SELF-PUBLISHING

We appreciate the time, effort and work that goes into your book well before we get the chance to become involved. We hope the following information will help you to get started working through your self-publishing journey.

Getting your book ready to go to the printer:

• If you have not already had a quotation prepared for your title, it would be good to have one done. If your specifications are not firm yet, we can still quote on your tentative specifications and offer prices for alternative specifications as well. You can generate your own estimate if you have a myMalloy account, or submit your specifications to us in this Quote Request form.
• ISBN’s and bar codes - Malloy has a Fact Sheet dedicated solely to how to acquire each of these for a self-published book.
• Preparing print-ready files - The digital file formats that we support at Malloy are most likely the same formats most other book printers support and accept as well. We prefer PDF files for the text and native application files for the color component (cover, dust jacket, color insert, etc.) For in-depth information please review Prepress-General Guidelines for Electronic Files.
• Design and production for your book - Working with a designer or production professional can greatly simplify the task of transforming your manuscript or Word document to a print-ready format. If you need help preparing print-ready files your Sales Rep or CSR can refer you to a design or production professional.

Building the specifications for your self-published book:

• In order for Malloy to produce the printed book that you want, we need to know the specifications of your book: Trim size, number of pages, paper type, cover material, number of colors on the cover, cover coating, bind style, and more.
• Our Order Form contains a place for you to enter these specifications. It may seem like a lot of detail, but it is necessary that we have it to insure the final product is what you envisioned when you designed the book.

Your book is ready to go to the printer, now what?

• Quantity: We must have a firm quantity to get underway. When your quantity is set, we can proceed with ordering paper and materials for your printed book. Our Order Form includes a place for you to enter your firm quantity or you can include it in your purchase order. Please note that we do not need a formal purchase order to print your book; we simply need a written set of specifications and instructions from you.
• Schedule: Our normal schedules are three weeks for soft cover books and four weeks for adhesive casebound books. This is the time from receipt of trouble-free files to having bound books ready for shipment from Malloy. It includes three days for “proofs for approval” (hard copy). Schedules for jobs that require soft-proofs or no proofs are a couple of days shorter. During certain times of the year our schedules may be either a bit shorter or longer.
• Pre-schedule: The best way to insure that we’ll be able to produce your books when you need them is to have us schedule your title in our system as far in advance as possible. Your Sales Rep or CSR will be happy to work with you to make sure that we meet your delivery requirements.

Sending your files to Malloy:

You can send your files to us on a disk or electronically. We recommend using our InSite portal, a secure high speed Internet connection from you to Malloy. We offer our customers greater security with your unique account that transmits your files directly to our Prepress server. Contact your Sales or Customer Service Rep or Keith Bauer ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) if you do not already have access to our InSite portal.

Credit and payment information:

Publishers new to Malloy must complete a credit application in order for payment terms to be established. This is usually accomplished prior to sending your title to Malloy. Our payment terms range from cash with order to extending credit—usually Net 30. You may also choose to pay with a credit card. We have an online credit application and much more payment info at Credit & Payment.

Shipping and handling:

We have an experienced shipping department that will arrange to have your books shipped to their destination per your instructions. We pass along to you the discounts that we have negotiated with the motor freight carriers. It is possible to ship all the books in bulk to one final destination or have us ship to multiple destinations. Drop shipments (any number of smaller separate shipments to locations different from the warehouse) can be shipped via the method you choose as well. In addition to motor freight, we ship via FedEx, UPS and the US Postal Service. To cover our costs of preparing the drop shipments, we charge a modest handling fee. Our Motor Freight Bulk Shipment fact sheet has more information regarding shipping.

Storage and Fulfillment:

We operate a warehouse and can store your books and fulfill your orders if you would like. Our Fulfillment Solutions includes online ordering and tracking, comprehensive reporting, XML data transfer; and hosting a retail shopping cart.

Choosing a distributor:

If you choose to work with a distributor to market and sell your self-published books. The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is an excellent resource for small to medium independent publishers in need of distribution services as well as other publishing services.

Fact Sheets

Help for New Publishers