Below are our policies pertaining to our book-publishing services. We suggest you read through them carefully.

Time and Cost Estimates

Once we have your project information (collected via our contact form; additional correspondence; your electronic files, photos, etc.), we will work with you to determine your needs. Once we have done this, we will provide you with estimates of how long your project will take from start to finish and how much the entire project will cost.

Please bear in mind that these estimates are just that—estimates. Throughout your project, various unexpected occurrences can add time and/or cost. In our experience, YOU are the most important factor in keeping your project’s duration and cost within the initial estimates. Please review and consider the following tips for minimizing time and cost:

  • One of the most important tips we give potential clients is: Be sure your book’s content is finalized BEFORE you submit your project to us! Your book will require formatting, and may require editing and other improvements, but these activities are fairly predictable parts of the process. Asking us to make major changes (e.g., rewriting sections, adding or deleting large sections of text, adding or deleting images) after we have begun formatting your book can cause significant delays and will likely increase costs as well.
  • We have found the most efficient form of communication is email. When we email you a file for review/approval, or a question to which we require an answer, please complete the task and get back to us as quickly as possible.
  • If possible, provide all images for your book in digital format. Having us scan snapshots and other “hard-copy” images will increase both time and cost. In addition, ensure your images have a resolution of at least 300 DPI (600 DPI is optimal) and dimensions equal to or larger than those required for your book. Providing properly formatted digital images will reduce the amount of time we must spend preparing images for your book, as well as the costs associated with this activity. It is important to note, however, if you have only non-digital versions of your images and do not have the knowledge or equipment to produce quality digital versions, you will need us to scan your images for you in order to make them book-ready.
  • Please make all required payments in a timely manner. As stated below, payments are scheduled at certain intervals. Failure to remit payment as required at each interval will cause work to stop until payment is received and cleared.

Payment Schedule

Throughout the course of completing your publishing project, payments must be made at the following intervals (see below for acceptable forms of payment):

  1. Once we have agreed to accept your project and you have agreed to all policies and terms associated with your project, a payment of 25% of the estimated final project cost must be received by us before we begin work.
  2. Once we have completed all file preparation (formatting, editing, photo preparation and placement, etc.) and you have approved the file for printing and binding, a second payment of 25% of the estimated final project cost must be received by us before we submit your file to the printing process.
  3. Once your books are printed and bound, the remainder of the final cost must be received by us upon or prior to delivery. If you fail to provide such payment, we will retain your books until full payment is received.

Payment Options

For payments amounting to $100 or below, we accept major credit cards, checks, money orders, or cash. For payments above $100, we do not accept credit card payments. For such larger payments, a significant sum is taken in the form of fees charged by credit card companies.

Checks and money orders must be made out to Bloated Toe Enterprises. There is a $35 fee for any non-clearing payments (e.g., returned checks, bogus money orders).

Sales Tax

If you are publishing books for personal use (i.e., not for resale) and you are a New York State resident (or taking delivery of your books in New York State), we are required by law to charge sales tax on the cost of books we provide you.

If you are publishing books for a New York State tax-exempt organization or entity, we will not charge sales tax on your books, provided you supply proper and current documentation of your organization’s tax-exempt status (such as an Exempt Organization Exempt Purchase Certificate) at or before the time you take delivery of your books. If you do not supply such documentation by the time of delivery, you will be required to pay sales tax on the cost of your books. If you supply proper documentation within 90 days of delivery or before our next sales tax return filing date (whichever comes first), we will refund your sales tax in full.

If you are publishing books for resale, we will not charge sales tax on your books, provided you supply proper and current documentation of your vendor status (such as a Resale Certificate, which may be used by both NYS and out-of-state businesses) at or before the time you take delivery of your books. If you do not supply such documentation by the time of delivery, you will be required to pay sales tax on the cost of your books. If you supply proper documentation within 90 days of delivery or before our next sales tax return filing date (whichever comes first), we will refund your sales tax in full.

For more information on sales tax, exemptions, and/or obtaining vendor/tax-exempt status and certificates, we recommend the following links: