Archive1. SPGN 2014/01 – Tips and ideas for your publication 2. SPGN 2013/01 – Formatting various book formats ready for publication 3. SPN - Distribution channels for book publications 4. SPN - DOI - Digital Object Identifier 5. SPN - Academic/scientific publications on the Internet 6. SPN - Get-ups for technical publications
Archive Details
SPGN 2014/01 – Tips and ideas for your publication
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Shaker Publishing Group
2014/01 - #000000#
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Dear Authors,
You have decided to follow a career path and
will soon have to publish your scientific work
to gain your academic title. There are different
ways and means of publishing your script as well
as various methods to realise that aim. But what
does a professional publishing house actually do?
Would you like to know more about the possibilities
and procedures of publishing your scientific project?
In today's newsletter, we would like to inform
you about the functions and services of publishing
companies and their opportunities. Besides, some
guidelines will support you on what you should
consider when you publish your work. Further, we
clarify the differences between traditional
publishing houses, self-publishing and specialist
publishers, as well as the number of steps
undertaken by publishers to ensure you a
professional result.
Yours sincerely,
Shaker Publishing Group, Aachen/Maastricht
================ Contents =======================
1. Functions and services of publishing companies
2. The difference between traditional publishing houses, self-publishing and specialist companies
2.1 Traditional publishing houses
2.2 Self-publishing
2.3 Specialist publishers
3. Tips and ideas for your publication
4. The Process of publishing
5. Your publication
6. Partner programme
7. Information on new publication
8. Your opinion
9. Newsletter distribution list
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1. Functions and services of publishing companies
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Authors, during their doctorate or habilitation,
have to concentrate on many tasks to qualify for a
teaching career in higher education. Fascinating
projects, necessary and important publications and
working in foreign countries occupy their minds.
Maybe for the first time you are taken with the
idea to offer your manuscript to a publishing
company. Maybe you also ask yourself why you in
fact need a publishing house. The following explains
what tasks and advantages a publisher has.
As author, you write your manuscript yourself.
Copy editing or proofreading is not necessarily
a service offered by all publishing houses.
Typesetting, thus verifying references, quotations,
and citations, formatting references and footnotes,
ensuring that permissions and releases have been
obtained, etc. – many publishing houses typeset
many books, but not all publishing houses typeset
all. Many authors, especially PhD candidates, are
left to accomplish it by themselves.
Prelims or preliminaries – thus the pages 1-4 including
imprint etc. – are in fact always created by the
publisher. The copyright is placed in the imprint;
the ISBN is recorded; page 3 is the so-called full
title page, where you can find the bibliographical
information. Regardless of whether the cover shows
a short title or sub-title, the full title page is
mandatory.
Cover-design – Most publishing houses provide this
service too. Some grant a say, concerning
decision-making at every stage.
What's more, printing job and monitoring are business
of publishing houses.
Up to this point – with some exceptions (e.g. prelims
and cover) – publishing houses perform tasks, which
on the one hand authors are capable of dealing with
themselves and on the other hand not, concerning
proofreading and typesetting.
So why should you prefer a publishing house?
They perform a lot more than just the above mentioned:
Publishing houses are not only concerned with
creating and producing books, but also with
programme maintenance, professional advice,
up to managing academic symposiums and international
marketing. With focus on publishing activity,
publications benefit from team-work as whole.
A crucial role in the scientific and academic
field is the site or location on which a book
is published – quality checks of internet pages
are obligatory for reasons of reputation.
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2. The difference between traditional publishing houses, self-publishing and specialist companies
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In the internet you will find hosts of distinct
publishers as well as advice how to publish and
disseminate your own book. In addition you will
receive many search results on publishing houses
who are specialised in science and technics. It
has become difficult to distinguish between the
clutter and to find a reputable publishing house
appropriate to your needs. These providers and
advisers can essentially be divided into three
models: Traditional publishing houses,
self-publishing and specialist publishers.
If you decide on a publisher, the best way to
find a suitable company for your academic project
is to compare their services in consideration to
your specific needs. For this reason you will
find support under Point 3 “Tips and ideas for
your Publication”.
