FAQ’s

What We Do

Being one of the most reputed self-publishing companies in India, Blue Pencil uses most advanced and reliable print-on-demand services to offer self-publishers quality books in a huge variety of print options for an affordable price.

Blue Pencil’s POD publishing service is designed to give self-publishers the best value per book. The work of the book may include (subject to discussions with you, the author):

Does Blue Pencil follow partner-publishing or traditional publishing model?

Our Editorial Board picks up selected manuscripts for traditional publishing. You receive all the services mentioned above. Your involvement as the author will be there at every step. Under our partner-publishing model, we offer authors to share the costs through the option of buying back some copies of the title. This option ensures a faster turn-around time.

All the work done by traditional publishing model remain the same – only the commercials have changed a bit to do justice to the manuscripts which we wish to publish as titles from Blue Pencil.

How long does the production of the book take?

This depends on a number of factors including the reading cycle, agreement to publish and other factors. Once Blue Pencil agrees to publish a book the author is apprised of the flow of events and potential time to be taken.

What are the documents that need to be submitted for Blue Pencil to consider?

Any writer who wishes to publish with Blue Pencil needs to mail us at [email protected] with the following set of documents:

Proposal of the book
Synopsis including other books with similar themes and why the author considers this to be unique
Table of Contents – tentative
3 sample chapters for fiction and non-fiction
Author Bio

Once the editorial team approves the sample chapters the entire manuscript needs to be sent by the author for evaluation before final decision.

In case the editorial team approves the manuscript and the author agrees with the terms and conditions with Blue Pencil, the author needs to sign and return a formal Letter of Intent (LoI) for Blue Pencil to take up the project.

What is the reading frequency of the submission?

We have planned reading submission in two slots in a year – from February – September and then again from October – January.

After sending the submission how long will it take for me to hear back from Blue Pencil?

You can either upload your submission here. Or email us at [email protected] We will accept submissions in typed format and will acknowledge receipt of your mail. Please expect to hear back from us within 3 months. In case you don’t hear back from us in 3 months please do knock us again.

If I don’t hear back from Blue Pencil does this mean the submission has been rejected?

Necessarily not. It means, in all likeliness, that we didn’t get time to look thoroughly into your submission.

Can I approach other Publishers while my submission is being evaluated by Blue Pencil?

Till the time you do not have an approval from Blue Pencil, please feel free to reach other Publishers with the work – we have no objection to the same.

If you move ahead with any other publisher for self-publishing, before we (Blue Pencil) have shared a Letter of Intent with you stating our willingness to publish the book provided the terms and conditions are agreed and understood by you, please do let us know, we will stop working on your submission further.

Who decides what books will be published?

We have a team of highly qualified editors who review each submission and present individual reports.

Will my manuscript be edited by Blue Pencil?

Yes. We have a team of highly qualified editors who may or may not edit the manuscript. You will be communicated about the edits that will be done.

What will be the anticipated retail price of the book?

It depends on market conditions and on the size of the book.

The final price of the book will be decided once the manuscript is accepted and we agree on the terms and conditions of publication with the author

How is the settlement carried out and what do I need to do?

The sales report is generated every 6 months – at the end of September (for April to September of that year) and at the end of next March (for October that year till March end next year). You will receive the agreed royalty fee for all copies sold within this period.

You need to provide your bank details and the royalties as calculated will be deposited in the same. In case you don’t wish to go by this method any alternate and feasible channel of disbursement will be discussed between you and Blue Pencil during the later stages of the publication cycle.

What royalty rates do you offer?

We pay 5% royalties (net from distribution channels) to authors on sale of printed books and 10% royalties (net from distribution channels) to authors on sale of e-books.

Where do you distribute books?

Our eBooks are available at Amazon and Google.

Our print versions are sold at Amazon, Flipkart and are available to bookstores and libraries.

All our print books are also available in our online shop. Browse our publications and you can buy from us through online payment or PayTM. The book(s) are shipped to the buyer within 7 days.

Do you publish books only in English language or in any other language as well?

Currently we publish books only in English language. We may start publishing in other languages in future. We will let the authors know via this website when we are ready to take on that endeavor. If your question has not been answered, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Do you do Print on Demand Publishing?

Yes, we have a full service Print on Demand Publishing wing. Please visit our Print on Demand section for further information.