~ The New Alchemy Website ~
new-alchemy.net
New Alchemy will publish or promote accepted works for a minimum of 12 months at no cost and provide ISBN numbers under this Imprint. The author can withdraw their work from publication at any time and remain responsible for any on-line sales.
Electronic Publishing
Electronic Publishing offers many advantages over traditional forms of publication
For example :
- The author has control over the final product
- The production cost is minimal and matches demand
- The publication does not run out of print
- Internet booksellers provide a world-wide market to promote the work
The Stages to Electionic Publishing
- Design or redesign your work for HTML format. Some knowledge of HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is preferable and well worth learning, but not essential if your word processing software can work in this format. A book designed for the electronic medium however is very different to its paper counterpart and takes some lateral thinking. It should be designed to be displayed at the standard 800 x 600 pixels screen resolution.
- At this stage you should consider whether or not to publish directly on the Internet, or to put an extract of the work on the Internet to promote its sale. Internet booksellers are able to offer customers a vast range of books without holding large stocks and provide an effective means of marketing your work. Information to booksellers must be sent in the format specified on their website.
- If you are not publishing the whole work on the Internet, you'll need to distribute complete copies of the work on CDs. A small program should be included on each CD to enable readers to browse it. The program is a modified HTML browser with no copying or printing capacity. Without it the CD can still be browsed using Internet Explorer or Netscape, but this gives readers freedom to copy and print the work. A freely distributable copy of the program is available to download from New Alchemy.
- Your work may or may not do well on the Internet, in any event there is little financially at stake and always the satisfaction of the work's publication.
- If you would prefer a publisher to do all the work, in the more traditional vein, try submitting your work via e-mail in a standard PC word processing format for an evaluation.
ISBN numbers
International Standard Book Numbers - a standard bibliographic code, individual to each book published and now additionally used to identify computer media, are used by booksellers and libraries alike to provide information for customers. New Alchemy provides ISBNs for CD-books published under this Imprint.
New publishers in the UK must pay a £50 registration fee to the UK International Standard Book Numbering Agency, Woolmead House West, Bear Lane, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LG, to obtain the first allocation of ISBN's. Write or e-mail for a registration form. Details of the publication should be registered with Whitaker, who maintain the most comprehensive database of titles available in the UK including details of how titles can be ordered. Write to the address above or e-mail for an Information form.
You might like to refer to the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2000, published by A & C Black, ISBN 0-7136-5147-4, for more information on self publishing.
Copyrighting your work
Copyright is obtained by the simple act of publication. However, in UK and Ireland law, a copy of every new book must be deposited at the Legal Deposit Office of the British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BY. This office issues a receit which proves the date of publication. Titles deposited are catalogued by the British National Bibliography. For further information see their Legal Deposit leaflet.
Internet Booksellers
Internet booksellers are able to offer customers a vast range of books without holding large stocks and provide an effective means of marketing your work. Information to booksellers must be sent in the format specified on their website.
New Alchemy © MM
HOME
