FAQ’s

No, we are not. Chart House Press (CHP) is a small press located in West Houston. We select books that align with our primary goal: to bring insight and inspiration to the world, particularly the business community.

We offer more than your typical small press. While we do offer some publishing services that you’d find with a vanity publisher, we don’t require authors to purchase publishing “packages.” At Chart House Press, we don’t believe one size will necessarily fit all authors, so we only want to provide you what you need to make your book a reality. Our authors use our approved contractors to assist with all or part of the publication process. You remain in control of when and how much assistance you need to publish your work.

No, we do not focus on self-published authors. While we do offer easy-to-access services for self-publishers, our primary platform is our assisted publishing model. We assist authors to publication by pairing them with trusted contractors and offering author-friendly royalties.

To find out more, simply contact us to discuss whether our publishing option is right for you. If you would like your book to be considered for a Chart House Press publication agreement, see our Submission Guidelines.

Both are imprints used to publish books through our agency.

The Hastings House imprint is used on all self-published books while the Chart House Press imprint is reserved for professionally edited and published books.

The timeline of your book depends on the amount of work you’ve completed when you submit your manuscript to us. Some factors include the quality of your writing, the type and length of your book, the desired output, and even your marketing strategy. Rushing your book to print or meet a deadline may not always be the best idea when you are interested in selling a large quantity of books and possibly making a best sellers list.

The “average” time to publish a book is:

• First draft editing 2 to 5 months
• Final copy edit – 1 month
• First proof print – 1 month
• Second edit – 1 to 2 months
• Second proof print – 1 month

Total time from editor to publication – 9 to 12 months

Of course, the actual timeline can be drastically shorter or longer based on the length of your book and your desire for perfection. Many authors continue to make changes or have “new” ideas after the first or second draft has been completed. While these ideas may improve the quality of the book or story line, every alteration of the book will increase the publication expense and length of time to produce a final product.

The total cost of publishing is the cost of printing with Chart House Press plus the cost of your contractors. For author book copies, we charge 30% above the cost of printing and shipping plus a $35 flat fee per order. The cost of your selected contractors (editor, cover designer, formatter) are billed separately. Our approved contractors have the ability to negotiate rates and are responsible for the pricing of their part of the production of your project. Your total cost is the cost of printing plus your contractors.

The fee for submitting a book for print-on-demand is $199. This cost includes printing setup, a physical proof copy, and the first year of your annual $20 fee for listing your title in the Ingram book catalog (required per title).

If you decide to change your book later and need to submit a revised version, you would pay your selected contractor for revisions and then a $75 upload fee per file (one file for the cover and one for the interior if needed).

Yes, we do. Our contractors agree to our 20% management fee for the following services: (1) Selecting only quality manuscripts and vetted authors with whom they can expect a positive, collaborative experience; (2) Closely managing each project to ensure a smooth process and quality standards at every step; (3) Providing automated tools that allow seamless communication with authors, including our website and billing and production systems; and (4) Using our unified brand to ensure authenticity as a contractor with Chart House Press. Because we handle the process from start to finish, they appreciate the ability to focus on their slice of the process while trusting that the final product will represent top-notch work.

Absolutely! We realize the best way to provide exceptional customer service and to allow your project to meet or exceed your expectations is to allow you to directly communicate with every contractor who is involved in the publication process.

After being approved for publication, we will notify you of your contractor assignment and give you the name, project assignment, email and phone number of every contractor who will be involved in your project.

Yes. You may use the contractors whom we recommend or request to work with specific approved CHP Contract Freelancers.

If your contract freelancer would like to be considered for approval in our program, please recommend they APPLY NOW.

If you already have your own publishing company and want your book published under that name (imprint), you will need to provide your own ISBN. We will provide an ISBN for any book published under a Chart House Press imprint. Even if you want to use the self-publishing services through WriteABook.us and manage the publishing process yourself, you still have the option of publishing under a Chart House Press imprint, and in that case, we’re happy to provide the ISBN. You’ll be able to make this choice after signing up on WriteABook.us and creating an account.

We can publish almost any size and type of book you need. We have 21 different trim sizes available, and a variety of options for print, paper and cover:

Interior Print: Black & White, Color and Premium Color
Binding: Perfect, Cloth (hardcover), Case Laminate (hardcover), Saddle Stitch
Paper: Creme or White
Cover: Gloss or Matte

Some trim sizes have limited options for binding, paper and cover, so see our Trim Size Matrix for more details.

