As should be apparent from reviewing our main Publishing page, Archer Enterprises is not a well-known major house with the capability (at present) of fully underwriting all of the aspects involved in launching and promoting a client's new book – but is instead an independent full-service subsidy technical nonfiction publisher, since we presently must charge a nominal sliding fee for combined editing and pre-press services. However, we can assist our clients in bridging the nearly insurmountable gulf between having "only" a good completed manuscript – and a dream – and having a quality finished product that is profitably distributed worldwide without the constant hands-on supervision of the author as businessperson.
    Moreover, it must be pointed out before we proceed that, at least for now, each of our clients must theoretically be able to secure funding sufficient to cover the actual net cost of their book's minimum initial printing. In nearly all cases, though, we can negotiate 1st print run costs that will be between $5,000 and $10,000, and therefore 'within range' of credit card coverage. [Ideally, this will soon no longer be an essential consideration!] Our Assisted Self-Publishing Program fees and requirements will be further outlined below.
 
Getting Started:
    Archer Enterprises is now accepting completed educational, technical, and academic manuscripts for editorial review that have been compiled on a PC using Microsoft Word or on a Mac using ClarisWorks or AppleWorks software. Such compiled manuscript files which have already been distilled into Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format generally cannot be accepted for final pre-press use, especially when printing is to be arranged and provided by Archer Enterprises. Pdf files can, however, be used to submit introductory material and excerpts.
 
    Most submitted manuscripts [which regrettably can't be returned to the author] will be reviewed by Archer Enterprises VP Publishing Mr. Lawrence Klaes, the former editor of SETIQuest Magazine, who currently writes for The Ithaca Times and lectures occasionally at Cornell University. Prospective clients should  contact Mr. Klaes by e-mail to arrange for introductory material about their book to be forwarded for review prior to submitting a full manuscript. Upon his subsequent approval, a full manuscript may then be forwarded to: Archer Enterprises, Publishing Dept., 2938 Ferguson Crs. Rd., Geneva, NY 14456.  Engineering and scientific book manuscripts which are highly technical or math-intensive will be reviewed and coedited by Mark Tomion, president of Archer Energy Systems, Inc., in association with Mr. Klaes.
 
    Should an author and prospective client's full manuscript receive a favorable editorial review, we at Archer Enterprises will provide that author with a "Quotation for Assisted Publishing Services" that's broken down into 3 parts: (1) pre-press print file compilation; (2) author website development; and (3) strategic advertising campaign implementation. For primary pre-press services [i.e., to edit your manuscript files and turn them into the specialized files which drive the presses] we charge a sliding fee from a minimum of $350 (for, let's say, a cookbook with few illustrations and little special formatting required) up to a maximum of $1,500 (e.g., for an English translation of a Russian physics book!). For website development we charge a flat fee of just $350, and require a deposit of $200 in order to implement the associated  optimized Internet and print advertising  that we feel is essential to establish a 'grass roots' market presence. And so, it can be seen that our clients can put us 'on retainer' for as little as $900 but in no case will our total fees for these three (3) specific services be more than $2,050 (as quoted).
 
Pre-Press Services:
    Assuming your book is selected for publication and you accept our offered Quotation, we'll tender a Publishing Client Services Contract which reflects that Quotation and upon its signing will then provide you with the following itemized services prior to your book's actual printing:
 
 - we will secure your copyright and your book's Library of Congress Control Number from the appropriate agencies, if and as necessary (no charge);
 - we'll provide your new book with a valid publisher's ISBN [Int'l. Standard Book Number], as well as registration with the R. R. Bowker Publisher Access System and Books in Print databases (no charge);
 - we will negotiate and secure a great firm quotation from Cayuga Press of Ithaca, Inc. for producing a first print run of your book (no charge), and such quotation will be firm for 90 days from the date it's issued;
 - we'll oversee the professional design, hosting, and maintenance of a client-approved official author website, by The Gain Company of Canandaigua, NY, which is registered with the top ten Internet search engines (like Yahoo! and AltaVista) and which includes proven working software for world-wide ordering and shipping capability (a one-time fee of $350 is required); and
 - we will develop and implement an Internet ad campaign which is keyword-optimized with respect to your author website (an initial fee of $200 is required). Thereafter, we require each client to provide us with a monthly advertising budget of at least $25, but we will supplement that minimum ad budget out of our own share of proceeds-from-sales as described in our website Publishing page's pro-rata sales example.
 
