Frequently Asked Publishing Questions

Q: What should I have with me when I meet with/talk to Braughler Books?

One: Be able to provide a version of your manuscript that's ready to go. Don't assume that you will have the opportunity to make significant edits or rewrites through the process. While changes can be made, it's time consuming and adds expense, and can actually result in new errors being introduced into the layout. Correcting the errant misspelling is one thing, but rewriting sections of your manuscript should be completed prior to handing it over for layout. Two: Know what you would like for a cover — and what you don't like. Our designers are happy to come up with cover designs all day, but being able to cite specific examples of books (look them up by title, on Amazon) will provide them with some ideas on what you like or don’t like — speeding the process up considerably. Three: Who is your target audience? (Don't say "anyone and everyone.") While anyone may be able to physically read your book, who do you think it will have the most impact on? Who will the underlying message of your book speak to? Chances are, if it's a book you wrote for people of a mindset similar to yours, be able to tell us that will help us tailor the layout and design of your book to appeal to that specific audience.

Q: What kind of files should I send to Braughler Books? And where do I send those?

Please be advised: We don't accept unsolicited manuscripts, so it's important that you first speak with Braughler Books before sending us your files or links. (Just like you, we won't click on files or unsolicited/unexpected links in emails, so no actions will be taken on your files if you don't speak with someone first.)

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Frequently Asked Questions About Publishing with Braughler Books

Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions page of Braughler Books! Whether you’re an aspiring author or a seasoned writer, we understand that the publishing journey can be filled with questions. This section is designed to provide clear, helpful answers to some of the most common inquiries we receive about our book publishing services, including author consultations, marketing, and the logistics of creating your book. If you’re looking to get started or simply want to learn more about how we can assist you, you’ve come to the right place. Explore our FAQs to get all the information you need to make your publishing experience with Braughler Books as smooth and successful as possible!

Your Questions Answered

Does Braughler Books accept and publish all submissions?

We carefully review every manuscript that comes our way, looking for ones that truly resonate with us. Our goal is to publish books that leave a meaningful impact — whether by inspiring someone, sparking change, or making a real difference in the world. And the truth is, not every book does that, even if it’s beautifully written.

I'm writing an illustrated children's book. Should I go ahead and have all the artwork done before contacting Braughler Books?

Actually, no. It’s much better if you can contact us ahead of time — we may be able to save you time and money. Here’s why. To take advantage of the capabilities of various printers, particularly print-on-demand printers, there are very specific technical requirements to be met. And not all book size and orientation combinations are easy (or cost-effective) to print. We’re happy to review any samples of art from your illustrator and provide guidance early on in the process. Sometimes all it takes is a slight adjustment to go from an expensive custom-sized book that has to be purchased in minimum quantities upfront to a book that can be printed one-off in a print-on-demand facility as books are sold. Call us at 937-58-BOOKS or email us at [email protected] for more information or to schedule a brief call to discuss your children’s book.

I have heard that a good blog post can be an effective marketing tool. Can Braughler Books help me with that?

Yes we can! We offer an Author Blog Marketing Service where we will have you interviewed. Following that, we will post a professionally written and edited blog on the Braughler Books website and social media feeds for you — reaching all of our followers. We’ll share that blog with you so that you can do the same! We will do the heavy lifting for you, giving you a well written blog you can leverage for greater exposure and sales. Click here to download a flyer with additional details.

Do I have to pay for everything up front?

The good news is that you do not have to pay in full upfront. We believe in partnering with our authors, so we split the total estimated cost into three payments: one-third is due when the Author Agreement is signed and we get started on your book, the second third is due when you approve the hard copy proof and we order books, and the final third isn’t due until we are ready to ship or deliver any books you may have ordered.

And for those interested authors, we also offer Financing Terms, including six-months-same-as-cash. Simply ask one of our Publishing Advisors for more information.

Do I need to write a book proposal before talking with someone at Braughler Books?

No, we don’t require that you have a book proposal before contacting us. If you have considered all of the options for publishing your book, and already have one written, feel free to attach it to an email when you contact us.

A well written book proposal helps us to learn about your book, and is an opportunity for you to clarify who your audience is, similar titles, and how you might market it. (Not sure what elements make up a book proposal? Here’s a great article on how to write an effective book proposal by publishing industry guru Jane Friedman.)

Do I need to hire a Literary Agent before working with (or talking to) Braughler Books?

No, we don’t require authors to approach us only if they have hired a literary agent.

In fact, nearly all of our authors have come directly to us as a result of finding this website like you did, or from speaking with one of our happy authors.

Can Braughler Books help me publish a book that includes languages other than English?

