What we can offer, and how much it will cost
If you’ve read the About page, you’ll already have a general idea of what Aelurus Publishing has been set up to do.
In general, some of the things that new authors might find complicated and messy are what we want to help with. But you don’t want generalities here. You want specifics. So, here they are:
What we can do for you
- Format your book for Kindle, Kobo, iBooks, etc
- Provide an ISBN and upload your books to the above platforms (N.B. Aelurus Publishing will be listed as the publisher)
- Format your book for a paperback and/or hardback edition.
- Organise for your book to be printed, making sure “bricks and mortar” book stores can order it (N.B. Once again, Aelurus Publishing will be listed as the publisher).
- Provide content editing and copy editing for your book
- Provide a cover for both your ebook and physical copy
- Send out Advance Review Copies (ARCs) of your book for early reviews
- Undertake some limited marketing
What’s our pricing structure?
A question I’ve often seen asked on writer forums is whether anyone knows graphic designers, editors or formatters who will work on a royalty share. That’s because often a new writer is broke and just can’t afford the services that will make their book the best it can be. Inevitably, the answer to those questions is “No”. That’s why we’ve come up with a couple of different pricing models.
- The first option is pretty traditional way of paying for what we do. You pay upfront for the services you want, then take away your book with all its formats, cover, etc, and do the rest yourself. Hopefully you’re pleased with what we’ve done, but our business relationship has ended (unless you want to come back to us again with your next book, which we hope you do). But if you just can’t afford it?
- Well, then there is The second option which is where we get innovative. You see, we can do all of the things we list above for you and your book, with no upfront charge. We’ll then take a royalty share from your published works. All we ask is that you commit to keeping your book published with us for a minimum three years, during which time we expect to recover our costs. What happens if we lose money on it? Well, no-one will come to you asking for more money, so this really is a low-risk option for you.
“How are you different from a traditional publisher?” you may ask. “I don’t want one of those.”
Answer: We’re a lot different! Indeed, if you are looking for a traditional publisher, Aelurus Publishing isn’t for you.
For example, we won’t ask you to sign up to keep you book with us for longer than the three years (although you can if you want to). We won’t mandate you do x, y or z. We won’t restrict you on any marketing you want to do yourself (after all, we both want your book to sell, right? So feel free to market away!). We won’t ask for any rights beyond being able to publish your book and take a royalty share for three years. Oh, and that royalty share will be on gross royalties, not net. That means if Amazon, for example, pay us $100 royalties one month for your book and our royalty share is 50:50, you will get $50. We will take the administration and running costs out of our remaining $50. By the way the royalty share could be more or often less than 50:50 – it just depends on how much you want us to do for you.
Ultimately, this remains your book. We’re just helping you get it published.
As far as the pricing itself, there is a more detailed list below, but here area a couple of examples.
| Author 1: Would like Royalty Share only | Royalty Share including: Cover Design, Edit, Formatting, Publishing for e-book only | Share of Royalties: (Author) 58% : 42% (Aelurus Publishing) |
| Author 2: Pays upfront for cover design and editing, but publishes through Aelurus | Royalty Share including: Formatting, Publishing for e-book and paperback | Share of Royalties: (Author) 80% : 20% (Aelurus Publishing) |
The more detailed breakdown is as follows:
| Services | Option 1: Prices for Writers Wishing to Pay in Full Upfront | Option 2: Prices for Writers Taking a Royalty Share |
|---|---|---|
| Format your novel for ebook only | $50 | 7% Gross Royalties |
| Format your novel for both ebook and print versions | $75 | 10% Gross Royalties |
| Produce a cover for ebook only | $150 | 15% Gross Royalties |
| Produce a cover for both ebook and print versions | $200 | 20% Gross Royalties |
| Publish your book (includes free ISBNs) | Yes. It will incur administration costs (see below) | Free |
| Basic website design (The Aelurus Publishing website is an example of a basic design) | £200 | £200. Royalty Share is not yet available for website design. |
| Administration Costs | Yes if published through Aelurus Publishing. 10% Gross Royalties | 10% Gross Royalties |
| Send out Advance Review Copies (ARCs) | Yes, if published through Aelurus Publishing. Free | Free |
| Edit your book (content editing and copy editing) | If paying upfront, price dependent on page-count. If publishing through Aelurus Publishing, 20% Gross Royalties | 20% Gross Royalties |
If you’re interested in finding out more, get in touch by email, or via oursubmissions page.
