Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. < America\'s Leading Author Services Company > "Building Lasting Relationships, One Satisfied Author at a Time"
5. MISSION STATEMENT
Building lasting relationships—
one satisfied author at a time.
Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
701 Smithfield Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 288-4543 • Fax: (412) 288-1786
e-mail: dorrinfo@dorrancepublishing.com •
www.dorrancepublishing.com
6.
7. P erhaps you’ve kept a journal, recorded observations, gathered
facts and figures, made notes of tales you’ve heard and told.You’ve
pulled it all together in your mind, your computer, or on paper.You
have a message to communicate, an experience to share, a story to
tell. Now it’s time to look into what you can do next. We believe
you’ll find one avenue to consider in this Author’s Guide to Subsidy
Publishing.
Whether you are a published or an unpublished author or a
representative of an organization needing subsidy publishing services,
we would like to take this opportunity to tell you about our company.
If you do not write for publication, there is little point in writing at all.
— George Bernard Shaw
vii
8.
9. CONTENTS
What Is a Subsidy Publisher?.............................................1
Selecting a Subsidy Publisher.............................................2
Dorrance:The First Name in Subsidy Publishing.....................4
A Choice of Dorrance Publishing Programs...........................6
Traditional Full-Service Subsidy Publishing......................7
Self-Publishing/Private Printing...................................7
Dorrance Subsidy Publishing Services..................................9
Manuscript Proposal.................................................9
Mechanical Editing..................................................10
Production...........................................................11
The Copyright of Your Book......................................12
Warehousing.........................................................12
Promotion...........................................................12
Subsidiary Rights....................................................16
Order Processing....................................................16
Book Sales and Author Payments.......................................17
The Dorrance Experience..............................................19
You Are Invited to Send UsYour Manuscript.........................21
Looking Ahead............................................................23
Our Location............................................................23
Electronic Publishing...............................................24
10. “T hank you for all your efforts on my behalf. I have been so pleased with
the professionalism of the entire staff at Dorrance Publishing.”
— Jacqueline Jordan, Encounters with Fear: Short Stories AboutYoung Teens
x
11. W H AT I S A SUBSIDY P UBLISHER?
A subsidy publisher charges an author a fee to mechanically edit,
typeset, proofread, and manufacture a specific number of books
from a manuscript. Also provided for this fee is a limited and
specified promotional program with a defined budget,
warehousing, and other administrative services. A subsidy
publisher can act as an intermediary between the typewritten
manuscript and the typeset book, the author and the printer, the
illustrator and the illustrations, the printer and the bindery, the
bindery and the warehouse.
There’s much more to publishing a book than writing and
printing it: mechanical editing of manuscripts by an editor to
correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and inconsistency;
proofreading galleys and page proofs; securing a copyright. What
size should the finished book be? What paper stock should be used?
Which typeface is best? Should the book be bound and covered in
cloth or paper? What color? What texture? What weight?
Paperback, casebound, or saddle-wire?
Who will provide “print-ready” charts, maps, graphs,
photographs, or illustrations, if included in the work? What goes
on which pages? Who will design the jacket or cover and write the
“about the book” and “about the author” copy?
With today’s rapid advances in printing technology and the
wide-spread use of the Internet, you may be asking yourself
questions about “digital publishing”:Who can provide PostScript or
PDF files?
When production decisions involving print-ready art, repros,
mechanicals, bluelines, page proofs, PMS colors, halftones,
A publisher is ... a useful middleman.
—Oscar Wilde
1
12. duotones, dies, and F & Gs are made, it may make sense to have the
assistance of a subsidy publisher.
Where will the books be stored? What specific promotional
activities will be performed within the parameters of an agreed-
upon, limited budget? If orders should be received from outlets
and individual bookbuyers, who will arrange to prepare invoices
(with appropriate industry discounts), wrap, ship, and collect
payment? That useful intermediary... the subsidy publisher.
SELECTING A SUBSIDY P UBLISHER
As an author, you are probably aware of (and perhaps have
experienced) some of the problems of trying to get your work
published by a commercial publisher. Just having your manuscript
read by most commercial publishers is difficult and usually involves
long delays. Even if you consult with a literary agent or send your
manuscript to many commercial publishers, your efforts may go
unnoticed.