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2.1. Traditional publishing houses
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After you have submitted your script to a publishing
house or your literary agent has done this for you
an editor reads it, considers whether it is right
for the house, and decides either to reject it or
to publish it. A traditional book publishing company
gets the rights of your manuscript and pays you
royalties for each sold copy. To name some:
Springer, Macmillan and Elsevier. Ultimately, less
than 1% of authors seeking to be published
traditionally are successful. Thousands of authors
and their books are rejected daily.
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2.2. Self-publishing
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Thousands of authors have created their own publishing
companies, and self-published their own works. Thus
the essential denotation of self-publishing is the
publication of your project without any obligation
to an established third-party publisher. The author
is bound to do the complete production process by
himself including cover design, formatting, price,
distribution and promotion. Some people
differentiate between self-publishing and vanity
publishing. Vanity publishing is when you assign a
company like Amazon's Booksurge or iUniverse, who
offers their support to take over services such as
copy editing, distribution and marketing.
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2.3. Specialist publishers
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They are specialised for example in scientific fields
as engineering and use either offset press, in-house
digital printing or even both. Most book publishing
companies do not contract third party printers that
can yield lower quality and less reliable fulfilment.
The chances of being accepted are much higher than
in a traditional publishing house and your expenses
are much lower. Most houses provide efficient advice
and services as proofreading and typesetting along
with promoting your work. Moreover, you generally
own your copyright and all the rights to your book
including movie, screenplay, radio, TV, audio book,
e-book, and foreign language rights.
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3. Tips and ideas for your publication
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Is the publishing company too small or has it just
been founded?
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Your publisher should have long and proven experience.
It shouldn’t be a newly-founded publishing house at
the risk of soon closing. The publisher should also
have a sufficient number of suitable qualified and
experienced staff so that your book can be promoted
in an appropriate way.
Are electronic publications also available?
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There are many advantages and benefits of ebooks.
They can be downloaded to a computer, laptop, tablet,
smart phone etc. and can be read on the screen.
Just to mention the most crucial facts for scientific
ebooks: they are delivered almost immediately, need
less space and ebooks are searchable for any
information instead of unsuccessfully searching for
a glossary.
Are advice and assistance provided?
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Often authors have difficulties with the correct
formatting and the inserting of graphics in their
first publication. It is then very helpful when
publishers provide you with necessary support.
Keep in mind that university regulations are taken
into account. You should also be able to contact
your publisher after years to order new copies,
which makes an unlimited availability obligatory.
Although you might be firm in your mother tongue,
formal errors such as typing errors may sneak in.
Moreover, international distribution is gaining
increasing importance. Therefore, some publishers
offer you proofreading and translation into English
or other languages, which you could benefit from.
Do you have a fair say in designing your own cover?
Are you involved in decision-making at all stages?
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You have the possibility to look over the titles
already released in order to obtain an overview of
individual and varied cover-designs. Since your book
becomes your business card, make sure that your
front picture goes hand in hand with your title.
Your unique book deserves an unique design that is
appropriate to its content. Graphic designers are
able to create illustrations from your sketches,
render equations, tables etc. Your publisher should
offer you a test print with the opportunity to make
small changes.
Does the publisher have an advertising department?
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Ensure that the publisher performs adequate advertisement.
Many houses are exclusively focused on producing books,
instead of including promotion thus supporting reputation
and raising global awareness. Does the publisher dispatch
catalogues with new releases? Are review and reference
copies (as hard copy) available?
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4. The process of publishing
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As soon as your manuscript is handed in, an editorial
team verifies (process of peer review) whether your
text applies to the complete programme. This comprises:
topic allocation, intellectual property rights, target
audience and quality. After prior verification of its
basic suitability, they check on orthography, grammar,
punctuation and typography. If any corrections are
necessary, publishers recommend proofreading, either
their own in-house editorial office or liaise a copy
editor, which is mostly more favourable.
When everything appears to be positively affirmed,
the economic calculation starts. For this purpose,
necessary revisions, number of pages for printing,
cover design and layout (hard cover, coloured
illustrations), print runs (dependent on target
audience), sales potential and retail price are
taken into account. As a result, the author receives
a quotation.
If the author accepts the offer, a contract is made.
Having agreed on the scope of the publication and
the formats, the parties in a book agreement must
then agree on royalty rates and the percentage of
the gross retail price that will be paid to the
author. Royalties usually range between 10-12% of
recommended retail price.