Yes, we can. While we don’t provide translation services, we can work with authors who desire to publish a book in another language, or a book that includes English plus another language. We’ve also published books for languages that read right to left (the resulting books are referred to as “Reverse Bound Books” because what is usually the back cover becomes the front cover.) If you’re seeking to publish a book that includes other languages, please call us at 937-58-BOOKS or fill out our contact form and request a call. We want to be sure that we address any questions you might have early on, and also provide tips as you prepare your manuscript for review and publishing.

Does Braughler Books publish eBooks?

Yes, we do! We’ll work with you and review your manuscript, to determine which type of eBook to produce.

Typically, text-only books (think of books in the fiction genre, for example) are rather straightforward to create an eBook — your eBook will be complete with a cover image, a table of contents (as appropriate), and the text will resize and reflow on the electronic page as it should.

If your book includes numerous photos or illustrations (such as a children’s book, or even a memoir with many family photos), then we may recommend creating a fixed-format eBook. That will enable us to ensure the text remains with the appropriate photo or illustration, and doesn’t end up somewhere else in the finished eBook. Publishing this type of eBook tends to involve more technical effort, and we have both the skills and expertise to make it happen.

Can I hire my own cover designer or illustrator and still publish with Braughler Books?

You certainly can. We have very specific technical requirements for cover layouts that need to be met in order for the book to print properly, and to look attractive online.

While some of those requirements are fairly obvious to many designers, some are not. Save yourself (and us!) any potential headaches by letting us know early in the process what you have in mind. We’re happy to provide cover art requirements, and in some cases, can speak directly with your designer to ensure a smooth publishing process with no unexpected surprises.

What should I have with me when I meet with/talk to Braughler Books?

The best thing you can bring to that discussion is an understanding of what you want. What are your expectations of Braughler Books; what do you want for your book? Being able to clearly answer those two questions will enable us to effectively and quickly determine how we can best meet your needs (or quickly determine if we’re not right for you.)

Additionally, there are three other key items that will help make the publishing process more enjoyable:

One: Be able to provide a version of your manuscript that's ready to go. Don't assume that you will have the opportunity to make significant edits or rewrites through the process. While changes can be made, it's time consuming and adds expense, and can actually result in new errors being introduced into the layout. Correcting the errant misspelling is one thing, but rewriting sections of your manuscript should be completed prior to handing it over for layout.
Two: Know what you would like for a cover — and what you don't like. Our designers are happy to come up with cover designs all day, but being able to cite specific examples of books (look them up by title, on Amazon) will provide them with some ideas on what you like or don’t like — speeding the process up considerably.
Three: Who is your target audience? (Don't say "anyone and everyone.") While anyone may be able to physically read your book, who do you think it will have the most impact on? Who will the underlying message of your book speak to? Chances are, if it's a book you wrote for people of a mindset similar to yours, be able to tell us that will help us tailor the layout and design of your book to appeal to that specific audience.

What kind of files should I send to Braughler Books? And where do I send those?

Our pre-press team prefers to work with Microsoft Word documents for layout of your book. If you have unique formatting in your manuscript (lots of indented, tabbed sections, numerous captions and/or footnotes), it’s also helpful to have a PDF copy of your manuscript as well. That way, we will have the opportunity to see what you had in mind for the layout.

If your book will have photographs, charts, tables or similar elements, we prefer to have those elements as standalone files, in addition to the Microsoft Word document. That allows us to ensure they reproduce at the highest quality possible when we layout your book.

You can share your files with us in different ways, including using a flash drive or through Google Drive. Just let us know when you’re ready, and we’ll send you an easy-to-use Google Drive link where you can upload your files.

Will Braughler Books take my manuscript, send me a nice big check so that I can sit on a beach somewhere while they publish it and line me up for a national book signing tour?

While all of our authors would love that nice big advance check and bookings on the national talk shows, that isn’t the business model that Braughler Books operates under. Ours is a hybrid publishing model — and is very collaborative — meaning the author shares in the work, and the costs of publishing. But don’t misunderstand, our authors love the control that affords them — to call the shots, to have full control over aspects like the cover, and where and how the book is marketed. (And they wouldn’t have it any other way.)

We do have some specific packages by genre as well: Children’s Books, Memoirs, Business Books, and Non-Fiction. And if you don’t see exactly what you think fits your book, just contact us!

What’s an ideal time to start my marketing efforts?

In an ideal world, you would start your marketing efforts as you write your book. You can post teasers from your fictional work, or share insights from your business book online through social media, and begin to develop a following — your potential buyers. And if your book is nearly done, that’s not to say you shouldn’t get right to work doing some of the same things, only now you can also add book signings as well.

A concentrated and well developed marketing and PR campaign for your book will have a significant impact on the success of your book. Not sure where to start or what path to take? No problem — Braughler Books is here to help with our specialized Author Marketing Services. We offer several tailored packages designed specifically to help your book break through a saturated market, providing services such as social media promotion, live interviews, book tours, expert reviews, and more.

Do I need an ISBN and barcode for my book? If so, how do I obtain those?

