What is the average timeline for the publishing process?

The entire publishing process takes an average of three to four months once we receive your complete submission. This turnaround time will be affected by how long it takes you to review the galley proofs and the number of corrections you make.

• Submission
  Xlibris will review your order and contact you within two business days from the time you sign up. Once we receive your complete materials, please allow two business days for us to review them to make sure they are ready for production.
• Initial Production
  You can expect the interior layout and cover design files within ten business days from the time your book enters production.
• Author review of e-proofs and release of the book in the market
  You will receive e-proofs of the interior layout and cover design for your review before we proceed with publication. If you don’t have any corrections after the review, you may now make your book available for sale by signing the Release Form. As soon as we receive the signed Release Form, it will just take less than 24 hours to upload your book information to Xlibris Bookstore and the book will then be available for ordering. However the availability of your book through the online retailers will usually take 60 to 90 days. So the faster you review the e-proofs and return the approval to us, the faster your book will be completed and will be made available in the market.
• Corrections
  You may make any corrections (read more about Author Alterations) to the e-proofs. You will receive a second set of proofs to confirm these corrections. This process takes roughly 3-5 business days per set of corrections, depending on the number of corrections.
• Author Copy stage
  Once we receive the Release Form, Xlibris provides a printed, bound Author Copy (1 paperback copy and 1 hardback copy if applicable) before we proceed in printing the additional free copies of the book that may be included in your package. With the Author Copy, you can verify that actual and final print version of your book. The printing of the Author Copies generally takes two to three weeks.
• Author Free Copies stage (if applicable)
  After we send out the Author Copies, an Xlibris’ Book Consultant will then call to confirm your receipt of the Author Copies. The Book Consultant will verify if the Author Copies are of good quality and will also confirm if we should now proceed in printing the free copies. The Book Consultant can also process a book order if you wish to have additional copies of the book at a discounted rate.
  We cater to correcting any print defects i.e. print variation, Xlibris errors i.e. unimplemented corrections. However charges will be applied for any further alterations or changes in the texts, format, and layout of the book.

What are your submission guidelines?

To facilitate the smooth flow of the publishing process, please check that you have prepared your manuscript and other materials according to the following guidelines.

• Prepare your manuscript
  Please submit your manuscript as a single digital file in one of the common word processor file types like Microsoft Word (.doc) and Rich Text Format (.rtf) - please contact a Publishing Consultant if your manuscript is saved in another format. If you have a typewritten or hard copy version of the manuscript, you might want to consider in taking advantage of our Data Entry Service.
• Prepare your images
  You may either submit your images to Xlibris as digital files or as hard copy original images. If you are publishing a black & white book, your images will be converted to greyscale. For full-colour books, images will appear in CMYK colour mode.
• Write your book summary and author's biography
  Please supply a digital file with the text for your book summary and author's biography to appear on the book's back cover and webpage.
• Save your materials on a disk
  Please save all your materials on a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Zip disk or 3.5-inch floppy disk.
• Fill out and sign the Author Agreement and Order Form
  Complete the requested information fields indicating your publishing, editorial add-on and marketing service choices, form of payment and attach your signature to the relevant forms.
• Pack, label and send your materials to Xlibris
  Xlibris recommends that you use a traceable mail service (UPS, FedEx, certified mail, etc) to ensure safe arrival of your package.
  Mail to:
  Xlibris Corporation
  Victory Way, Admirals Park
  Crossways, Dartford
  DA2 6QD, United Kingdom
  
  
• Or if you will submit the materials through email, you may send it through submissions@xlibrispublishing.co.uk

Please retain copies of the materials you send. If original materials are sent, Xlibris is not responsible for articles lost or stolen in transit.