Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions:


  1. Submitting to Stillpoint Digital Press
  2. Ebook Conversion
  3. Audiobook Production
  4. Other Editorial Services (Editing, Art, Design)
  5. On downloading and Reading Stillpoint ebooks 
  6. Don't see what you're looking for? Ask an editor!
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Submission

Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell    Death in a Fair Place by W.L. Taylor    The Seven Gods of Luck by David Kudler

The mission of Stillpoint DIgital Press is to publish fine ebooks and print editions. We have some wonderful titles already, but we would very much like to help you bring your writing to the public.

That romance/mystery/vampire novel you've got sitting in the back of your hard drive? The dissertation that's never seen the light of day since your committee accepted/rejected it? Your mom's combination memoir/cookbook? The collection of poetry you published through a small press fifteen years ago, but that has since gone OP? The textbook of your grandfather's that's been in print continuously for thirty-something years? (If it was published before the mid-1990s, the digital rights are almost certainly still his.) We would love to help you edit it into shape, and then to publish, market, and sell it.  

We are still in the process of creating a slick, integrated system for you to submit your manuscript (or previously published book) for publication at Stillpoint. For now, we'll keep it simple: send a query or any questions to us at editor​@​stillpointdigital.com We can't wait to see what you've written!  

Note: As of July 1, 2013, our backlog has reached the point where we can no longer promise to get to submitted manuscripts in a timely fashion. As much as we look forward to reading what you've written, we also want to keep our promise to publish on time the books that we already have under contract. We will accept new submissions, with the understanding that it may be some time before we are able to give your manuscript the focus it deserves. Thank you for your patience!

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Ebook Conversion and Design

Health Begins in the Kitchen by Joanne L. Mumola Williams    Running Down the Wind by Laurence Eubank    Mellonta Tauta by Edgar Allan Poe

    If you are looking to self-publish, but need some help converting your manuscript into a polished, professional ebook, Stillpoint Digital Press can provide whatever level of assistance you are looking for.

    From a novel containing only text, to a heavily illustrated memoir to a children's picture book with full-page images and a read-aloud track, we can provide just what you are looking for, in formats that will display beautifully on the Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Sony Ereader, and other ebook readers.

    Manuscripts

      The challenge of converting your book depends on the style and complexity of your book, and on the format of the original manuscript.For a straightforward conversion of a simple text (a novel, for example, or a non-fiction book with no figures, tables, or illustrations) we generally ask around $2.00 per thousand words ($0.002 per word, if you're feeling precise).*

      More complex formatting (drop capitals, sidebars, illustrations, tables, graphs, multiple images) will increase the time and therefore the cost, depending on the density and complexity of the formatting involved. A heavily illustrated book with a cross-linked list of images might cost $10.00 per thousand words or more.

      We can work from just about any original format, from typed manuscript to a computer document. We love it when books come to us as Microsoft Word (.doc/docx), Rich Text (.rtf), Apple Pages (.pages), or OpenOffice (.odt) files,  or as InDesign documents (.indd/indb). We can even open most older word processing documents — just let us know!

      Some formats require a lot more preparatory work simply to begin the ebook design. That handwritten novel manuscript, for example, or hard-bound printed book will need to be digitized, and PDF files may need to be cleaned up considerably. If you would like us to work from such originals, we'll be happy to let you know what preparing the manuscript will look like up front as part of our estimate.

    Picture books (fixed-format)

      For children’s picture books, we can help you convert the manuscript and the art into a beautiful, fixed-format picture book. The difficulty of conversion will depend on the complexity of the layout.

      Ask about adding a read-along track as well! (See information about audiobooks below.) We have professional voice-over performers who can bring your book to life, or we can embed a recording of you reading the text!

    Covers

      For text conversions, we will provide at no additional charge a basic cover that includes the title, the author’s name, and any image that you have the rights to.

      If you would like help designing a more eye-catching cover, we would be happy to provide a quote for our services.

    SMIDGET - Social Media Widget for Ebooks!

    We've developed a way for your book to become its own best marketing platform! With Smidget, we put the ability to review, tweet, pin, and post about your work right inside the book itself!

