ZEN2BOOKS

HOW WE HELP YOU

THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE AN UNWRITTEN OR WRITTEN BOOK GATHERING DUST ON A SHELF AND JUST NEED A LITTLE HELP GETTING IT PRODUCED. SOME PEOPLE HAVE ARTWORK OR PHOTOGRAPHY THAT MERITS A BOOK BUT THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM THEIR "CRAFT" TO PRINT OR DIGITAL FORM. HERE IS WHERE WE ARE USEFUL TO YOU.

HAVE A COLLECTION OF FAMILY PHOTOS THAT BEG TO TELL A SPECIAL STORY? OR A MOTH-EATEN MANUSCRIPT LEFT TO YOU BY A LOVED ONE? OR YOUR OWN NEW CREATIVE PROJECT THAT CALLS FOR A BOOK FORM? WE HELP YOU GET IT OUT THERE. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTANCE IS NO PROBLEM. TODAY'S WEB TECHNOLOGY IS OUR BEST TOOL AND ALL YOU NEED IS ACCESS TO E-MAIL OR A PLAIN OLD POST OFFICE. EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT COMPUTER LITERATE, WE HELP YOU THROUGH IT...DISCOVER HOW PAINLESS IT CAN BE.

STEP 1

WE TAKE YOUR MATERIAL AND ORGANIZE IT INTO A LOGICAL AND UNIFIED ORDER.

IF YOUR TEXT IS HAND-WRITTEN, WE'LL CONVERT IT INTO TYPEWRITTEN FORM. IF YOU WANT TO RETAIN YOUR ORIGINAL HANDWRITTEN TEXT IN ORDER TO PRESERVE ITS AUTHENTICITY, WE SCAN AND CREATE A DIGITIZED FORMAT OF IT.

WE CAN TAKE OLD, ORIGINAL IMAGES AND RENEW THEM.

STEP 2

BASED ON YOUR INPUT AND FEEDBACK, WE DEVELOP AN OVERALL DESIGN FOR YOUR BOOK..... THAT MEANS ITS STYLE, COLOR, LAYOUT, FONT SELECTION AND VISUAL ELEMENTS (COVER AS WELL AS INTERIOR ART).

STEP 3

THE FINAL STAGES INCLUDE THE FINAL PRINTED OR DIGITALIZED PROJECT, PRINTING AND PUBLICATION.

STEP 4

IF YOUR BOOK IS FOR SALE, WE OBTAIN YOUR OWN ISBN AND SET UP YOUR PUBLISHING ACCOUNT. WE CAN ALSO SUGGEST DIFFERENT MARKETING AVENUES IF YOU WISH

KEEP READING BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON PRICING AND ARTWORK.

WHEN THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETED, YOU CAN PROMOTE YOUR WORK THROUGH YOUR OWN WEBSITE.....AND OUR SISTER COMPANY, ZEN II NET, CAN HELP YOU OBTAIN, DESIGN, BUILD AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN SITE. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.

PROCESS

HOW DOES THIS ALL WORK? THE PROCESS IS SIMPLE AND STRAIGHT-FORWARD. EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT COMPUTER-LITERATE, WE MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU.

We collect your material:

TEXT- handwritten or typed

PHOTOS - original images, slides or digital transmitted to us via CD, DVD, in person, E-Mail or regular mail

We ask for your thoughts on the overall look such as cover style: hardback (image wrap, with dust cover) or soft cover; printed, digital format or both; type of binding; general feeling and visual look you want to convey to the reader.

We prepare a general layout that shows which pages are blank, have text, images, etc. This will give you a rough idea of what the end result will be.

We convert your text and images into their best possible form: handwritten text is typed in a recommended font; images are improved/optimized for the best print and/or digital quality. Old photos are scanned and saved digitally, also improved if in bad condition.

We prepare any graphic design required, i.e. cover art, art for the interior pages, etc.

We present you the preliminary finished product via images (JPEG format) or in PDF form, sent via E-mail .

We make adjustments as per your feedback and request your final review and approval. The final completion depends largely on how quickly you respond to the final changes.

When we receive your "signed-off" approval (via email or regular mail), we make the necessary final adjustments for printing and/or publication.

If the book project is for "SALE", we solicit your unique ISBN number. ISBN numbers are required for a print version and DRM (Digital rights management) for a digital version.

For digital format (e-book) only, we convert your material into its required format.

