We will create for you a tasteful and effective cover design suited to either paperback or hardback books, which are available in either a gloss or matt laminate finish. You can either tell us the type of design you would like, or just let us come up with something for you.

Elements Required for the Front Cover

• Include an impacting, descriptive main book title
• Include a second level subtitle, which is useful if the main title is ambiguous
• Add a short promotional endorsement from someone well known or of influence
• Add author name or pseudonym

Elements Required for the Back Cover

• Supply text that provides the potential buyer a snappy, attractive overview of what the book is about, which will help sell the book. This is your main tool for attracting buyers. This text will be used across all platforms on the internet as the description of what the book is. It is vital you make this as clear and informative as possible, with clean, error free use of English.
• About the author. If you would like to include information about yourself, please supply this text. You may also want to include a portrait photograph of yourself. Any imagery should be supplied to us with the design brief.
• If you have a website address, think about including this information on the back cover too, to enhance visibility of your personal brand.
• A Zaccmedia ISBN barcode will be placed on the back of the book.

Spine

• We automatically add the book title, author and Zaccmedia logo on the spine. Please advise if you wish to change this. Note: The book must be at least 80 pages thick to enable text to be placed on the spine.

We will initially produce a single design, which if not approved we can then attempt up to two further designs. We can design from scratch, or you can provide a design brief. It is essential the brief is as simple as possible, and within reasonable limits of the design being based on using stock library imagery, together with attractive typefaces. Custom drawing, photography and character illustration is not part of this package. If this is required please contact us. You may have your own graphic or photograph you would like to use for the cover. This should be supplied as a 300dpi digital file at the size of the book format chosen.

Our full publishing package includes professional copy editing using an experienced book editor. Copy editing provides a balance of improving sentence structure alongside proofing for grammatical errors and spelling. We don’t offer 100% error free edits (nobody can without multiple editors, which isn’t viable), but we do offer a high level of professional editorial service at this price point that will enhance your book significantly and be suited for trade publication.

After your manuscript has been edited by our team, it will then be sent for typesetting (interior page layout). Our editing ensures that your manuscript is as clean, checked and proofed as well as possible, because the scope for changes following the typesetting stage are restricted. Once the manuscript is typeset, you will receive a set of PDF page proofs to check that all your content is there, correctly laid out and in the format requested. It is also an opportunity to check any last minute minor errors.

Images & Illustrations
For black & white interiors, you can supply as part of your package up to ten photographs (more can be requested) or illustrations, which should be of sufficient resolution and clarity to be suitable for reproduction. These will be reproduced in grey scale. For professional quality, please supply images at a resolution of 300dpi (dots per inch) at the size you wish it to appear in the book.

We are able to produce a variety of book sizes suited to your preference.

Colour books

We can design and produce books in colour. It is considerably more expensive to print in colour, but find that colour interior books with a modest page count can still be printed, distributed and sold at a profit using our digital print methods. So, let us know your requirements and we can evaluate and recommend the best way forward. If colour is unnecessary, it is absolutely recommended to stay with black and white printing, due to the cost savings.

Common Trade Formats Available

5 x 7″ (178 x 127mm)
5 x 8″ (203 x 127mm) Perfect Bound
5.25 x 8″ (203 x 133mm)
5.5 x 8.5″ (216 x 140mm) DEMI Perfect Bound
6.14 x 9.21″ (234 x 156mm) ROYAL perfect Bound
6 x 9″(229 x 152 mm)

All Paperback, Perfect Bound Formats Available (with b&w interiors)

5 x 7″ (178 x 127mm)
5 x 8″ (203 x 127 mm)
5.25 x 8″ (203 x 133 mm)
5.5 x 8.5″ (216 x 140 mm) DEMI
5.83 x 8.27″ (210 x 148 mm) – A5 FORMAT
6 x 9″(229 x 152 mm)
6.14 x 9.21″ (234 x 156 mm) ROYAL
7 x 10″ (254 x 178 mm)
8 x 10″ (254 x 203 mm)
8.25 x 11″ (280 x 210 mm)
8.5 x 11″ (280 x 216 mm)
8.268 x 11.693″ (297 x 210 mm) – A4 FORMAT

Hardback formats 
5.5 x 8.5″ (216 x 140mm)
6 x 9″ (229 x 152mm)
6.14 x 9.21″ (234 x 156mm)
7 x 10″ (254 x 178mm)
8.5 x 11″ (280 x 216mm)

Contact us if you need a different size.

