Frequently Asked Questions

At Defender Publishing Group, we strive to make the publishing process as easy and straight forward as possible. The questions and answers below are based on the most common inquiries we receive. If you do not find the answers to your questions below, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

What does your name 'Defender' mean?
Who are some of the media outlets that have interviewed your authors?
How long have you been in business?
Why should I publish with Defender?
What is your plan to market your authors?
Is this print on demand or self-publishing?
How does your partnering plan work?
How is Defender better than POD or self-publishing?
What kinds of books do you publish?
Will I have to travel to do media interviews?
How close do you work with authors during the production process?
How long does it take before my book is in print?
Will bookstores carry my book?
Will my book be available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com?
The internet is huge and getting bigger. Do you create a presence for me on the web?
What is the author's discount to purchase their books?
How do I submit my manuscript?

What does your name 'Defender' mean?

Defender is taken from the biblical premise of being "defenders of the faith."

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Who are some of the media outlets that have interviewed your authors?

Defender authors have been featured in syndicated print, television and radio markets representing over two billion households worldwide including Celebration Daystar TV, FaithTV, The Harvest Show, The 700 Club, Prophecy in the News, The American Freedom Network, Coast to Coast AM, Radio Liberty, The Southwest Radio Church, At Home With Chuck & Jenni, Changing World Views and dozens more syndicated and local programs. 

Major news outlets that have interviewed the authors we are publishing include ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, Time, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, BBC, MSNBC, Christianity Today, New Man Magazine, Freeway Magazine (Australia), WorldNetDaily, NewsMax, NewsWithViews, RaidersNewsNetwork, White House Correspondents and dozens of other newsmagazines and press agencies around the globe. 

Our active list of media contacts is well over 10,000 targets, many of whom interview and review our authors on an ongoing basis.

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How long have you been in business?

Our company started out in media and news service decades ago, including editorial staff with over 30 years in news reporting, journalism and publishing. Because we were successful in helping various authors become best sellers through media exposure, more and more of them started asking us to publish their books. We helped some of them get published in houses like Vital Issues Press, Huntington House Publishers, and others, but they persisted that because we had done more to promote them than their publishers were, they wanted us to form our own publishing house. 

In 2005, we signed a contract with STL for distribution and formed our first label called "Anomalos" to help authors who were looking for a legitimate publisher who would partner with them to publish their books AND ALSO promote them and their book once it was published. After that we launched several more labels including the very successful HighWay and Official Disclosure imprints. 

Defender Publishing Group is thus the outgrowth of decades of experience now focused on new and exciting methods for promoting, publishing and partnering with authors whose work we believe in, in order to produce quality books and extensive marketing campaigns aimed at creating great selling books and authors. 

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Why should I publish with Defender?

There are 10 powerful reasons to publish with Defender:

1. PROMOTION: If we publish your book, it will be because we believe in it and will promote it aggressively.

2. DISTRIBUTION: STL Distribution is our distributor. They are the only full-service distributor serving Christian publishers and manufacturers. They are widely regarded as one of the best rep organizations in the US and are experienced in selling a wide variety of products from books to gifts and more.

3. COMMITMENT TO HARD WORK: When a manuscript is submitted to Defender, it is reviewed by a committee that makes a recommendation. The committee may recommend: 1) against publishing the book; 2) publishing the book under a standard royalty agreement; or 3) offering to partner with the author. Partnering with authors to get their book published in a legitimate publishing house with real distribution is a relatively new outgrowth of market changes over the last twenty years. As explained elsewhere, trends in publishing have raised risks for publishing houses significantly. As a result, nearly all traditional publishers have scaled back or eliminated altogether their willingness to publish new authors. This has spawned entirely new methods of getting books in print, including Print-On-Demand (POD), Self-Publishing, Subsidy Publishing and Partnering. Industry insiders acknowledge that Vanity, POD and Self-Publishing can severely damage an authors chances of ever getting real distribution, and much has been written about the dangers and delusions of this type publishing. Subsidy publishing is hardly better, producing books typically viewed by bookstore buyers as undesirable. Thus partnering with a reputable publishing house is slowly emerging as the best answer for great writers that otherwise might not be able to get a publisher to take on their book.

