General Publishing Info
Does Book Country publish all types of eBooks?
For the most part, yes. We welcome all subject matter, styles and genres from writers who want to use Book Country's publishing services. Our only restrictions come out of ethical and legal concerns. Book Country will not publish eBooks that violate or infringe upon any personal or proprietary right, including copyrights, trademark rights, trade secret rights, contract rights, privacy policy rights or publicity rights of any persons. In addition, we will not publish works that are defamatory, pornographic or obscene to a degree that they would not be carried by a traditional trade bookstore. In addition, we will publish works that are defamatory, or that in our judgment would be deemed pornographic or obscene under applicable law. eBooks cannot in any way include recipes, formulas, instructions or recommendations that might be injurious to any reader, user or third person. Book Country does not publish works that are in the public domain. We require at least 75% of each book to contain original material from its author. We also reserve the right to decline or discontinue publication if a work is deemed to have a risk of litigation or other adverse commercial consequences. Please note: retailers reserve the right to accept or deny content for availability.
Also, keep in mind that some types of print books don't translate naturally to an electronic format. This means that for anything that relies heavily on images or complex page layout (such as textbooks, cookbooks, or children's picture books), you might have to get a little creative and be willing to change some traditional elements.
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What languages are supported by Book Country?
Currently, we only support publishing in the English language, but we are considering supporting other Latin-1 languages such as French, German and Spanish in the future.
In addition, Apple doesn't support the following foreign languages in eBooks (eBooks written in these languages won’t be available via the iBookstore):
Amharic
Arabic
Burmese
Central Gamer
Chinese
Hebrew
Japanese
Judeo-Arabic
Judeo-Persian
Lao
Mon-Khmer languages
Official Aramaic (700-300 BCE)
Imperial Aramaic (700-300 BCE)
Persian
Persian, Old
Samaritan Aramaic
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Will my eBook look the same as the print version of my book?
No, and that's a good thing. Print books and eBooks just aren't the same thing. While their purpose of spreading and sharing ideas remains consistent and true, the approach each format takes to achieve that goal cannot be the same. The way in which digital information is displayed in an eBook is different — must be different — from the way in which printed words are displayed on a piece of paper. Most reading devices and apps display eBook files differently and provide individual users with the option to alter their reading experience by changing things like text size, font and line spacing. This means that for an eBook to display properly on all devices for all users, it must be neutral and flexible in its formatting. Where in a printed book words and images exist at fixed points on a page, words in an eBook must be free-flowing, able to move and change based not only on the device but on the reader's whim. Your eBook won't have pages. It won't have page numbers or columns or footnotes. But it will be professionally formatted, and it will display properly on a wide range of devices for a wide range of readers.
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What reading devices will be able to download my eBook?
Book Country currently formats your manuscript as an eBook file available for download on the Amazon Kindle, iPad, Nook, Kobo, Android Tablets, smartphones, and PC or Mac computers (PDF). As new devices enter the market and eBook technology grows, we promise to do our best to keep our services and your eBook(s) current.
* Retailers reserve the right to accept or deny content for availability in their stores. Apple, for example, rejects titles for spelling and grammar errors within the book itself or in the marketing web copy, such as the About the Book description.
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Will I retain the rights to my work?
Yes. With Book Country, the rights to your eBook will remain yours. Our non-exclusive contract allows you to continue exploring other publishing avenues at any time.
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Do I need to copyright my eBook?
You certainly don't have to copyright your eBook. By common law, the moment you create a work, the rights to that work belong to you. However, the only official way to protect against people stealing your content or ideas is to register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office.
If you're considering obtaining a copyright for your eBook but don't want to deal with the hassle, we can help. U.S. Copyright Registration can be added as an optional service to any package. If you choose to use our copyright service, Book Country will complete the necessary paperwork and submit it, along with the required copies of the eBook file, to the U.S. Copyright Office. Once registration is complete, you will receive an official certificate that verifies your eBook's coverage under U.S. copyright regulations.
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What is DRM?
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. The implementation of DRM is intended to inhibit unauthorized access and sharing of digital content. There is a wide range of specific DRM methods applied by publishers and retailers that dictate the ways in which a digital book is copy-protected or, in some cases, limited to certain devices.
Book Country does not apply our own DRM scheme to the eBooks we help publish, but the resellers that we work with might. This means sites like Amazon and the iBookstore will use their own discretion in deciding whether or not to wrap your eBook in their own specific DRM schemes.
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Does Book Country implement its own DRM schemes?
