Author Questionnaire

Publication Author Questionnaire

© Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
Production-usa@austinmacauley.com

The information you give us on this form will be strictly confidential. However, we believe that such a
questionnaire will assist us in providing a better service to our authors and help us in making
decisions about the publication of your work. This does not constitute a contractual obligation and
copyright of all material submitted to us remains with the author. Please fill in the necessary details
and return it to us.

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We are pleased to confirm that your details have been passed to us by our editorial department,
and we, in the production department, will now be looking after your work and will be in contact
with you at various stages of the production process either via post or e-mail.
We will endeavor to move your work through production as promptly as possible, although
ensuring the high quality of your finished book means we cannot rush the work. We do,
naturally, need to be certain to continue our high standards of editing and this can take a
considerable amount of time and input on our part. Your full co-operation and patience
throughout this process is paramount, while we try to keep you informed as to what is
happening with your work as regularly as possible.
The general schedule of production tends to entail the following:
HOUSE STYLING
This is the process of formatting your book into our house style and clearing up any
inconsistencies in the layout of the book.
PROOFREADING
After that stage, your manuscript will be sent to a proofreader who will look for spelling,
grammar, punctuation errors and inconsistencies within the text. We will then send you a
proof for your review. Please look through this carefully for any errors before you return it to
us.
During this time, we will also create a cover design or any other artwork for your book; we
will try to incorporate your ideas and thoughts.
FINAL PROOFS
We will then work on the final set of proofs, going through carefully to ensure the minimum
number of errors for the published text. We strongly recommend you take extra care on this
final set of proofs to ensure a minimum of errors before returning this to us.
This is only a general overview, Illustrated and books with pictures tend to take longer to
produce.

Following on is our Author Questionnaire: Please return it as soon as possible.

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 Personal Information
**Please note, the sections marked with asterisks (*) are required information. Please be
sure to complete all required information in full before returning the Questionnaire.

Contact Information:

*First Name(s):

*Family/Surname(s):

*Address 1:

Address 2:

*City/Town:

*State/Province:

*ZIP/Postal Code:

*Country of Residence:

*Nationality:
*Preferred Email
Address:
*Mobile Phone:

*Home Phone:

*Date of Birth:
Please provide this in dd/mm/yyyy format.

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*Alternative Contact:
Please provide the contact details for another person to contact in the event we don’t hear
from you for an extended period of time. It may be that we may not hear from you due to ill
health, changing contact details, etc, and it will help in preventing delays to publication.

*Name:

*Email Address:

*Best Contact Number:

Author Information

*Pen Name First Name(s):

*Pen Name
Family/Surname(s):

About the Author:

This is the author biography. Approximately 50-100 words, for inside the book and for
promotional materials. Please write this as the third person

Please provide a picture of yourself for use on our website and for press and
communications. Please note, this photo may or may not be used in your book, depending
on the genre and industry standards.

Please ensure this is of a good resolution/quality to showcase yourself professionally.

Please avoid webcam, passport or poorly lit photographs. Ideally it should be just head-and-
shoulders with a reasonably blank background.

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 Book Information
*Book Title:
It is recommended that titles should be short and catch the reader’s attention. Please try to
limit the title and subtitle (combined) to 60 characters, excluding spaces.

Subtitle (if applicable):

Previously Published

Has this book been previously published or is it part of a series, in which the other books
have been published elsewhere? If yes, please provide further information.

*Target Audience:
The ages of readers who your book is meant to appeal to the most. Please choose ONE of
the following categories:
A. 0 - 2 years
B. 3 - 5 years
C. 6 - 8 years
D. 9 - 11 years
E. 12 - 14
years
F. 15 - 17 years
G. 18 years
and
older

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6
 *Book Category
Let us know the category you believe your book belongs in. Please choose ONE category.

Please note, if your book is for an age in the range of 0 – 11 years, it can only be a
children’s category. If your book is for a target audience between 12 – 17 years, it can
only be a young adult category.

Adult Literature can be found on the following page.

Juvenile Literature
Applicable ONLY to those target audiences under 18 years
Children Young Adult
Up to and including 11 years From 12 years up to and including 17
years
☐ Picture/ story book ☐ Classic Fiction (Written pre-1945)
☐ Classic Fiction (Written pre-1945) ☐ Contemporary Fiction (Written
post-1945)
☐ Contemporary Fiction (Written ☐ Adventure Fiction
post-1945)
☐ Adventure Fiction ☐ Animal Fiction
☐ Animal Fiction ☐ Fantasy Fiction
☐ Fantasy Fiction ☐ Holiday Fiction (Christmas,
Halloween, etc)
☐ Holiday Fiction (Christmas, ☐ Horror Fiction
Halloween, etc)
☐ Horror Fiction ☐ Humorous Fiction
☐ Humorous Fiction ☐ Historical Fiction
☐ Historical Fiction ☐ Short Stories (A collection of short
stories)
☐ Short Stories (A collection of short ☐ Non-Fiction
stories)
☐ Non-Fiction

If your book is non-fiction, please advise of the main topic of the book. If you are unsure of
possible topics, please see the following page for examples from the adult literature.