Authors should be aware, however, that while partnering with a publisher is a legitimate form of publishing and many best selling authors have been published this way, not all partnering-houses are created equal. So let's be clear: The Defender business model is different from some partnering arrangements we have seen in several key ways:

a. We are not designed to make money on the books that authors purchase for their own uses: This is good news for our authors because we are highly motivated to market and promote every book, as we need to keep our business in the black by making royalty income from retail sales. Everybody wins this way.

b. We do not publish every author that contacts us: Unlike POD, Vanity and Self-Publishers, we are not interested in operating a "book mill". Our manuscript review committee carefully reviews each manuscript and makes a decision to recommend publishing based on writing style, marketability, author willingness to participate in media promotion, and other key factors.

c. We only publish authors that want to be promoted: In addition to great books, Defender considers whether an author can be promoted successfully. For instance: is the author willing to do radio and other interviews? Is the author motivated to promote their book when given opportunity? Does the author have a business, website, ministry or other interest that can benefit from our media work and the success of their book? Our experience tells us that these personality types are the most likely to have great selling books.

d. We do not have a limited promotion period: If you have ever hired a media company to promote your book or products, you know that each time you write them a check you are only buying a certain number of promotional days. It is easy as an author to spend $20,000.00 or more and only wind up on a few radio shows, a couple of reviews, and a report from the media company a month later letting you know the promo period has come to an end. At Defender we have one simple philosophy. We do everything possible to jump start a book's sales, and then as long as it is selling we keep pushing it. If your book is selling a year after it comes out, you will find us working to keep it -- and you -- in media. And we do all this at no cost for our authors.

4. IT'S ABOUT AUTHORS, NOT JUST BOOKS:  While Defender is interested in publishing books we believe will sell well, the best match for a partnering agreement between us and a potential author occurs when the author envisions their book as accomplishing something more than just being a good read. In other words, the author believes in the "message" contained in their book and they envision it becoming a tool for extending a higher interest on their part, a way to communicate to the world things that are important to them about their business, ministry or social concerns. These type authors almost always sell the most books because they are passionate about their message and hungry for opportunities to share. Regardless of background or experience, these kind of authors can become the preferred interviewees that media outlets will interview over and over again. Because they are engaging and audiences respond to them, these are the type authors we are most excited about publishing and promoting.

5. WE EXTEND YOUR WEB PRESENCE: The internet continues to astonish with its ability to reach ever-larger numbers of people worldwide. More than one of our authors have websites visited by millions of people each month from hundreds of countries. Defender publishing is actively involved with some of the highest ranking online publishers, and often we are successful at getting authors in these massive electronic outlets. In addition, Defender can provide an author with a personal web page that serves as an online media kit where potential interviewers and reviewers can read their bio, see excerpts from their book, download audio or video of recent shows, contact the Defender publicist to discuss an interview with the author, or request a review copy of their book and more.

6. EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION STANDARDS: The editors, typesetters, cover designers and marketing experts employed by Defender Publishing Group are world class. Once we contract to publish your book, our chief editor places the book into the production schedule. Technical and creative editing ensues with three manuscript galleys produced, each approved by the author. During this time our graphics artists also go to work, crafting an expertly designed and eye-catching book cover that not only captures the essence of your book but is visually stunning. We want your book to leap off the shelf at consumers! Meanwhile, data production, ISBN, barcode graphics, catalog advertising and important issues such as registration of your book with the Library of Congress and Bowkers Books in Print is being done. Finally, our expert typesetters format the interior of the book for style and layout, and the book goes to the printer. At that time we have copies printed for shipment to STL's two US warehouses for distribution into the retail trade. 

7. ROYALTIES: In addition to income our authors can earn from selling their personal copies, Defender pays each author royalties on the net income derived from the sell of their book in the retail marketplace.

8. COPYRIGHT: At Defender Publishing, we copyright your book in your name and you maintain ownership of the copyright of your book throughout your agreement with us.

9. INTEGRITY: Defender Publishing Group does what it says it will do. We cannot guarantee that your book will be an international best seller, and anybody that promises you that is lying. What we can guarantee is that we will do everything within our power to produce your book with the highest standards and to promote you widely among our media contacts. We will work with you firsthand and answers every question to ensure we have earned your trust.