    Pre-press editing services will commence upon our receipt of the agreed-to fee for same, and all material to be incorporated in the client's book must be received at or by that time. If necessary or desired, we can provide a suitable and attractive color cover meeting the author's final approval for an additional flat fee of $125. We cannot provide for the inclusion of either B&W or color illustrations except those supplied by the author and/or by permission from another source if copyrighted. Also, we charge a one-time fee of $75 per distinct source for each permission secured by us on client's behalf for the use of copyrighted text or illustrations, in addition to any fee for same that may be charged by the permitting party. [Please see the general recommendations section of our site's Publishing page with regard to minimizing book layout costs.]
    Archer Enterprises will secure and provide printing services through Cayuga Press at client's request upon receipt of the quoted total print run costs plus the $550 combined website and advertising campaign development fees plus the total permission fees (if any, as above). We will then arrange, oversee, and expedite all printing work to be done by Cayuga Press on client's behalf, such that their first print run is completed and delivered to our warehouse within 30 days of receiving those total costs and fees. Thereafter, we will maintain a printing escrow account for each such client, in which per-unit print costs for each print run will be recovered from sales preparatory to a subsequent printing.
 
Marketing Plan:
    Even if a client elects to have another company provide the actual printing services for their book, Archer Enterprises will handle all promotion, marketing transactions, and shipping of orders for each client's book, and will furnish the client with monthly marketing reports, statements of sales and earnings, and sales proceeds checks, provided payment of the aformentioned combined development fees has been received from the client. The development of major chain and independent bookstore sales of each client's book(s) will be expedited as described below, as we aggressively seek distribution in markets which are secondary and tertiary to the primary development of world-wide retail Internet sales.
 
[A] primary marketing via Author Website:  As shown in the pro-rata sales example on our Publishing page, our clients can earn royalties on Internet sales at a rate as high as 50% or more of (list price)! Although we consider online author website sales to be a 'primary' distribution means – mainly because our clients' profit margin is almost double that for bookstore sales – Internet sales should be expected to yield only a necessary minimum sales base and 'market presence', and to account for only a relatively minor portion of the author's eventual income. We have proven, though, that a good author website generates significant bookstore referrals [since your customers can save the shipping costs that way!].
    Many ad consultants and website 'optimization' services will inform you that you can reasonably expect a "conversion rate" of as high as 5% for a merchant website's traffic: in other words, perhaps 1 in 20 of your visitors will actually buy your product, given good professional site design and construction. However, in our experience this percentage as it applies to author websites selling a technical nonfiction book is likely to average only about 1 in 50, or 2%, with little way to accurately project this conversion ratio based on such a book's subject matter other than the simple axiom that the more technical a book is the smaller its audience will be. In this respect, your sales do very much depend on the efficacy of the keyword ad campaign we can develop with your own specialized input.
 
[B] secondary marketing via "The Big 3" chains:  To get an independently-published nonfiction book promoted to the point where it might be stocked by the big chain stores, its market potential must first be demonstrated by persuading them to start out stocking half a dozen books or so at each of their centralized distribution centers, for sale in their online storefronts. Once primary and secondary online sales track records are established, demographics can be generated which show the address trends of those who bought the book and chain store locations can be identified in those preferred areas. Negotiations can then commence regarding the stocking of a realistic number of copies of your book in specific individual store locations.
    The Big 3 bookstore chains are, of course, Borders/Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million. (i) Borders Group operates about 450 Borders superstores in the U.S. and 700 Waldenbooks stores in malls nationwide, while offering online shopping in association with Amazon.com for both chains. (ii) Barnes & Noble actually lays claim to title as the nation's largest bookseller, with some 600 Barnes & Noble, Bookstop, and Bookstar outlets and about 200 Doubleday, Scribner's and B. Dalton bookstores. (iii) Books-a-Million is the nation's third largest book retailer, with over 200 stores operating in 49 states.
    It must be noted that the most rigorous test of whether the pricing strategy that we develop for each book will be acceptable to the author as our client is simply to look at the case where you would like to sell your book at Amazon.com! The retailer "cut" of list price that they require by contract is a huge 45%, which unfortunately yields the lowest ROI (return-on-investment) that the client will experience in any established market . . .
 
[C] tertiary marketing through wholesalers:  Finally, sales of your new book can be maximized via wholesaler distribution to libraries and independent book stores. For small press issues, the two best library wholesalers are Quality Books, Inc. and Baker & Taylor, who are known for dealing well with independent publishers and for a willingness to place small orders. Similarly, Independent Publishers Group serves as book distributors for small press issues to bookstores throughout the U.S. and worldwide, and Publishers Group West is widely known as one of the largest bookstore marketing and distribution companies for independently-published nonfiction.
    It should be noted that while Ingram (a name that will be familiar to many) is one of the largest book wholesalers in the U.S., and is the best avenue for getting your book into the bookstore market, they are currently not accepting small press issues directly. But, they have affiliations with other distributors that can get your book included in the Ingram book database.

    We hope that you will consider the Archer Enterprises Assisted Self-Publishing Program as a viable – if not inexpensive – alternative publishing solution, when more conventional avenues prove unavailable or undesirable. If you decide that our program sounds like it would work well for you, you may be assured that Mr. Klaes will personally work with you and our staff to oversee the ongoing marketing strategy development and promotion for your new book and the appropriate allocation and disbursement of its advertising budget.
    Please note that Archer Enterprises shall reserve the right to exercise final creative approval of book layout and list price.

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If you have specific questions you feel were not addressed above:  office@stardrivedevice.com
 
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