For Authors:
Frequently Asked Questions

What type of organization is Asphodel Press?

We are a cooperative of Pagan authors who are self-publishing through an online print-on-demand book printing service. Asphodel Press helps this process go smoothly and esures a quality product. Our books are screened for the quality of the writing, the quality of the material presented, and the relevance of the writing to our audience. Our printing and distribution is provided by Lulu.com. We have been very pleased with the quality of their books, and we appreciate their flexibility in publishing options and low up front cost.

Will bookstores carry these books?

The books which have ISBNs are available through the major retail book distributers. They can be ordered through any online retail chain bookstore (such as Amazon.com). A physical bookstore can order them just like any other book, but print-on-demand does not allow for the generous return policies bookstores are accustomed to. This makes many bookstores unwilling to take the risk on an obscure book.

However, we are often contacted by specialty occult stores and festival vendors who are interested in carrying Asphodel Press books, and whenever possible we offer them a wholesale discount. If you want your local bookstore to carry an Asphodel Press book, order the book through them and encourage others to do the same. If they see a market for it, they'll carry it. Because of distribution fees, books sold through retail distribution have substantially lower royalties than books purchased directly from Asphodel Press or from Lulu, but the publicity may be worth it.

How does Asphodel Press pay their authors?

Authors are paid by Lulu directly and 100% of royalties go directly to the authors or the charities they specify. The books are branded under the Asphodel Press logo, but they are essentially self-published. Unlike working with a traditional publisher, our authors retain all the rights to their books and Asphodel Press does not take any portion of the profits. Asphodel Press simply assures quality Pagan writing and a professional product, while maintaining a central site for people to find these books. There is no contract obligating the author to Asphodel Press, and the author may distribute or reprint their work as they wish.

Does Asphodel Press charge their authors money?

No. Through Lulu, there is no up-front fee for basic publishing services, and there is no minimum order of books. Lulu takes a percentage of whatever royalty the author sets. We only require that authors buy two test copies of their book (one for us, one for themselves), so we can assure everything is correct before offering the book for sale. This is generally less than $20. If revisions need to be made, an additional pair of books will have to be ordered. These test copies are purchaced directly from Lulu, at cost, with no profit to Asphodel Press. Additionally, some authors choose to register an ISBN for the book in order to get it listed on Amazon.com and the like. This varies between $50-$100.

What if I need help formatting my book?

Formatting your own manuscript for printing is challenging and we insist on professional-quality layout. If you are familiar with using styles in Microsoft Word, you should be able to do most of the formatting yourself. We can send you a template to use, and we will help guide you through the process. Our volunteers will format text-only devotionals under 100 pages at no charge, as an offering to the God(s) honored in them. Unfortunately, we cannot generally find volunteers for books that are substantially larger than that, have complex formatting, or include multiple large images. Some of the folks with Asphodel Press (mostly Joshua) can help authors format these manuscripts for a small fee. Please contact us for more information. We can design a simple cover for you, but many of our authors have commissioned covers from professional artists. One of our favorites is Abby Helasdottir, who created the covers for the Northern Tradition Shamanism books and Love and Shadows.

If my book has already been published, can I reprint it with Asphodel Press?

This depends on your contract with that publisher. The contract should specify when the rights will revert back to the author. Usually this will happen if the book has been officially "out of print" for more than a year, but what counts as "out of print" varies. If you have something in writing from the publisher saying the rights have reverted to you, we will consider the reprinting the book. We may also be able to publish translations of books, provided you own the rights.

Will publishing with Asphodel Press hurt my chances at eventually finding a “real” publisher?

Probably not. Your book can be removed from circulation through Asphodel Press at any time. We are developing a good reputation among the Pagan demographic for quality material, and establishing an audience for your writing can help your chances of being picked up by a mainstream publisher later.

Have you considered using Lightning Source (or BookSurge, or...) instead of Lulu?

Yes. We have looked into many POD options, and we continue to prefer Lulu. If you would like to send us information about other POD options, we will consider them, but Lulu is very well suited to our business model.

Will you be reprinting In Natural Light, by Michael Anania?

No. This was published by a different "Asphodel Press", which is no longer in business. Please see: Inquiries about Asphodel Press of Wakefield Rhode Island.