10. RESPONSIVENESS & SUPPORT: Because we hand select every book we publish based on our faith that the book can sell well and that the author is somebody we can promote, we do not have the burden of being a "book mill", which slings books out as fast as they can, burying the author in the wake. We have earned a reputation of being responsive to our author's needs both BEFORE and AFTER the book is published.

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What is your plan to market your authors?

At a minimum, each author we publish is featured on news and affiliate sites, interviewed on radio shows, reviewed by book reviewers and promoted aggressively as outlined in our Standard Publicity Program below. This outshines anything other publishers do except for maybe 1% of their top 'A' list, and we put it in the contract.

Our Standard Publicity Program:

• Author Directly Marketed By Mail/Phone To Interviewers / Reviewers

• Amazon Top Seller’s Campaign (the goal is to create an Amazon #1 bestseller)

• Leading Newswire Service to Between 60,000 and 100,000 Global Media Contact Points, Newsrooms

• Authors Book Featured by Google News and Yahoo! News, the #1 Leading Websites in the World

• Publicist Promotion To Book Reviewers

• Publicist Promotion To Radio & Television Interviewers

• Press Releases To Dozens Of News Services

• Promotion In Trade Magazines, Sell Sheets

• Book Reviews At Raiders News Service, Elsewhere0

• Author Tools For Self Promotion, Such As "1001 Ways To Promote Your Book" (a pro trade book)

• Reviews At Amazon And Other Major Internet Sites

• Routine Exposure At Raiders News Network For 1 Year

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Is this print on demand or self-publishing?

Defender Publishing is not a print on demand (POD), vanity or self-publisher. We are a full service publishing company with top-quality standards for book production, distribution and marketing into the retail trade.

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How does your partnering plan work?

If the manuscript review committee recommends partnering with an author, we ask the author to join us in the initial print run of his or her book and to purchase a pre-determined number of copies for their private uses. The author's copies are discounted from retail and can be resold by the author at profit during the radio shows and other Defender sponsored marketing endeavors, not to mention to their private circle of friends, churches, personal ministry, websites and constituency. By purchasing a select number of their books in this way, a portion of the production costs related to their book is offset. Defender Publishing Group joins the author (the partnership) by paying the remaining lions share of investment in their book: the copies printed for warehousing and distribution, publicists fees, print, audio and electronic advertising, marketing, media kits, media review copies, press releases to the national news desk and more. For more details read The Defender Partnership.

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How is Defender Publishing better than POD or self publishing?

In 14 significant, powerful ways:

1. POD / self-publishing companies have no legitimate distribution.

2. POD / self-publishing have no marketing plan, media savvy or media connections.

3. POD / self-publishing will print anything or anybody, thereby discrediting both.

4. POD / self publishing books are poorly edited.

5. POD / self publishing books are poorly designed.

6. POD / self publishing books are poorly typeset.

7. POD / self publishing books are avoided like the plague by booksellers.

8. POD / self publishing books are overpriced, sometimes twice as high as industry comparables.

9. POD / self publishing books are avoided by book reviewers.

10. POD / self publishing contracts often have nonstandard particulars.

11. POD / self publishing contracts often have lower royalties.

12. Unlike POD, Vanity or even typical "subsidy" publishers, Defender does not make money by selling books back to the author. Defender makes a profit if the author's book sells in retail. This is why we only publish books we believe will sell well. It is also why if the manuscript review committee recommends partnering and the author doubts he or she can sell a minimum 1,000 copies of his or her book (which is extremely conservative in the trade), it is too high of a risk for us. We do this because we actively seek books and authors that have the potential to become best sellers.

13. For any author that is reasonably confident his or her book will sell at least 1,000 copies, Defender Publishing is less expensive per book than self-publishing or POD and offers the favorable opportunity of being published in a real, full-service publishing house with global marketing and distribution.

14. The Defender Publishing advantage is clear. You wind up published by a legitimate publisher with an aggressive marketing plan tailored around you and your book and distribution into the retail CBA (Christian) and ABA (secular) marketplace. You earn royalties on retail sales along the way, and we promote you and your book as outlined in our Publicity Program. We put this in writing, in the contract.

