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Frequently Asked Questions
iUniverse Publishing Services
What type of publishing services does iUniverse provide?
How does iUniverse's publishing process work?
Does iUniverse publish any book regardless of its content?
Do you publish children's books?
I cannot login to my iUniverse account?
I'd like to publish my poetry. Does iUniverse offer any special services for poetry authors?
What is a BISAC code? What is a back cover category? How do I change them?
iUniverse offers publishing packages to suit every writer's individual needs. Take a look at what each one offers. The book publishing section of our Web site tells you what you'll need to work with us. If you have any more questions regarding a specific publishing program, you can request a free publishing guide from our Publishing Specialists.
Each iUniverse Publishing Package includes the following great benefits:
Quality Trade Paperback
A professionally designed, quality trade paperback with a custom four-color cover. For each book, we assign an ISBN, list it in Books-In-Print and in the databases of major book wholesalers. While there is an additional fee for graphics within the book, cover graphics are included in the publishing fee, and you can submit your own ideas and/or images for use.
Broad Distribution
All iUniverse titles are available to order from brick-and-mortar bookstores, online bookstore like Amazon.com and B&N.com and, of course, from the iUniverse bookstore. While there is never a guarantee of placement in brick-and-mortar stores, your book is available for consumers to order from multiple outlets upon publication.
Top-of-the-Line Royalties
Higher than the standards set by most publishing companies, our standard print royalties are 20 percent of publisher net receipts. See the Publishing Agreement for the program you are interested in for details.
Great Discounts to Authors
Read the individual Publishing Agreements for details. We also offer competitive bookseller discounts.
Shorter Production Time
Shorter than that of traditional publishing companies, our current production process usually takes 60-90 days. After our production is complete, give our partners and online booksellers three to four weeks to list your book in their databases.
An Online Electronic Proof
We provide an online proof of each book, allowing authors 14 calendar days to proof their book for any minor typos and corrections. Be thorough. We only provide this opportunity to authors once.
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Before beginning the publishing process, make sure that your manuscript (or out-of-print book) meets our minimum length requirements. If you're concerned that your book is too long or too short, please contact us.
Select and purchase the iUniverse Publishing Package that best meets your needs.
Next, submit your manuscript (or out-of-print book) to iUniverse. Submissions can be done either online or through postal mail.
Once your submission has been accepted, it will be assigned an ISBN and will enter our publishing process. A professional designer will create a unique four-color book cover (not applicable to the Fast Track publishing package). We'll also design the book block or interior of your manuscript or out-of-print book. When this has been completed, you will be given an opportunity to proof your book. Be sure and get back to us in 14 days to keep things moving!
Please note that submissions submitted on disk by postal mail will take longer, as additional production processes are required. Additionally, submissions that require an Editorial Evaluation will take longer.
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iUniverse will not publish books that violate or infringe upon any personal or proprietary right, including copyrights, trademark rights, trade secret rights, contract rights, privacy rights or publicity rights of any persons. In addition, we will not publish works that are defamatory, pornographic or obscene to a degree that they would not be carried by a traditional trade bookstore. Books cannot, in any way include recipes, formulas, instructions or recommendations that may be injurious to any reader, user or third person. iUniverse does not publish works that are in the public domain.
iUniverse also reserves the right to decline or discontinue publication if a work is deemed to have a risk of litigation or other adverse commercial consequences.
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We do publish children's books, but not many, since few meet our minimum length requirement (10 thousand words or 20 poems) and most children's books include color graphics within the book. At this time we can only print black-and-white or grayscale embedded graphics within the text of the book. Book covers are in color.
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Sometimes when signing into your myUniverse account you might encounter an error message like this even though you know that your password and e-mail are correct:
"There is no user with the e-mail and password you supplied. Please try again. Thank you..."
This is a common error message and can be easily resolved in most cases.
1. Remove any extra characters.
Double-check that you are using the correct e-mail and password to login, remove extra spaces, periods or other special characters.
2. Clear out your HISTORY and CACHE.
To do this, close all instances of the INTERNET EXPLORER browser. Go to your START menu (lower-left hand corner of the screen) and select SETTINGS, and CONTROL PANEL. Double-Click the INTERNET OPTIONS icon. Click on the "Delete Cookies", ''Delete Files'' and ''Clear History'' buttons.
3. Allow Cookies.
Go to the top of the dialog box and click on the PRIVACY tab. Drop the slider to LOW. Click "Ok".
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iUniverse has helped many authors publish their poetry. Our Select Publishing Package features custom cover design with worldwide distribution. The Select Package also includes many of the other professional publishing services that have made iUniverse the leader in supported self-publishing. Don't wait any longer to share your poetry with the world—our Select Package makes publishing your work fast, easy and affordable.
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The BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) code helps booksellers determine the primary subject or focus of a book. Notice the different sections of your local bookstore to see some of the existing classifications, for example, science fiction, literature, romance, self-help, cookbooks and history.
The back cover category is a label placed on the back cover of your book that provides more detailed classification information that is easily accessible to a potential buyer. For example, a back cover category will give a reader browsing the science fiction shelves an easy way to differentiate between a book on time travel and a space-opera novel.
Contact your Publishing Services Associate if you want to change your book's BISAC code or back cover category.
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