The primary reason for this situation is business economics.
With mounting costs of production and merchandising, the
commercial book publishing industry is taking fewer risks,
becoming more oriented toward the best seller aimed at the mass
market, and shying away from new or unknown authors and books.
The commercial publisher is more inclined to publish books by
established authors or well-known personalities even if not written
as well as other manuscripts it rejects. Excellent poetry or works on
specialized subjects may be turned down simply because the market
may be limited or regional. For every manuscript published by a
commercial publisher, many which deserve to be in print are not.
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was rejected by five publishers. James
Joyce’s first book of short stories was rejected by twenty-two
publishers. Ernest Hemingway’s work was rejected. Jonathan
Livingston Seagull was initially rejected, as was The Godfather,Love Story,
The Celestine Prophecy, and The Christmas Box.
In contrast to a commercial publisher, a subsidy publisher does
not invest its own monies in the publication of authors’ works and
accepts most manuscripts for publication.A subsidy publisher does
not judge a manuscript but, instead, relies on an author’s belief in
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13. his or her own work and willingness to pay for publication, even
when wide distribution is unlikely.
Subsidizing a book you have written can result in enduring
value on a personal level. Publishing your own book can be an
effective means for creative self-expression or sharing an
experience with others. It may also bring recognition and
accelerate your career. If only books considered to be potential
best sellers were published, some of our most important writers
may not have reached their audiences: George Bernard Shaw,
Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Alexander Pope, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Lord
Tennyson, Edgar Allan Poe,Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound,T. S. Eliot,
Henry David Thoreau, and Rudyard Kipling all paid for the
publication of their first works.
Every year thousands of worthwhile books are financially
backed by universities, religious and business organizations,
philanthropists, and government agencies as well as by individual
authors or their sponsors.
Subsidy publishers offer authors, who otherwise may find no
hope of publication, a means by which they can have the
satisfaction of seeing their work in print.
3
14. D ORRANCE :
T HE F IRST N AME IN S UBSIDY P UBLISHING
Dorrance was the first subsidy publishing company in America.
Originally known as Dorrance & Company, Incorporated, it was
founded in 1920 by Colonel Gordon Dorrance and other members
of his distinguished Philadelphia family to provide a service for
new or unknown authors.
In 1989, the Dorrance name, book inventory, and assets were
purchased and moved from the Philadelphia area to Downtown
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as pictured above, and a new company,
Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc., was formed.
Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. is continuing the Dorrance
philosophy that the opportunity to publish a work should be
available to all who have something which they wish to communicate
to others and are willing to purchase subsidy publishing services.
We publish all categories of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and
offer a choice of programs to suit the needs of various authors and
their particular manuscripts. Dorrance authors, including some
with previously published books to their credit, appreciate our
services and the extent to which they can participate in shaping the
presentation of their work.
We are particularly pleased to publish books which contain
information, ideas, or insights which will add to reader enjoyment,
wisdom, or awareness. A book designed to help or educate a
relatively small number of people is as worthy of publication, in
our opinion, as a book written for millions. A small collection of
poetry by an unknown writer may offer as much real truth about
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15. contemporary society as a best seller by a famous author. A
thoughtful study of a religious issue may generate the insight or
inspiration that influences readers’ lives. The scientific knowledge
of one person may provide others with the data they need to carry
on their work. One of the advantages offered by a free society is
that individuals, who have the means and desire to pay for
publication, can have the opportunity to publish their own work.
Over the years, Dorrance titles have totaled more than ten
thousand. While these include novels, mysteries, short stories,
essays, children’s books, and poetry collections, they also include
books in the fields of business, philosophy, health, medicine,
politics, economics, sociology, education, science, religion, art,
travel, cooking, sports, humor, biography, history, Americana,
personal reminiscences, and other specialized subjects. Styles
range from the traditional to the avant garde. Dorrance authors
have come from every state in the Union and from many foreign
countries as well.
Dorrance and some of its authors and books have
received national attention. For example, The Navajo Code
Talkers, published in 1973, was featured in four segments
of CBS television’s An American Portrait series.
Additionally, this top-selling historical account
was portrayed in the major motion picture
Windtalkers, released in 2002 by MGM Studios.