Of course you can; however, you must remember that every change you make will increase your production cost and will reduce the profitability of your book. In addition, when changes are pending review from our distributor (printer), your book will be taken out of production and show as “unavailable” until all changes have been made and verified as accurate. Some distributors require an additional proof copy ($75 charge per copy) to be ordered and reviewed before the book is made available again for retail sales. This process can take your book out of production for one month or longer and should only be made when absolutely necessary.

Great question! Most authors want to get their books into as many hands as possible. But if you want to make money off your book, there are two things you should know before you venture into the book-writing business.

First, very few authors can afford to live off of royalty payments alone. Unless you’re famous, have a well-known story to tell, or can land an appearance on Oprah, the chances of earning a significant income from your book is marginal at best. The reality is that the rest of us leverage our books to build awareness of our businesses or personal passions. However, we certainly do not want you to give up on your dream of becoming a profitable author. Continue to write and work toward your goals.

Second, every author is responsible for successfully selling his/her book. As a publisher, we are an advocate for our authors by producing quality books, spotlighting them on our website and social media pages, providing worldwide distribution, and recruiting top-notch marketing contractors. But because the chance for profit is slim, most publishers simply cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars advertising your work. The success of your book is ultimately in your hands. You will only sell books if you  actively engage in marketing activities!

Here are 10 great ideas that should help you get your book launch off to a quick start:

1. Before your book has been published, start building your reader following!  Create a book Facebook page and actively participate in blogging to your prospective reader. Get them involved in your cover design and peek their interest by sending out teasers on a frequent basis. For fiction writers, make your characters come to life in your blogs and capture the readers’ desire for more!
2. Identify your target market. Who is going to read your book, why are they going to read it and what will make them refer it to a friend? The more you can answer these questions, the better you can identify your target audience and develop your marketing strategy accordingly.
3. Build your brand as an author. Once published, your name becomes a brand. Build it and don’t let your readers down. Look for companies, coaches, or publicists who can help advertise, and you will quickly become a celebrity in your chosen market.(www.celebritymarketing.com).
4. Develop your marketing strategy. Don’t wing it! Write down your plan and stick to it. Hold yourself accountable and don’t wait for your publisher to do this for you.
5. Spend money on advertising. If money is tight, and it usually is, learn as much as you can about Facebook advertising. If you can afford to hire an expert, hire one! But don’t be fooled by people who claim to understand Facebook marketing because they like to blog and know how to click a button to advertise a post. An expert understands how social media algorithms work (for the most part) and how to create “like audiences.” One company that truly “gets it” is Austin-based Social Media Ad Genius (http://socialmediaadgenius.com).
6. Get comfortable in front of people. If you can’t talk about your book publicly, you will miss an incredible opportunity to promote your book. You can start small by offering to speak at book clubs, churches (if appropriate), book stores, and other venues.
7. Master your 30-second commercial.  When others find out you are a writer, the first question they will ask is, “What is your book about?” Your answer should be enthusiastic, informative, and, if they are in your target market, getting them to want more!
8. Actively seek positive book reviews! Find well-known authors in the same genre and ask for them to review your work. If you can get someone well-known to endorse your book, place their endorsement on your cover, on your website, on your social media page, and even in the description filing with the Library of Congress.
9. Create an Amazon Author Page.  If you book is sold online at Amazon.com, create an Author Page by creating an account with Author Central (https://authorcentral.amazon.com).
10. Promote with giveaways. Create a giveaway to encourage readers to purchase your eBook even before the paper copy is available. Paid eBooks count when it comes to making the Best Sellers list, even when books are purchased for only .99 cents!

Custom book publishing is one of today’s most effective business strategies to help business owners, executives and sales professionals reach a highly targeted market.

Many of our professional clients are not interested in building an alternative stream of income or have little interest/time to write a book. However, these potential clients realize the impact of having a professionally published book which demonstrates their expertise and uniqueness in their chosen market can drastically improve brand image, increase sales and gain referrals.

With a staff of ghostwriters, editors, designers and illustrators at their disposal, we can help our clients bring their idea to life in less time and money than they may think. Without sacrificing quality, our team works hard to keep costs down while making the process as simple as possible for our clients.

If you’re a small business owner, you understand the challenge of balancing time spent on marketing your business and serving your customers. You should never have to choose one over the other, but maintaining that balance can be difficult.

A Book is the New Business Card

One of the most powerful tools any business owner can have in his marketing toolbox is a book. Could you race ahead of your competitors if you had an industry-specific book to hand out to customers, distribute at networking events, or use for training and recruiting?

Book Leasing Program

Of course, having a book to give to customers and prospects is great, but what if you’re too busy building your business to write a book? We’re glad you asked.

