When was Chipmunkapublising founded ?
Chipmunka was set up in 2002 after several months of research by the two Founders Jason Pegler and Andrew Latchford.

Where are your authors from ?
Chipmunka publishes authors from all over the world. Whatever country you are in we have the capacity to give you a voice. Our offices are in the UK. Our authors live in 91 different cities in the Uk and we have authors living in nearly 50 different countries. We have a strong presence in all English Speaking countries particularly the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa. We also have authors in Asia, Africa, The Middle and Far East.

What are the chance of me being published ?
This can vary from year to year. This is difficult to say as it depends on the quality of your manuscript, the contribution the book makes to the mental health debate, the belief in the Chipmunka vision and the effort the author is willing to put in to maximise sales.

Since 2008 Chipmunkapublishing has probably offered contracts to about 10% of people that contacted us although some people we ask to work more on their manuscripts and contact us again in the future. If you have experienced mental health issues we want to help if possible so feel free to email your manuscript. Presentation is really important and so is being focused so please read the submission guidelines carefully on the contact us page and please make sure your submit your book all in one document. 

Do you charge for publishing ?
As of October 2013 Chipmunkapublishing will no longer offer a free publishing option. Our aim is to make the business sustainable and to continue to give a voice to as many people as possible.

Since October 2010 we have introduced a number of paid publishing options for authors who want to take their career as a published author to the next level. See the Get Published page for pricing and other information.

Do you offer advances ?
No we do not offer advances. We are a social enterprise that gives a voice to people with mental illness and niche publisher with expertise in the mental health field of mental health service user empowerment, carer empowerment and disability empowerment.

Who is in Chipmunkapublishing ?
The two co founders Andrew and Jason remain involved in the publishing. Jason works full time and Andrew is still very closely involved.  We have an ongoing pool of volunteers, most of whom work from home. Most of these are retired editors or university students who volunteer as editors or communications people for Chipmunka as part of their degree. Chipmunka also has ambassadors – celebrity supporters, MP’s; advisers – social entrepreneurs, supporters – people who want to stop the stigma in mental health,  partners – e.g mental health and related charities around the world, most notably Mind, Rethink, Sane, NAMI, news agencies, mental health trusts, etc.., – Pro Bono Support e.g some Pro Bono Legal Support, PR partners. business partners. We never accept unsolicited pitches for business. Unsolicited manuscripts are fine. Unsolicited printers, cover designers, marketing companies no thanks.

How does Chipmunkapublishing have a unique business model ?
Well lots of reasons we think. Firstly there are very few mental health specialist publishers around. It is not a trendy subject and not really seen as a commercial one. We are of course a social enterprise which is also quite rare in publishing. We use Print on Demand at our core and do not charge. Most print on demand companies are either not integrated to market and/or charge authors for setting up of fees and some even charge for marketing. Chipmunka sets up the e-book and paperback for free and also does communication/pr/marketing for free. We publish as many books a year as a company that would have about 35 staff. This is because we are so committed, think dynamically, have great volunteers and support and do not want to change the voice of the author.

What kind of publisher is Chipmunka ?
Chipmunka is a modern publisher that has a fantastic internet presence (nearly all of our titles are already on kindle on amazon.com as well as through more traditional mediums) and a core following of supporters who believe in the brand. We are a niche publisher that publishes manuscripts written by people with mental health issues, disabilities and carers. We use Print on Demand as our core, Print on Demand is a printing technology and business process in which new copies of a book are not printed until an order has been received. This is the future of paperback publishing. For an impartial assessment of Print on Demand we recommend you read the Wikipedia definition which is quite expansive and insightful.

POD publishing is different to traditional publishing. Less money is invested in the marketing of each book but the speed of publishing is quicker and the POD publisher is more likely to be able to continue to publish the author and their books instead of having to make the book go out of print as the traditional publisher may not be able to afford a new print run. The POD publisher as long as it is integrated to market has a more secure and safer business model. The POD publisher dictates the terms to the book trade whereas the traditional publisher has terms dictated to them.

By using POD we are able to publish more mental health artists and find more mental health advocates. Chipmunka is documenting the way that people with mental health issues, disabilities and carers feel about life, treatments and society.

Chipmunkapublishing has been selling e-books since 2005. Most e-books have traditionally sold through our website although now we are very excited about the impact of kindle and looking forward to iPad and the imminent take off of the e-book trade. We connect people around the world interested in mental health and e-books becoming mainstream will mean we can reach out to a digitally aware audience and help, educate and empower people in real time.

