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Is this offer a gimmick? No. This is not a gimmick. It is a genuine heartfelt offer from the publisher of Deep River Books who wants to help authors get past this mess and then be able to make up for at least a portion of their loss with WinePress.
What is DRB Global Connect? It is Deep River Books system that is similar to the Co-Captain program you had with regard to ordering copies of your book by print on demand. It offers the same global sales features but you keep ALL the "net to publisher" sales revenue.
Can you explain what is meant by "100% of all sales revenue/royalties" will go to the author? It means exactly what it says. For all books ordered and sold through the Global Connect program (by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, and all other outlets that order books), you will receive the full amount of "net to publisher." "Net to Publisher" is the actual amount the publisher receives less the printing cost, returns and other costs charged. Whatever the amount that the publisher would normally receive is what YOU, the author, will be paid. Deep River Books will not take any "cut" of the net proceeds realized.
Does this "100% to Author" also apply to eBooks? Yes. For example, Amazon Kindle normally takes 30% of the sale price of an eBook and pays the publisher 70% of the sale price. You, the author would receive all of the 70% paid by Amazon for each eBook sold. Deep River Books will not take any "cut" of the net proceeds realized.
For how long will this offer last? For as long as your book is in print and you continue to be enrolled in the DRB Global Connect program.
How much will the transfer cost? The transfer fee is $40. This fee also includes the first year annual maintenance fee you will need to pay once a year to stay in the Global Connect system. The annual fee begins on March 1, 2014 and will not be charged to you again until March 1, 2015. There is an additional fee for the new imprint and ISBN. Read below why this option is very important for most authors.
Why is it important for me to have a new imprint and ISBN? If you are going to offer your book though the DRB Global Connect system, you really do need a new ISBN and Imprint on your book. The reason is because the publisher's name is embedded in the ISBN and barcode on your book. If it still reads WinePress, there could be confusion as to where to send the sale proceeds and reports. We have made it an option, but it could result in lost revenue to you if things get mixed up when books are sold, inventoried, and/or returned. So we strongly feel it is very important for you to make this change.
What imprint would my book have? Deep River Books is offering to put their "TrustedBooks" imprint on your book and also give your book a new ISBN. The fee for this would be $125. So your total fee to transfer to DRB Global Connect, including the $40 transfer fee would be $165.
When would I pay these fees? You do not need to send any money now. When we notify you that we have made the necessary revisions to the DRB Global Connect system, you will be sent a URL where you can go online and register. You will be asked to pay by credit card at that time.
Is there a fee for converting my file to eBook format? If your book was already in eBook format under the WinePress POD program, there will be no fee since it will be transferred over automatically. If your book is not yet converted to eBook formats, then there will be a charge for that conversion process. We are in the process of negotiating that fee and do not have an exact cost yet.
What discount will I receive for the books I order? The "default discount" for the books you order personally is 60% off the retail price. However, if you were receiving a larger discount from WinePress, we will honor that discount.
If I switch to the DRB Global Connect POD program, will the system work the same as the Co-Captain program at WinePress? It will be similar but not exactly the same. You will be able to have a personalized portal with user name and password. It is a secure and encrypted eCommerce site for entering your payment credit card information. Of course, your landing page will probably look different, but the goal is to give you the same options, the same service and with other enhancements such as the Author Resource Center that DRB offers.
How soon will the DRB Global Connect POD system be in place? We have a POD system for current Deep River Books authors in place, but because our publishing programs were different from the WinePress programs, we are having to revamp the system. We hope to have an active order system for WinePress authors up and running within a two weeks or less.
Will my book still be listed and sold on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, etc. in the same way it was with WP? Yes. DRB Global Connect will put your book in a worldwide market including the USA, Canada, UK, AU, and most of the rest of the English speaking world. Your book will be available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, Ingram/Spring Arbor and can be ordered by virtually every brick and mortar bookstore in America, in addition to all of the major online stores.
Is this market distribution plan offered at an additional cost to me? No. It is included in the annual combined $40 maintenance fee you pay.
I recently paid WinePress the annual maintenance fee for the Co-Caption POD program and it has not been a year yet. Do I have to pay a second annual maintenance fee even though the one I paid has not expired? Unfortunately, we did not receive any money from WinePress for the fee you already paid for your annual maintenance fee that is not expired. Because of this, we will need to charge this fee again and it will begin on March 1, 2014 and be renewed each year on March 1. It does include the file transfer fees to transfer your files to our Global Connect system.
Can I opt out of the DRB Global Connect system if I want? The agreement we ask you to sign will ask you for a five year commitment. After that, you can opt out with a sixty day written notice.
What about printed copies I already have? Current inventories can be stickered on the back to prevent confusion, but new books POD printed for the retail trade and all eBooks should have a new ISBN. If you want the DRB Global Connect to sell your books into the retail trade as before and receive royalties, you will need to have a new ISBN so retailers and distributors know where to credit sales.
