Peter Geldart
Publisher
Reports and studies for Federal Government and the private sector, having worked in library research, writing, publishing, information services and training, also a business newsletter.
Why "Petra"? In 2000 I curated an exhibit on geology and astronomy. We devised simple section headings based on linguistic roots such as astra, sola, terra, petra, cosmo.
Petra Books has a publishing model that aims to benefit the Author and Publisher equally, achieving goals which are of value — to the Author, quality of design, dissemination through personal networks, bookstores in the community and the Internet — and to the Publisher, expansion of the catalogue and exposure in the marketplace.
In design and layout we use Apple and PC computers with Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office software, and partner for printing and distribution with INGRAM and/or Amazon's KDP/CS.
Danielle Aubrey
Consulting editor
Retired Federal public servant, research, writing and editing, project management, Women's studies, aboriginal and social issues; sociology and anthropology (Carleton University), women's studies, psychology (Université d'Ottawa), crisis intervention, conflict studies (Université St. Paul).
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A Partnership Model : We provide design, editing and master production, promotion, print and sales management. The author pays PB for these services, as outlined in our Services Summary above, providing 50% author royalties. Top-notch editing and design, and modern distribution techniques. And you own the print and ebook masters.
We are just as keen as you are to create the best possible product.
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quality authors and content,
quality editing, design and promotion
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Ingram recently spoke about their "publishing ethics". We agree!
" Ingram Lightning Source is taking a necessary stand to uphold the integrity of, and reduce bias against, independently published works. To align with our industry's needs for content integrity, we will actively remove print content from our catalog that does harm to buyers and affects the reputations of our publishers and retail and library partners.
The criteria below describe the types of content that may not be accepted:
1. Summaries, workbooks, abbreviations, insights, or similar type content without permission from the original author.
2. Books containing blank pages exceeding ten percent, notepads, scratchpads, journals, or similar type content.
3. Books or content that mirror/mimic popular titles, including without limiting, similar covers, cover design, title, author names, or similar type content.
4. Books that are misleading or likely to cause confusion by the buyer, including without limiting, inaccurate descriptions and cover art.
5. Books listed at prices not reflective of the book's market value.
6. Books scanned from original versions where all or parts contain illegible content to the detriment of the buyer.
7. Books created using artificial intelligence or automated processes. "
The above may not be accepted.
Consulting editors
Design for Legibility
POLICY
Editorial selection: the manuscript should be free from gratuitous coarse language or violence, not ethnically, politically or religiously biased, nor stylistically derivative.
The author pays for services and receives 50% royalties quarterly of the net from all sales from (1) the petrabooks.ca website and (2) Ingram's distribution partners and resellers, and Amazon/KDP and (3) all streams such as Facebook, Google Play, Proquest, Smashwords, Apple and others.
The author can purchase copies from Petra Books at the base cost of printing and shipping plus $2 per softcover and $3 per hardcover for publisher's compensation. Printing and shipping is done by Ingram USA, or Amazon's KDP/CS.
Reference works on our bookshelf:
Books & Printing, The Elements of Typographic Style, The Business of Books, Finer points in the spacing & arrangement of type, Modern English Usage, Plain Words, A Century for the Century. Fine Printed Books from 1900 to 1999, Hart’s rules for compositors and readers at the University of Oxford, Art of the Printed Book 1455-1955, Paragraphs on Printing, Thesaurus, Printing for Pleasure, The Case for Legibility, Five Hundred Years of Printing, The Elements of Style, The Form of the Book, Essays on the morality of good design, The Chicago Manual of Style.
Book sizes suitable for digital photocopy and small print runs are a model that can cover the costs of design, editing, printing, promotion and sales, should you decide to print. In this way a book can be produced which satisfies the Author's goals as well as the needs of the local market. The global community can be reached through Internet gateways and aggregators, opening the possibility of a wider demand for the work.
Petra Books recommends printing and distributing advance review copies. Whether the Author has invested five weeks or five years in the manuscript, now he or she can complete a first edition, own the working master and the print-ready digital master and reprint any quantity at any time, and benefit from the book existing in national catalogues, in print or online.
Occam's razor: the simplest solution is the most effective. We're keen on thorough editing so that your work reads well, and examining your content and its intended meaning, and the appropriateness of your writing for your audience. We want clear and simple design and an attractive cover, bold on the Internet, and succinct promotional text.