While copy editors proofread your script and you
are provided with feedback, the marketing
department starts planning how and to whom your
book can be introduced. Editors also examine the
correctness and validity of quotations and
illustrations regarding printing permissions.
However, you should be very cautious since you
assure that the performed work is free from third
party rights. This applies to illustrations and
quotations taken from other works by artists as
well as web pages etc.
Book cover and prelims are created and inserted
by the publisher, which is checked, approved and
confirmed by the author. The script will be
printed after design and layout have been set by
professional graphic designers. The production
starts once the author has revised his text (test
print) and no more modifications are made.
Book selling trade and libraries are informed
regularly about works published in the house.
There is the possibility to order a book in
advance, as soon as the book is officially
registered for example on VLB (German Books in
Print, a German book selling catalogue) or
Nielsen BookData (Great Britain).
In a short time period you receive author copies.
Your publishing company provides media and
multipliers with free copies. It is recommended
that authors should support the marketing
department, for example with the distribution of
flyers and contact information of interested
scientists.
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5. Your publication
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We realise your projects in close cooperation with
you. Moreover, we are specialised in the following
publication types: reference books, conference
proceedings, lecture notes, dissertations,
habilitations. We offer a combination of conventional
book publications and online publications, as well
as publications on CD and DVD.
Find out more about our publication concept that
offers academic and scientific authors a number of
advantages at www.shaker.eu.
For the publication of your thesis we provide you
with three different publication variants. If you
publish your work as hard copy with ISBN, it will
be available in the national and international book
selling trade. Alternatively, we print your deposit
copies in-house and dispatch them. A further
possibility is to provide your thesis in electronic
form to your university. Additionally, we present
your work as online document in our bookshop.
You will find more information under
www.shaker.eu/dissertation.
A number of tips on layouts and formatting can be
found at the link www.shaker.eu. This also contains
precise instructions on converting your manuscript
into a PostScript file. Ask for a quotation without
obligation: www.shaker.eu
In the context of publishing, we also offer
typesetting, copy editing and translations of
scientific work. You will receive more information
on our site www.shaker.eu.
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6. Partner programme
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Become a partner of Shaker Verlag or Shaker Publishing
and earn an attractive commission by recommending our
publishing house and media!
Send your book recommendations to selected potential
customers by email, or use your website to promote
individual titles from our complete range.
Do you know any fellow authors who might be interested
in working with us? Inform them about our terms of
publication by email or by placing a banner on your
web page.
Enjoy our attractive commissions and register for
free and without any obligation. An overview of our
cooperation and remuneration possibilities are shown
here: www.shaker.eu/partner.
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7. Information on new publication
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We have published more than 25,000 scientific works
by renowned editors and authors from a multitude of
famous research institutions to date. An overview
can be found on our catalogue pages
www.shaker.eu/catalogue.
Use our new publications service. We keep you informed
on new publications in your specialist field every
month by email. Tell us which topics you are interested
in per email to info@shaker.eu.
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8. Your opinion
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Tell us what you think about our newsletter. Are
the topics interesting? Are the contents explained
in too much or not enough detail? Do you have any
special wishes or suggestions for topics that we
could present in more detail? Send your suggestions,
praise and criticism to info@shaker.eu.
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9. Newsletter distribution list
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Our newsletter appears once a month and deals with
topics for authors and editors from the field of
science and research.
If this does not appeal to you and you do not want
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(C) Copyright Shaker Verlag GmbH
All rights reserved, including off-prints of extracts,
reproduction in part or completely,
storage in data processing systems
and translation.
This newsletter is published by
Shaker Verlag, Aachen
For more details contact: mailto:info@shaker.eu
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Shaker Verlag GmbH
Kaiserstr. 100
52134 Herzogenrath
PO Box 101818
52018 Aachen
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)2407 / 9596-0
Fax: +49 (0)2407 / 9596-9
e-mail: mailto:info@shaker.eu
Internet: http://www.shaker.eu/
Shaker Publishing BV
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6221 AX Maastricht
Postbus 3167
6202 ND Maastricht
The Netherlands
Phone: +43 (0)3500424
Fax: +43 (0)3255090
e-mail: mailto:info@shaker.eu
Internet: http://www.shaker.eu/
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see also item 9: Newsletter distribution list
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