Call for Freelancers and Vendors

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UNT Libraries Scholarly Publishing Services (henceforth “we” and “us”) invite freelancers and vendors of editing, design, indexing, and other publishing services to express interest in providing services for publishing projects of the Libraries. Currently we coordinate the production of approximately two books a year: these are mostly scholarly publications published under the Aquiline Books imprint, but some are publications aimed at a popular audience that highlight the special collections of the UNT Libraries. Below we describe how this works for a single freelancer or vendor (henceforth “you”) and what you must do to join the roster.

Working with the UNT Libraries

Working with us is a bit different from conventional publishers. When authors provide a manuscript to be published under Aquiline Books, they also designate which publishing services they are willing to pay for (based on information we provide on typical rates for each).  The discrete services that we will pay for are listed below. (Simpler versions of this list are presented on menus for authors to choose from.)

Developmental Editing

This first stage of editing includes directly shaping the content of the work, especially the argument, and may involve total rewriting or reorganization of the text. The author has the opportunity to review all edits.

Substantive Editing

This second stage of editing deals with the organization and presentation of content and may involve rewriting passages and restructuring tables to make them clearer. This is especially useful for authors who are not native speakers of English. The author has the opportunity to review all edits.

Fact & Citation Verification

This third stage of editing includes verification of facts stated in the manuscript (both those with and without citations) against reference sources and verification of citations. The author has the opportunity to review all edits.

Mechanical Editing

This fourth stage of editing includes revising a manuscript for consistent spelling, style, and usage without otherwise changing its content. Citations are checked for consistent formatting. The author has the opportunity to review all edits.

Light Proofreading

This includes only skimming the manuscript for obvious typos or inconsistencies that would jump out at someone skimming through the work. The author has the opportunity to review all edits.

Permissions Management

This includes investigating which works used within your manuscript require permission from the rights-holder to republish, securing those rights, and providing documentation of these secured rights.

Marking up for Composition with an Arbitrary Stylesheet

This includes consistent application of a set of styles in Microsoft Word to the document. You devise the stylesheet, and the freelancer or vendor doing the PDF Design & E-Book Creation will map to appearance in InDesign, Scribus, or another program as they choose.

Typesetting & E-Book Creation

This includes turning the manuscript that has been through Marking up for Composition with an Arbitrary Stylesheet into a professionally designed PDF file and creating files for e-book readers (in formats as you determine to be appropriate). The title page must include a logo (which we will provide) in the location indicated in the manuscript. The author is provided with page proofs, but author alterations are not included in this service. In addition to providing both a print-ready PDF and a web-ready PDF, the author is also provided with any application files (such as an Adobe InDesign or Scribus file) used to create the PDF, and if the author wants to pay you to make author alterations, you and the author are free to make that arrangement separately.

Composition with Automated Typesetting & E-Book Creation

You use one of the solutions listed below in order to create a PDF file and files for e-book readers (in formats as you determine to be appropriate). The title page must include a logo (which we will provide) in the location indicated in the manuscript. The author is provided with page proofs, but author alterations are not included in this service. In addition to providing both a print-ready PDF and a web-ready PDF, the author is also provided with any files created as part of the process (such as XML created by the solution), and if the author wants to pay you to make author alterations, you and the author are free to make that arrangement separately.

with Scribe’s WFDW
For works without a fixed layout, you apply styles using the Scribe Add-In for Microsoft Word, use its editorial and clean-up tools, and run the document through Scribe’s Digital Hub to create IDTT for rapid typesetting in InDesign and to create e-book outputs. Scribe will invoice $110 per title (or $996 per year) for use of their solution.
with Typesetera
For works without a fixed or columnar layout, without needing to have text wrap around images, you apply styles from a predefined stylesheet and run the document through Typesetera’s automated typesetting solution that creates PDF and e-book outputs (in lieu of manual PDF Design and E-Book Creation). Typesetera will invoice you $149 per title for use of their solution.
Indexing

This includes creation of a back-of-the-book index.

Custom Cover Design

This includes a custom cover design based on a questionnaire completed by the author and, in some cases, one or more images provided by the author if they are acceptable to the designer. The back cover must include a barcode in the lower left and a logo in the lower right. We will provide images to use for both. The barcode image (including the white box) must be at least 1.75” wide and 1” high; the logo and dimensions vary by project. The designer provides a proof of the design, and the designer will conduct up to three rounds of revisions for free. If the author suggests that the designer find images for the cover, the designer may suggest images which can only be used if the author acquires the right to use them (and pays any fees required). The author is also provided with any application files (such as an Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, or Scribus file) used to create the cover design.

Retrospective E-Book Creation

This includes the creation of e-book files in the formats used by the major e-book sales channels. We provide scanned page images of the original book (or a raster PDF from those scanned page images) and, if you like, our OCR output.


When an author wants a service you offer, we will send the manuscript to you, providing additional information (such as planned trim size, deadline to bid, and anticipated timeline for the publication) and asking you to bid a total price for each service you are willing to offer for that particular project. We will take bids received back to the author and help them choose among the options based not only on price but also on our knowledge of your strengths and the work samples you provided when joining the roster.

We will notify the freelancers or vendors selected to confirm the project. You will be required to sign our independent-contractor copyright agreement (see our sample) assigning all rights in your work to the author or, in the case of publications for a popular audience, to us, though you will retain the right to use your work in your portfolio. You will also be required to submit documentation required by UNT for payment: see our description of the payment process.

In order to work with us, email us, providing the following information:

  1. Declare which of the above service(s) you are willing to offer to us on a standing basis (though with no obligation to offer it/them for a particular project).
  2. For each service, declare your typical rate, or give a range with an explanation of what factors figure into the determination for that range. Hourly rates are not allowed, nor are fees to assess a particular project. Per-word rates are preferred for all services except Custom Cover Design and E-Book Creation.
  3. Provide a link to a website, or send email attachments, containing:
    1. (freelancers only) a résumé demonstrating your educational background and previous experience in editing, design, or other areas relevant to the services you are willing to offer
    2. one or more work samples showing work you performed that aligns with the services above. For editing services, please make sure the sample shows revisions, not just the final product. We will not share work samples with authors. These may be sent by mail as well: ask for an address if you prefer this method. If you are unable to provide samples, please provide contact information for one or more past customers instead.
  4. (vendors only) Specify the email address to which offers to bid on specific projects should be sent.

Optionally, please also mention if you have any specialization or interests in particular forms of scholarship (such as scholarly editions or monographs) or in particular disciplines.

For the Custom Cover Design service, we are especially interested in designers who are willing to suggest a piece of art for the cover of a work (though not a complete design) at the time of bidding.  If you are willing to do this, please indicate so.

You can reach us by email. You are welcome to get in touch with us at any time to declare new typical rates or to ask to be removed from consideration for projects.