Sebastian's FAQ

1... Who are you? 2... Publishing 3... Marketing 4... Contacting authors 5... Author Events 6... Buying books here 7... Getting your own work published 8... Submissions for evaluation

9... Poetry works 10... Spam promotion 11... Listed prices 12... Acceptable affiliate sites 13... Affiliate guidelines 14... Generating sales volume 15... Banner sizes 16... Banner creation service 17... Book cover creation service

******************** 1... Q.  Who are you and what is it that you do? A.  Sebastian Williams is my name and what I do most now is write books. See Author Profile for more details. Up until recently I have concentrated on my own works, but have in the past year been involved in writing for other people who, though having a great story to tell, are not so good with words, or who just don't have the time that it takes to put it all down in an appropriate manner. This is called Ghost Writing. I write the story using material and information that is provided by the client but my name is not mentioned as the author or even co-author. The client is listed as the author and gets all the credit for the work. To compensate for the enormous amount of time and effort that is required to put their story together I either share the copyright and the royalties on whatever basis has been agreed between the client and myself before the work has begun, or receive a cash payment from the client for my work. 2... Q.  Are your own books published by traditional publishers or do you publish them ourself? A.  Yes and no. My first book 'Send Them to Hell' is currently being published by Mainstream Publishing Edinburgh Co Ltd/Random House Group UK. However my second book 'Justice Incorporated' is currently in the process of being published by myself through Trafford Publishing Ltd in Canada. My third book is work in progress and will follow 'Justice Incorporated', probably via the Self Publishing method. 3... Q.  Can I sell Sebastian Williams' books on my website and earn a commission? A.  Yes. If you register as an affiliate or a direct distributor you are provided with the necessary mechanisms to enable you to sell my books and also those of other authors who have joined forces with me to promote and market their works. 4... Q.  Can I send direct email to an author/copyright holder listed on the Sebastian Williams website? A.  No. My Privacy Policy doesn't allow for direct contact, however, it is possible to submit mail for redirection if deemed appropriate. Spam or other stupidity will of course be directed to the trash can. 5... Q.  How can I find out where and when an author is on tour? A:  Tour and Book Signing notices are part of the Member Author Events facilities made available here and will be sent direct by e-mail to all those who subscribe to my mailing list for updates. 6... Q.  How can I buy a book from this website? A:  In principle it is simply a matter of clicking on the cover image. This takes you to an order page where you can place the order and pay by credit card or by PayPal. Delivery depends on the book ordered. ie: if buying direct from a member author via this website then it will be delivered by that author's own dispatch mechanism. If it is an Amazon listing being hosted on this website then the delivery will be taken care of by Amazon. If it is one of my own books or one that I have agreed to distribute, it will be despatched via my own mechanism. In all cases allow about three weeks for postage. 7... Q.  I have written a great book and now want to get it published. How can I go about that? A:  It is not easy to get a publisher interested in a new book unless you are already a known writer with a success record or unless you have a good agent to handle the submission for you (usually at a cost of a big slice of the returns or a cash advance). Less than 1% of unsolicited manuscripts sent to publishers get so much as scanned, let alone read through and published. Co-authoring with a known and successful author in that case will often get good results if the work is worth the trouble. Alternatively the self publishing method is gaining favour with a lot of even very well known authors and the return percentages are a lot better than with traditional publishers. I am happy to assist unknown authors, who have a worthwhile work to sell, to get published, either way. Go HERE to find out more. 8... Q.  How do I go about submitting a manuscript to you for Ghost Writing or Co-Authoring evaluation? A.  The first step is to send a four to five page Synopsis that outlines the story, along with three or four sample chapters; This must be in MSword 'doc' or 'rtf' format... There is a one time GBPounds 250 (refundable when the assignment is taken on) evaluation fee for this service... Go to the relevant pages for details... IMPORTANT: Do not send the entire manuscript or any graphics or images initially... Once this initial transmission has been evaluated - usually within three to four weeks - you will receive an email note detailing my further interest and how I envision my participation. 9... Q.  The work that I want to publish involves poetry that I have written, can I send this for consideration? A.  I am happy to evaluate works related to poetry, but it should be understood that this is not a high volume sales category. As such I would not be interested in assisting on a 'Royalties Share' basis. 10... Q.  Do you post your website URL to autosurf programs? A.  There is no spam or postings of this or related URL to random newsgroups associated with our marketing process. There are e-mail campaigns that go out on occasion to 'opt in' recipients who have joined lists and requested updates and news regards new releases. This way we only deliver the promotion materials to targeted addresses. 11... Q.  Why are your prices less than other online book sellers who have your works listed? A.  Simple explanation. Other booksellers buy from the Publishers at the standard wholesale price and sell at the standard retail price. As author, I am able to purchase bulk lots of my own work at a better price and because I recieve a royalty as well on each book sold I am able to pass the discounts on to those who buy direct from me. 12... Q.  What type of sites do you accept as affiliates? A.  I will accept links to most websites - with the exception of those relating to pornographic material or other unsavory content. Each affiliate and distributor application is considered carefully and the related websites checked, however because my site is predominately related to literature and art, sites that have a similar theme or where that content blends in pretty well, are given priority. 13... Q.  What are your guidelines for sites that affiliate with you? A.  Sites that have pop-ups/unders; including javascript alert boxes, windows that load with the website, exit pops, and so on will not be accepted. 14... Q.  If I become an affiliate will I generate sales for my other listings? A.  Everything related to sales depends on the content and presentation of your website. If it is poorly constructed or doesn't work properly or is of little interest to the majority sales probably would represent that regardless of how many hits you were able to generate. However, if you have an interesting channel and it loads and is functional as it should be then the fact that you have links and the support of all of those who are listed here should help you to increase sales of your other products as well. 15... Q.  What banner sizes do you support? A.  For book covers the size will vary with the shape and size of the book. It is best to provide your images in actual size and in JPG or PNG format at 300PPI resolution. Modifications will be made to suit the requirements and available space. All submissions should be accompanied by a suitable blurb (max 500 words) and in 'rtf' or 'doc' format. 16... Q.  Can you create a banner advertisement for me? A.  I offer banner design service for Euro $95 each. 17... Q.  Can you create a book jacket for me? A.  I offer cover design service from Euro $495 each. You provide whatever graphics or images you would like to be considered in high resolution format.

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