No, but it helps. We accept unedited excerpts for submission, but if your manuscript is selected, it must be copy edited before production. Final proofreading is included in the Core Publishing Agreement, but authors are responsible for the cost of copy editing (and developmental editing, if needed).

Yes. You’re welcome to bring your own editor, as long as you can provide proof of work (invoice, notes, or verso credit).

That’s great — it saves time. If the edit meets professional standards, your manuscript can move straight into production.

Yes. If you prefer, we’ll connect you with vetted freelancers. We charge a flat $175 coordination fee for managing the process, plus the editor’s fee at industry rates.

None. Authors keep 100% of net royalties under the flat-fee path. If you choose the shared-upside path, we retain 10% of net royalties, capped at $1,500 per quarter.

You do. Authors keep full copyright. Dilettante Press only holds publishing rights for the duration of the Core Agreement.

The Core Agreement runs for one year and automatically renews unless either party gives notice. If you ever want to move on, we’ll handle the wind-down and transfer process.

We publish through KDP and IngramSpark, giving you global distribution to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and thousands of other retailers and libraries.

No publisher can promise that honestly. What we can do is make sure your book is professionally published and eligible for wholesale ordering through Ingram.

In book design, the verso is the left-hand page of an open spread. In publishing, when we talk about the verso we usually mean the back side of the title page. That’s where the important fine print lives: copyright notice, publisher imprint (Dilettante Press, Raleigh, NC), credits for editors and designers, permissions statements, disclaimers, and Cataloging-in-Publication (PCIP/CIP) data from the Library of Congress.

Yes. Every Dilettante Press title carries a genuine Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) through the PCN program, and we provide a professional Publisher’s CIP (PCIP) block as part of our standard process.

The Library of Congress only creates official CIP blocks for large publishers whose books they add to their own collection. For independent publishers, PCIP serves the same function — it looks and works like official CIP, and librarians treat it the same way for acquisitions and cataloging.

With us, you don’t have to ask for it or pay an extra fee. PCIP is standard equipment, because your book deserves to be taken seriously in every catalog.

• An LCCN ties your book into the Library of Congress system, giving it a permanent record.
• A PCIP block tells libraries how to classify and shelve your book. Without it, your book is harder to acquire, catalog, and place correctly on shelves.

Think of it this way: ISBNs get your book listed, but PCIP gets it organized. Together with your LCCN, it signals to professionals that your book is a legitimate, ready-to-shelve title — not a hobby project.

An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is the 13-digit identifier that tells bookstores, libraries, and distributors exactly which edition of a book they’re looking at. Every format — hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook — needs its own ISBN so it can be ordered, stocked, and catalogued correctly. Without one, your book risks being invisible outside of a single sales channel.

At Dilettante Press, we handle ISBN registration under our imprint so your book is recognized as professionally published. As part of the Core Agreement, we provide up to five ISBNs — enough to cover hardcover, paperback, ebook, Kindle, and audiobook editions if you choose.

Not on a Dilettante Press edition. If your book carries our imprint, it must use our ISBNs so the catalog, metadata, and library records stay consistent. ISBNs and imprints travel together.

That said, it’s your book. You’re free to publish another edition elsewhere under your own ISBNs and imprint if you want to. We’ll continue publishing the Dilettante edition through our distribution channels as agreed. What you do beyond that is up to you — just know we won’t be responsible for managing or supporting other editions.

An imprint is the publishing name tied to your ISBNs. Most readers never notice it, but the people who keep books in circulation — librarians, booksellers, reviewers, and bibliophiles — do. It’s what signals that a book has been professionally published and catalogued, not just uploaded to an online store. Imprints create credibility today and establish provenance tomorrow. At Dilettante Press, every book carries our imprint so it can be recognized, tracked, and collected as part of a professional catalog.

We’ll work with you on pricing, but the final determination is made by Dilettante Press. Retail price has to balance reader expectations, bookstore requirements, and fair royalties. It also has to fit industry norms so your book can be taken seriously in the marketplace.

• Trim size and page count (printing costs)
• Format (title) — paperback, hardcover, ebook, audiobook
• Market standards for your genre
• Distribution discounts (bookstores usually buy at 40–55% off retail)

Not unilaterally. We’ll consider your input, explain the tradeoffs, and guide you through the options. But final pricing rests with the publisher, because it directly affects sales potential, bookstore orders, and how returns are covered.

Bookstores order on a returnable basis because it lowers their risk. If a book doesn’t sell, they can ship it back to the distributor for credit. Without this policy, most stores simply wouldn’t order from independent presses.

No — you can choose non-returnable. But most bookstores won’t stock or special-order a book without returnable status. Amazon is unaffected either way.

That’s where the $250 Returns Reserve comes in. If a return happens, it’s covered by that fund first. If the reserve is tapped, it gets replenished from future royalties before payouts are made. If no returns occur, you get the full reserve back at the end of your contract.

No, but it can sure feel that way. Returns just mean a particular store didn’t sell through its copies. Other stores may have, and your overall sales can still be strong. A return reflects one store’s inventory choice — not the quality of your book or its overall success.

No. When a book is returned to Amazon, they put it on a shelf somewhere to sell again. You won't have to refund any royalty payouts made to your account.

This can get a little confusing, because “returns” in publishing don’t mean the same thing as a reader walking back into a store for a refund. In publishing, returns only apply to physical print formats (paperback and hardcover) ordered through Ingram. Unsold copies can be sent back by the bookstore for credit, and the publisher is billed.

eBooks and Kindle editions aren’t part of this system — they can’t be “returned” through distribution. Retailers like Amazon may issue refunds directly to customers within a short window, but those are retail policies, not publisher returns.

Here’s what happens:

1. A bookstore orders copies of your book through Ingram at a wholesale discount (typically 40–55%).
2. If those copies don’t sell, the store can send them back to Ingram for credit.
3. Ingram bills the publisher (that’s us) for the wholesale cost of the returned copies.
4. To protect authors, we maintain a $250 Returns Reserve on every print format of the book. If a return happens, it’s covered from that reserve first. If the reserve is tapped, it’s replenished from future royalties before payouts. If it’s never used, it’s refunded to you at the end of the contract.

So when you hear “returns,” think of it as a wholesale accounting adjustment between the store, Ingram, and the publisher

Some publishers permanently hold back a percentage of your royalties to cover potential returns. Others bake it into high up-front fees without ever explaining it. We keep it simple: a one-time $250 Returns Reserve that’s refunded if unused — and recharged from future earnings if it is. What’s more, any remainder of that reserve is returned to the author within 90 days if they choose not to renew the contract.

Because too many authors get blindsided by returns. Bookstores order under returnable terms, and if unsold copies come back, someone has to cover the cost. We’ve seen countless writers on blogs and forums gutted by surprise bills they didn’t plan for — even though IngramSpark spells it out in their agreements.

At Dilettante, we build in a $250 Returns Reserve for every print format. That way you’re protected from nasty surprises, and you know exactly where you stand. If it’s never used, you get it back. If it is, it’s replenished from future royalties. No fine print, no mystery deductions.

It’s rare, but it can happen. If bookstore returns ever exceed the $250 reserve, the difference is simply covered by future royalties before payouts are made. You’ll never get a surprise bill from us.

Returns are part of the law of averages in publishing — most titles see few or none, and the reserve is plenty. If a book really takes off and bookstore orders surge, the possibility of higher returns comes with the upside of much higher sales.