Category Archives: Publishing

Book Contracts

The following book contract information is subject to change at any time. Many contractual elements stated here are negotiable between the author and publisher. Specific publisher-author contracts will be drawn up privately.

Copyright and Exclusive Rights

The author may retain copyright of his or her book, but Moon Willow Press (MWP) is assigned exclusive worldwide rights, including derivative works.

Author Royalties

The author will receive royalties for each book sale. Royalty percentages will be dependent on a number of factors, including third-party seller/distribution fees, book marketability, sales, and printing costs. Royalty agreements will be negotiable and remain private between MWP and the author. Because MWP is a start-up press, the author will not receive any advance payment. This may change in the future.

Author Warranty and Responsibility

The author must sign a statement that he or she has not plagiarized or sold the works to another publisher or distributor. The author must submit the manuscript in terms of the publisher’s guidelines, including correct layout and format.

The publisher may contract to work separately with the author in editorial and proofreading services, but the author is solely responsible for hiring his or her own editor and submitting a professionally written and proofed manuscript.

The author is responsible for acquiring all written permissions and correct citations for illustrations in the book, including cover art, charts, graphs, photographs, scans, and drawings. The author must provide written permissions from any and all contributing illustrators for the use of their works. Any financial agreements between authors and artists remain separate from the publisher. MWP may be able to direct the author to find artists if needed.

Non-Compete Clause

The author will agree to not write and sell a similar work that would compete in market for the work being submitted and sold to MWP.

Book Schedule

MWP and the author will decide the scope of the book’s publication together, with consideration of personal schedules.

Publication Delay

MWP may end a contract prior to publication if the author does not present works as defined in the guidelines or as fit for publication.

Book Marketing

The author holds responsibility (according to submission guidelines) for researching the marketability of his or her book and advertising it upon publication. While MWP will help to market and advertise the title, much of responsibility also falls onto the author. The reasoning behind this is MWP’s start-up status, but marketing avenues may grow in the future with staff and growth. MWP holds no guarantee for the book’s saleability. Moon Willow Press will acquire EAN barcodes to be printed on books, and will be able to sell to interested book-sellers.

Book Printing and Distribution

MWP will be responsible for book printing and distribution. MWP will print only on FSC-certified or post-consumer paper, and will print only in short-print cycles unless there is more demand for the book. MWP will pay for all printing; shipping costs are incurred through the customer. MWP will work with the author to decide initial printing run number.

MWP will handle sales and distribution via the press’s website and other outlets, including Amazon and Smashwords (for e-books). Smashwords offers an e-book service in many formats, including HTML, Kindle, Epub, PDF, RTF, LRF (Sony reader), PDB (Palm reader), and so on. Because of the small print run reality for most authors, distribution of paperback books are made only on MWP’s website. At times local bookstores or libraries may pick up a book, but MWP is not a big press and will not distribute through corporate channels nor bookstores unless the book sales are high enough for larger print runs and proper distribution.

Editorial Services

The author’s manuscript submission must be, to the best of the author’s knowledge, edited and proofed prior to submission. MWP’s publishing services may include free editorial services such as proofreading, content editing, and development. These services will be applied only under exception and in private agreement between the author and Moon Willow Press. For promising titles that require heavier editorial work, Moon Willow Press can be hired separately for these services when time allows.

Author Copies

The author will receive 10 free copies of his or her book after printing. A limited number of free review copies may also be available upon request. There is a one-time free shipment of the author’s requested copies; this shipment is sent only to the author.

Posted in Book Contract |

Submission Guidelines

These guidelines are for both e-book and paper book authors. Moon Willow Press’s focus is to publish fiction, non-fiction, and poetry exploring nature and science. A high priority will be placed on publishing credible authors in their field of knowledge, with previous publications being an asset, though first-time authors are acceptable.

Non-fiction

MWP is looking for any of the following general topics:

Conservation and preservation
Renewable and healthy energy
Land, water, and air pollution and restoration
Natural resource depletion
Changing agricultural dynamics
Effects of climate variations
Genetic engineering
Environmental policy
Traditional and quantum physics
Academic studies in biology, chemistry, oceanography, geology, and so on
And more!

In order to be considered for publication, you may want to discuss with me first your idea for a book, and whether or not you have written a rough draft or are just getting started. We can discuss previous or ongoing research, data, solutions, and similar books on topic.

Non-fiction books must be supported by peer-reviewed data, consensus, and illustrations.

Fiction

MWP will most highly consider fiction that follows the same topics as the non-fiction subjects listed above, but we will also accept most any genre of fiction that presents an interesting perspective on life.

Poetry

Eco-poetry will be considered for paper publishing, but it is a very low priority at the moment.

E-books

I will be prepared to publish and distribute more e-books than paper titles, so will be less strict on accepting manuscripts for digital publications only. Keep in mind that once a book is digital, if it does sell well, we may give it special consideration and eventually print it as well.

Another level of e-book is the $2-4.00 e-book, which will be implemented in the future as either of the following:

1. A discount for MWP members
2. A portion of the book profits going to a credible environmental organization

These e-books will be short novellas, poetry chapbooks, first-time authors, and post-prime sales of books. This lower-priced e-book is simply one initiative that Moon Willow Press will implement, but these books will hold to the high quality of any other publication by MWP.

Manuscript Formatting and Other Guidelines

Only submissions following these guidelines will be considered.

Book Proposal

Initial letter and book description: Send a cover letter that summarizes the book, a table of contents, and at least one sample chapter to Moon Willow Press by regular mail or e-mail. In the case of regular mail, sample chapters may not be sent back without proper self-addressed postage applied. I encourage e-mail submissions to reduce paper waste.
Market summary: What other books are on the market that are level with your book? How do you feel your book will fare in that market? What avenues do you have for marketing and advertising your book?
Curriculum vitae: Please supply a recent résumé stating your relevant experience and background as it pertains to your book. List any other previous publications.
Responses: Please allow up to three months for a reply. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a physical reply or your e-mail address for an electronic reply.
Follow-up after initial interest: If Moon Willow Press is interested in your book, we will discuss schedule, drafts, research, and any other relevant items. At that point, you should send a final draft or more sample chapters.

Final Manuscript Submissions

As a start-up press, I will be doing acquisitions work in helping with book ideas and drafts, but the final manuscript must follow all of these guidelines.

The author must sign a statement saying that none of the works are stolen or plagiarized.
The author is responsible for the proofing and editing of the manuscript. Moon Willow Press offers a free final proofread, but will not accept unedited manuscripts.
Handwritten or messy typewritten papers are not acceptable. Submit digitally processed documents only. Do not send original materials. No materials will be returned unless proper postage or payment is included in the submission for return. Please take into account foreign shipping costs and exchange rates. Again, I encourage e-mail submissions to reduce paper waste.
Illustrations must be referenced properly within a manuscript, be referenced and credited in text, and come with written permissions by artists.
All research and resources must be properly cited, and scientific findings must be current and credible.
The submission must be 8.5″ x 11″ paper size, with one-inch margins. Please use a standard font like Ariel or Times New Roman, and a 12-inch font size. You do not need to double-space, but do distinguish new paragraphs with an indention.
In the header of your first page, include your name, address, book title, and word count.
On subsequent pages, include the page number, book title, and chapter title (if relevant) in the footer.
For final accepted digital submissions, we will go over details such as stylesheets, illustration placement, digital formatting, references, indexing, and so forth.