Publisher.co.za is your book’s home from home

When you sell through our store, your book receives its own book page and can feature as much information as you’re willing to provide. This includes a robust description, media reviews, link to your website, online interviews and videos, awards badges, and more. We also have a separate tab for your author information, such as biography, social media links and credentials. And finally, if you have a sample file of your book interior, we will gladly include it on your book page to provide customers a preview of your book.

Best of all, you don’t need physical stock to sell through our store. With our shift over to print-on-demand, we print and ship your book to customers when purchases are made. You make your share of the sale less the printing cost.

What Publisher.co.za offers you, the author or small publisher

• Sell your book on a print-on-demand basis
• Sell your ebook in PDF format (includes social-DRM/soft-DRM protection)
• Free storage of up to 10 physical copies of books that cannot be offered on a print-on-demand basis (e.g. full-colour coffee-table books)
• Easy registration
• Get paid in ZAR directly into your bank account, with no minimum payment thresholds (South African bank account holders only)
• Receive sales statements when books are sold
• Your South African customers enjoy local delivery costs and convenient payment options
• Receive discount coupon codes, on request, to help boost your sales
• Add media reviews and videos to your book page
• Purchase website display ads and banners for your book
• Let us know when you’re having a launch or book event – we’ll add it to our events page for free
• Enjoy personal, friendly service when you liaise with us – you get real people and old-fashioned service backed by new technology

What you will make when selling through the store

Ebook sales: Earn 70% of the selling price.

Print-on-demand (POD) sales: Earn the selling price less the wholesale price. The wholesale price for your book will be calculated when you make your enquiry. It is based on the book size, interior paper type and number of pages.

Minimum and maximum list price

The minimum list price is R100. There is no maximum list price.

Getting paid

We pay you within the first week of the month following the sale. For example, if you sell a book in February, you get paid within the first week of March. There is also NO minimum earnings threshold for South African bank account holders. If you’ve made a sale, you get paid. Finished and klaar.

Note: Sales made in December are paid mid-January the following year due to our offices being closed at the end of December – month-end – when royalties are typically calculated.

Is there a listing cost?

If your book has been approved for inclusion in the store …

Ebooks: There is a once-off book listing cost of R150.

Print-on-demand books: There is a once-off processing and file setup cost of R450. This includes file pre-flighting, which we perform, and a file setup and optimisation cost printer-side.

How to list your book on Publisher.co.za

Signing up

1. Complete and submit our online book listing form.
2. You will be prompted to supply a full-size front cover image of your book, and preferably some sample pages of your book inner in PDF format to help readers make an informed buying decision. The more information you can provide, the better. If your book is a full-colour coffee table book, feel free to send us images of pages or photos used in the book, in jpg format. It’s best to have these items ready before you complete the form so that everything can be submitted in one go (if you can’t, don’t stress – these items can also be emailed to us after your form submission).
3. We will review your application and if your application is approved, we will notify you and then upload your book data.
4. If you are listing your book on a print-on-demand basis, we will need the print-ready PDF files of your cover and interior; if you need help preparing print-ready PDFs, we offer a pre-press service at affordable rates.
5. If your title is being sold on a print-on-demand basis, refer to the print-on-demand information further below.
6. Once we receive your book listing form, we will load your book information onto the Publisher website.
7. You will be notified when your listing has been uploaded. Your listing goes live usually within 1–3 working days after we receive your book files unless pre-press work is still needed.

Included in the service

• Sell digital versions of your book (you supply the ebook file, or we can convert the print edition for you at an additional cost; conversion services are carried out by professional, highly experienced service providers).
• Receive your own book sales page with description, price, author information, and other book information.
• Receive customer reviews.
• Add media reviews and awards to your book page, as and when needed, at no extra cost. Simply email us the information.
• Enjoy access to sales tools such as discount coupon codes for your mailers, social media and promotional campaigns.

All you need to do now is Promote, Promote, Promote! Don’t by shy about referring buyers to your book page 🙂

Sales statements

We email you a statement when books have been sold. Statements are not issued if no sales have been made. However, you are always welcome to call our office or email us to request a sales update at any time. Sales summaries are usually supplied within 1–3 working days of your request.

You live abroad. Can you list your book on Publisher.co.za?

Yes, you can, provided you have a bank account in South Africa.

Does Publisher.co.za market authors’ books?

As a self-publishing author, you take on the role of the publisher and, as such, marketing and promoting your book remains your responsibility. There are many excellent online resources that offer great marketing and promotional ideas. What you must do is direct potential buyers to this online store. When you list with us, we will provide you with our logo (on request) for use on your marketing material, social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram, and your email banner – along with your book URL, which you will use to direct customers straight to your book page.

We do publicise new additions to the store on our social media pages, and if your book aligns with a marketing and publicity campaign that we are running, we will include it in the campaign.

We also offer discount coupon codes to encourage sales. To receive a coupon code that you can pass on to potential customers to stimulate sales, or to find out more about what coupon codes are and how you can use them, speak to one of our consultants. There is no charge for our coupon code service.

Publisher.co.za print-on-demand (POD)

Print-on-demand (POD) is a simple way of selling your book that does not require us holding any stock. When a customer buys your book from the store, we print and deliver a copy to them. It’s as easy as that.

However, it is important to know that not all books are suited to a POD model due to the higher cost of printing just one book. POD is best suited to books with a black-and-white interior, although some colour books may be an option depending on the page count and the selling price (a higher selling price increases the viability of a POD option).

To find out if your book is suited to POD, kindly email us your book specifications:

• Book size in cm or mm (height x width)
• No of pages
• White paper or creamy/off-white paper
• B&W interior or full-colour interior

Print options for print-on-demand titles are limited:

• Paperback cover
• White or off-white (creamy) paper
• Standard or superior paper (superior recommended for books with photos and full-colour images)
• PUR binding (pages are glued at the spine)
• Either B&W or full-colour book interior (mixed colours will be quoted as full-colour throughout)
• Full-colour cover (printed outside only – no two-sided printing)
• Matt or gloss cover finish
• No cover flaps
• No special finishes

If this option is workable for you, we will require your print-ready book cover and book interior files to set up your POD account. When customers purchase your book from the store, the book is printed and bound, and then delivered to the customer.

What must I send to Publisher.co.za for listing in the store?

To list your products, we need the following:

• Completed booklisting form
• Full-size, high-quality image of your product or book cover in either .jpg, .tiff, .eps or pdf format
• Sample pages in PDF format to give customers a “preview” of the book (optional, but highly recommended – remember to include the Table of Contents pages if your book is non-fiction)
• Any other product images you wish to include
• A short author biography
• The electronic files of your book if your product is downloadable (e.g. ebook)
• The print-ready files of your book if you’re selling on a POD basis (we will request the files after we’ve assessed your application and received approval from you regarding your earnings)
• Products for warehousing if you are listing a physical product (these can be sent after your listing form submission – we will provide our delivery address).