Planning to Publish with Peter E. Randall Publisher

5 Greenleaf Woods Drive, Suite 102, PO Box 4726
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 03802-4726 USA
Phone: (603) 431-5667 | Fax: (603) 431-3566 | e-mail: peter@perpublisher.com

Who We Are...

Peter E. Randall Publisher is a full-service custom publisher. Since 1970, we have been publishing quality books for individuals and groups in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Washington DC, Alabama, Georgia, Utah, and Hawaii. Peter is the author of fourteen books and an award-winning photographer and publisher. He has produced more than 400 books, ranging in subject from history, biography, travel, poetry, memoir, and photography. Peter provides personal consultation for the design and production of each publication.

Deidre Randall provides a full array of marketing services for authors and publishers. These include book marketing consultation, promotion, project management, and book distribution liaison services for authors who publish with Peter E. Randall Publisher, as well as independent authors. She has arranged for effective book distribution throughout New England, nationally, and internationally for appropriate titles. Books she has promoted have received reviews in such publications as The Washington Post, Library Journal, and the Boston Globe, among others.

Deidre creates effective marketing and sales strategies through partnering with authors and groups, to identify and reach specific, targeted markets. She utilizes a number of low cost, or no-cost, promotion and sales strategies whenever possible. These include, but are not limited to, direct mail, special events, print media, and radio and television promotion.

Deidre received a M.Ed. in Business Administration from Antioch New England Graduate School in 1999, following thirteen years of direct service to literacy programs; grant preparation, teaching, college instruction and project coordination. She has worked closely with Peter E. Randall publisher since 1999, consulting with upwards of 100 authors and directly promoting more than 50 titles since that time. An award-winning songwriter and one of twelve poets who received a nomination for Poet Laureate of Portsmouth in 2003, Deidre has been an avid reader and book lover for as long as she can remember.

What We Do...

At Peter E. Randall Publisher, we offer a personal service for each client, ensuring that each book produced is of the highest quality. We provide editing, indexing, cover design, typesetting, printing and binding. We consult with each author or group, from the early stages of manuscript preparation, until bound books arrive and are listed with major book distributors such as Baker & Taylor. We provide a contract and develop a publication plan for each client. Each book is designed individually, to the client's specifications.

Read what the authors say about working with us.

The details of each project dictate the cost of each publication. We provide complete publication services in the four major areas:

1. manuscript preparation —copyediting, indexing, proofreading, keyboarding;
2. book design —creation of the book in a professional layout program, such as Quark XPress or InDesign, cover design, image preparation and placement;
3. printing and binding —creating bound books, choosing paper and binding materials, choosing the best printer for each project; and
4. marketing and distribution efforts —collection of funds from book sales, order fulfillment and shipping, catalog mailings, news releases, creation of promotional materials, title submission to book distributors, advertising design and placement, and promotional mailings. When making plans to publish, consideration must be given to each of these areas.

History and Genealogy Publishing

Peter E. Randall Publisher specializes in the production of individual and regional history books. Most of these books are heavily illustrated with black and white photographs, maps, and ephemera. We print on long-lasting acid-free paper and use rugged Smyth sewn binding for clothbound volumes. Depending on the client's needs, we produce titles with jackets, full color inserts, foldout maps, and printed end leaves. For special fund-raising projects we also prepare deluxe editions. Print orders range from five hundred copies to several thousand.

Our clients range from individuals and historical societies to communities and companies. We have produced histories covering communities from the time of incorporation to the present, and volumes dedicated to the past one hundred years or shorter time periods. Genealogies have been produced for single families and for communities.

Custom Publishing for Individuals or Organizations

Peter E. Randall Publisher is a custom publisher, which means that authors or clients bear the cost of publication. While custom publishing is not for everyone, under certain conditions, it can be an appropriate alternative to traditional publishing.

Any one trying to sell a manuscript to a trade publisher knows the difficulties involved. Unsolicited manuscripts are rarely even looked at, never mind read, by anyone at a trade-publishing house. Most authors are told to find an agent, but agents, who work on commission, only want previously published authors. Trade publishers pay small advances to new authors and then pay royalties as books sell. The publisher takes total control of the book, including editing, design, and promotion. Authors have little if any control over their work. Of course, the trade publisher pays all the publishing costs.

As custom publishers we work individually with each author/client to provide only those services which the author requires. This places control of the book in the hands of the author/client. We begin working at the manuscript stage by providing copyediting, then we design the book, do the layout using professional quality software tools, and follow up with printing and binding. At each stage of the process the author is provided with proofs to monitor the production of the book. Books require between three and six months for production, depending on number of pages, type of binding, and the method of producing the text. Once the manuscript is in hand and all details are determined we can set a delivery date.

We produce books in a variety of formats, either paper or cloth covers, from 500 to several thousand copies. If your book has not been produced on a word processor/computer, we suggest that you have it done or we can do it for you.

All books become the property of the author and all books printed are bound. Books may be published under our name or under a name of the client's own choosing. The book's copyright will be in the client's name.

Marketing and Distribution Services

Basic marketing and distribution services are available, making it possible to tailor individual sales efforts to the individual needs of each project. With this service the client is responsible for selling the books, but we share our experience with fund raising and marketing. We provide an ISBN (international standard book number), Bookland EAN bar code, and a registration of the title with the Library of Congress, which secures a Library of Congress control number for each title. All marketing services are available only as a part of our publication services and are offered at our discretion.

Full marketing and distribution liaision services are available with Deidre Randall, publicist. The strength of her marketing package is the partnership with authors. By working closely with each author Deidre creates a personal marketing plan for each publication. For authors who publish with Peter E. Randall Publisher, the full marketing service includes all the services of the basic, plus distribution and sales through a major New England-based publisher. Order fulfillment and collection of sales revenue are available with this service. Deidre will create and send news releases to promote the book's publication and work with each author to set up appearances at bookstores, libraries, or special events. She will arrange for radio and television appearances, when appropriate. She can facilitate direct mail sales efforts.

Deidre is available to provide marketing and promotion services to authors who publish independently, whether you choose to publish with Peter E. Randall or any other publisher. Services are available on a 3, 6, 9, or 12 month contractual basis, or by the hour, or task. Please contact Deidre directly to learn more about becoming a marketing client, or to schedule an introductory meeting. Call (603) 431-5667, or email: deidre @ perpublisher.com.

Planning To Publish...

A few words of caution when considering subsidy or custom publishing: It is not reasonable to assume that your book will have a substantial bookstore sale except perhaps locally. More and more bookstores, especially the chain stores, are buying primarily from distributors and the latter rarely order from small publishers unless the book has received substantial national publicity. Fiction and poetry are very difficult to sell, even for established authors. We make these statements not to discourage you but to make certain that you have realistic expectations for your book. Despite what other subsidy or vanity press publishers tell you, it is unlikely that your book will make a profit unless it is targeted to a specific market, which can be reached through direct mail and on the internet. With proper attention to production costs, print order, and a strong marketing effort, we have found that many of our authors at least break even and some make a small profit.

We are in this business because we love books and we want to see authors treated fairly and realistically. If your motivation is to have an attractive, accurate, quality book, we can produce it for you. We know of no subsidy publisher offering terms and conditions which are as fair to authors.

In order to provide an accurate estimate we need to see the entire manuscript, to know if the manuscript was prepared by typewriter or a computer, the types and number of illustrations, if any, whether you want hardbound or paperback binding, and the expected print order.