Dorrance printed a special movie tie-in edition
of The Navajo Code Talkers and publicized it in
conjunction with the film’s release. Dorrance author A.R.
Ammons published his first book of verse, Ommateum, in 1955, and
went on to win the National Book Award in 1972 and the National
Book Critics Circle Award in 1981. In 2001, another Dorrance
author, Paul DeStefano, was recognized in the Writer’s Digest
National Self-Published Book Awards for his work, Necessary Evil.
Although most Dorrance authors do not achieve such
recognition, they do enjoy the personal satisfaction of seeing their
manuscripts professionally produced in book form.
And, on the lighter side, Lucy Ricardo wrote and submitted a
novel to Dorrance & Company on Episode 90 of "I Love Lucy."
... previously published authors, as well as scholars and diplomats who might have published
commercially a few years ago, are turning to subsidy houses.
—Bruce Manuel, Book Editor, Christian Science Monitor
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16. A C HOICE OF
D ORRANCE P UBLISHING P ROGRAMS
If you would like to subsidize a book which displays your
thoughts, creativity, and ideas, we provide a choice of publishing
programs to meet your needs. Either of our programs will enable
you to put your work into book form promptly and economically.
Dorrance publishing programs include:
• Traditional full-service subsidy publishing
• Self-publishing/private printing.
Under these programs, you, the author, expend a fixed sum of
money to have your book published.This sum is called the subsidy.
The amount of the subsidy varies with each manuscript, depending
on the length, technical factors such as illustrations or complex
typesetting, and the specific Dorrance program you select. After
we have received your manuscript, we will present to you a
publishing proposal, stating the costs involved, for the program
you have selected.
You may be interested to know that Dorrance is unique among
subsidy publishers in the payment plans we offer authors for paying
the subsidy fee over time.
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17. T RADITIONAL F ULL -S ERVICE
S UBSIDY P UBLISHING
With our traditional full-service subsidy publishing program, your
work is produced and promoted, within a limited and defined
budget, as a Dorrance title.We determine the book specifications
(size, type, binding, etc.) and produce an initial printing of the
work. If these copies are depleted during the two-year period
following the date initial copies are sent to you, Dorrance will
reprint the work at no added cost to you. Our agreement
guarantees that we will keep your book in stock and on our list for
a minimum of two years.
S ELF -P UBLISHING /P RIVATE P RINTING
Self-publishing/private printing is an
alternative we offer for those who do not
wish to have Dorrance perform promotion,
warehousing, distribution, and support
services and, instead, elect to undertake
these efforts on their own. In this program,
we manufacture a specific number of books
under your imprint to your specifications.
We handle all aspects of production and
deliver the completed books to you.You are
responsible for the storage of the books and
the distribution of any orders you generate.
We will work closely with you to determine your requirements
and produce an appropriate and appealing volume for you or your
group. We have the flexibility to manufacture hardcover and
paperback books in a variety of sizes and quantities, while assuring
you quality book production at a reasonable cost.
The manufacturing options available for self-publishing/private
printings are widely varied. We would be happy to discuss the
details you have in mind when we speak in person.
We are also pleased to make available a Private Promotion
option. Under this program, we implement the standard promotion
plan we undertake for Dorrance subsidy books as outlined starting
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18. on page 12 of this guide. However, all warehousing, order
fulfillment, distribution, and service is the author’s responsibility.
“D orrance made my dream of publishing a book a reality. It was a very
simple process for someone who had never published a book before. I found the
most impressive aspects of their work were the editing of the manuscript, the artist
sketches, and the physical layout prior to printing.”
— Oliver Abel, Author
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19. D ORRANCE S UBSIDY P UBLISHING S ERVICES
MANUSCRIPT PROPOSAL
When you send in your manuscript, we will review the work, and
if acceptable, offer you a detailed publishing proposal that will
provide specific production information for your book and an
exact, firm fee. Our review will take about two to three weeks.
(Please send only a copy of your manuscript and retain the original
for your files.)
We can offer publishing contracts only for completed manuscripts,
and we will accept most manuscripts.We do not evaluate manuscripts
for literary merit or market potential.There are, however, categories of
manuscripts which we choose not to accept.We do not accept libelous
or racist material, hate literature, or pornography.
