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This just in, as of early 2007 we can now help you research, organize and write your book. If you're one of those people who has a story to tell about yourself or your family or your business but you're not a writer -- or you are a good writer but just don't hve the time to sit down and do a book -- we can do it for you. We specialize in personal, family and business histories, and we'll make it easy for you to tell your story. We'll write the book you would write yourself if you were a professional writer and had the time. Email to ask about working with one of our writers.

Here are some of our other services:

PROOFS  

If you like, and we recommend it, especially for first-time customers and big orders, Long Dash can can make one preliminary copy of your book and send it to you for a proof. This requires only a modest shipping and handling fee (depending on whether it's sent USPS, UPS or FedEx) when you place and pay for your order -- usually $20-$30. You get the proof and suggest any changes. If the changes are minor or are corrections to our formatting, there won't be an additional charge. But if you want a lot of changes, particularly in editing your mistakes in the text you submitted, there may be additional formatting charges.

GRAPHICS SERVICES

Formatting from $75
If you're happy with your manuscript and want it published "as is," it still needs to be formatted for the InstaBook machine. You are welcome to do the formatting yourself. Follow our specs, under How to Submit Your Book, which lets you cut and paste your manuscript (text, pictures, everything) into a pre-formatted Word template that you can send us. Or we'll format your text for you; the cost depends on the length of the manuscript and the number of graphics.

Cover design from $100
If you provide an adequate digital image for a cover, or we adapt one of our many ready-made cover designs for you, there is no charge for cover design. If we have to do minimal formatting or other work, such as scanning in photos or other art, charges will begin at $50. Or we can have one of our graphic designers do an original cover, using whatever instructions you supply or working entirely on his or her own from your text, starting at $100.  

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Copyright registration from $100
Your book is automatically copyrighted when you write it, but registration with the federal government provides additional protection and greater monetary damages if your work is misappropriated and you sue the infringer. You can register your copyright yourself (information is at www.copyright.gov), or we can do it for you.

ISBN Numbers from $100
You may want to obtain an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), the 10-digit identification, including bar code, that booksellers and libraries use to order, stock and sell books and other media. You can do this yourself (information is available at bowker.com) or we can do this for you for $100. We can incorporate the ISBN bar code on the back cover of your book. This service includes application for an Advance Book Information (ABI ) form, which allows your book to be included in Books in Print, the industry directory used by distributors, wholesalers, and bookstores to order copies of books.

DISTRIBUTION SERVICES

Long Dash will sell your book online, and we can put you in touch with a colleague who provides wider online and national bookstore distribution and marketing for a very reasonable fee. For more, go to the Selling Your Book link on this site.  

PUBLICITY SERVICES

We're experimenting, on a limited basis, with offering public relations help to Long Dash authors who want help designing their own news releases about their books, and sending them to their local or specialized media. If you're interested, send a note to us at longdash@gmail.com .

We're also offering some nice things you can give away or send to people to promote and publicize your book, including bookmarks (30 for $10) and postcards (40 for $30) that carry the cover of your book. You can have a description of your book on the back of the postcards, or they can be set up to use for mailing.

And a big add-on: we're offering our authors a page off our Web site. If you want to have your own page on the Internet, we'll design it for you, with an image of the cover of your book, an author photo, a description of the book, an author bio, and blurbs if you have them. We're charging $150 for the first year, including setup, and $100 a year thereafter.

EDITORIAL SERVICES  

Copy editing from $250
A professional editor will fix the nagging little mistakes in your manuscript - spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax, style, continuity. Your writing won't be changed, but it will be cleaned up to get rid of embarrassing little mistakes.

Line editing from $350
Besides copy editing, the editor will critique your manuscript for content and storytelling, and make suggestions for rewriting and reorganizing to tell the story more smoothly and more effectively.

Publishing consulting from $200
Does your book have a future with a commercial publisher? With an academic press? Should you look for an agent? An experienced publishing professional will evaluate your manuscript, offer an assessment of its appeal to publishing houses, and suggest a menu of alternatives for improving the manuscript and/or marketing it to agents and editors.

If you have any questions about what we can and cannot do for you, whether it's on this page or not, please email us.