We are committed to 100% transparency with our authors. Our business is based on trust, and it’s our pleasure to give prospective authors as much information as possible.

The Boyle & Dalton hybrid publishing model is unique and effective. Here are the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. If you don’t see your question, please feel free to contact us.

What kinds of books do you publish?

We publish fiction, narrative/creative non-fiction (true stories), and poetry. We’ll consider non-fiction of other types, but we’re looking for compelling reading, not academic materials.

We do not publish erotica or children’s books. Our emphasis is on books for adult readers, but we will consider YA and middle-grade chapter books.

If you have work of another type, we encourage you to submit. The worst we can say is “no thanks.”

Start the submission process here.

I’m having trouble with the website, can I talk to someone?

Sure! We’re happy to chat. Please give us a call at 614-805-3982, or email us at info@boyleanddalton.com.

How is Boyle & Dalton’s hybrid model different than self-publishing?

Self-publishers pay directly for services like editing and cover design, and the only barrier to entry for those services/publication is cost. In contrast, Boyle & Dalton stringently vets all submitted manuscripts for quality prior to acceptance, and all of our books undergo a complete production process that mirrors the production process of a traditional publisher.

Like self-publishing, the author receives the majority of all royalties and retains ownership of their manuscript at all times. Our present standard royalty rate is 70% (compared to a 7% industry average NET royalty among traditional publishers).

If selected for publication, where will my book be sold?

Hardback and paperback books are distributed through Ingram, the nation’s largest book distributor, and available on major platforms such as Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com. E-books are distributed to Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, iTunes, and Kobo.

How much does it cost to publish with Boyle & Dalton?

Most authors invest between $4,000 and $6,500 in their book.  Factors that may affect the total investment price are the length of the book and the amount of editing and development needed.

What percentage of submission do you accept?

We accept fewer than 10% of the manuscripts that are submitted to us.

How much do your authors make in royalties?

We pay a royalty rate of 70% of NET. This means that whatever we receive for the sale of your book, you get 70% of that in a quarterly check–no weird fees, held payments, or funny business. Most of our authors make $3 to $5 per book sold.

When do authors get paid?

We pay our authors every quarter and provide them with a royalty report so they’re plugged into their sales. Typically, authors receive checks in March, June, September, and December.

How do you determine how much the author invests in the book production?

The biggest factor we consider is the cost to produce the book, in labor, wages, and cash expenses.  We balance that cost against our optimism for the book at market, and we arrive at a fair investment point that we believe the author is likely to recover.

Who prices my book?

You do, with our help. We’re here to provide good advice, taking into account factors like book length, target market, and genre, but ultimately, we allow the author to set the final price.

Who has the final say on creative decisions?

You do.  We respect your investment in your work, both monetarily and creatively. So when push comes to shove, if you’re in disagreement with our production experts (which rarely happens), you’re the boss.

How do we select books?

Traditional publishers ask one question when they evaluate a book: “Can we make money with this?”

At Boyle & Dalton, your investment helps to mitigate the financial risk of taking on a new title. So we ask a different question: “Does this book represent the values and quality of Boyle and Dalton?”  More specifically, we’re inspired to publish books that are purposeful, enriching, and creative. If your manuscript has the potential to be a book that we can proudly stand behind as an example of our work, we’re willing to apply all the expertise, knowledge, and guidance we have alongside your investment.

How long does the selection process take?

We do our best to make a determination on most books within two weeks.

How does the process work?

We’re a close-knit team that cares about the work we do, and it’s important to us that our authors receive individualized attention. We’ll walk you through each step, answering questions and getting your feedback and approval for each component of production before moving on.  After everyone is 100 percent happy with the finished book, we distribute it to retailers.

Read more about our production process here.

Where are you located?

Our office is located in Zanesville, Ohio. We regularly meet authors in person if they’re local to the Ohio area. For authors located outside of Ohio, we’re happy to video chat, email, or talk via phone. Contact us here. 

How and when do I pay Boyle & Dalton?

We accept checks, credit/debit cards, and PayPal. For most titles, we ask for half of the total project cost up-front, with the remainder due when you’re 100 percent satisfied that we’ve produced the work in a way that’s consistent with what you’ve been promised.

