The Publishing Process in a Nutshell:
An author, new to the process, asks...
Q: Could you give an overview of the publishing timetable once a submission is accepted?
Awe-Struck answers...
A: You will be assigned an approximate release date for your ebook.
Within a few weeks/months, you will be assigned a specific date for the release of the ebook. You will have plenty of time to do the following:
Cover work: if Dick is doing your cover, he needs 9 months notice if possible, depending on the type and complexity of the cover. If you are getting your cover made by an artist or other person, please have the cover to us within 6 months of the release date.
FINAL Word file of book--this is YOUR final version: Due in to us 8 months before release date
Author Information Questionaire, (AIQ): due 5 months before release date. Please do not wait until the last minute with this. It's an important tool for us.
4 to 4.5 months from release: book queries sent to reviewers. This is done on the first day(s) of the month.
3-4 months from release: Dick will edit the book and send out a version for you to make one last proofread. You make the final corrections for him to find and fix, and he makes them in the file. Then the book is ready for release.
"Coming Soon" page on the site: 2-3 months before release--cover appears with this promo. We must have the AIQ three months before publication, at the very latest. Dick uses the AIQ to put a description on the Coming Soon page.
Online promo--authors often start this a month or more before release, and we post a newsrelease about 4 days before the release of the book on many online sites. We also do other advanced promotion with online sites up to three months before release. The book is almost always released on a Friday. You will get your release date in plenty of time to make a final proofread of your book.
ISBN assigned: 4 months before release; if author needs it earlier for advanced promotions, the author usually asks.
Book registered at Bowkers Books in Print: 2 weeks before release, if possible. Since that is instant and automated, it becomes 'live' right away, so I can register the book fairly close to the release date.
Book uploaded for sale at distributors: anywhere from 3 weeks before to 3 weeks after official release date.
Book to print: This is a separate contract and partly the author's decision and the sales of the ebook. Print books are released sometime after the ebook release date, depending on the print book queue.