FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

General questions

Q1 – Do you publish or print the actual books you make?

We totally understand this may sound weird since our name carries the word “publishing”, but the answer is no. Why? Because we don’t want to manage your royalties –that’s your money. A lot is lost in taking the money on a long journey from the retailer, the distributor, the shipping and all the fees inbetween, so we’ve decided to stay out of the way. The publishing world is changing fast and we want to help you produce the best book you can possible make instead of rushing into publishing something you will regret because it doesn’t represent you. A lot of people get the book out there by their own means and you can do it too. However, the question is: what quality do you want to publish? That will make the difference.

Q2 – Can I call you or set up a meeting with you?

We are a small company and currently do not take calls unless it’s necessary. We prefer communicating by email at hello@falenapublishing.com, which is our most efficient way of answering all your doubts.

Q3- Will you help me publish my book in the platforms?

As mentioned above, we do not want to interfere with your royalties, so we do not publish your book. We offer a publishing guide with all the tips you will need to upload the book through the selected channel you prefer: Amazon, IngramSpark or Draf2Digital. Amazon is the most user-friendly and the one we recommend the most.

Q4 – Do you offer refunds? 

We only offer refunds within 7 days of payment. If in those 7 days there were any services provided and there was a cost for them, only a partial refund may be offered. 

Manuscript Critique

Q1 – What is Manuscript Critique? 

It is also known as Manuscript review or evaluation; it is an assessment of your book regarding what is working, what may work, and what does not. It offers an overall picture of the direction you may take, how you can improve the draft and the narrative, and what concrete steps you can take to prepare your book for a future editing or proofreading process. 

During Manuscript Critique, we check the following: 

Did the story keep us turning pages? 

Did we understand — and could I root for — the journey the protagonist was on? 

Did we feel immersed in the world of the draft? 

Did any plot points feel like they came out of nowhere? 

Did the story move too slowly or too quickly in places?

Editing Services

Q1- How do I start once I have finished writing my manuscript? 

Once your manuscript is ready, congratulations! That means now it is our job to help you polish it. Every writer needs a professional set of eyes on the work. There are different ways of making the most out of your book. These are some of the services you can choose:

 – Development editing: This type of editing will help you close your narrative from beginning to end. Does the plot make sense? Is it too dramatic or unrealistic? Are the characters coherent and consistent throughout the text? We offer feedback on the plot, character development, clarity and consistency. You will receive a file with suggestions, weaknesses and strengths. The manuscript will also be corrected grammatically following the Chicago style guide and we will ensure it is all neat and tidy for formatting.

– Copy Editing: In this type of editing, we won’t focus on the narrative itself but on more formal aspects that will help you present your manuscript as a professional. We will address grammar, punctuation, syntax errors and overall structure. We will also make sure the story is consistent in every chapter. Does the character have blue eyes in Chapter 3? He/she needs to have the same eyes on Chapter 9. Grammar and adherence to style guides are also performed here.

– Proofreading: This is the final stage before formatting your book. We will catch remaining grammatical errors, punctuation in dialogues, and syntax errors. We will make sure the text is ready and sounds natural.

– Beta readers: These are readers that love books – we work with a pool of beta readers. They will read your book and give you feedback as any reader would do. They will tell you how they felt about the book, what they expected, if they liked it or not. Beta readers we offer have a cost of $50 per manuscript, per beta reader. 

You can choose from any of these three services, or the three of them. It depends on how much work you consider your manuscript needs. 

Q2 – How should I send my first manuscript? 

The first manuscript has to be sent to hello@falenapublishing.com in Word doc, preferably.

Q3 – How far in advance should we book the spot? How long does the editing take? 

It depends on how long your book is; developmental editing may take up to two months; copy editing one to two months, and proofreading one month. We suggest you book a post immediately. You can pay for the service online or make a transfer. 

Formatting Services

Q1 – What comes after the editing? What if I don’t want to edit the book?

If you hired someone else for editing, or do not want to edit, we also offer formatting. Formatting means giving shape to your book interior and making it look like a real book! It is the closest you will get to seeing how your book will look like when printed. Formatting alone has a cost of $45 per book (additional costs may apply if the book has images or is too complex, please send a quote request). 

Q2 – Can I make changes to the formatted book? 

Of course! You can make changes to the formatted book for up to two years. We do this manually so you would have to send a us file with all the corrections. There is an hourly fee of $17 associated with this work. 

Q3 – Which files do you provide after formatting?

We will provide every file you may need to upload the book in the channel you want. We will provide with ebook EPUB and paperback and hardcover PDFs. We will have give you a Word with trackchanges if you paid for editing services and a PDF with a book analysis. 

Q4 – What materials do I need to provide you with for formatting? 

You would have to send your final manuscript, your design brief, author bio photo and anything else you would like it to have inside. 

Cover design

Q1 – What types of covers do you design? 

We design covers for fiction and non-fiction.

Q2 – How many times can I change the cover?

If you don’t like the cover we propose, we can change the direction. This is not very common, as our designers usually have great ideas on what is the best for the cover to communicate. We can make adjustments to satisfy what you had in mind.