• Are you a published author looking for a more personal publishing experience and the rights to your own book when you are finished?

• Are you an aspiring author who is overwhelmed or discouraged by the submission process at traditional publishing houses? (Roughly 98% of all manuscript submissions are rejected by traditional publishers).

• Are you an expert in your field who would like to share knowledge and capitalize on your expertise?

• Do you write for a sub-genre largely ignored by large publishing houses?

If you can answer yes to any of these categories (and there are probably a few we haven't thought of) Windy City Publishers might be what you're looking for. We offer authors a personal, professional publishing journey that gives you:

• multi-phase expert editing
• creative control over packaging and presentation
• web-based project management transparency
• a fully developed and personalized marketing plan
• full rights to your own material once it is published

With Windy City you will receive professional results with boutique service. We are a hybrid press that combines the professional editing and distribution advantages of a traditional press with the speed and versatility of an on-demand press. We also offer you accessibility and transparency throughout the editing and publishing process.

Windy City is author funded. You will pay Windy City a fee and in return we will edit, publish, distribute and help you market your book. Remember, you own the rights to your book once it’s published. Windy City does not stipulate royalties from the sell of your book in the traditional sense. We do, however, participate in a profit-sharing plan. First, we want our authors to recoup any money you have invested before sharing, so until you break even, we don’t see a dime of your royalties. Second, the portion we take is very small — between eight and ten percent. So until you have hit the big time, you keep everything. You can see that this provides us with an incentive to help you succeed. When you make money, we make money.

What to Expect from Windy City

Windy City promises its authors a professional full-service publishing experience, with many advantages over both print-on-demand and traditional publishing houses. That’s why we call ourselves a hybrid-press. We combine the best of both these services.

What We Won’t Do

• We will not throw your manuscript into a slush pile. You will receive an email within 7-10 days acknowledging receipt of your manuscript. We will then email you at a later day with our decision about a project agreement.

• We will not publish every book we receive. We are not a vanity press and have set quality standards to ensure the success of our book catalog.

• We will not promise your book will be a best seller. We hope that it is, but that will take a lot of hard work from both of us.
  
  

What We Will Do

• We will provide a personal, accessible relationship to all of our clients.

• We will provide multi-phase editing for your manuscript from qualified and experienced editors.

• We will provide project management transparency. You will know what is happening with your book at all phases of the publishing timeline.

• We will provide a customized marketing plan for each client, individualized for the client’s goals, talents and availability for promotional opportunities.
  
  

Multi-Phase Editing

When you become a client with Windy City Publishers, you will have immediate and complete access to your book editor, and project management team. The editor will conduct an initial interview with you to discuss the creative aspects of your project, including the voice, mood and message of your manuscript. Before we even start, we will make sure we are on the same creative page as we move forward with the editing process. At each stage of development the editor will ensure your product meets the professional and literary standards we mutually hope to achieve.

Project Transparency

You won’t just turn your manuscript over to the editor, never to see it again. You will not only be involved in the editing process, you will also be able to track the progress of your book as it moves through our project management system. This online access will allow you to check your project’s status at all phases of publication.

Marketing Services

You may feel that the process of writing and getting your book published has been a lot of work. And we know that it has. But hopefully you have some time and energy left for the marketing of your book. After all, publication is not your end goal. Success is.

To help make sure your book has the best chance at success, we’ve created a client marketing program that is individualized for each of our clients. This customized marketing plan includes general information on marketing ideas and promotional opportunities, as well as specific advice related to your product, audience and goals. We start by having our authors complete an author profile, which in turn will help us create an individualized marketing strategy for your brand.

Creating Your Brand

A brand is a collection of experiences and associations connected with a service, a person or a product — like a book. The first step in developing your marketing plan is to understand the brand experience and brand image that you want to cultivate.

• Is the book your brand?

• Are you the brand?

• Is your expertise in your career field the brand?

• What beliefs do you want your readers to have about your brand?

• What role will your brand play in their lives?

A brand is one of the most valuable elements in marketing, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace.

Marketing the Product

With a clearly defined brand in place, we will begin your book marketing campaign. While your manuscript moves through the project management process on its way to print, our marketing experts will begin work on your customized marketing strategy. This valuable tool will include tangible, accessible resources and advice for marketing and promotional opportunities. But it will be much more than that.

With the help of your author profile — the same one we used to create your brand — we will customize your marketing strategy to fit your personality, talents and expertise. We will provide strategy for utilizing the latest social media, relationship marketing and other cultural and online marketing tools, as well as traditional marketing opportunities. We welcome your input into this process and will put our expertise to work for you in creating real, successful marketing strategies.

Windy City will be your marketing coach — but you are the star player. We can — and will — provide wide distribution, online promotion and the necessary marketing tools to promote your book. But you are the element needed for success. And we’ll do everything we can to help you achieve that success.

Payment Options

Windy City Publishers sets a base price with the assumption that our clients will pay cash. We realize, however, that this is not always your best option, and we have set up several payment options to fit your needs.

PayPal
Windy City Publishers accepts PayPal, a secure, easy way to make payments online. This service allows clients to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, or account balances, without sharing financial information.

Credit Cards
Windy City Publishers accepts credit card payments with a 3% additional fee covering bank charges.

Installment Plan
Windy City Publishers realizes the need for some clients to utilize a payment-plan structure. If a client chooses to use our payment-plan structure, they will be billed in four installments, which will include a 5% interest fee. Credit cards are accepted with this payment plan, but will still be charged the additional 3% for bank fees.