Our proposal will be written in straightforward language
which clearly states how we plan to handle the publication of your
book and what it will cost. Dorrance will outline the general
production specifications of your book and how long it will take to
complete.
Dorrance offers you a variety of book design options. Your
book can be hardbound or produced as a quality paperback,
saddlewire (stapled in the spine), or other specialty binding and in
a 5½” x 8½”, 6” x 9”, 8½” x 11”, or special trim size that we
suggest and/or you prefer. All of these options are considered in
planning the production of your book. We will recommend a
design which is appropriate for you.
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20. If your book is to be produced under the traditional Dorrance
full-service subsidy publishing program, our limited promotional
efforts will be clearly specified.We will also indicate the suggested
retail price of your book.
We think you will be impressed with the subsidy publishing
programs we offer at reasonable cost.You are invited to discuss, with a
member of our author relations staff, any questions you may have about
our proposal and the different
options we make available.
If you decide that you would like
to accept our proposal, you should
return the signed contract and first
payment to us.We will then begin the
first steps toward publication, which
include mechanical editing.
MECHANICAL EDITING
One of our editors will mechanically edit your manuscript, using
The Chicago Manual of Style as our guide. By mechanical editing we
mean reading the manuscript to improve consistency of spelling,
capitalization, and hyphenation; agreement of subjects and verbs;
correction of grammar and punctuation; and other such mechanics
of written communication. Dorrance will perform no rewriting;
reorganization; or improvement of presentation, content, or
literary expression. If questions arise during the editing process,
we will communicate with you directly.We work closely with you
on all aspects of the subsidy publishing process.
Your manuscript may require only occasional corrections of
typographical errors and minor lapses in punctuation, grammar,
and consistency. Incorrect sentence structure or other details of
the mechanics of writing may need attention. Whatever the case,
you are given an opportunity to approve the revisions before we
proceed to the next stage of publication.
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21. PRODUCTION
When your manuscript is ready for production, our book designer
takes into consideration any preliminary specifications agreed
upon and the nature of the manuscript. The designer then
determines the typographical style; physical placement of any
illustrations, drawings, tables, charts, if included, and other
particular elements which need to be planned for in producing
your book.The designer prepares page proofs.
As the name suggests, page proofs show each page and section
of a manuscript exactly as it will appear in the finished book. A set
of these proofs is sent to you for review. At this point, you see
precisely how all the pages will look. After the page designer has
made any final corrections, the book is ready for printing.
While the typesetting is being done, creative details
concerning the book jacket or paperback cover are worked out.
The mechanical editor prepares “about-the-book” and “about-the-
author” copy, which will appear on the flaps and/or back panel of
the jacket or cover. We custom design a full-color cover or jacket
specifically for your book in an effort to convey the theme of the
work in a way which we hope you will feel is attractive.We believe
that our jacket and cover design efforts are quite professional, and
our authors tell us they are pleased.The proposed copy and jacket
or cover sketch are submitted to you for your review. After all of
your questions have been answered, the necessary materials
(including a photograph of you, if available) are prepared and sent
for printing.
If illustrations, drawings, tables, or charts are to be prepared
by us, we assign an artist to the task. The book illustrations are
submitted to you for your approval.They can be printed in black-
and-white or, for an additional fee, in color.
Next the books are printed. The final stage of production is
binding, a process wherein books are trimmed, bound, and
covered. (If unbound copies
remain, they are retained for
future use.) It is always exciting
to see an attractive newly bound
book which the author and our
staff have worked so hard to
produce. Author copies of your
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22. new book—the result of your long and hard efforts—are then
shipped to you.
THE COPYRIGHT OF YOUR BOOK
Upon publication two copies of your book are filed in your name
with the Register of Copyrights of the Library of Congress to
obtain a Certificate of Copyright.
The year in which your book is copyrighted
appears on the copyright page of every book. The
copyright law now mandates that for works created
after January 1, 1978, the copyright runs from the time
of the work’s creation, through the life of the author,
and for fifty years thereafter.
