Ingram has a huge database of information called ipage®,
through which retailers obtain their information and order books. Imagine how difficult
keeping up with publishers would be without distributors. Retailers would have to keep in touch with all
the hundreds of thousands of printers and publishers all over the world, who are
constantly putting out new books, which would quickly become an impossible task. Instead, all the
printers and publishers simply notify the same source, the distributor, so only one source is updated with all the information about books.
Visit Ingram's Web site www.ingrambook.com for
more information.
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Will my book actually be in bookstores?
With Channel Distribution, your book will be in bookstores online, and while it's always possible that your book will
be shelved in physical bookstores, we cannot guarantee shelving. It's the decision of the individual
retailer and store should they actually purchase copies of your book to place on the
shelves. However, you can greatly increase the chances of a store stocking
your book by personally contacting the store and speaking to the manager. You should
not expect your book to be stocked in a store unless you are active in your promotional
efforts. Check out all of the promotional and marketing services we provide through
our Services Store to help
you with your promotional campaign.
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What is the average number of books sold by CraigsPress.com self-published
authors?
The average number of book sales varies greatly from title to title, depending on the marketing efforts of the author.
How can I help increase my book sales?
Efforts to spread the word and let people know about your book will help sales.
We offer a variety of promotional services and supplies to assist you, as well as
certain pre- and post-production services that can make your book more marketable
(such as an ISBN, Distribution, any of our customized cover designs, any of our
copyediting services, Retail Return Insurance, etc.).
Visit our
Services Store to review all of your publishing and marketing options.
If you do not promote and market your book,
people will not know that your title exists, and no one will ever know what they are missing.
For more information about creating a marketing plan, visit our
post-publishing FAQs page.
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My book is listed wrong on a retail Web site. Can CraigsPress.com
fix it?
If you find errors listed on a Web site other than CraigsPress.com, we cannot correct the error
because we do not have control over other retailers' Web sites. Many Web sites, however, have
contact information listed to report errors. Some larger Web sites,
such as Amazon.com, even have links to submit corrections. But, if you find an error that is consistent across many retailers' sites, please let us know, and we'll look into the problem to determine if and how we can help.
What should I do if my front cover image is missing from
a retail Web site?
Information can take anywhere from 30-45 business days to circulate to all of the
Web sites. Data regarding the cover and other information is supplied in separate
data feeds, and some are quicker than others to distribute the data. However, if
the sufficient time period has passed and your cover is still missing, please contact
our customer support.
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A certain retailer says my book is not in their system.
What can I do?
There are multiple reasons a retailer may not see your book in their system.
First, in order for your book to be available through retailers, you must purchase
retail distribution. Second, a substantial amount of time needs to pass –
anywhere from 30-60 days for "brick-and-mortar" stores. How quickly the
system is updated depends on the retail chain and individual store.
If enough time has passed and the retailer
still cannot access your book, you can contact our customer representatives to investigate the problem.
We can double check that your title is listed on ipage®, Ingram's
(our distributor) database. However, it is most likely an internal problem with
the individual retailer.
Is my book "returnable" for retailers?
Our standard books are not returnable; however, you can purchase the Retail Return
Insurance service in one-year increments (see the
FAQs in the Services Store section regarding Return Insurance for more
details). Retailers are much more likely to take a chance on a lesser known title
or author if they have the guarantee that there is no risk involved should the books
go unsold. This frees you from the barriers of having a non-returnable book. In
fact, for their own financial protection, some retail chains have a company-wide
policy against ordering books that are not returnable.
If you plan to actively pursue in-store book
sales, you should highly consider purchasing Retail Return Insurance.
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Do retailers receive a retail discount?
Yes, retailers receive a discount when purchasing your book, which is a standard
practice in retail. Your royalty payment will not be affected by the discount. You
will receive the retail royalty amount to which you agree when you entered the pricing
information during your book's production process.
Learn more about book ordering, POD and more in our Bookstore FAQs.
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