Inscript Self Publishing

Frequently Asked Questions

Featured Titles Published by Inscript

Q. I have heard a lot of bad things about vanity presses and self-publishing companies.  What makes Inscript Books different?

A. The main criticism of vanity presses and self-publishing companies is that they do not exercise any discretion or prudence in selecting the books that they publish. A typical vanity press will accept any book that is presented to them, with no regard for the quality of the book. They can do this because they are being paid upfront for the book and have already made their money by the time the book is finalized for publication. So, they have no incentive to be picky. Every book represents a profit for them, even if the book does not sell any copies.

Inscript Books is one of a handful of self-publishing companies that are trying to counteract the negative reputation of the self-publishing industry. We do this by publishing only books that are marketable in content, are grammatically and stylistically free of errors, have professional-quality book covers, and will be perceived by the industry as indistinguishable from those published by major publishing companies. For this reason, we will be selective and will not accept every book that is presented to us. Also, as a Christian company, we have a responsibility to publish only those books that are compatible with biblical and evangelical Christian principles, and we are committed to fair, moral and ethical practices in all areas of our business.

Q. How can I submit a manuscript to your company?

A. Scroll below to the link for the Online Application Form and provide all of the information requested. You should have a completed manuscript ready at the time you fill out the form.

Q. This company has a self-publishing imprint and a traditional publishing imprint.  What's the difference between the two?

A. The main difference involves the selection criteria. With the Inscript imprint, we are more likely to accept authors who are new, do not have a strong social media platform, or have a niche product with limited appeal.

Q. How long will it take before my book is finished and ready for sale?

A. Depending on the amount of work involved in fine-tuning the manuscript and cover design, we can get a book completed within two months of receiving the manuscript and all other required information from the author. Upon request and for an additional fee, the book can be expedited so that it is completed within one month.

Q. Under the Inscript imprint, who is the "official" publisher of the book, Inscript, or the author?

A. With true self-publishing, the author is the official publisher and owns and controls all aspects of the publishing process from writing to distribution. The author may engage a self-publishing company to facilitate some or all of the process. However, in many self-published books, two elements may identify the book with a publisher other than the author: the ISBN, and the imprint. The ISBN is issued by R.R. Bowker in the United States and is a method to identify an edition of a book. It is a type of social security number for books. The imprint is the trade name or brand name under which a book is published. Authors can provide both ISBN and imprints of their own, but some, as a part of their contracts with self-publishing companies, choose to use the ISBN and imprint of the company. Neither of these, however, necessarily means that the company is the publisher of the book.

Q. If I decide to turn my book over to another company after publishing with you, can I do that?

A. Absolutely. There are no long-term commitments. The book is yours, the production files are yours, and you can use them however and whenever you desire. Our contracts are non-exclusive, which means you can choose us as your self-publishing company, and choose another at the same time. It is up to you.

Q. What are the specifications of books that you offer?

A.  We offer various trim sizes, ranging from 5"x7" to 8.5"x11", in paperback with black and white interiors. Color interiors and hardcovers require special custom-quoted pricing. E-Books are produced in ePub format or in PDF format, if applicable.

Q. How much do you charge?

A. See our pricing page for more information about our prices, fees and royalties.

Q. Will I receive a proof?

A. Yes, you will receive both a physical proof and an e-Book proof of your book for approval before finalizing. A proof is an exact copy of the final version of the book and will be identical to the version customers receive.

Q. How much input will I have in the book publishing process?

A.  A lot. It is your book, so it should look how you want it to look. However, we will make suggestions that are intended to enhance the quality of the publication and make it more market-ready. However, you have the final say, and you can either accept or reject our suggestions.

Q. What form of payment do you accept?

A. We accept major credit cards, and Paypal. We do not accept cash payments.

Q. Do you have payment plans?

A. Yes. However, with any payment plan, all payments must be made before the release of the production files to the author and the shipment of author copies.

Q. You've mentioned production files several times.  What are these files and what does the author do with them?

A.  Production files are the raw files that are sent to the printer to produce your book. They typically consist of a PDF file of the full book cover, a PDF file of the interior pages of the book, a JPG file of the barcode, an RTF file that is used to produce the e-Book version, and copies of the e-Book in PDF and ePub formats.

Q. What is your refund policy?

A. Base price services, minus a $100 administrative fee, are refundable until the approval of the final proof. After proof approval, no refunds or guarantees are given for base price services. There are also no refunds or guarantees on optional services except in the case of breach of contract.

Q. What are your royalty rates?

A. See our pricing page for more information about royalties.

Q. What type of printing process do you use to print your books?

A. The majority of our books are printed using a technology called Print on Demand (POD). POD is a digital printing method that makes it easier and cost-effective to print as little as one book at a time, rather than the hundreds of copies often required to make offset printing cost-effective. POD books are printed as they are ordered, eliminating the need for businesses to maintain an inventory of these books. However, in some cases, depending on the format and size of the book, it is more cost-effective to use offset printing. In this case, we will use offset for a small percentage of our books.

Q. What is the history of Inscript Books?

A. Inscript was started in July 2017 as an imprint of Dove Christian Publishers, a traditional publisher that has been in business since 1998. As a traditional publisher, Dove rejects almost 50% of the manuscript proposals it receives, mostly because the author could not demonstrate the ability to sell enough books to make the cost investment worthwhile, or because of poor editing or questionable content. However, we have discovered that some authors would be willing to make the upfront investment in their books if we worked with them and applied our expertise to help bring a quality product to market. To give these authors the opportunity to become published, Inscript was established.

More about Us

Services we provide
Pricing and Royalties
Copy and Content Editing Services
Types of Books we Accept

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