Manuscripts and unpublished works are protected
by common law and statutory law. That is, from the
point of creation of the work copyright protection
exists. The need to obtain a formal copyright before
submission to us for review is not necessary. As a
reputable company, Dorrance will not use material
submitted to us without your written permission.
WAREHOUSING
Dorrance Publishing takes delivery of your newly produced books
and stores them in a warehouse convenient to our offices. Your
books are boxed and stored for order fulfillment during the
minimum two-year period following the date of completion of
your book.
PROMOTION
If you have selected the traditional Dorrance full-service subsidy
publishing program, we undertake clearly defined, limited
promotional activities for your book and begin to prepare your
book’s promotional materials upon receipt of finished copies in
our warehouse. A Dorrance author knows in advance the
promotion budget and promotion efforts we will perform.
Our staff prepares and prints approximately five hundred
direct mail pieces announcing your book. Each contains an order
blank and can be used to purchase copies of your book directly
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23. from Dorrance. If you supply us
with sufficient names, we will
mail two hundred of these
pieces to your personal list.You
will receive a supply of these
direct mail pieces for your own
use, and the remaining pieces
will be kept on file for possible
future use.
The promotion staff compiles a review list made up of
approximately seventy-five local newspapers, specialized magazines,
trade journals, publications, organizations, or libraries to which
copies of the book are to be sent. These copies are mailed with
information (stating author, title, price, and publication date)
requesting the recipient mail us a copy of any review which may be
published. We also subscribe to a national clipping service which
scans national media for mentions of Dorrance books and authors.
Most Dorrance titles do not receive reviews in national media. In
instances where reviews or publicity in local or specialized
publications are received, you will be sent copies of those which
are brought to our attention. It is important to keep in mind that
reviews are beyond our control since the editor of each publication
decides which books to review.We also have no influence over the
content or opinions expressed in reviews.
A smaller publicity list is also compiled, containing
approximately twenty-five local or specialized radio and television
stations, newspapers, and magazines to which we send publicity
releases written by the Dorrance promotion staff. The purpose of
mailing this publicity information is to attempt to gain some
exposure, such as news items and feature stories in publications and,
in the case of radio and television stations, author interviews.
National publicity and appearances are rarely obtained, but our
experience shows that our authors may receive some attention from
local and/or specialized publications and stations. Publicity generated
in this way can help to stimulate some interest in your book.
We send introductory letters, enclosing jackets or covers and
ordering information, to approximately twenty-five bookstores in
your area and in other areas where you tell us you are known.We
offer books on consignment and, if acceptable to you, we will offer
to help try to arrange autograph parties.
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24. D ORRANCE T ITLES IN THE M EDIA
MY PRINCE
~ MARCIA A. SEE
“Surprisingly in its simplicity, the outcome is quite dramatic and impressive. I must admit
I have picked up this little book and have re-read it several times…The sensitivity of the
poems and the delightfulness of the illustrations prompt me to say that I hope we see more
from this Mississippi talent. I find once again that the picture book genre reaches across
age lines and brings pleasure to a very wide audience of readers.” — Commercial Dispatch
SUPPLEMENTARY PRIMARY ARITHMETIC IDEAS AND CALENDAR EXPERIMENTS
~ GRACE MUENTE
“Overall, the book presents some good questions, ideas, and activities for working with the
calendar and numbers.” — Teaching Children Mathematics, December 2005/ January 2006
MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE FRENCH
~ FANNIE LILLIAN
“My Love Affair with the French is a lively first-person account of a fine adventure abroad” —
Library Bookwatch:The Midwest Book Review, 2006
HOW TO DO BUSINESS IN CHINA
~ DR. MICHAEL SHEN
“In this invaluable guidebook…Dr. Michael Shen shares his intensive in-the-field experience
and proven approaches.” — Business Life
D'ARCY
~ DONNA DOE SOUTHALL
“I recommend D'Arcy for students and adults, alike.The book gives us a good view of life
in the early 17th century.” — Sussex-Surry Dispatch
BUILDING THE LOOM CITY
~ S. ARDIS ABBOTT
“An intriguing story of how change was achieved…a welcome addition to American
History reference collections.” — The Bookwatch
MATH WITH MOM
~ IZOLDA FOTIYEVA AND IRINA KOREN
“…This book has it all: appealing characters, simple explanations, and
real-world applications.” — Teaching Children Mathematics
TWELVE KIDS AND A PH.D.
