Anchor and Bee is a small publishing house in Ireland specializing in books about crafts, knitting, children’s books, poetry collections, and travel. We give authors the control and profit while making the most of current print-on-demand options and global distribution for a wide reach.
What We Do for You
Anchor and Bee was founded to fill a void in the publishing industry – small, approachable, author-controlled quality content that doesn’t depend on having a minimum number of followers on social media. We aim to work with under-published members of the writing and creative community. The number of followers should not define the worth of a book to be published.
You have an idea or maybe even a completed book, we help you through the publication process to bring it to print. We use LightningSource/IngramSpark for print on-demand and distribution to minimise cost and maximise author control. We took the best elements of traditional publishing (professional standards and bespoke design) and the best of self-publishing (the author-retained copyright/control) to create our process. Copies of every book we publish are furnished to the requisite UK and Irish libraries.
How It Works
You reach out to us and give us an idea of the scope of your project, what stage of completion it is in, and what your vision is for the final book. We then evaluate what is needed to reach the final print stage with what you have and set a plan together.
The plan is entirely dependent upon your work and how ready for print it is. It may include putting you in touch with a freelance editor, knitting tech editor, or illustrator. If your project is complete, it is just a case of in-house proofreading, bespoke layout design and placement, and print set-up. These are done at an hourly rate and agreed upon at the start of the project. It is adjusted prior to invoicing if it takes less time and discussed if it goes over. Throughout the process, you are informed and given control over decisions.
Book Preparation Costs
The initial costs to prepare the book for printing vary for each project. The extra time spent to make your book look good is well worth it. The hourly rate for in-house book preparation starts at €55/$65. If payment for work is not possible, arrangements can be made for the publisher to receive a portion of the book’s profits instead.
Services and work are specific to each book and author, but usually include a combination of these:
- Layout of pages
This is a straight-forward process for preformatted text-only book, such as a novel, content and may take only a few hours to complete. The time involved increases with the need to include knitting pattern or recipe formatting, sub-titles, bespoke chapter pages, tables and charts, and photos. We use InDesign for layout and Photoshop for any additional image work. - Cover design and formatting
The time to create a cover is at least 90 minutes. This includes the cover, spine (if page number allows), and back cover all created to the exact specifications decided upon with the author and determined by size requirements set forth by the printer. It will also depend on whether or not cover images are supplied, how much work is required to modify the images, complexity of the front and back cover design, and so on. This is something that must be exactly how the author wants it and we will work together to make sure it is perfect. - Proofreading/Copyediting
Most books come to Anchor and Bee with editing already done, but this is also a service we can offer in-house or refer you to a trusted consultant. - Book Design
Bespoke book design is an option for authors to create an original appearance for each publication with a cohesive look from start to finish. - Book Press Release
We are proud of all the talented authors we have the opportunity to work with and their books. When your book launches, we can help you create a press release or other promotional materials.
Printing costs are specific to the exact final book design, from page count and paper quality to cover texture and trim size. IngramSpark print options are detailed on their website here and you can do a quick calculation of the estimated print cost per book based on your unique specifications here. We have found Color/Standard70/Paperback/Perfectbound/Matte to be a good balance of quality and affordability.
In addition to the print cost, there is a one-time printer setup cost (usually $49) per book. This fee only recurs when there are changes to the internal pages of the book. In the case of knitting pattern changes, to avoid the reprint cost for each errata, we have a dedicated errata page on our website which we list in the print book.
Book Pricing
You will determine your own book price, this is led by market value, print cost, wholesale discount, and desired profit margin.
Wholesale discounts are recommended to lend credibility and professionalism to market your book to retailers. The wholesale discount you set determines how much a wholesaler will actually pay for your book. Wholesalers include online retailers like Amazon, as well as brick-and-mortar retailers like Barnes & Noble and Costco. They sell your book at list price. The difference between the two is compensation, or profit. If they can’t make a profit from selling your book, they won’t buy it. It is up to you, the author, to determine what wholesale discount you want to apply to your book, but 30%–55% is a competitive range.
Book Sales
You have the option of making your book available to online retailers, or you may choose to order a batch of books to sell yourself in your own venue or shop. It is popular to do a combination of these. Anchor and Bee also has a dedicated online shop which can sell your books if you choose. We then maintain a small stock of those books in our physical inventory at all times and fulfil orders as they come in. Much like any online retailer, but with a larger profit margin. This is done with a mutually agreed upon amount (such as 30%) for our work in the process.
Anchor and Bee 