    We will customize the widget for your book -- we can even install it for you, and create a page for your book on Goodreads.com, the largest online book-review-sharing site! For more information about Smidget, click here

    Ebook Distribution

    We can distribute your ebook for you to all of the major online outlets for a small percentage of your net income (5%).

    If you'd rather, we can create accounts for you through our Turnkey Service, and provide full instructions for how to take advantage of your accounts. We'll even upload your first book for you!

    If you are interested in either of these services, contact us today!

    * Because no two writers format manuscripts in precisely the same manner, we estimate by word count rather than by pages. A typical page, set in 12 pt. Courier with 1" margins, will have on average 250 words, so a thousand words works out to about four pages.

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    Audiobook Production

    Long Gone Daddies by David Wesley Williams    A Man and His God by Janet Morris    A Favorite Son by Uvi Poznansky

    Our studio includes a professional audio recording and editing facility. If you would be interested in creating an audiobook or read-aloud track of your work read by a professional voice actor or actors, let us know and we can include that in your quote.

    The cost will vary widely depending on the length and complexity of your manuscript. Generally, we charge between $200 and $400 for each finished hour of the completed recording. An hour of edited audio will typically correspond to eight to ten thousand words.

    We can give you the final, edited audio files, or, if you would like, we can distribute your audiobook on iTunes, Amazon, and Audible.

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    Editorial Services

    We have decades of experience providing a broad spectrum of editorial services. Whether you need a deep developmental edit that smooths out the logic, language, and flow of your manuscript, a copy edit that polishes its style, or a thorough final proofread that buffs the prose to high shine, we can make sure that your words have precisely the impact that you are looking for.

    We also offer services including  fact checking, desktop publishing, web design, indexing, and the research and acquisition of permissions for both images and quotations.

    Rates vary depending upon the service and the manuscript. In general, we follow the Editorial Freelancers Association's posted rates.

    Contact us

    Interested in any of our services? Contact us today at editor​@​stillpointdigital.com! Let us know what you're looking for, and we'll be happy to help you turn your manuscript into a professional, polished book

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    On Reading Ebooks:

    1. How do I read my ebook?
       Stillpoint books can be loaded onto and read on a huge variety of ereader hardware and software configurations--more than we could possibly provide informed advice for. 

      Here are some specific instructions that might be of use:

      If you have specific directions to share for loading files on your ereader, write them up in a response below, and I will link to them here.

      Don't yet have an ereader? Here are some ereader applications for various computers, phones, tablets, etc.
    2. What formats are you releasing ebooks in?
       Currently, we are issuing them as ePub (aka iBooks/Nook/Kobo/etc.) and .mobi (aka Kindle) files, which are readable by the vast majority of e-readers and e-reader applications. If you are having problems loading your ebook onto your ereader, or if you would like to request that we issue the books in another format, ask below. 
      When you go to donate on our site and want to request an ebook, be sure to click on the format that you want before clicking the "Add to Cart" button.
    3. Where can I buy Stillpoint ebooks?
      Initially, all ebooks that we issue will be available exclusively through our onsite store. Soon thereafter, we will allow sales through retail outlets, such as Apple's iBookstore and Amazon's Kindle Store.
    4. I requested the ePub version when I needed the .mobi/Kindle (or vice-versa)! What should I do?
      Email us at orders​@​stillpointdigital.com. Include the word VERSION in the subject line. We'll get you set up.
    5. Why are there weird squiggles, boxes and/or question marks in the text of my ebook?
       The text of Stillpoint ebooks is set using Unicode fonts. Any Unicode font should display the proper characters, including characters that include unusual diacritical marks, such as Ś or Ƈ. (If you do not see the two preceding characters, your web browser is using a non-Unicode font) 
      See if you can set your e-reader application's default setting to a Unicode-compliant font, such as Times, Palatino or Helvetica. Some e-readers also have a preference setting for whether to display Unicode or non-standard characters; turn this on. Finally, some e-readers (i.e., Adobe Digital Editions) do not support Unicode. While you can read your Collected Works ebook without Unicode support, you might consider using a different application.
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