When you work with SparkPress, there are a lot of people who go into making your book the best that it can be. But with all of these people, it sure can get confusing. Today, let’s break down the process, and who does what as of February 2018. Of course, there are times the players might change, but the process will always remain the same.

Acquisition
When you submit your book to SparkPress, it is reviewed by one of our two acquisitions editors, Stephanie and Stacey. They provide a full assessment of your work, which is then passed on to Brooke. Brooke is the Publisher here at SparkPress, and has the final say on whether we offer an author a publishing contract. Whether or not you are acquired, you will get the assessment of your work.

If Brooke decides to offer you a publishing contract, she will inform our CEO, Crystal , and then you’ll start working out the details together.

Editorial Assignments
After the list for your season is closed, Brooke will assign you to one of our two Project Managers, Lauren and Samantha. Your PM will be with you every step of the process, reminding you of deadlines and moving your manuscript along. You can also reach out to your PM to make changes on retailer websites like Amazon, once your information is live.

If your book was deemed in acquisitions to need a copyedit, Brooke will assign one to you. We have a handful of copyeditors, all of which were hand-picked by Brooke herself.

Once you’re ready for a proofread, Brooke will assign you a proofreader. Again, all of the proofreaders are hand-picked by Brooke.

After your proofreader is done, you’ll get a chance to review the changes and make your own. When you send it back to your PM, she’ll go through it with a fine-tooth comb and make sure all the changes are correct. We call this Query Integration, or QI.

The last editorial assignment that is made is your designer. This is a choice made by your PM. After QI, they choose the designer that they think would be the strongest choice for your book. We currently have four designers contracting for us.

After your book is sent to the designer, it will be in the stage we call “pages.” This is your first look at your designed PDF pages, which mimics your book’s interior. We often do a few rounds of designed pages, with the author reviewing the pages to find any mistakes or changes to be made, then submitting them to the PM, who will in turn give them to the designer.

Cover Design
One of the first assignments you’ll turn into your PM is a cover memo. This gets passed on to Julie, the Art Director, who, in conjunction with Brooke, uses it as a guide for which cover designer to assign you to.

The designers will make mockups of a few cover designs, and you and Brooke (and sometimes your PM) will make the decision of which cover to proceed with.

Printing & Distribution
We use Ingram Publisher Services (IPS) for distribution, which means you have to do very little. When your ARCs are printer-ready, Brooke will upload them to the server. You and your publicist will decide how many to order. Simply tell your PM how many you need and where they should be shipped, and you PM will take care of it.

Once you have your ARCs in hand, you’ll have one last chance to make changes to your manuscript. Send them to your PM, who will pass them off to the designer. The next thing you know, we’ll be ordering your print run.

Since you own your print run with the hybrid model we use at SparkPress, if you’d like to order books for yourself, to give away or sell, you only have to pay shipping. Email orders to orders@shewritespress.com, and Samantha (one of the Project Managers) will place the order and send you a confirmation email.

Second Book??
If you choose to work with us again on another book, we do our best to make sure you work with the same people you worked with last time, from your copyeditor to your proofreader to your Project Manager to your cover designer to your Interior designer. That way, your books will all have the same creative fingerprint.