Frequently Asked Questions

What's with the cat and the strange company name?

Aelurus (pronounced eye-loo-rus) is a latin word for cat, hence the feline logo. What can we say? The company founder is a cat lover.

What genres do you accept?

Our main Aelurus Publishing imprint includes titles that mostly fit within the fantasy / science fiction genres. Many of these, though not all, are Young Adult.

Our Curiosity Press imprint is much more open to a wide range of genres, including both fiction and non-fiction. One genre we don’t accept is erotica, and all manuscripts submitted should be clean of gratuitous or explicit sex, violence or bad language. If in doubt, please ask.

Can you produce a book cover for me?

Yes, we can produce a book cover for both your ebook and, if you choose, for a paperback copy too. If you’re being published through the Aelurus imprint, these will both happen automatically.

Our aim is to create a cover that gives a feel for your book, but also clearly looks like it’s within your chosen genres. Your target audience will be more likely to take a closer look if so.

Of course, we’ll work with you on the cover, so it’s something you’re happy with. That said, if your book will be published by Aelurus Publishing, we will have a bigger say in it, and we make the final decision.

Can you format my book?

Yes, definitely. We’re familiar with formatting for Kindle, Kobo, iBooks and others, as well as for Createspace and Ingram Spark for paperback copies. We see this as part of the core service we offer.

Where will you distribute my books?

If we publish your book, we’ll discuss with you the options. By default, we will publish ebooks to Amazon and enrol them in KDP Select, which we believe usually works best for new authors. Paperbacks we will publish to Amazon, as well as make it available for wider distribution through Ingram Spark.

This may change, however, as we are constantly reviewing what works best for us as a business, and for you as the author.

If you’re published through our Curiosity Press imprint, however, you’ll get a much bigger say in where you’re published. So if you want to “go wide”, meaning having your book available from Apple iBooks and Kobo, for example, that is entirely up to you.

Do I have to publish my book through you?

No, not at all. If you wish to pay upfront for our services, you’re free to take the work we’ve done for you (we’ll transfer all the copyrights to you), and publish it yourself.

If you still want to publish through us, you can of course and we’ll then agree with you an appropriate royalty share. If you don’t want to or can’t afford to pay upfront for the services, you will need to publish through us for the royalty share.

Can you edit my book?

Yes. We have a fantastic editor on the team, which means we can provide a full developmental and copy edit for your book. Even if there are only minor things we notice when we read through your work, we will also make suggestions to you.

Will you provide me with an ISBN?

If you choose to self-publish eBooks only you don’t have to have an ISBN, although publishers use them – and we do. For paperback and hardback copies, ISBNs are required. If we are publishing your book for you through either of our imprints, we will provide ISBNs at no cost.

If you’re self-publishing your work we are unable to provide you with an ISBN.

How will my book be priced?

The pricing of ebooks is a matter of serious debate, with many different views expressed. As a rule, we take the view that books should be priced in line with their genre, and promotional pricing should be used sparingly and for a specific reason.

We’ve tested pricing at various levels, and using different promotions, and for titles published through our Aelurus imprint, we currently set these towards the higher end of the Indie publisher books. That’s often around $4.99 for an eBook depending on the length and genre. We’ll then strategically use promotions.

We’ll always discuss pricing with you, but with our Aelurus imprint we will have the final say.

For titles published through Curiosity Press, you have much more flexibility to determine your own prices. We can’t support a normal price of less than $1.99, but otherwise you’ll be free to determine the price if you want to. We’re happy to support promotions – indeed we encourage you to use them as most books will remain invisible without them.

We can’t guarantee that physical bookstores will stock your book. However, the approach we take to publishing paperback copies makes it possible. We will create a paperback for sale on Amazon through Createspace. But Createspace isn’t great for getting into bricks and mortar stores. So we also publish through a company called Ingram Spark. They are a major distributor of physical books to physical bookstores.

We don’t have access to a sales force for bookstores, so our ability to be proactive with them is severely limited. However, people will be able to order your book through them if your title is through the Aelurus imprint. You can choose to also have this option if you’re published through our Curiosity imprint.

What royalties will I receive and when will I receive them?

When you publish with us, royalties from the various sellers will be paid direct to us. Within thirty days of our receiving those royalties*, we will disburse owed royalties to you.

If your book is published through the Aelurus imprint, we will have agreed a percentage royalty within your contract. Your royalties will go towards paying off your advance, which must be paid in full before you will start to receive them.

If you are publishing through our Curiosity imprint, the royalty share will depend on which of our services you have used. For example, if you have brought your own cover, your royalties percentage will be higher than if we produced one for you.

* Sellers have different ways of paying us. For Amazon, it is currently 60 days after the end of the month – so that can be almost 3 months after the sale. Other sellers have different timeframes, or even minimum thresholds before they pay.