No. Book Country eBooks are created without DRM so that individual resellers and retailers can implement their own DRM methods at their own discretion, based on their own sets of policies.
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What is an ISBN?
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. This unique 13-digit number serves to identify your eBook. Most online retailers require that an eBook have an ISBN number in order for them to stock and sell it on their site. It's how they help keep track of your eBook in their systems and are able to report orders and sales.
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Will Book Country assign an ISBN number to my eBook?
Yes. An ISBN number is included in all Book Country publishing packages, including our free publishing option. This unique identification number is essential to your eBook's retail potential, so we're not allowing you any excuses not to have one for your eBook.
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I already own an ISBN for my book. Can I use it instead of getting a new one from Book Country?
Not at this time. An ISBN comes with your Book Country publishing service and is automatically attached to your work.
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Will Book Country edit my eBook?
No. Editorial services are not included in any of our publishing packages; however, you may purchase line editing as an add-on service. With this service, a professional editor will check your manuscript for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation, address syntax and word choice, and make light recommendations for improving overall readability of the work. This service has a word count minimum of 5,000.
Regardless of whether or not you choose to use our editing services, we strongly recommend that you reach out to someone — whether a professional editor or an English-savvy friend — to help you edit your work. Typos and grammatical errors can easily distract, frustrate and turn away a reader.
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What are my cover design options with Book Country?
We offer several different cover design options to help give you the level of control and professionalism that you need.
With our Self-Starter and Standard publishing packages, you'll have access to the Online Cover Designer, where you will be able to upload your own original image or choose from an ever-growing library of royalty-free images. You'll be able to add your title, subtitle and author name to your cover. You have complete control over the placement, style and color of your text. This cover design option is included for free in all of eBook publishing packages. You may also upload your own completed cover if you have one designed. The title, subtitle and author name must match exactly to what you enter in the eBook details tab.
If you don't want to do it yourself, Book Country offers Custom Cover Design with our Landmark, Discover and Prospect publishing packages. Send the images you like to our designers to create the cover you imagine. Or, work one-one-one with a designer using the Custom Cover Trio.
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Can my eBook include images?
Yes. Our free DIY service allows you to place your own images in your eBook through your Personal Media Library. If you purchase one of our four higher-level packages: Standard, Landmark, Discover or Prospect, these packages let you include between 10 - 25 images (depending on which package you choose) which we will place in your book for you. Check our Before You Upload FAQs for more information on how to prepare your images.
No matter which package you've selected, you will be able to upload images to your Personal Media Library on the "Editor" tab by clicking the "Insert Image" icon or clicking the "Media Library" tool bar on the left-hand side of the page. For those who purchased the Standard, Landmark, Discover or Prospect packages, a Book Country team member will contact you after you've uploaded your images for instructions on the placement you want.
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Can my eBook have color?
Currently, the iPad (and iPhone), Nook Color, Kindle Fire and other tablets are the only reading devices capable of displaying color images. While we can include color images in your eBook, be aware that they will display as black-and-white on e-readers — such as the Kindle. This is because these e-readers use something called E Ink. The plus-side to E Ink is that it requires less power, greatly prolonging battery life. The downside is that — at least for now — it can only display black and white. For this reason, colored text is also impossible on most e-readers. We are currently NOT capable of creating colored text for any device.
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Can I really do this myself?
Of course. We created user-friendly editing and publishing tools so that you could do everything yourself.
We wanted to give you the greatest flexibility possible so you can do it yourself or, if you want a hand, we offer optional add-on services and assisted eBook publishing packages to help with everything from formatting to cover design. You're in control and can choose what works best for you.
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Is your free DIY publishing really free?
Yes. Everything you need to publish an eBook is available to you for free with Book Country. Our free DIY publishing package includes an ISBN, access to the online text editor and cover designer, and distribution through all of our online retailer partners. Plus, we'll handle your sales tracking and author earning payments — all free of charge.
We do charge fees for our optional services and higher-level publishing packages — but you are not required to purchase any of those extras in order to publish your eBook with Book Country.
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Do I have to be a member to self-publish with Book Country?
Yes. We believe in the importance of writing and publishing within a community. We've linked the community and the publishing sectors of the site to give you the greatest advantage to create an incredible book. Book Country membership is free.
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I am already a member of the Book Country Community. Will my account work in the Publish section of the site, too?
Yes. We've linked the community and the publishing sectors of the site so that you don't need to create a new account.
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Do I have to write fiction to self-publish with Book Country?
No. Our publishing tools are available to writers who want to create eBooks in all literary categories.
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