Foremost Press a.k.a. ActionTales

Manuscript Selection Yes, and it is also a somewhat specialized publisher. Kind of Contract Non-exclusive Distribution Through their site and through major online retailers. Price Range Paperback $197.00 plus some mandatory extras. Hardcover not available Paperback/ harcover combo not available Color publishing not available Royalties 20% of retail price for direct sales, 10% for external sales. Author's Discount 50% of retail price. There is a 10 copies minimum and a $15.00 shipping and handling fee. Breakeven point Less than 200 copies not taking mandatory extras extras into account (namely cover design and interior layout), between 400 and 500 copies with those extras included (approximation based on external sales of an average length book). Basic retail price Competitive ($13.97 for a 200 pages book). Interior Layout You can submit a file formatted to their specs, though they 'encourage you'to hire the book designer of their choice. This adds between $200 and $400 to your cost for a 50,000 words manuscript. Cover Options You must basically hire a designer of their choice, cover cost is estimated to be an additional $150.00 Choice of Trim Size No, all books are 6x9 in. Pros* Their retail price is realistic. They screen manuscripts. Good distribution. Cons* Fees are artificially low since they don't include some mandatory extras such as cover and layout. Their setup fee is fairy expensive once the mandatory extras are taken into account. Book design is not included in any shape or form. Their site comes across as more than a little confusing and some things could be better explained. Royalties can be described as average to low, especially on direct sales. Additional Comments* This publisher keeps making very drastic changes to their 'requirements' and even their contract. In addition to that it is worth noting that they have only published eight title in two years and five of those titles are by the same author --who may or may not be related to the owner-- so there may be some viability concerns regarding this publisher. Take Me To ActionTales's homepage Take me to the Action Tales Forum

* These represent my personal views on the matter.

This page was last updated: January 8, 2005