Authors are needed by The Nazca Plains Corporation.
Book length manuscripts of 50,000 plus words can be submitted to us at
NazcaPlains@aol.com. Put “New Author” in the attention line please.
We are looking for undiscovered new authors who can truly
write and draw us into their story.
Standard Author contracts are offered. While there is not a lot
of money to be made, you just never know when a new book will take off and make
serious money. Give us a try. We will read your manuscript and let you know of
our interest within one working day.
The Nazca Plains Corporation
Questions we have
been asked in the past:
1. What percentage of the
book’s sales goes to the author?
Our industry standard contract calls for 10% of the wholesale price of the book
to be paid to the author after collection; 8% for out of the
US sales.
2. Is a book that’s 80,000 words too
long?
Every book is judged on its own merit but generally we like to publish books
that are around 50,000 words for two reasons. First, it obviously helps to
keep our costs down. Second, the book can be popularly priced for better
sales.
3. Do I have to take my story offline
it it’s posted on an internet web site.
We would prefer it – no sense in having a free version of the book online as
competition for sales – but it depends on the agreement you have with the site
that’s hosting your work. This is something we can discuss.
4. Is this like publishing on
demand or ePublishing?
Yes and no. We use on demand presses and we use regular presses depending
on the final product we are seeking. Some of our full magazine size
publications are printed in South Korea to get the best price while some 6” X 9”
books are printed on demand both in the US and Belgium depending on the market
we are supplying. We are very different from the usual on demand printers
as we make no charge to the author for any part of our process. On demand
printers can charge up to $4,000 per book if you use all of their services.
5. I don’t have anything ready
right now. How much time do I have to work something up?
There is no rush here. Take your time; make certain your writing is the
best it can be and that you’re comfortable submitting it…whether it takes a
week, a month or longer. We publish from five to 10 books a month so there
is usually no problem fitting you in when you are ready.
6. What about sex between two 17
year olds? What about kissing and making out between teens?
All characters in a sexual situation have to be over the age of 18; we
will not publish anything depicting sex with anyone under that age, period.
As to non-sexual situations, so long as it does not lead to a sexual encounter
between individuals under the age of 18, it should be all right…but we’d have to
review the manuscript carefully before we could say for sure.
7. Do you edit the books?
We review the books and if something major jumps out at us we’ll point it out
and ask you to change it; but editing for typos and grammar is the
responsibility of the author. We suggest you have a friend or fellow
writer review your work for errors.
8. What do I need to do to submit
my manuscript? How long before I hear a decision on publication or when
the book will be published?
When the book is submitted it will be read and you should have a word back from
us in one or two days depending on our current load. You must submit the
material in MS Word format. You may want a dedication, perhaps an
acknowledgement page, a short one page bio and a head and shoulders photo; then
the book will take us about one week to format and send you an electronic proof
copy. From there, if no corrections are needed, the cover is created by
our art department and we generally get the book on the market within three
weeks from original submission.
One comment on our covers. Recently an author with multiple books posted
his latest cover on his personal blog. The cover received the following
reactions from his readers. “Moody and Elegant” “Draws you in”
“Artistically compelling” “Gets better in every book” “I’d buy ‘em just
for the covers alone”… our art director, Blake Stephens, does an excellent job
and frankly receives almost no credit. We are sure your experience will be
similar.
We don’t publish until you have signed our contract and mailed it to us.
9. What sort of promotion do you
do for the book? Do I have to do any?
This a very complicated and lengthy process and some of that process is
proprietary. The parts we can tell you about are as follows:
a. Proliferation: When we assign
one of our ISBN numbers to your book, the book is then listed on many retail
booksellers computer systems. You will find the ISBN and your book listed
in about two months on Amazon-US, Amazon-UK, Amazon-Germany, Amazon-Japan, Baker
and Taylor (owns B Dalton and many other retailers and is the world’s largest
wholesale system for books), Barnes & Nobel, Borders and many smaller chains too
numerous to mention.
b. Wholesale Distribution: All
Nazca Plains titles are available from SCB Distributors – US and
Canada; Turnaround Publisher Services –
Europe and Africa; and Bulldog Book –
Australia and the Far East.
We have world wide distribution and are well known for our books and especially
our covers.
c. Specific Book Buyer Notification:
Each month we send direct emails to our extensive list of book buyers.
This list includes all the stores we have been able to locate around the world
that have an interest in our books. Orders are then faxed to us by those
stores. Some stores are shipped to directly by Nazca Plains while others
are directed to our regional distributors.
d. Flyers: Some buyers insist on
having a physical full color flyer produced and sent. These buyers usually
have a large sales staff and the flyers are used by the sales staff when they
physically call on store buyers.
e. Seasonal Full Color Brochures:
Each six months (the book industry still uses a two season method) we produce a
24 page full color 8.5 X 11 inch brochure will our entire line of books arranged
by imprint for the buyers and direct sales staff to use in presenting to store
buyers.
f. Direct Phone Contact:
A select group of store buyers maintain a personal relationship with Nazca
Plains and we talk to those buyers each month about our latest offerings.
g. Writer Support: From time to
time, we have been asked to provide a special delivery of books for use at a
book signing arranged by the writer. We have done so very quickly as these
usually don’t have much lead-time.
In our experience over the last few years we have found that the authors that
make the most money are those who attend events and gatherings and sell their
books directly to the public they know. We provide those books for you to
sell at the wholesale price, just as we would to a store. One such author
is Dr. Robert Rubel who generally takes home more than $20,000 a year from
speaking and presenting at events around the US
and Canada.
10. What about getting reviewed?
There may have been a time when the book business was stretched out over a two
year ramp-up period for the promotion of a new book. Those days are really
gone for anyone other than well-known authors being promoted by major
publishers. These days, the best one can do is when the book appears on
Amazon to have a few friends write a paragraph or two appreciating the book.
Most store buyers today simply review the new offerings on Amazon, paying
attention to the reviews and ranking system, and place orders from distributors
based on what they see.
11. What about copyright?
Under the contract, the author grants Nazca Plains the use of your manuscript.
You maintain your copyright and can even contact the US Copyright office and
register your story if you want. In the book, Nazca Plains expresses a
copyright which has to do with the physical book (the cover, the layout, the
artwork, etc.)
12. Can I put my email or web
site in the book?
No. This is not the internet. In the past it has been allowed with
almost catastrophic results. It is amazing what kind of stalking can take
place when troublemakers have contact information. We never give out your
information to anyone.