Chipmunkapublishing’s Environmental and Energy Values

What is Chipmunkapublishing’s Commitment to Sustainable Development ?
We are supported to the future of e-books and print of demand that is integrated to market not just for convenience for customers, or because they are great business models or so that we can publish more people and empower more artists. We know that if we can improve the environment then we can also have a positive impact on people’s mental health.

The last two decades have shown that the current model of development is unsustainable. In other words, the word’s population is living beyond its means. From the loss of biodiversity with the felling of rainforests to the negative effect our consumption patterns are having on the environment and the climate. Our way of life is placing an increasing burden on the planet.

The increasing stress we put on resources and environmental systems such as water, land and air cannot go on forever. Especially as the world’s population continues to increase and we already see a world where over a billion people live on less than a dollar a day.

The most widely accepted international definition of sustainable development is ‘development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ – Globally we are not even meeting the needs of the present let alone considering the needs of future generations.

Unless the world begins to make real progress toward correcting these contradictions we face a future that is less certain and less secure. We need to make a pro active march towards more sustainable development. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is in our own long term best interests. It offers the best hope for the future. Whether at school, in home or at work, we all have a part to play. Our small everyday actions add up to make a big difference.

These are some reasons why Chipmunkapublishing is so committed to publishing e-books and supports Print On Demand that is integrated to market as a publishing model. All Chipmunkapublishing paper is FSC regulated from managed forests.

What is Chipmunkapublishing’s commitment to Natural resource protection and environmental enhancement ?
Natural resources are vital to our existence. Our well-being and health are linked closely to the quality of our air, water, soils and biological resources. Our landscapes, seascapes and wildlife are inseparable from our culture and inspire art and literature. Our economy and key industrial sectors are directly and indirectly reliant on functioning ecosystems. Many people believe that natural resources have their own intrinsic value, that is, they are important for their own sake regardless of their functional value.

What is Chipmunkapublishing’s commitment to Energy Efficiency ?
Chipmunkapublishing is committed to implementing an effective energy management programme. We aim to keep energy usage and carbon emissions to a minimum, reducing energy costs as much as possible. One example of the way we do this is to now give away more free e-books as opposed to free paperbacks. This helps save the rainforests.

Chipmunkapublishing is committed to monitoring our energy efficiency in a number of ways that identify energy efficiency opportunities and developing good energy management practices. Chipmunka are committed to tracking our own energy performance over time using relevant performance indicators.

What are Chipmunka’s artistic aims ?
In the words of John Maynard Keynes ‘ to give courage and confidence to artists and their audiences’. Chipmunka of course specialise in mental health artists, disabled artists and carers.  We want to create conditions in which great mental health literature can happen, making sure as many people as possible engage with mental health literature and discover what mental health literature can do for them. Great literature inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, It makes life better.

Disclaimer: We do not provide refunds. The publishing process is a very work intensive and complicated service.  We work with one of the largest and most respected print and distribution companies in the world.  Please remember that it is up to you as the author to sign off your book at each stage of the production process.   We provide a professional and patient service as we realise we work with people with mental illness. However, our staff will not tolerate abusive or offensive behaviour.

Terminating Your Publishing Agreement: The majority of our authors are completely satisfied with their book and the publishing service in general but we appreciate that at times it just does not work out.  This can be for a number of reasons and we always respect our authors decisions regarding their publishing agreement.

If you are considering terminating your publishing agreement and wish to cease publication of your book then please read the information below and email us as specified.

Are you sure you wish to terminate your contract?  Please read the information below and make your decision based on this.

If you are sure you no longer wish to be published by chipmunka, we can remove your book from our website and the trade by way of ceasing the publication of your book with our printers.

Please e-mail us confirmation that you wish for this to be done. Without your written authorisation we cannot proceed.

If Chipmunka were to stop publishing you after your book was out we would take your book off the website and remove your book from the trade, usually within 14 days via our printer and integrator Lightning Source so that no more copies are ever printed. However, as the owner of the intellectual property of your book, it would be your responsibility to contact any websites, which may still be offering content from your book after Chipmunkapublishing has notified its printer and distributor to cease publishing and offering your book sales to the book trade. Surplus copies may still be in the trade for which Chipmunka nor you will receive any payment. If you have any doubts or concerns about your identity being on the internet forever, then please consider using a pseudonym or alternative image instead of yourself”.

Chipmunka cannot under any circumstances be held responsible for third parties showing your book. Some booksellers may remove the book within a week others can take months. Chipmunka cannot get into conversations with anyone about the removal of content after we have stopped publishing you neither can our printer. Other third parties will not, and are unwilling/unable to  remove their meta data or internet links regarding your books or books

You retain all rights to your book and can publish it with another publishing house or self publish as you wish.