Whether or not you need an ISBN and barcode depends on why you wrote the book and who the target audience is. If it’s a collection of your grandmother’s memoirs you’re publishing, with the intention of sharing the book with the family, then you probably don’t need to have an ISBN or a barcode.

If you’re publishing your business expertise, with the hopes of increasing your credibility and recognition, and intend to sell the book online, then absolutely, you should have both an ISBN and a barcode.

Think of the ISBN as a social security number for your book. It’s a 13 digit unique identifier that identifies one specific version of your book. (And if you offer your book as a soft cover and a hard cover both, you will need two unique ISBN numbers.)

You can purchase both from Braughler Books or at Bowker.com. If you purchase them through us, we’ll also handle the registration for you.

Do I need to commit to have thousands of my book run in order to get a reasonable price on them?

No, not at all!

We’ll work with you to find a combination of quantity and price point that makes sense for you, your market, and your budget.

What’s the minimum number of books I can have run?

While there’s no minimum at Braughler Books, the fact is, your cost per book with a run of 100 books (for example) will make it much easier to price out so that your target reader will purchase it. Our publishing advisors will work with you to help you determine the best ratio of cost per book to quantity purchased.

Many of our authors have found that their initial (first) order of books is larger than later reprint runs. And with a typical turnaround time of 2–3 weeks on reprints, we’ll work with you to ensure you don’t unexpectedly run out of books.

How much does it cost to have my book made?

The cost of your book will be determined by a number of things: book size, page count, how much layout work or assistance with cover design you might need, the type of binding (paperback? hard cover?), and of course, the quantity of books you plan to have run. Our pricing is calculated for each individual project, based on your book.

We’ve provided pages on this website for several specific book genres — and those each have estimated costs listed. While not all genres are currently represented on the site, the current pages will give you a sense of what costs you could be looking at.

I don’t know how to price my book — all those numbers make my head spin. Can someone at Braughler Books help me sort that out?

Yes, we can.

We’ll do our best to help you understand how to take into account not only the cost of the book and the retail price you might sell it at, but also the cost of distribution so that you can market and sell your book with your eyes wide open.

How long will it take for me to get my books, once Braughler Books has my files?

Short Answer: two to three months.

Here’s why. Many variables impact the production time of a book. The typical process starts with the author emailing a manuscript file to Braughler Books. A publishing advisor will schedule a call or meeting with you to discuss your book. We like to understand why you wrote the book, who it’s for, and what you would like help with as your book is published. From there, our design team creates a cover, lays out the interior and then provides you with a digital proof. Upon approval of the digital proof, we then provide a hard copy (printed) proof for you to review. We want to be sure you’re really, really sure it’s ready to go to print. From approved print files, you could have your books in hand in 6–8 weeks.

We have had some authors who have published from start to finish in as little as 5–6 weeks, and others who took their time over the course of 6–8 months to get it just right.

And when you’ve sold out of your books and simply need reprints? The average time to receive those is just 2–3 weeks.

For a step by step understanding of all the steps the team at Braughler Books will go through with you as you on your book, visit our Resources and Downloads page and select the process for new books or previously published and printed books.

Will I have to give up the rights to my book when I publish with Braughler Books?

No, absolutely not — at Braughler Books, your rights to your books will always be yours.

What about shipping my orders? Can Braughler Books help with that?

Yes! Braughler Books ships books daily to locations here in the United States, as well as overseas. We can help with simple drop shipments as well as handle fulfillment of online orders for you if you’d like.

Where will my books be printed? In the US? Somewhere overseas?

Braughler Books prints the majority of our books here in the United States.

In some cases, where authors have requested we make their books available for global distribution, we leverage our partnership with Ingram Content Services to have their books printed in the United Kingdom or Australia as well. Removing the cost of overseas shipping makes those authors’ books more competitive in the local market.

I want to sell my books on Amazon. Will Braughler Books be able to help me with that?

Yes, we’d be happy to.

We’ve helped authors get their print books and eBooks listed for sale on Amazon, and some have even gone on to become Amazon Best Sellers!

I don’t like automated phone systems. Can I actually speak to a human at Braughler Books?

Yes! When you call into Braughler Books, you will be connected with one of our Publishing Advisors.

You may need to leave a message, but rest assured, someone will return your call within 24 hours.

Call us now at 937-58-BOOKS!

Do I really need to file a copyright on my book?

Yes, you really do.

You owe it to yourself to file formal copyright — it protects your work. (Simply mailing a copy to yourself won’t offer the same levels of protection.) The cost is likely less than you would expect — the Copyright Office of the U.S. Government charges $35 for most individual filings and $55 for filings involving more than one contributor (such as a children’s book author and illustrator.)

You can do that yourself, or have Braughler Books handle that for you, for an additional $20 fee.

Learn more about copyright from the U.S. Copyright Office.