Catholic Shop Publishing

 

Catholic Shop, LLC—parent company of CatholicShop.com, Faith Shop, and the brand Apostle Gear—also publishes and distributes books, as well as other media such as movies and music.

Our bestselling non-fiction books include My Heart Will Triumph by Mirjana Soldo, which remains a modern-day classic in spiritual autobiography.

Among our fiction titles, The Sound of Many Waters is a novel that brings a subtle Catholic message to readers from all walks of life.

And the enormously-popular film Apparition Hill has been a favorite among our DVDs and Blu-Rays.

What do these titles have in common? They are all hugely successful in reaching an audience beyond the Catholic world, and they are all distributed and promoted by Catholic Shop.

 

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

SUBMISSIONS

We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, but we do accept one-paragraph queries. We read every query, but we cannot guarantee a reply unless we are interested in reading the manuscript.

Submit your query at our CONTACT page, and please keep it as short as possible, focusing on the general synopsis. One to three sentences about the book will be enough for us to determine if it's a project that could work for our company.

 

COMPENSATION

In the general publishing industry, average retail royalties fall in the 5% to 7.5% range on paperback sales.

Although we’re a very small, selective publisher focused on a “niche” subject, we do try to pay our authors as much as possible, while also taking into account the substantial up-front costs, ongoing costs, and risks for our company associated with publishing a new title.

We generally offer two options for publishing an average paperback book:

Standard Arrangement - 5% to 7.5% Royalty, and our company covers all the publishing costs

- OR -

Partnership Arrangement - The author contributes to our publishing costs in exchange for a higher royalty. On average, such an agreement for a trade paperback would look like this:

• $2,500 cost contribution would bring author royalty to 10%
• $5,000 cost contribution would bring your author royalty to 15%
• $10,000 cost contribution would bring your author royalty to 20%

In the long-run, most authors would see a higher income with the second option. Of course, nothing is certain in terms of sales of a book, so the Standard Arrangement option brings zero risk for authors. We decide on a per-book basis whether to offer a choice between both arrangements, or just one of them.

PUBLISHING COSTS

Publishers, especially small ones like our company, assume a lot of risk when deciding to bring a new book to market. The costs and tasks include everything necessary to bring a book to print and make it known to readers, such as:

• Manuscript proofreading/copy-editing
• Manuscript formatting (into book/page form)
• Cover design
• ISBN registration
• Book printing costs
• Print setup costs
• Social Media promotion and setup
• Website/webpage create and setup
• Advertising: online, print, and more
• PR: press releases, media contact, etc
• Promotional material printing
• Customer service (phone, email, chat)
• Order management and fulfillment
• Trade show booths and costs (such as the March for Life and other Catholic trade shows)
• Wholesale account management and order fulfillment

Hence, when considering royalties, or when deciding whether or not to self-publish, it's important for authors to keep this in mind.

 

PUBLISHING OPTIONS

We publish books in a variety of formats, including:

• Print/paperback - Full color cover, black and white interior
• Kindle eBook
• App eBook (in our iPhone/Android apps)

We make the print version available to libraries, book stores (including the major chains), Amazon and other online retailers, CatholicShop.com, FaithShop.com, Medjugorje.us, and retail stores around the world.

 

BOOK PROMOTION

We have a large audience and we’ve built up a reputation for producing/printing very impactful media related to religion, miracles, and/or the Catholic faith. Our marketing and promotion efforts include:

• Author page on CatholicShop.com
• Articles about the book on our vast website network
• Posts on our expansive social media network, like Facebook and Instagram pages for Catholic Shop, Stella Mar Films, Stella Mar Pilgrimages, Apparition Hill, and much more.
• Promotion through our iPhone and Android Apps, including the iMedjugorje App, FaithShop App, and CatholicDaily App
• Article about book and backstory in our email newsletters
• Promotion to our pilgrims (Stella Mar Pilgrimages)
• Arranging author speakings, book signings, and other promotional opportunities
• And much more

Please contact us if you have additional questions.