Frequently Asked Questions about Publishing with Dove Christian Publishers

Q. Are you a subsidy publisher?
A. No. Dove Christian Publishers does not currently charge authors for publishing services. All designing, printing, marketing and distribution are done free of charge. There are no hidden fees. However, we have a second imprint, Inscript Books, that is fee based.

Q. What is your statement of faith?
A. Our statement of faith can be found here.

Q. What are the chances of my book being accepted by your company for publication?
A.  Because we do not accept every book that comes to us, and because we are fronting the cost for publication with no financial investment on the author's part, we tend to be very selective of the books we publish.  An author who has an established social media or marketing platform, and has produced a book that is well-written, professionally edited, and adheres to basic Biblical principles, has the greatest chance of being accepted by us.

Q. How can I determine if you will be interested in my book before I send it to you?
A. We cannot make that determination prior to evaluating a proposal sent to us via our web form with all of the information according to our guidelines.

Q. How can I guarantee my book will sell if I publish it with your company?
A. First of all, there are no guarantees as far as book sales. The book buying market is extremely competitive. Many authors have delusions that once they get published, they will sell hundreds of thousands of copies, make lots of money, quit their jobs, and get interviewed on the Today Show. But the reality is that most authors, no matter what publishing company they sign with, sell no more than 1000 copies of their books. Writing, for them, becomes a secondary career or an alternative source of income. Our role in your sucess is to produce a high-quality, well-edited product that can compete with any book on the market, and to give that book the widest distribution available in the United States and internationally. But unless your name is Stephen King or Joel Osteen and you already have a substantial fan base, you will have to work to develop a fan base through promoting your own product. Your efforts at promoting your book will determine your success when it comes to book sales.

Q. Can your books be found in bookstores?
A.  You will rarely find one of our books stocked in bookstores, simply because most of our authors do not have the national profile or heavy social media platform that will drive customers to bookstores. Bookstores tend to stock only famous authors, or those that have tens of thousands of followers on Instagram or Facebook. Many bookstores, however, have the capability to order our products for you to pick up later. The majority of our products are sold online.

Q.  How long does it take for a book, once accepted by your company, to be available online?
A. Depends on the book. If a book requires substantial editing and vetting, it could take as much as 12 months to be available. But our goal is to have books available within 4-6 months within presentation of the final manuscript.

Q.  Do you give advances?
A.  No, we do not provide advances.

Q. How much do you pay in royalties?
A: Information about royalties can be found here.

Q.  What is the typical duration of your contracts, and can I cancel at any time?
A. The duration of contracts is negotiable, but a typical minimum duration is 3 years, during which time the contract cannot be cancelled. Since we are making a significant upfront investment in the book, we need to ensure that we have publishing rights long enough to recoup our investment.

Q. What are the top reasons you reject books?
A.  They are:
    1) Significant grammar or stylistic errors. Book has not been professionally edited.
    2) Content not suitable for our needs, or content not compatible with our publishing criteria.
    3) Book not theologically sound, according to our interpretation.
    4) Author has a non-existent or insufficient social media platform.
    5) Our publishing docket may be full, and we simply cannot accept any more.
    6) Book has been previously published, unless it is a new edition.

Q. Do you negotiate royalties?
A. No.

Q. Do you publish authors that live in countries other than the United States?
A.  Yes, provided the book is in English. As yet, we do not translate from other languages.

Q. Can I call you about my book?
A. Because calls from authors about getting a book published can be overwhelming for our small staff, we do not discuss books with authors over the phone.

 
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