The following projects have an open call for submissions of essays or interviews:
What type of organization is Alfred Press?
We are a cooperative of authors who are self-publishing through an online print-on-demand book printing service. Alfred Press helps this process go smoothly and ensures a quality product. Our books are screened for the quality of the writing, the quality of the material presented, the professional look of the formatting and cover art, and the relevance of the writing to our audience. Our printing and distribution is provided by Lulu.com. We have been very pleased with the quality of their books, and we appreciate their flexibility in publishing options and low up-front cost.
Is Alfred Press a vanity press or print-on-demand publisher?
No. Neither vanity presses nor print-on-demand publishers screen manuscripts or edit content. Also, you pay them directly to put out your book. While we help our members through the self-publishing process, you don't pay Alfred Press directly. However, unlike a mainstream publisher, we don't market your book for you. Instead, all members of Alfred Press take equal responsibility for marketing the entire press and this website. That way more people see your book -- and everyone else's book -- than would have seen it if you simply marketed your self-published book yourself.
What types of manuscripts will you accept?
We are looking for well-written nonfiction books on alternative relationship structures and alternative sexual lifestyles -- polyamory, power exchange relationships, sacred sexuality, etc. We are not looking for books on sexual or BDSM techniques. For example, a book on how to safely tie up your lover would not be in our genre, but a book on how to manage a dominant/submissive relationship while raising children would be. A book on making your marriage sexier through swinging would not be in our genre, but a book on how to help your marriage survive swinging might be. We are not at this time publishing fiction, although that might change in the future. There is no maximum word count, although we might ask you to expand a very small book.
To submit a manuscript, send us an attachment in Microsoft Word, Open Office, or Corel Word Perfect (not WordPad!) to cauldronfarm@hotmail.com with "Alfred Press" in the header, and please wait about a month for us to respond.
Will bookstores carry these books?
The books which have ISBNs are available through the major retail book distributers. They can be ordered through any online retail chain bookstore (such as Amazon.com). A physical bookstore can order them just like any other book, but print-on-demand does not allow for the generous return policies bookstores are accustomed to. This makes many bookstores unwilling to take the risk on an obscure book.
However, when we are contacted by specialty stores and conference vendors who are interested in carrying Alfred Press books, whenever possible we offer them a wholesale discount. If you want your local bookstore to carry an Alfred Press book, order the book through them and encourage others to do the same. If they see a market for it, they'll carry it. Because of distribution fees, books sold through retail distribution have substantially lower royalties than books purchased directly from Alfred Press or from Lulu, but the publicity may be worth it.
How does Alfred Press pay their authors?
Authors are paid by Lulu directly and 100% of royalties go directly to the authors or the charities they specify. The books are branded under the Alfred Press logo, ensuring a quality reputation for readers, but they are essentially self-published. Unlike working with a traditional publisher, our authors retain all the rights to their books and Alfred Press does not take any portion of the profits. Alfred Press simply assures quality writing and a professional product, while maintaining a central site for people to find these books. The author may distribute or reprint their work as they wish.
Does Alfred Press charge their authors money?
No. Through Lulu, there is no up-front fee for basic publishing services, and there is no minimum order of books. Lulu takes a small percentage of whatever royalty the author sets, to cover their distribution costs. We only require that authors buy two test copies of their book (one for us, one for themselves), so we can assure everything is correct before offering the book for sale. This is generally less than $20. If revisions need to be made, an additional pair of books will have to be ordered. These test copies are purchased by the author directly from Lulu, at cost, with no profit to Alfred Press. Additionally, some authors choose to register an ISBN for the book in order to get it listed on Amazon.com and the like. This varies between $50-$100.
Will Alfred Press edit my book?
Yes, if we feel that it needs editing. All editing is free of charge, but we reserve the right to change things, or ask you to change things, if we feel that they could be better written or are not appropriate. If you can't bear to change a single word of your book, you'd be better off doing direct self-publishing, because no press will stand for that. We also require that formatting and cover art be held to our high standard. If we accept a manuscript from you, we will ask you to sign a contract that will specify the following:
- If you decide to withdraw your book during the editing process, there is no charge.
- If you decide to withdraw you book after it has been formatted by one of our cooperative members, you owe them the previously agreed-upon price, even if Alfred Press is not publishing it.
- If you decide to withdraw your book after the cover has been created by a cooperative member, you owe them the previously agreed-upon price, even if Alfred Press is not publishing it.
What if I need help formatting my book?
Formatting your own manuscript for printing is challenging and we insist on professional-quality layout. If you have a simple text-only book and are familiar with using styles in Microsoft Word, you may be able to do most of the formatting yourself. We can send you a template to use, and we will help guide you through the process. If you cannot or do not wish to format your manuscript to our standards, we request that you hire a member of the cooperative to format it for you. All formatting prices are agreed upon between cooperative members and not set by Alfred Press, but are generally around $50-$100. Please contact us for more information. We can design a simple cover for you, or we can offer referrals to professional artists.
If my book has already been published, can I reprint it with Alfred Press?
This depends on your contract with that publisher. The contract should specify when the rights will revert back to the author. Usually this will happen if the book has been officially "out of print" for more than a year, but what counts as "out of print" varies. If you have something in writing from the publisher saying the rights have reverted to you, we will consider the reprinting the book. We may also be able to publish translations of books, provided you own the rights.
Will publishing with Alfred Press hurt my chances at eventually finding a "real" publisher?
Probably not. Your book can be removed from circulation through Alfred Press at any time. We are developing a good reputation for quality material, and establishing an audience for your writing can help your chances of being picked up by a mainstream publisher later.
Have you considered using Lightning Source (or BookSurge, or...) instead of Lulu?
Yes. We have looked into many POD options, and we continue to prefer Lulu. If you would like to send us information about other POD options, we will consider them, but Lulu is very well suited to our business model.