Standard marketing suite, which includes the below:

• Social Media / Web Graphic advertisement for book
• 3D rendered images of book cover
• Inclusion in general Zaccmedia marketing initiatives
• Advance Trade Information Sheet for bookshops
• Zaccmedia “always in stock” Bookstore placement

Zaccmedia doesn’t publish books based on proven commercial merit, but publishes books based on supporting an author’s intention to try the commercial possibility of their writing. For this reason we are different to commercial publishers that commission their authors. This package is for authors wanting to invest in the full publishing service and should do so in the understanding that we cannot guarantee sales and success. Many authors publish because they do so out of a vision and sense of calling, or prefer not to handle the complexity of doing it themselves, which is why our full turn-key publishing solution is ideal for many authors.

As part of the full publishing package, you may have up to ten images or illustrations inserted into the book. If you would like to include more, then for a modest fee we can add as many more insertions as necessary.

We provide a Zaccmedia ISBN and barcode for you.

Every book that is intended for trade distribution must have an ISBN (International Book Standard Number). An ISBN is used by distribution channels to uniquely identify every edition of any book that has been produced, and to serve as a single point of reference. Very often books can have the same title, and even the same author. An ISBN identifies exactly which book it is and provides database references to who the publisher and distributor is for that book. Bookshops also use the ISBN and barcode for their own ordering and inventory management.

A Zaccmedia ISBN, rather than your own, is usually necessary because we will be the company where all orders are sourced under our distribution and printing account, which is with Ingram and their subsidiary print-on-demand printing service, Lightning Source. Usually it is viewed that the ISBN holder is the publisher of the book.

If you wish to publish under your own publishing imprint, you can do that, using our ISBN, and we can still provide you our distribution service.

With digital technologies now well established in printing, it is now increasingly popular to use print-on-demand methods of producing books. The books are of a very high trade quality, and to most people, indistinguishable to books traditionally printed offset. We use Ingram, the world’s largest book distributor, for their printing and distribution facility called Lightning Source, and together with many companies like Zaccmedia, we use their outstanding services. Ingram are, however, principally a worldwide book distributor. They have Lightning Source print stations in the USA, UK and Australia, making it possible for individuals and retailers to order books with domestic postage from any of these countries.

Zaccmedia sets up your book for printing and distribution through Ingram and Lightning Source, giving your book potential access to 30,000 retailers around the world. It is important for you to know that Zaccmedia doesn’t operate to market your book, nor does it guarantee to place your book in shops. What we do provide, through Ingram, is the channel to get your book into the shops should there be a demand for it. But it is up to the author to engage in promotional activity to create that demand. It is therefore important you weigh up your potential sales to see if you will cover your publishing costs with Zaccmedia, or any other self-publishing house, if profitability is essential to you. Just because your book is available, it doesn’t mean a shop or person will buy it. Out of the thousands of books produced each month, you need a way to promote yours above the ‘noise’. Our Publishing Package includes a few basic services to help you on your way, and we can provide advice on how you can promote your book.

As part of the distribution package, your paperback book will automatically be made available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. Amazon are powerful book sellers, and are the most popular destination for book buyers. Make sure your back cover text is effective, as this will appear on Amazon.

