Q: How do I order books as an Author?
A: It is always best to have your copies in hand before scheduling book signings and other events. There are two ways you can purchase your book as an author:
- Author Book Order Site – click here – This site will automatically generate your order with the Author Purchase Price, calculate shipping, and send an email to our Book Order Team for processing. The first time you place an order on this site you will need to register as a new user. You will see a link for this towards the middle of the page. If you need assistance using the Author Book Order Site there is an Author Book Order User Guide link on the main page. You can print or save this guide to your computer for easy reference while ordering. If you have further questions regarding this site, there is additional help available through email – AuthorOrderHelp@AEG-Online-Store.com. Please allow at least 1 to 3 days for a response as our Book Order Team is very busy.
- Author Order Form Site: click here – This order form site is primarily for when you want to order your book at the Author Wholesale Price level (75 books or more). You may also use this form site if you are not finding your book on the Author Book Order Site. Be aware Author Order Form site requires the manual processing of your order and the creation of an invoice by our Book Order Team. Payment is required before the books will be submitted to our printing facility.
The Author Book Order Site – http://www.aeg-online-store.com – and the Author Order Form Site – http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/authororder.html – are for AUTHOR ORDERS ONLY!!
Q: I placed my order yesterday and need them next week, will they get here in time?
A: The arrival time for orders placed less than 30 days prior to events with deadlines can not be guaranteed. Refunds will not be issued or any costs incurred by AEG for return shipping. It is always best to have your copies in hand before scheduling book signings and other events.
Q: How long will it take to receive my order?
A: Once the invoice is issued AND we receive payment, delivery times within the United States, United Kingdom and Australia are typically 7 to 14 business days for soft cover books OR 14 to 20 business days for hard cover books. Other international orders can take anywhere from 2 – 8 weeks depending on their destination and may not have shipment tracking available. It is always best to have your copies in hand before scheduling book signings and other events.
Q: Why did I not receive an automated confirmation that the order has shipped?
A: Shipping confirmations are manually sent to the authors upon request. Because the books ship directly from the printing facility, the automated shipping confirmation is sent to us the account holder, not to the book order recipient.
Q: How much would it cost to send me X amount of copies?
A: In order for us to provide a quote, or proforma invoice, we require the following information:
- ISBN
- Title
- Quantity
- Complete shipping address (no PO Boxes)
- Telephone number
- Email address to send the invoice
If you a looking a comparing different quantities send the queries with the above information through the Client Care Form. If you are just looking for a singular quantity for future reference you may use the Author Order Form Site. Either method the Book Order Team will send you the information you are looking for.
Q: Why is the shipping different on the online store site than on the invoice for an earlier order for the same quantity?
A: When you place the order through http://www.aeg-online-store.com the shipping cost is based on the weight and quantity of the books and then averaged for various countries and regions (lower 48, Canada, Australia, etc.).
Orders placed through the Author Book Order system are invoiced. While it takes a little longer to process, invoiced orders must be set up at the printing facility in order to find out the exact shipping cost for a unique address. This is why the shipping isn’t be exactly the same.
Q: Can I have someone pick up the parcels at the printing facility?
A: No. Lightning Source does not have the facilities to allow for customer pick up and doesn’t allow third-party shipping.
Q: Why is the shipping so expensive on international orders?
A: Shipping costs for your books vary and is based on several factors including the weight of the books in the order, number of boxes used to fulfill the order, shipping destination and method. Shipping costs are set by our printing facility and are subject to current shipping rates. Orders will be shipped by the best shipping method available for the shipping destination.
The Book Order Team always tries to choose the least expensive method, and when possible one that also provides tracking when setting up your order. However, in many cases the cost of International Premium Shipping is prohibitively expensive, so in most cases international orders are sent International Economy without tracking.
Q: I live in Australia (or New Zealand) can I get my order printed and shipped in Australia?
A: Yes, in fact currently all orders with an Australian or New Zealand ship to address will print and ship from the Australian facility in Melbourne. Printing times takes approximately 2 weeks, shipping times range between 5 – 14 business days.
Q: I was invoiced for an order shipping from the printing facility and the price is different from the US author price I was originally quoted, is this an error?
A: No. There are slight adjustments in price necessary to account for the higher print cost at the Melbourne facility and the current exchange rate from AUD to USD.
Q: Is there any other alternatives for shipping?
A: If you need books shipped to countries located in Africa or Asia that usually have extremely high shipping costs, you can arrange to have the books shipped from the printing facility in LaVergne, TN to an alternate carrier, or import company. You will need to make the arrangements with the alternate carrier, or import company yourself, and you would still be responsible for the cost of shipping the books from the printing facility to the alternate carrier, or import company. It is possible this method may possibly be less expensive than International Premium Shipping with tracking.
Q: My book is almost ready for printing. May I place an order now?
A: No. We are unable to process orders for your book until it has fully completed the Production and Post-Production processes.
Once your book has fully and properly completed the Post-Production phase it will moved to Marketing/Live Status. When this occurs you will be alerted with 3 emails from Client Care regarding this transition. These 3 emails will include details regarding ordering, royalties, and a basic introduction to how distribution/marketing works.
Q: Do I get a free copy for copyright purposes?
A: Yes, you can receive 2 free copies for copyright purposes. Note you are responsible for sending 2 printed copies of the book to the Copyright Offices for copyright purposes. Please send an author order request to the Book Order Team through the Author Order Site. In the “Are there any comments or special items we should be aware of when processing your order?” field of that form note that you are ordering the 2 books for the copyright application. The books will be shipped to YOU and YOU WILL NEED TO FORWARD them to the Copyright Offices using the instructions and shipping slip noted on the copyright application. Please make sure you have these copies BEFORE you submit the copyright application as the copies need to be received by the Library of Congress within 30 days of your application submission. More information regarding the Copyright Process can be found under the Copyright link of the Client Care Page.
Q: Do I get a free copy for reviewer purposes?
A: Yes, you can receive free copies for review and contest purposes. These free reviewer and contest copies do need to be requested in a specific manner. Read more about Review copies.
Q: How is the shipping cost determined on customer orders placed through my book’s website?
A: In regards to the shipping cost noted on the author book site, the shipping/handling charges used on the book webpage are dictated by a combination of our printing facility, from which the books ship and PayPal shipping cost standards. Our US printing facility is located in Tennessee and the approximate $9.50 PayPal shipping cost standard does equate to the average cost of 1 to 2 copies shipped through UPS Ground (standard domestic) to any of the lower 48 states.
We have determined it is necessary to ship UPS Ground since the books are drop-shipped from the printing facility. In the rare event of a lost shipment, UPS tracking and insurance allows us to easily trace or replace the order.
Q: How do I direct retailers such as bookstores, libraries, boutiques, etc. to place orders and receive wholesale pricing?
A: If you have a RETAILER interested in ordering your book we recommend they email the Book Order Team at bookorder@aeg-online-store.com with the following information:
- ISBN
- Title
- Quantity
- Complete shipping address (no PO Boxes)
- Telephone number
- Email address to send the invoice