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What kinds of books do you publish?

Defender publishes Christian books in all categories including: Politics, Prophecy, Inspirational Books, Ministry Books, Science & Faith, Social Issues, Bioethics, Theology, Apologetics, Archaeology & History, Biblical Studies, Cults, Philosophy Ethics and more.

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Will I have to travel to do media interviews?

Not if you don't want to. Most of the media we do is by radio or print and in these cases you do the interview from your telephone at home. Where travel is required -- for instance to be on a television show -- some shows will pay the travel and lodging expenses. Others will pay for lodging only, and some will offer no reimbursements at all. In each case where travel is required the author is not obligated to participate in this type media.

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How close do you work with authors during the production process?

At Defender, we work with our authors every step of the way, from the various manuscript galleys during editing, all the way to printing, when the copies we have printed for retail sale are sent to our two national warehouses for distribution.

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How long does it take before my book is in print?

Because we are not a POD, vanity, or self-publisher, traditional publishing can require as long as one year or as little as seven months to take a book from raw manuscript to store shelves. Part of the reason for this is the production and editing process and other reasons include the pre-print marketing planning and the catalog advertising deadlines imposed on us by our distributor. The average Defender book is on store shelves nine months after we sign the contract to publish.

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Will bookstores carry my book?

Absolutely. That doesn't mean every bookstore everywhere will carry it, but your book will be carried by retailers and it will be on shelves in bookstores across the United States. Also, in most cases where bookstores do not already have it on their shelves, they will be able to look it up on their computers and order it for the customer. If enough customers ask for it, those stores usually start carrying it, and that is one of our marketing goals.

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Will my book be available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com?

Yes. In fact, even before your book hits its nationally advertised release date, it will be available for pre-purchase at all major online stores including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks and more. You and your associates will be able to write reviews of the book at these sites, as will our editorial staff. In addition, our media department will work to get your book in the top ranking at Amazon.com when it first comes out. They then will follow up with additional marketing strategies specifically created to keep your book in high ranking.

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The internet is huge and getting bigger. Do you create a presence for me on the web?

Without a doubt the internet continues to astonish with its ability to reach ever-larger numbers of people worldwide. More than one of our authors have websites visited by millions of people each month from hundreds of countries. Defender publishing is actively involved with some of the highest ranking online publishers, and often we are successful at getting authors in these massive electronic outlets. In addition, Defender can provides the author with a personal web page that serves as an online media kit where potential interviewers and reviewers can read their bio, see excerpts from their book, download audio or video of recent shows, contact the Defender publicist to discuss an interview with the author, or request a review copy of their book and more.

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What is the author's discount to purchase their books?

While purchasing 1000 copies of your book at discount is the minimum author requirement under our 'Partnering Agreement,' note that the more books an author orders at the time of the initial print run, the higher the discount per book and, therefore, profit to the author. For authors who have the constituency to distribute books to a direct or regular, sizable audience, we highly recommend larger quantities in order to increase the author’s profit per book. Below is the current discount schedule for books of approximately 200-500 pages with no inside color.

1,000-1,999 copies . . . 30% discount off retail
2,000-2,999 copies . . . 40% discount off retail
3,000-3,999 copies . . . 50% discount off retail
4,000-4,999 copies . . . 55% discount off retail
5,000-7,500 copies . . . 60% discount off retail
7,501-9,999 copies . . . 67% discount off retail
10,000+ copies . . . 75% off retail

Why a descending scale on price? Printers charge for setup and take down time. A small order has to carry the same setup fees as a large order. The longer the press runs, a wider number of books absorb the initial setup expenses, and the cost per book goes down. As an example, if your book is a 250-page trade paperback that retails for $12.95 and you order 1,000 copies, your cost would be 30% off $12.95. If you ordered 10,000 copies, your discount would be 75% off each book from the retail price. Your profit goes up quickly with a higher initial purchase.

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How do I submit my manuscript?

Send us a synopsis of your book (one page or less), an outline (two pages or less), and one or two sample chapters. Email them in a common font (Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, or Verdana) and double-spaced in a Microsoft Word document (a .doc file) to: info@defenderpublishing.com

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