~ MARY W. MAGULA
“…Anyone can benefit from reading such a compelling story…an
appropriate book for virtually any person.” — Journal of Pediatric
Nursing
JOURNEY OF A SPIRITUAL SOUL
~ SUSAN M. NELSON
“Simple, yet powerful and engaging, the poetry found in Nelson's
collection…will touch your heart and give you peace.” — Bonner
County Daily Bee
14
25. A DEEPER WOUND: THE SOUTH
AFRICAN/AZANIAN STRUGGLE FOR
LIBERATION.A PERSPECTIVE FROM
THE BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS
MOVEMENT
TSOALEDI DANIEL THOBEJANE
“…A valuable resource for
historians, political scientists and
sociologists who might otherwise
have little insight into events in this
isolated part of the country, remote
from the main sites of struggle.”
— South African Historical Journal
We send publicity releases and jackets or covers to approximately
one hundred wholesalers, distributors, and jobbers primarily as
reference materials providing the name, subject, price, and availability
of your book.We will also prepare a catalog listing for your book which
will appear in the Dorrance Catalog of Publications, and we will submit
your book for listing in Books in Print, another reference publication.We
will create a listing for your book in our on-line bookstore,
dorrancebooks.com, which is part of the Yahoo! Shopping Mall.
We give all of our authors the opportunity to have their books listed
with Amazon.com.Additionally, through their listing in Books In Print, all
titles are available for listing at barnesandnoble.com and to multiple
online bookstores that offer Dorrance books to Internet customers.
In the case of nonfiction and other specialized subject categories,
we send introductory letters, jackets or covers, and ordering
information to approximately twenty-five outlets which feature
books or merchandise related to the subject of the book.
It is helpful to our efforts if you, the author, work in cooperation
with us.This involves contributing whatever personal assistance you
have to offer. If you are an able speaker, this may involve speaking
engagements. If you are a creative promoter, contribute your ideas to
the project. If you are a salesperson, make your “pitch” to the
bookstores, libraries, etc., in your vicinity. Please be sure to let us
know, in advance, about any promotion you plan to implement on
your own. In our Promotion Data Information form we mail to all
new Dorrance authors, we request that you suggest to us any ideas or
opportunities known to you which can supplement our own efforts.
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26. “T hank you for doing such a great job
with the production of my book…I love it!!!!!!!
You did such a great job with making sure that
everything for this new book was accomplished
and I am very well pleased.”
— Florida Lacy, Moods
SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS
Subsidiary rights are comprised of book club, paperback, hardback
reprint, paperback reprint, serial reprint, dramatic, motion
picture, television, radio, translation, and other such rights.While
Dorrance does not usually seek out opportunities for the sale of
subsidiary rights, should an opportunity present itself, Dorrance
may sell the subsidiary rights for your book. At your request, a
limited number of letters and books can be submitted to specified
agents, editors, producers, or magazines. It should be noted,
however, that the sale of subsidiary rights of works published by
Dorrance occurs with only a small percentage of our authors.
ORDER PROCESSING
Bookstores, wholesalers, jobbers, and libraries can order Dorrance
titles directly from us using our catalog and by calling our toll-free
book order number. Most orders which are received are a result of
the limited promotional efforts which we agree to perform on
behalf of your book or from your own efforts.
For the convenience of our book buyers, Dorrance is pleased to
offer our toll-free telephone ordering number. Our merchandising
staff is available to take orders for your book and to attempt to
creatively initiate additional interest in Dorrance titles.
We calculate appropriate discounts, credit the author’s
payments account, prepare an invoice, ship the book(s), and bill
the customer. Our authors need not be concerned with shipping or
invoicing as we handle these services for them.
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27. BOOK SALES AND A U T H O R PAY M E N T S
We do, of course, hope—as does the author—that some book
sales will result from our limited promotional efforts. Dorrance
attempts to increase awareness of your book’s availability and to
generate some interest in it, specifically in local and/or specialized
media and outlets. It should be noted, however, that nationwide
distribution is rarely achieved for Dorrance titles.