Printed copies are ordered and delivered to you if requested.

E-books are uploaded to the appropriate site and published for sale.

All purchases of copies and all royalty accounts are set up in your name only. We will need your information for direct deposit payments to be set up.

NOTE: We charge only for our labor to produce the final product....ALL profits go to you To our knowledge, no other publisher does this!

We can also advise/assist you in preparing a marketing plan to maximize sales if your book is for publication.

PRICING

You pay us ONLY for our labor to organize, design and facilitate printing and/or publishing of your book. Since no two projects are alike, we can only give you a range of prices based on our experiences while acknowledging the average industry standard.

Transcribe text and proofread (English, Spanish and Greek language only - all other language text must be given to us in its corrected form and will be formatted as such) - standard industry text books

Price begins at €40 (for up to 40 pages) and vary by project. Please request an estimate. There is an additional cost to transfer handwritten text to industry standard text.

Scan images and documents

Determined by project (avg. €0.20 - 0.50/image)

Prepare book layout: all graphics, formatting, overall design

Determined by project (avg. €22-25.00/hr.)

Final production and upload for printing

Determined by the publication process you select (private use only, mass market sales, hardcover, softcover, digital format, etc.) When we know what you need, we give you an estimate.

Convert your print content into digital format

Determined by project - minimum fee €135.00 - varies by complexity of project

Assist in marketing your project - depends on your needs. When we are familiar with your project, we work with you in developing the best marketing ways to promote your work.

ALL PRINTING, SHIPPING, TAXES AND RELATED FEES ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR

COVER & INTERIOR ART

Every book project we have undertaken has required its own special cover art. In most cases, books were for non-commercial use, and so their cover art was not directed to the buying public; these covers were not designed for selling purposes. Regardless of who the reading audience is, we believe that the cover should reflect the sentiment of its content, creating an emotional and visual connection between the interior content and exterior visuals.

When considering cover art, it is important to remember that PRINT version requirements differ from an EBOOK’s; PRINT versions are viewed and handled by humans while EBOOKs exist only on a single plane: a creative virtual scrolling page. It is also important to keep in mind that EBook readers tend to “jump” into the content without paying too much attention to the graphics of the book whereas PRINT book readers tend to view the book as a whole – visuals and content together; appealing to this reader is much more sensual.

Our artistic style tends to be simple, clean, to-the-point yet warm and inviting to the reader. We believe the rear cover of the book is important too and is part of the entire edition so we treat both front and rear covers as a whole unit, unlike many designers who have different visuals from front to rear where their main focus is only on the cover. As for type of media used, well, it runs the gamut from digital art to the fine arts of watercolor, pen and ink, and pencil…everything depends on the type of project and what the author sees as a true interpretation of his/her book. We never use “cookie cutter” design methods because we believe in the originality of every project; no two will ever be alike unless the author wishes.

COVER

INTERIOR ART

Most writers have the content of their books ready but rarely have any artwork for their cover.... in fact, many writers have not thought far enough ahead about the "face" of their work. If you are one of these writers, we can help you.

We ask for your thoughts on the way you envision your book on store bookshelves and as en E-book. If your book is for personal printing only, we ask for the feeling you want to convey to the reader. The more input we get from you, the better the cover art.

Our background in fine and graphic arts as well as architectural drawing, plus the database of digital information we access all provide you with the skills and expertise needed to create the right cover for your book.

If you have included any kind of art or photography in the content of your book, it needs to flow with the entire feeling of the book.....including the cover if necessary and logical.

Thus we prepare and set up the interior design/artwork of your book with the overall feeling in mind. The end result is a volume of work that is cohesive and conveys all that you as the author choose to convey.

PRCING:

Each project is unique and made-to-order. Some projects are more complex than others so accurate estimates can only be made when we know what your project involves. Depending on what your book entails, we will provide you an accurate estimate prior to beginning the work.

COVER ART price begins at €150.00 per project

INTERIOR ART prices begin at €135.00 per project

ALL PRINTING, SHIPPING, TAXES AND RELATED FEES

ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR

Once we know what you have in mind, we prepare 3 preliminary concepts which include the front, spine and reverse covers...we believe in treating all cover art as a whole, not as individual pieces. After your review and discussion with you, we proceed with the one concept you prefer and prepare a semi-final design. A final review is made for your approval, and we continue with the book-making process.

SAMPLES OF SOME COVER and INTERIOR ART