Who pays for marketing?

The author and Boyle & Dalton are expected to market the book. Boyle & Dalton primarily markets the book within our existing extensive social media platform.

Boyle & Dalton provides unlimited marketing consultation to authors. Our industry experts are available to provide insight, guidance, and resources throughout the process at the author’s request, at no charge. Additional marketing services can be provided by Boyle & Dalton on a fee basis if the author would like assistance.

Are there any other fees or costs?

No! The only other cost is a $25 annual renewal, billed once annually to keep your book in our catalog and available from retailers so readers can purchase your work.

If you don’t see your question, please reach out to us today. Contact us here.

Ready to submit your work for consideration? Begin the process here.

Every book produced by Boyle & Dalton undergoes a rigorous 5-step book production process.

Small presses and self-publishers fail because they’re not producing books of a quality that will compete with books coming out of the Big-5 publishers. We’re committed to producing every book with exceptionalism, and with a complete production infrastructure.

The Big-5 publishers are the 5 companies that control approximately 80% of all purchased books in the U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins.

Our model has proven that books produced correctly and to a professional standard can and do compete with titles coming out of the biggest publishers in the world. The only difference between our books and Big-5 published books is that our model allows us to pay authors a royalty 10 times what they pay, on average.

Our founder, Brad Pauquette, spent a decade consulting with authors and publishers of all types and sizes, and distilled the process of successful book production into 5 critical steps. He originally outlined these 5 steps in his book, The Self-Publishing Handbook: Five Key Steps to Professionally Publish Your Book.

At Boyle & Dalton, after books are vetted for initial quality and accepted for publication, we embark with the author on a complete production process which typically takes 4-12 months to complete. This is the same process these books would undergo at a Big-5 publishing house, and we’ve proven that it produces exceptional books.

Step 1: Developmental Editing

The first step is to make the book better. No book leaves the author’s pen ready for printing. A professional, experienced developmental editor will carefully read and analyze your book, and work with you to improve story development, plot structure, character development, phrasing, technique, dialog, and so much more. This is a back-and-forth, one-on-one process with the editor.

In this stage, the editor does not make changes directly to the manuscript (with few exceptions). Instead, the editor provides feedback and instruction to the author for improvement.

While it can be challenging to receive hard criticism on your work, most of our authors grow so much as writers through this process. This process improves the manuscript we’re working on, and the techniques they learn improve all of their work moving forward.

Step 2: Copy Editing

Once the manuscript works, from start to finish, it proceeds to a line edit. The copy editor will take the manuscript and find mistakes, line-by-line, as well as standardize the book to the Chicago Manual of Style.  The copy editor isn’t concerned with big-picture issues, those were solved in the developmental editing stage. The copy editor is focused on specific phrasing, wording, mistakes, and importantly, the style guide.

Step 3: Interior Design

The way the interior of the book looks is important for both print and digital readers. Readers of different genres have different expectations for how the book will look.  Your reader’s experience will be dictated by the work of a professional book interior designer, who will ensure that our book looks professional, fits the genre, and is technically correct.

Step 4: Cover Design

This is the step everyone is excited about, and it can happen at any stage of the process.  Our professional designers carefully research, plan and expertly execute every book cover. We identify the best audience, working with the author’s input and feedback, to create a book cover that will grab the attention of the right readers.

Step 5: Proofreading

Once all of the other tasks have been completed, a professional proofreader carefully checks every word on every page and the cover to ensure that there are no remaining mistakes.  Professional proofreaders have a mind-boggling and uncanny skillset, and their oversight is critical to a top-quality book.

Following proofreading, the book is finalized for printing and distribution.  The print book will be provided to Ingram, the nation’s largest distributor, and we’ll distribute the e-book to all major retailers ahead of the release date.  For some of our titles, they’ll move on from here into audiobook production.

As a hybrid publisher, we complete all 5 of these steps with feedback and input from the author.  Every one of our books is produced at the highest quality utilizing this proven system. Our staff collaborates and cares for every title that passes through our publishing house.

Are you interested in publishing with Boyle & Dalton? Submit your work for consideration today. Learn more and begin the process here.

Questions? Contact us.