Should you become a Dorrance author, you will receive (twice
each year as detailed in the agreement) a statement of any sales
activity that may have occurred, along with a check for any author
payments derived from book sales according to the following:
Sales Author Payments
Up to 3,500 Copies 40% of retail price
Over 3,500 25% of retail price
Outside of U.S. Sales 25% of retail price
If, after your personal supply of author copies is exhausted,
more books are desired, you may purchase additional copies of
your own books at 45 percent off the retail price. Because we are
obligated to keep an inventory of books for a minimum of two
years following the date bound books are first available, we cannot
provide these additional copies authors may desire free of charge.
Upon termination of the contract, all copies in inventory are
available to you at no further cost except the cost of shipping.
Most books we publish do not sell as well as their authors hope
they will. Your natural enthusiasm for your book should be
tempered by prudence; you should proceed with our agreement
17
28. primarily because you want to see your work in print, not because
of expectation of sales, and you should not jeopardize your
financial security to accomplish publication.
Only in a very small percentage of cases are sales sufficient for
authors to recoup the entire sum paid to Dorrance for production
of the work.
“I am impressed by the amount of promotional material you have sent out
for my book…and by the wide area you have covered.”
— Evelyn Copeland, Very Nearly Me:Adventures of an Anglophile
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29. “A ll of the staff at Dorrance have been most
helpful, a few ‘going above and beyond the call of
duty’ to assist me in publishing and marketing my
book. Keep up the good work.”
— Esther B. Gates, Views From the Towers
THE DORRANCE EXPERIENCE
Following are representative titles along with some author
comments about Dorrance services.
BRIGITTE HUBBARD
THE STORY OF BRIGGIE: ONE MAN'S JOURNEY WHOSE GOAL IS TO
FIND A SOLUTIONABLE RESOLUTION AND HEAVEN ON EARTH
“I want to thank you for all your assistance and help editing my
manuscript. I'm very proud of it!”
DR. CHUCK E. SANDERS
THE MAKING OF A MINISTER
“I am so impressed with the ease and down to earth manner you
deal with…it has been a real joy working with you all.”
BEVERLY NORSWORTHY
CHILD REARING FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
“…Thanks very much for the swift manner in which the printing
was completed.The cover looks very nice.”
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30. LESLIE C. FERRER
WITHOUT A DOUBT
“You made this book possible for me and for the world to see.The
Dorrance company is the greatest.”
MARY VANSHER
SHELTER IN THE STORM
“I am very pleased with the fine artistry work that was done for my
book.You have a group of very talented people at Dorrance. I just
want to thank everyone at Dorrance that has worked hard trying to
put together my manuscript into a professional quality and appealing
book.”
HARRIET LILA BAKER
BOOK 1: MY NAME IS BOYDUCK AND THIS IS MY STORY
“You are everything I want in a publisher: a teaching-library of
modern works.Your patience with me is outstanding.”
B.J. STRONG
JAKE’S PRIDE
“Thank you for making my dream come true.”
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31. Y OU A RE I NVITED
TO S END U S Y OUR M ANUSCRIPT
If you are considering full-service subsidy publishing, we cordially
invite you to send us a copy of your manuscript. Be sure to keep
the original manuscript for yourself. Please let us know which
Dorrance program you would prefer.There will be no obligation,
and you can be assured of a courteous reply.
FICTION, NONFICTION, AND POETRY
Even if your manuscript is incomplete, we invite you to send us a
summary or a sample. However, we do require a completed
manuscript in order to send out a proposal.We typically require a
minimum of 15,000 words or 12 one-page poems to make
individual book-length publication possible, for manufacturing
purposes.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Dorrance can help you take a children’s story and develop it into a
full-length manuscript through the resources of our design
services.As with other books, we require at least 16 book pages for
manufacturing purposes. These pages may include illustrations,
which can be supplied by you, by an artist you hire, or by a
Dorrance artist at additional cost.
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32. MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
You may send your typed manuscript to us in its present form. Let
us reiterate:You should retain at least one copy of the manuscript.
You can mail your manuscript to us via regular first class mail or
via a special carrier such as UPS or FedEx. We also accept
manuscripts for review on disk or CD or via e-mail (manuscripts
submitted in this manner will not be returned).
