Our Assisted Publishing service allows authors with self-published books to access the same global network that is used for the sales and distribution of all David and Charles books, including international rights sales.
Many existing David and Charles authors have a mix of books that have been both commissioned and self-published. This is increasingly common in all genres and is a part of the industry we wanted to support. In the Assisted Publishing model, David and Charles acts as a distributor on behalf of the author. In no way does this threaten or change our approach to commissioning new books in the traditional advance and royalty model; in fact we expect our new book commissioning to increase in the forthcoming years.
Assisted Publishing is for self-published authors who can provide print-ready, final artwork of their book and we would expect books to have been edited and designed professionally. In most cases, authors submitting books will be familiar with the publishing business model, although this is not essential.
How does it work?
To enroll you simply complete the online form, pay a £250 enrolment fee and we will send you a distribution agreement for signature. Once signed, we will work with you to arrange file submission.
Key features
- Sales and distribution through the David and Charles global distribution network: Grantham Book Services (Penguin Random House Distribution) in the UK; Two Rivers (Ingram Content Group) distribution in the USA and a worldwide network of agent and distributor representation. Authors may opt in and out of distribute territories.
- Reach into art, craft and gift retailers in keeping with the category strengths of David and Charles books.
- Presentation of books to international rights buyers by the international sales team.
- Books are printed on demand. This enables global reach, reduces wast and removes the financial risk of stock investment by both parties, enabling better financial terms.
How much does the author earn?
The principle of the earnings is based on a 50% share of the profits from the sale of each book. Profit is calculated after taking out the discount offered to the trade, external distribution fees, and print costs. The terms and conditions allow for other sales scenarios and are all set out in our handbook and terms and conditions, which you can find here.
If you are an author who has a self-published book and are finding it difficult to get the reach you wish, then please contact us to discuss the Assisted Publishing offer. The offer is flexible, and you can opt in and out of sales by territory. For example, you could opt in to sales in the USA and rest of world, but opt out of UK distribution if you already have that in hand.