Professional Book Publishing for Canadian Authors
PPG FAQ
Many of your questions regarding PPG-specific policies and procedures will be answered by reading our Home, File Prep, File Transfer, and Publishing Agreement webpages. For general book publishing/printing questions and answers, please read below:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between traditional (trade) publishing, vanity publishing, and supported self-publishing?
The landscape of the Canadian book publishing industry is changing for the better, and this is good news for Canadian authors! Click here to read an Examiner article explaining all the reasons why. supported self-publishing
What is an ISBN number?
"ISBN" stands for "International Standard Book Number." An ISBN number is a unique 13-digit identifier for each edition of your book that is obtained from the National Library of Canada. For example, the trade paperback version of your book will have one ISBN number, and the e-book version will have another. You will require an ISBN number if you plan to sell copies of your book.
What is copyright?
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (www.merriam-webster.com) describes copyright as:
Noun
The exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something
(as a literary, musical, or artistic work)
How do I obtain copyright ownership of my work?
In Canada, you own the copyright to your work as soon as you create it. There is no legal requirement to register it.
How do I protect my copyright?
This is, perhaps, the real question writers are asking when they refer to the copyright of their books, and the answer is: by proving you are the true copyright owner of the work.
Protecting your copyright can be done in a very straightforward and cost-effective way. It's as simple as sealing a copy of your completed work in an envelope and mailing it to yourself via registered mail. When the date-stamped package is returned to you, keep it sealed and stored in a fireproof container. In the unlikely event that someone else ever tries to claim copyright ownership of your work after the fact, you will have the date-stamped proof of your ownership to fall back on.
Copyright Act (R.S., 1985, c. C-42)
To read a copy of Canada's Copyright Act, please click on this link: http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr02301.html#copyright
Why is Print-on-Demand (POD) technology only available for certain book sizes?
A printer will tell you it's impossible to print single copies of books at competitive rates on a traditional offset printing press. So, special digital presses (POD presses) were designed and improved over the years to enable digital book files to be loaded and printed one at a time, with very little effort, at a reasonable rate.
Thanks to POD technology, publishers (self-publishers) are no longer required to cover the upfront expense of large print runs. Nor is it necessary to pay monthly warehousing fees to house all those books. Nowadays, digital book files can be stored with POD printers and kept ready for the small book orders that come in from retail customers. Now, if someone wants to order one book online, one book can be printed and shipped to that person at a reasonable rate. It's all done "on demand."
As POD technology is still in its infancy, these specialty presses have only been designed to handle certain printing specifications. Eventually, the technology will evolve and be available for all book sizes and types. Until then, Polished Publishing Group offers our self-publishers POD publishing packages for the following trim sizes only: for black and white interiors, your choice of 5x8, 5.5x8.5, or 6x9; for colour interiors, your choice of 5.5x8.5, 7x10, 8x10, or 8.5x11. (PPG will consider publishing other trim sizes on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for a quote.)
Please visit our PPG Publisher's Blog for even more helpful information on a wide variety of topics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between traditional (trade) publishing, vanity publishing, and supported self-publishing?
The landscape of the Canadian book publishing industry is changing for the better, and this is good news for Canadian authors! Click here to read an Examiner article explaining all the reasons why. supported self-publishing
What is an ISBN number?
"ISBN" stands for "International Standard Book Number." An ISBN number is a unique 13-digit identifier for each edition of your book that is obtained from the National Library of Canada. For example, the trade paperback version of your book will have one ISBN number, and the e-book version will have another. You will require an ISBN number if you plan to sell copies of your book.
What is copyright?
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (www.merriam-webster.com) describes copyright as:
Noun
The exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something
(as a literary, musical, or artistic work)
How do I obtain copyright ownership of my work?
In Canada, you own the copyright to your work as soon as you create it. There is no legal requirement to register it.
How do I protect my copyright?
This is, perhaps, the real question writers are asking when they refer to the copyright of their books, and the answer is: by proving you are the true copyright owner of the work.
Protecting your copyright can be done in a very straightforward and cost-effective way. It's as simple as sealing a copy of your completed work in an envelope and mailing it to yourself via registered mail. When the date-stamped package is returned to you, keep it sealed and stored in a fireproof container. In the unlikely event that someone else ever tries to claim copyright ownership of your work after the fact, you will have the date-stamped proof of your ownership to fall back on.Copyright Act (R.S., 1985, c. C-42)
To read a copy of Canada's Copyright Act, please click on this link: http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr02301.html#copyright
Why is Print-on-Demand (POD) technology only available for certain book sizes?
A printer will tell you it's impossible to print single copies of books at competitive rates on a traditional offset printing press. So, special digital presses (POD presses) were designed and improved over the years to enable digital book files to be loaded and printed one at a time, with very little effort, at a reasonable rate.
Thanks to POD technology, publishers (self-publishers) are no longer required to cover the upfront expense of large print runs. Nor is it necessary to pay monthly warehousing fees to house all those books. Nowadays, digital book files can be stored with POD printers and kept ready for the small book orders that come in from retail customers. Now, if someone wants to order one book online, one book can be printed and shipped to that person at a reasonable rate. It's all done "on demand." As POD technology is still in its infancy, these specialty presses have only been designed to handle certain printing specifications. Eventually, the technology will evolve and be available for all book sizes and types. Until then, Polished Publishing Group offers our self-publishers POD publishing packages for the following trim sizes only: for black and white interiors, your choice of 5x8, 5.5x8.5, or 6x9; for colour interiors, your choice of 5.5x8.5, 7x10, 8x10, or 8.5x11. (PPG will consider publishing other trim sizes on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for a quote.)
Please visit our PPG Publisher's Blog for even more helpful information on a wide variety of topics.
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