If there is to be a dedication,
contents page, list of illustrations,
foreword, preface, introduction,
list of acknowledgments, notes to
chapters, bibliography, appendix,
or index, it should be included,
or its intended position clearly
marked, in the manuscript.
Photographs or illustrations should
be numbered in crayon or soft
pencil on the back to avoid
damaging them. Corresponding
numbers should be inserted in the manuscript, indicating clearly where
in the text the illustrative material is to be placed.
Your manuscript represents your own personal accomplishment,
and we would be pleased to have the opportunity to work with you
in bringing it into print.
It is important to note that the Dorrance imprint has appeared
on titles continuously since 1920. In fact throughout the years,
hundreds of authors have published more than once through
Dorrance, and currently more than thirty authors on our list have
subsidy published more than one book with Dorrance.
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33. L OOKING A HEAD
Dorrance could not carry on the tradition of quality subsidy book
publishing associated with its name since 1920 without a forward-
looking attitude. As we study the book industry, we are impressed
by the growing need for alternatives for authors who have a strong
desire and are willing to pay to see their books in print. It has been
exciting to be able to provide our services to a growing number of
persons with the motivation to communicate their thoughts and
express their feelings in a range of prose and poetry styles.
We encourage you to move your interest in writing ahead and
to share your insights and knowledge with others. We understand
the challenges you face and are pleased to offer a choice of two
Dorrance subsidy publishing programs, either of which may be
appropriate for satisfying your needs. Write, call, or visit us to
discuss any of our services. Our author relations staff is prepared
to answer your questions.
OUR LOCATION
The headquarters of Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc., are located in
downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A major metropolitan area,
Pittsburgh is populated with a variety of professionals, businesses,
and services—such as freelance editors, artists, and printers—to
support our subsidy book-publishing endeavors.
Should you care to visit us, Pittsburgh is easily accessible.The
Pittsburgh International Airport is just twenty minutes away.
Interstates such as the Pennsylvania Turnpike (1-76) and 1-79 serve
23
34. the city.The Amtrak Railroad Station is in downtown proper, a few
blocks from our offices.
If you are interested in visiting our headquarters, please call
800-695-9599 for an appointment with an author relations
representative.
ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING
In the book publishing industry, the future is now. No doubt you
have heard about electronic books and books available for sale
through the Internet. At Dorrance, we have made a commitment
to keep pace with the rapid technological changes which have been
occurring in the printing and publishing industries as well as in e-
commerce, or business done on the Internet.These changes are to
the benefit of our authors because they allow us to participate in
new opportunities available for avenues of distribution.
If you decide to become a Dorrance author, we will
automatically list your book on dorrancebooks.com. Information
about your book and how to order it is made available there to the
more than fifty thousand people who visit our site each month.
Additionally, many Dorrance titles are available for order from the
large Internet bookstores, such as Amazon.com. These companies
place orders with us for Dorrance titles on a regular basis.
Each Dorrance book is also made available as
an E-book. This means that individuals visiting the
dorrancebooks.com web site can browse through
categories of books, and, if they so decide,
purchase a book or books for instant downloading
to their own computer via the Internet. As part of
the purchasing process, buyers are informed of the
copyright protection that applies to the book they
are downloading and agree to a onetime use and
respect for the author’s copyright. Purchases are
handled by a secure credit card authorization and
processing service, which clears transactions in
seconds.
As other changes and opportunities in the
digital world and the worlds of technology and e-
commerce come along, the staff at Dorrance will
be making every effort to stay at the cutting edge
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35. of progress, having brought our subsidy publishing program and
our titles into the twenty-first century with vision and foresight.
We look forward to having the opportunity to include your
book in our ever-growing list of Dorrance titles. Please send your
manuscript for our no-obligation, subsidy publishing proposal.
Thank you for your interest in Dorrance, and we look forward to
working with you.
“L et me tell you how impressed I am with the quality of your
efforts to publicize, promote and market my book—and I am not easy
to impress.”
— Carlos B. Carreiro, author of Portugal's GoldenYears
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36. 701 Smithfield Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 288-4543 • Fax: (412) 288-1786
e-mail: dorrinfo@dorrancepublishing.com
www.dorrancepublishing.com
