TEACH Services Imprint
As Christian publishers, we always endeavor to glorify God in our publications. This includes following the Chicago Manual of Style* guidelines. In addition, we seek to provide quality reading materials that will enhance the spiritual lives of Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) and other Christians.
If a book is accepted, and during editing, it becomes evident that the manuscript is incompatible with these goals, we reserve the right to change the manuscript by removing questionable material and rewriting it as necessary.
TEACH Services avoids publishing books that:
- Biblical narratives must present accurate facts according to the Bible account and light from the Spirit of Prophecy.
- The characters must reflect Christian values and teachings in their language and actions.
- The story must be historical, geographical, and socially accurate and not contain quotes from obscure sources that need proper referencing or for which the author needs reliable proof sources.
- Romantic relationships of characters must portray the meaning of true love and commitment and not mere emotions or physical attraction in their language and actions. See Adventist Home p. 413.
- We do not accept manuscripts that portray science fiction or fantasy or include graphic violence, sexual scenes, or foul language.
- Content emphasizing controversy shows a critical spirit toward persons or leaders, strong opinions on politics, unsubstantiated medical advice, and sensationalism. All manuscripts must follow the principles outlined in Philippians 4:8.
- Use names, descriptions, or photos of people without their consent or permission of the rights holder.
- Anything discriminatory or illegal could lead to libel charges (please visit HERE for more information).
For a manuscript to proceed with the above, TEACH Services and the author must reach a consensus. Titles originally intended for TEACH Services imprint and promotion and later determined to require a change to Aspect Books imprint will have all costs for marketing promotions revert to the author and advances to the publisher.
Aspect Book Imprints
Authors who just need their book printed, can apply to Aspect Books for their printing needs. Aspect Books are not promoted by TEACH Services and are expected to be supplied as final "camera ready" print ready files** with correct s, layout, editing, already completed and ready to print. Additional services are available for editing, layout, and design work (see Publishing Options for details). Our “Publisher Level 1—Basic” is a low-cost way to do this. You need to know a few items to make this experience as smooth as possible for you. Major guidelines are listed below:
- Page Size—TEACH Services offers many different page sizes and papers. The chart below shows the most common sizes. Depending on the number of words in your manuscript, we can recommend the right size.
5.00 x 8.00 5.06 x 7.81 5.25 x 8.00 5.50 x 8.50
5.83 x 8.27 6.00 x 9.00 6.14 x 9.21 6.69 x 9.61
7.50 x 9.25 7.44 x 9.69 7.00 x 10.00 8.00 x 10.00
8.25 x 11.00 8.268 x 11.693 8.50 x 11.00 8.50 x 8.50
- Margins--We recommend two different margins, again depending on the number of words in your manuscript and how big or small you wish your book to be. Each one has various pros and cons. The recommended margins are:
3/8" top, bottom, thumb, and 1/2" spine (Tight)
1/2" top, bottom, thumb, and 3/4" spine (Normal)
1/2" top, bottom, 1-2" thumb for writing in margins, and 3/4" spine (Writing)
NOTE: Add a 1/8" to spine margin for each 64 pages or portion thereof over 128 pages.
- Papers--In select page sizes, we offer paper stock options in 55# Crème, 50# white, and 70# white (full color only).
- Inks--Black is available in most sizes except 8.5 x 8.5; full-color pages are underlined above.
- Fonts--Each font has different shapes that affect the final size of your book. Some, like Bookman, are larger and take up more room (great for books that need more pages, but not so good for those that need to be smaller). Some fonts are difficult to read and print. It is best to check with us before you begin so that we can advise you on the best font to use for the size of the book you want to publish. Mixing to many fonts detracts from a book just like using script fonts too small or in all caps are difficult to read.
- Headers/Footers--Most books have the title of the book listed on the left (even) pages and the chapter heading listed on the right (odd) pages. Page numbers (even on the left, odd on the right) can be listed at the bottom center or outside edge of the page or with the header at the top if you need to save room. Remember to turn off headers on chapter title pages or pages with full bleed photos.
- Pictures/Drawings--If you are going to include pictures or drawings, make sure you have releases (permission) to use (unless you took or drew them yourself). Furthermore, if they include people in them, you must have written permission from the individuals in the photo to publish the image. The pictures must be as least 300 dpi for photographs and at least 1200 dpi for drawings.
- Editing/Proofreading--We highly recommend these options. We provide these services at an additional cost if you desire to have your book professionally edited or proofread.
- Cover--You must create a copy for the back cover, usually including your bio. Please also provide any reviewer comments (with releases) and a picture of yourself to be included on the back cover. We will supply for free a ISBN barcode for you to include.
- eBooks--We do not include eBooks for Aspect Book titles.
We will place your title(s) in the catalogs of all major distributors who service 40,000+ bookstores worldwide. You will be responsible for all retail advertising. You may also purchase copies at a 50% discount (discounts include author royalties).
The Publishing Agreement, with all costs, needs to be approved and signed before we begin. Normally, no Royalty Advances are available for Aspect Book titles.
*Please note: The Chicago Manual of Style does not capitalize pronouns such as He, Him, and His when referring to God, but TEACH Services does. Also, Chicago capitalizes major religious events such as the crucifixion, the ascension, the incarnation, but TEACH Services lowercase these events. See our Style Guidelines (PDF) for details.
**The “Publishing Level 1—Basic” requires you to provide a PDF X1-A 2001 compliant PDF text file at 300dpi. Please consult with your text editing program for details on creating this file for us. It must be error-free and have all fonts embedded for us to begin publishing your title. The title page, copyright page, and last page of your book, which will contain a production barcode, will be designed by us. At the same time, any indexing, footnotes, charts, photos, table of contents, etc., are your layout designer’s responsibility. See HERE for additional details.