Publishing Your Book
Mermaid Cove helps you turn your manuscript into a Professionally Published Book.
We do not have one set publishing package for our authors. Every situation, book, and author will have different needs, so we customize a publishing package unique to every author we vet. Most Mermaid Cove publishing packages will be between $1,200 and $3,500. To offset the up-front investment by authors, independent hybrid publishers offer a higher royalty rate than traditional publishers. At Mermaid Cove our authors receive 70% net on print books and 80% net on digital books.
Below is a sample of what a publishing package could look like for a children’s book. To design a package just for you, contact us and we can come up with a plan made just for you.
Children’s Book Package Sample
Further details and explanations for our Packages
Manuscript evaluation and vetting
We carefully look at and read your manuscript before starting the publishing process to ensure it aligns with our mission and vision.
Professional interior formatting and cover design
Custom interior formatting ensures that your book looks good on the inside, while the custom cover is eye-catching and designed just for your book. The interior fonts, typography, and layout coordinates with your cover which achieves a consistent look for your book.
ISBN and barcode
Mermaid Cove will provide an ISBN (international standard book number) and a compatible barcode for each product. Having the barcode with ISBN and price on the back of your book ensures that your book is ready to be sold.
Book data submission to Bowker
Sending book data to Bowker ensures that your titles will be exposed to more than 3,000 subscribers of their Books In Print and Global Books In Print websites. Bowker customers come from many sectors of the book industry:
Bowker has over 1,800 library customers including The New York Public Library, Harvard University Library, and the British Library. In total, more than 5,000 libraries and branch locations can access your data.
Bowker’s major retail customers include Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Follett. Many independent and smaller retailers also use our data.
School systems, including the New York City Department of Education, rely on Bowker-provided data to procure books.
Registration with Library of Congress, PCIP data and MARC record
The Library of Congress is a national catalog of print books and assigns a number that is used by librarians to discover and purchase books. We would be happy to email you our PCIP data and MARC records information sheet upon request.
Physical proof copy
Before your book is published, you’ll receive a printed copy for a final evaluation.
Print & ebook distribution
We set up your print book with two POD printers, Amazon and Ingram, when possible*.
Ingram sends the information for your book to all of the 39,000+ bookstores, libraries, and retailers in their global distribution network and lists the book as available for sale to them at a discounted price depending on the wholesale discount the publisher offers. If requested, we can send you a list of Ingram’s complete distribution network.
*Amazon does not offer as many trim size options as Ingram.
EBook distribution to Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Apple Books, Smashwords Store, Tolino, OverDrive, Bibliotheca, Scribd, Baker & Taylor, Hoopla, Vivlio and BorrowBox.
Author page on Mermaid Cove website
A complimentary author page designed to gather all the info about you as an author and your books. Your print book and ebooks will be listed for sale on your page.
Five copies of the book upon publication
You’ll get five printed copies of your paperback book on us!
You can order as many copies of your book as you wish once published. You pay the cost of printing, shipping/handling cost, tax (if applicable) and a 5% surcharge. It is more cost effective to purchase at least 10 or more books at a time due to the shipping. When you need more books just send us an email or text and we’ll get them ordered for you. The turnaround time between the order and shipping is at least 2 weeks.
Hardcover Edition
If you would like to also publish your book in a hardback edition, we can do it. The price includes layout design, ISBN and submission. Two printed copies of your hardcover. Price is for the same size as the paperback.
Author Website
We can create your own personal author website on Squarespace or Wix. Up to six pages can be included, with or without ecommerce. One year of website maintenance by Mermaid Cove is included. The host (Squarespace or Wix) subscription and the domain name cost is not included.
**Illustrations to be provided by the author. If the author does not have an illustrator, Mermaid Cove will assist in locating an illustrator that fits with your project at author’s expense. We can provide stock photos, create maps and graphs, and in certain situations, create vector images; fees apply.
For Children’s Book Package Only:
Edit and Grade Level Manuscript/F & P Leveling
We will have your story edited and structurally leveled to the age level intended. We have found this to be very important when writing books for children in grades K-8. Once your book is edited to a specific grade level, and before publishing, your book will be submitted to Fountas & Pinnell to be accurately leveled to the F&P Text Level Gradient™.
An official Fountas & Pinnell level based on the F&P Text Level Gradient™ is a teacher's powerful tool for planning, organizing and implementing small group reading instruction. We want you to be able to use this designation, as well as the official logo, to assist you in marketing your books to libraries, school districts, and teachers. Using the official F&P Text Level Gradient™ logo and citation is a signal to educators that a title is appropriate for use in small group guided reading instruction. For more detailed information on the F&P Text Level Gradient™, we would be glad to email you the “About the Leveled Books” letter from Fountas & Pinnell.
Need more information on our packages or would you like to start a conversation with us?
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