A non-profit publishing company devoted to helping people freely search for truth in love.
Although some philopsychers are professional philosophers or psychologists, philopsychy as such is certainly not limited to these professions, for philopsychy is not itself a profession at all, but a way of life. All who are genuinely interested in using scholarly research for the purpose of encouraging soul-loving, rather than allowing it to run its all-too-common course in soul-alienating, can be called philopsychers--regardless of their formal profession (or lack thereof). By working together, each in their own way, doctors, lawyers, priests, as well as teachers, politicians, etc., can use their resources to turn the tide of scholarship as we look forward to the dawn of a new millennium.
Philopsychy Press is neither a commercial publisher nor an academic press. Rather, it aims to encourage authors who wish to follow a middle way between the extremes of royalty and subsidy ("vanity") publishing, by "self-publishing" their work. It targets a specific type of author and reader: only works of constructive and creative scholarship, encouraging "soul-loving" (at least indirectly), are considered for publication. With this in mind, PPP is currently in the early stages of establishing a network of like-minded scholars and readers, who are likely to be supportive not only by buying and selling each other's books, but also by reading and responding to them. So the main requirement for authors wishing to use this trademark is that they be philopsychers.
Next, you should ask someone who knows your work well (preferably a scholar in the relevant field) to send a confidential letter of recommendation, answering these three questions: (1) How long, and in what capacity, have you known the prospective author? (2) To what extent do you believe the author's work is both creative and scholarly? and (3) Who do you regard as the likely readership for this book?
Third, write a cover letter informing Philopsychy Press of (1) the name and version of the word processing program being used to produce your book, and the book's approximate length, (2) the name and address of the person who will be sending a recommendation on your behalf, and (3) the date you expect your manuscript to be ready.
If your proposal is accepted, the fourth step is taken by Philopsychy Press. We will: (1) notify you of our decision, and send any additional materials you have requested (see below); (2) upon receipt of your completed manuscript, assign it an ISBN number and take it to a printer in Hong Kong; and (3) upon completion of the printing, register the book in Hong Kong, and ship the books you ordered to whatever address you specify. In return for this service, PPP will retain seven copies of your book, five of which will be sent to the Hong Kong Book Registration Department. In order to cover operating costs, a nominal charge will also be added to the bill. This will amount to 5-10% of total printing costs, depending on the specific type of contract negotiated. Your books should arrive between three and six months after you mail the final manuscript (depending on the method of shipment).
Upon receiving their shipment of books, authors will be faced with the daunting task of marketing their work. Aside from advice and some minimal advertising (e.g., at the back of other Philopsychy books), PPP will not assist directly in this task; but we will provide, whenever possible, computerized lists of scholars, libraries, bookshops, etc., throughout the world who might be interested in buying Philopsychy books. Authors can purchase these lists at cost, provided they agree to send PPP a copy of any additional lists they compile. A list of PPP's current collection of lists is available upon request.
The only pages of a Philopsychy book actually prepared by the publisher are the PPP advertisements at the back and the copyright page. The latter consists of the standard copyright notice, a description of PPP's loose interpretation of copyright, the ISBN number, and the author's permanent mailing address (for readers who wish to order the book by mail). All PPP authors are required to abide by the copyright notice. Prospective authors should therefore consider the preceding paragraph carefully, and should submit a manuscript only if they agree fully with its sentiments.
Should a commercial publisher agree at some subsequent date to publish a Philopsychy book, the author would, of course, need to abide by that publisher's interpretation of copyright. In such cases, the author would simply:
(1) notify the new publisher of the previous arrangements (since those who possess copies of the Philopsychy edition would still be allowed to follow the above interpretation of the copyright);
(2) include a line on the new copyright page, stating "this book was originally published in {state the year} by Philopsychy Press"; and
(3) notify Philopsychy Press of the change.
To insure the second goal is reached, the final copy of a manuscript must be printed clearly in a book format, otherwise it will be returned. The use of a laser printer is highly recommended for this purpose. PPP has no requirements regarding "proper" style, grammar, etc. This is left entirely up to the author--though we encourage authors to use newer, more efficient methods of footnoting rather than one of the traditional methods. Furthermore, authors are requested to sell their books for no more than 10% above the cost of printing and marketing, and to ask bookshops not to use anything more than a further 15-25% mark-up. Sample pricing schemes are available upon request.
Since Philopsychy Press is a service organization, it runs on a very low budget. It is, in fact, very much a way of sharing the tasks publishers normally do. In return for providing this service, PPP requests its authors, readers, and all who regard themselves as philopsychers, to share the burden of compiling lists of potential readers of our books. This can be done, for example, by sharing address lists of individuals you believe would be interested in purchasing some or all Philopsychy books. A good way of obtaining such lists is to ask relevant societies or professional organizations for permission to use their membership list for this purpose.
If you would like to be notified regularly of books recently published by Philopsychy Press, please send your name and address to P.O. Box 1224, Shatin Central, N.T., Hong Kong (or by e-mail to ppp@hkbu.edu.hk), asking us to add your name to our primary mailing list. In the meantime:
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