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Adult Literature
Applicable ONLY to those target audiences above 18 years
Fiction Non-Fiction
☐ Adventure ☐ Autobiography and Memoir
☐ Classic (Written pre-1945) ☐ Biography
☐ Contemporary (Written post-1945) ☐ Business and Management
☐ Crime ☐ Food and Drink
☐ Dystopian ☐ Educational
☐ Erotica ☐ Health and Wellbeing
☐ Fantasy ☐ History
☐ Historical ☐ Lifestyle, Sport and Leisure
☐ Holiday (Christmas, Halloween, ☐ Miscellaneous
etc).
☐ Horror ☐ Politics and Society
☐ Humor ☐ Religion
☐ Mystery ☐ Travel and Guides
☐ Poetry
☐ Romance
☐ Sci-Fi
☐ Short Stories (A collection of short
stories)
☐ Thrillers/Suspense

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*Back Cover Blurb:
Please write a blurb that will be used on the back cover of the book. This should not be a
synopsis, but rather a hook to entice the reader and should be between 150-250
words.

Dedications:
Please write any dedications that you would like to be included in the book. These may be
people who you have written your manuscript for or who may have inspired your work.

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Acknowledgments:

Please write any acknowledgments that you would like to be included in the book.
Acknowledgments are those parties (people, organizations, etc) who you would like to thank
for their assistance in the book reaching publication.

*Photographs/Artwork within the Manuscript:

Please note, this is not relevant if you have an illustrated book. This applies if, for
example, you have a memoir that may have several pictures throughout but is mainly text.

If applicable and formerly agreed in your contract to be included, please read our
copyright information notice on page 7 of this document carefully.

Any photographs need to be provided as JPEG or TIFF files of at least 300 dpi resolution.

If you cannot provide electronic files of the photographs, you can either post the artwork to
us so that we can digitize it

For large file transfers, we recommend you send us the artwork via WeTransfer.com

If you need any further specification advice, please e-mail us at production-

usa@austinmacauley.com.

How many photographs are to be included in your manuscript?

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 Important Notice Regarding Copyright
We would like to draw your attention to the issue of copyright laws and also to ‘Clause 6’ of
the publishing contract.

Clarification

 Permission to use all text reproduced from:

 Newspapers
 Magazines
 Websites
 Reference journals
 Published books and speeches
 Lyrics from songs in the last seventy years;

must be obtained before publication for use in a new book.

Please note, if information is obtained from the internet, it DOES NOT automatically
fall within “public domain”. Very little of the information available online is considered to
truly fall within the public domain. information from the internet or any other source in
the public domain still needs to be brought to our attention for us to determine if they
should be referenced.

Information about public bodies and people also need to be dealt with due care as the way
they are referred to within the book could risk defamation or libel.

Permission is also required for any images from the internet, published works or personal
illustrators to be used as illustration or artwork, both internally and/or on cover.

All references and proof of permission need to be submitted during the production process to
alleviate any delay in the publishing process.

It is stated within the contract that any monies owing for copyright licenses will be at
the cost of the author and not the publisher. However, The PUBLISHER will apply for
written permission from the copyright holder on behalf of the AUTHOR, to re-produce such
copyrighted material at the AUTHOR’s expense.

☐ Please tick the box to confirm that you have read the above information.

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Copyrighted Material Used Within Manuscript:

If applicable, e.g. photographs, song lyrics, poetry, quotes. The author is responsible for
supplying all information required to enable us to secure copyright permission relevant in, or
on the cover of, their publication.

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 Cover Information
*Please let us know of the idea you have for the cover. Along with the image or scene you
wish to be on the cover, please also consider the colors, themes, feel and overall
appearance of this. We’d like you to keep in mind that a cover should not tell the story of the
book – that is the job of the text – but entice the reader to it.

Do please bear in mind that between a third and a half of the cover is needed for the title and
author’s name and is thoroughly recommended not to over-complicate or clutter the design.
Less is more!

Please either write a description of how you envisage your cover, or draw a rough sketch in
this box:

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*If you don’t have a cover idea

If you cannot reveal your book content/story in the blurb, please give us a brief summary of
the book content/story in order to let our designers get a clear idea about the cover:

Our Designers are not able to read the entire book, so are reliant upon your guidance.

You can also provide reference covers that you like the look of for books of a similar genre
to your book.

Part of a Series

If this book is part of a series that has already been published in part, please provide the
other cover designs so we might be able to keep within the same style.

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Cover Image Provided by Yourself

If you are providing an image for the front cover, please ensure that the image is of a high
quality and that it is free of copyright and suitable for use.

Please check with us regarding the size your book is likely to be, as there are several
possibilities.

If it is digital artwork, we require this to be CMYK coloring, of at least 300 dpi, in .psd format
(with all layers and fonts included). We can also accept covers designed in InDesign, as long
as a complete packaged file is sent with all links included.

If you are simply sending an image for us to use within the cover design, rather than the
whole design, please send the image file in TIFF format.

If the artwork is physical artwork, you can either post the artwork to us so that we can digitize
it, or you can send us scans of the artwork. The scans must be at least 300 dpi, but the
higher the resolution, the better. Ideally, the scanned files should be in TIFF files.

For large file transfers, we recommend you send us the artwork via WeTransfer.com

If you need any further specification advice, please e-mail us at production-

usa@austinmacauley.com.

*Where did you find out about

Austin Macauley Publishers?

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I have read and completed this Author Questionnaire:
(This may be signed electronically)

*Signed:

*Date:

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