If you have taken a package that includes eBook conversion, we will convert your book into the standard commercial eBook digital format: ePub. This format is used by Amazon Kindle, the world’s foremost eBook retailer. We do not supply PDF version eBooks, because they are not suited for portable eReading devices due to their fixed dimensions. Kindle eBooks enable you to enlarge the text, and flow it onto a single page without zooming, making it perfect for smartphones, iPads, computers and Kindle readers.

As a distribution package, the aim is to make your book available for sale through various retail outlets, including Amazon. When a book does sell, you are entitled to a royalty. The royalty commission you receive is 60% net receipts from any book sold through our retail channels. What does net receipts mean? This is a standard royalty system in publishing. This is how it works:

ROYALTY CALCULATIONS EXPLAINED

Example: (the figures here are purely for example. Each book will have a different selling and production cost)

A book has a recommended retail price of £9.99 with a page length of 160pp, and 5.5×8.5″ format.

Via our distribution channel, we may give 40% wholesale discount to those retailers who want to buy the book for stocking in their shops or online facility.

We sell the book to a shop:
The retail price of the book, which is £9.99, is sold to a shop at 40% discount
Zaccmedia sells the book for £5.99 (retailer gets £3.99 off the retail price)

We calculate what the author gets from the shop sale:
We deduct the print cost (what it costs to print the book) from the £5.99 sale from the shop:

The printing cost = £2.30
£5.99 (money from shop) – £2.30 (the cost to print the book) = £3.69

Author receives 60% royalty from £3.69 = £2.21 (this is what the author receives)
Zaccmedia commission is the remainder = £1.48 (this is what Zaccmedia receives)

Ebook Sales Royalty
The same royalty model applies to eBook sales, but please note that as well as a retailer discount there is also a technology fee from the eBook distribution company. This digital technology fee replaces the printing cost.

Zaccmedia’s Commission

The royalty price is structured so that the author will always make significantly more income from a book than Zaccmedia. We receive our commission for dealing with the administration, order and ongoing management of the books under our service agreement.

We use Ingram’s Lightning Source company to manage our printing and is the world’s leading print-on-demand and distribution company.

You can purchase books for your own personal use, distribution and sale. We offer generous terms on the purchase of your books, selling them to you at print cost price plus 20% of the retail price if a paperback, and 10% if a hardback.

For example:
A book has a recommended retail price of £9.99 with a page length of 160pp, and 5.5×8.5″ format.

The basic Print Cost our printer charges on 160 pages will be £2.30.
20% of £9.99 (RRP) comes to £1.99.
So the price to you is the Print Cost of £2.30 + 20% of RRP, which is £1.99 = £4.29 (price to you)

Each print order has an additional printer handling and shipping fee. Shipping becomes more economical the more books you order. There is no minimum or maximum order. We don’t control shipping rates, as all books are shipped directly from the printer. We don’t hold physical inventory of books, but print to order.

Following the completion of publication you are entitled to receive 10 complimentary paperback copies of your book (2 hardback copies if that option is requested), which you may sell, give to friends and family, or use for promotional purposes.

Our contracts are Non-Exclusive.
For our distribution packages, our contract is for one year. Your book must remain in our distribution plan for that duration. Following one year from the date of contract, you are free to have the book removed from Zaccmedia, if you so wish. Zaccmedia reserves the right, following one year, to remove the book from our distribution facility at anytime.

The contract is non-exclusive, meaning you can publish your manuscript with someone else anytime. The only caveat is that you are not permitted to use elsewhere the print ready files we have produced. After one year, you can request to keep the files and use them elsewhere. But to do this you need to take into account the following:

You can only take control of the print ready files if you cancel our distribution arrangement.

There is a £200 fee to convert and release either/both eBook and print files. The print ready files require a conversion process before being delivered to the author. The files contain our barcode, logo and information on the inside pages and cover. The files will be adjusted for the print version and eBook version (if applicable), removing Zaccmedia details, and if required, replacing like-for-like your own details.

No conditions are held on the edited manuscript in MS Word. This belongs to you at all times.

It is a UK legal requirement to deposit up to 5 books in the British Library Legal Deposit.