How soon will I be able to start ordering my books from the Deep River Books Global Connect program? Hopefully within the next couple of weeks. When the system is ready, you will be notified by email on how to register at the new Deep River Books Global Connect website.
What other features are included in the Annual Maintenance Fee? Included in the $40 fee is unlimited access to the Author Resource Center. This is for the exclusive use of DRB authors and includes the latest articles on social network marketing, publishing news, tips for blogging, and other coaching materials to maximize marketing opportunities.
If I have more than one WinePress title, will they be covered by one annual maintenance fee? Due to record keeping and sales reports and payment of royalties, we will need to charge you the $40 fee for each title you have in the DBR Global Connect program.
Besides the annual maintenance fee for each of my books, would there be any other costs involved down the road? The only added costs would be for any optional ancillary products or services you might select. All DRB authors have access to fee-based ancillary products and services such as customized marketing packages, customized websites, marketing products such as customized posters, postcards, and bookmarks; special author opportunities at conventions and trade shows. As a DRB author, you would be entitled to at 15% discount on all fee based products and services ordered through your Global Connect portal. There are no hidden fees or costs that we will charge you.
Can I change the list price of my book? If you feel the current retail price of your book not the right price, we are open to evaluating that on a case-by-case basis. If we feel it is too high to be competitive, we will agree to reduce it. But we reserve the right to set the final price for every title in our system. As a general rule, our retail prices are very competitive in the book market.
If I desired to make small editing changes in my finished book, could you help me, and at what approximate cost? The cost depends on what "small changes" are requested and would need to be assessed and priced on a case by case basis. If you wish to make changes in the content of your book, it may require some additional typesetting costs, and we would need an estimate from our team for that work.
I have a book that is "out of print." Roughly, how long would it take to get my book back in print? It should not take very long. If you do not have your files, we can make files from a print copy of your book. There is a fee for doing this, but digital files of your book can be made from a print copy of your book. We would be able to bring any book back in print if we have either the files or a print copy of the book in new or good condition. Based on the size of your book, we can give you an estimate.
I have personal copies of my book that were stored in the WinePress warehouse. Is DRB able to warehouse and distribute the print copies I have of my book? No. In our system, author copies are for the author to sell (churches, church bookstores, speaking engagements, seminars, book tables, personal website, etc). Your books will be sold to the retail trade under our Global Connect POD program with a new imprint and ISBN, but we will print those as they are ordered. We do have a distributor that warehouses and distributes current DRB books, and our distributor has indicated he will assess each title to see if he can warehouse and distribute for authors. If you need this service, please email me at bill@deepriverbooks.com and I will connect you with our distributor to see if he can work out the details directly with you.
If I order an offset print run of my book, will DRB store those for me? Will DRB try to sell and distribute those for me? Again, in our system, printed books ordered by the author are for the author to sell-through their ministries and contacts. We do not sell the books that authors order for their use and we do not store the books that authors order for their use.
Does Deep River Books have a copy of my files? No, we do not have a copy of your files. There is a copy of your files at the POD printer that are currently "frozen" and on hold due to the WinePress shut down. The POD print company that WinePress was using and the one that DRB uses is LSI located near Nashville, TN. Your files located at LSI will not be released to ANY OTHER PUBLISHER without your written consent and release. If you transfer to DRB Global Connect, you will sign a new agreement with DRB and this will authorize LSI to release, transfer and activate your file under the new DRB Global Connect system. If you do not wish to enroll in DRB Global Connect, WinePress has instructed LSI to delete your entire file from their system. There is also a copy of your files at a database still owned by WinePress. This is the database from where your files can be put on disc and mailed to you (free of charge if you enroll with DRB Global Connect). According to WinePress, any other copies of your files or personal information in existence are unauthorized copies, alleged by WinePress to be stolen and may be subject to future litigation and seizure.
What about my unpaid royalties that WinePress owes me? Any unpaid royalties currently owed to authors for sales that have already transpired would need to be paid by WinePress.
There are errors in my book's listing at Amazon. Can these be fixed? Yes. We can put requests into Amazon and other online stores to fix errors, but our experience is that they can sometimes be very slow in making the corrections. But eventually they do correct them.
Is there someone I can speak to on the phone at Deep River Books? There are approximately 250 former WinePress authors "in process" and over 1,000 in the POD order program. Many of these authors have contacted us for help. Deep River Books does not currently have enough personnel to handle questions by phone. We are working with authors who fill out the necessary forms we have provided and we will get back to each author as soon as we can. Our goal is that within the next few weeks, we will have been able to help each WinePress author that contacts us and meet their needs in a thoughtful, timely and cost-effective manner. But we cannot handle phone calls right now. But we will try to answer all emails, if you will be patient with us getting back to you while we get through this initial process. Once we get through this heavy load of transfers and production processes, we will have a customer relations person you can speak to by phone.
THE DEADLINE IS LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY. GO TO http://honestediting.com/drb-global-connect/ AND SIGN UP TODAY.