Chart House Press has created a way for you to have a book for your business without having to invest the time and energy in creating it from cover to cover. Through our book leasing program, you can create a fully customized book in less than 30 days and be on the road to building your business in a whole new way.

See How it Works HERE!
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Royalties, Fees and Pricing

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What are the royalty amounts with Chart House Press?

Chart House Press has 3 different contracts ranging offering 40%, 50% and the maximum payout at 60%. The payout to the author will be determined by the publisher.

In most cases, yes, you will either receive a royalty or “royalty credit” on every new book sale. However, if you choose to participate in promotional programs and list your book for free to increase sales and awareness of your book, no royalty will be earned.

Depending on which Publishing Agreement you were approved for, you may not earn royalty payments until total commissions from sales offset all or part of the production expense of your book. If royalties will be withheld, your Agreement will clearly indicate the details of this expense offset.

Royalty payments will be paid on or around the first of every month. However, the distribution of royalty payments will not be made until the author royalties due exceed $50.

Less than 1% of books are offered a Traditional Agreement at CHP. In these cases, because there is no way to determine expected sales of this book, there are no advanced compensation arrangements agreed to in this Agreement.

The Publisher $ is the total amount paid to the publisher from all distributors. This total amount multiplied by your commission percentage is the amount you can expect to be deposited into your account in the form of royalties.

Chart House Press will pay for all printing charges, digital catalog fees, file conversions, ISBN charges, service fees, freight and postal charges incurred by CHP and the associated POD service on behalf of Client during the term of this Agreement.

First of all, check your sales report to determine if sales were high enough to receive a payment distribution. Second, make certain we have your W9 and an updated Bank Deposit Form on file by emailing accounting@charthousepress.com.

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Although we work with you to determine the best recommended sales price, third-party retailers such as Amazon.com and BN.com can control the selling price of your book. These retailers will price your book based on condition of your book (new or used) and inventory available. Also, it is important to note that many retailers require you to allow them to sell your book for the lowest advertised price. In other words, if you reduce the price of your book on your own website, they will lower the price on theirs as well.

Chart House Press recommends that if you offer your book on your own website, you only offer signed copies at a slightly higher price than the advertised retail price.

Many online retailers require you set your discount price at a minimum of 50 – 55% at all times. The discount price is the price set for online retailers and represents the profit they will earn when books are purchased from their site. Setting your discount price at less than the required minimum will make your book ineligible for many of the programs (including placement of your book in their brick and mortar stores).

When you allow your book to be returned to the retailer if the purchaser is not satisfied with your book, the retailer may offer your book in “used condition” and sell your book at a discounted price. Since your were paid a royalty on the original sale of the book, you are not paid a royalty on the subsequent sales.

Yes, you may order as many copies as you like, with a minimum of 25 copies per order. Author copies are charged at 30% above cost plus $35 per order.

If you have to pay to attend a signing event and are advertising Chart House Press, the 30% markup will be waived. To receive this discount, you must provide details of the event on the order form below.

Order copies by clicking ORDER HERE.

Although you may wish to offer signed copies on your own site, is may not be worthwhile to offer retail sales on your site. The costs associated with storage, shipping and handling alone may be worth you directing your readers to an online retailer for purchase; not to mention author copies are not included in best seller calculations.

Here’s the wording straight from our manual: “Except as provided herein or for Marketing Publications identified in the Book Leasing Program; all rights to the Titles in the database submitted by the Client shall remain the property of the Client. CHP is hereby granted a limited, exclusive license solely to print, or cause to be printed, the Titles in the course of its business of providing the Services hereunder and to distribute the titles to fulfill CHP’s customer orders. The database containing the Titles will be a secure database to prevent the unauthorized alteration of content or printing of books.”

Our contractors are upfront and clear about the pricing, time-frame and manner in which their services should be performed. The fees and expenses of each contractor are clearly provided as one sum in an invoice submitted to the author.

To bill for services, your contractor will use an approved Chart House Press invoice system which will have the URL which will be connected to: https://nt216.infusionsoft.com. Any invoice outside of this system should be reported to customerservice@charthousepress.com or by contacting us at 844-WriteIt.

No, as a contract freelancer, you are not an employee of Chart House Press, LLC.

Each party shall be responsible for any tax liability it incurs due to the performance of its duties under this Agreement. The contractor shall be liable for any and all taxes resulting from decisions to transact business or own inventory in any jurisdiction.

When you order author copies from Chart House Press, it is assumed you will sell the books to customers at trade shows, at locally owned independent bookstores or on your own website. When you sell books, you must collect the appropriate sales tax for the state and county in which the sale was made. You may refer to the Tax Foundation or your state specific guidelines for more information.