Well, that headline is not quite technically accurate to how the process actually operates, but it’s the most succinct way to explain where we now are.
So where exactly are we?
The final book files have been submitted to our platform provider and they will shortly generate final proofs. Once we’ve checked those for any overlooked or introduced errors, we’ll approve them and wait for the printable files to be generated. That’s essentially a black box as far as we’re concerned, but it seems to take a week or so to complete. Once those files are settled we’ll be able to order a print copy each for Malcolm and us to approve.
Once we’re happy that everything is as it should be, we can “go live”, with ebooks and paperbacks available to order immediately. At that point we’ll begin setting up the hardback, which is quite straightforward as we can of course use the same files as for the paperback.
How is that overall timeline looking?
For those of you following our publishing-in-real-time updates, you’ll have seen that we had a final manuscript in house just over a month ago around the 15th of March. We’re currently tracking for a publication date of the 4th of May, though this may end up being later depending on the vagaries of platform file-generation and how quickly print copies to check arrive with us. I suspect it will end up being very close to 2 months exactly.
Will this be representative of how long all of your books take from manuscript to print?
Probably, at least up to a point.
On the one hand, Malcolm is an especially seasoned and experienced author, requiring only relatively light editing. Completing the first copy-edit in about two days — as we did here — is not likely to be typical. In other cases this might take a week or two, depending on how much ongoing discussion we’ve had with an author prior to submission.
This book has also benefitted from being in production on its own. This is likely to be the case for our first few titles, but will become less so over time. We’re confident that we can still maintain the kind of pace and focus we’ve had here, but doubtless some brief bottleneck will occur.
But, with those caveats mentioned, I think this actually is quite a representative case. We’ve added quite a bit of time into the schedule where we were mostly waiting for endorsement quotes while we’ve had the long Easter weekend and the school holidays. Had there been an urgent need to get this out as quickly as possible we definitely could have done it faster.
Guaranteeing very short processes is risky. A day or a week’s delay can throw things off schedule very quickly. But yes, I do think this turn-around time from manuscript to print copies available in roughly two months is something we can replicate and sustain.
And how much will this book cost?
I’m so glad you asked! We’ve talked fairly vaguely about our likely price points in the past, not least because inflation makes fixed numbers in the abstract rather misleading. However, we have now set the initial paperback and ebook prices of Eden’s Alternative to Appeasement at £25, US$35, €30, and AU$52.80. Retailers may choose to discount these prices of course, and we will ourselves have a range of ways to offer copies at special prices for direct sales, which we’ll say more about at a later date.
We won’t price all of our books exactly the same as this, some may be longer or a little more expensive to print for other reasons, and inflation over time will inevitably adjust things upwards eventually. Nevertheless, as with our real-time production, this should give you a concrete sense of what we are able to do.
We will certainly have more news on this soon, as we progress through the stages I’ve outlined here. In the meantime if all of this has inspired you to move on your own book project, please do get in touch at proposals@tbarnpress.com.
