Q. Why should I use Trail Media?
A. Trail Media was created to help new Christian authors bring their idea for a book through completion and
publication to both reach people with the written word and also support people in ministry support their
ongoing work. Anyone can self-publish and I highly recommend doing that if you have the time and
experience. The Team at Trail Media has just done this a few times and run into issues and figured out the
way around them. We’ve been doing this for nearly ten years now and have grown right along with the
changing publishing industry and platforms. We are here to help support you but encourage you to do it
yourself if you are comfortable.
Q. What are the qualifications of the people working on my book?
A. Please take a look at the Trail Media Team Bio’s page for the core team. However, we often use other
graphic artists, hire editors to do specific specialized jobs, have hired ghostwriters when needed – each
project is unique and different and we pull together the authors and artists needed for each project. CJ
Simpson is our central “go-to” person who mentors and walks authors through the process from beginning
to end and has decades of shepherding experience and women’s ministry. God has given her a special gift of
patience and tenacity to get any project completed with love and compassion as people work to be the best
steward with the message they have to share.
Q. Who owns the rights to my book?
A. The Author retains all the rights and 100% of royalties as a self-published author. Authors may use Trail
Media as their Publisher on a case by case basis – and application for that should be made through CJ
Simpson, Director of Publishing. But, even if using Trail Media as the umbrella publisher – our
author/partners retain the rights to their books and manage their sales and marketing and promoting their
materials. Trail Media contracts to provide the files for the interior and covers and then the job is complete.
Q. Will I make a million dollars?
A. Well, that is up to God – but most likely no. I find the most successful authors are those looking to get
their message out, not make millions. Making a career of writing takes many books published and going all out
like little salesmen selling themselves to combine to make an income. That is certainly possible and consulting
and coaching is available, but it is like lightning striking to publish one book and it to go viral to a best seller.
Q. Can I just publish my book myself?
A. Yes. And you should if you feel comfortable. We have provided many links in our Price Sheet that can
help you on that journey if that is what you choose. Pray about it. Do what you are going to make you feel
most comfortable.
Q. Is the quality of Print on Demand (POD) the same as traditional publishers?
A. Even traditional publishers (where they give you a 10%-20% royalty) are often using POD. I also suggest
ordering a couple of books you know Trail Media has already worked to help publish and see if you like the
quality of the printing of Amazon or IngramSpark and decide for yourself. Remember, this is your book and
you need to be happy with it. So, part of your research is to decide if POD is right for you and get some
samples if you are unsure.
Q. How fast can I get this done?
A. A traditional publisher will tell you 18 months to 2 years for publishing a book. MUCH goes into it –
MANY back-and-forths with editing and uploading documents and getting permissions on quotes and
designing the cover and and and….We have done a book turned around in only a couple weeks, but everyone
was working 24/7 on it and focused only on that one book – including the author who can make change and edits
and corrections back right away and it was a feat! Much of the timing depends on the state of the manuscript
(Has it been edited and submitted in the proper format? Is it even completed? Etc.)
The proper format would be one Word document, Garamond font size 12, single spacing between each
sentence, return between paragraphs, NO SPACES to format, etc.
Q. How fast do you respond and/or communicate?
A. The team usually responds immediately as you are working on your book or within 24 hours. We are a
team. That includes you!
Q. What are the next steps?
A. Contact CJ Simpson to answer any questions you might have and get started.
We use PayPal for payment – which can use all major credit cards or debit cards. And often you can work
directly with the artists on your project if that is what you prefer.
