Publishing With Daastan

last updated on Mar 10th, 2024.

How to get published?

The process to publish with Daastan is as follows

1- Purchase membership
2- Upload manuscript + book cover and submit for review
3- Choose package for print or ebook publishing
4- Pay the dues for the services availed
5- Receive published books

Detailed process:

You purchase author membership n submit the manuscript on www.meraqissa.com for review

After review, the first phase is book creation where our team work with you to create a print-ready file of manuscript n book cover. Author pays for the services they avail.

Next stage is book registration, we register your book with the govt by getting an ISBN n barcode. It takes a week and costs around 6000 pkr

After that we decided which route you want to go. Ebook, print or both. Depending on your personal objectives and budget,we decide the path. Author pays for the services they avail. Printing takes two weeks .

Last step is marketing and distribution. We distribute only through our website. We do not stock in bookstores. Author get tracking of sales in their dashboard on qissa website.

Please note that we are NOT publishing Urdu books for now.

Ebook package: 15,000 pkr
Print book package: +100,000 pkr

Ratelist

www.meraqissa.com/page/services

To schedule a call, please drop a message on Whatsapp at +92 (321) 9525753

Is there any tedious paperwork involved?

NO. We not only digitized the contracts and agreements but also rewrote them in simple to understand language so you know your rights and responsibilities. 

Do I need to visit your office to get started?

NO. We believe in making things accessible and convenient for general public. You can complete all the steps, from the comfort of your home. However, if you wish to meet our team, you can schedule an appointment by emailing us at  merasawal [at] daastan [dot] com

Is this platform still free?

For readers: YES.

Anyone can login and signup to read, rate and review manuscripts published on our website. Start reading here.

For authors: NO.

Anyone who wishes to get published with Daastan needs to purchase an annual membership. Before 2020, the platform was free, however, we observed that most of the authors were not serious about publishing. By introducing this membership, we believe that only serious authors who really want to make a living through their work and skill, will come forward. Our team will go to all extremes to faciliate them and make them a star. Are you ready to invest in building your career and pursue your journey to stardom?

For literary societies/clubs: NO.

We only want to work with people who are passionate about driving social change through their actions. From 2020 onwards, the literary societies/clubs can purchase an annual membership to get access to quality opportunities like fully funded trips to countries like Thailand where Daastan has signed official contracts.

For businesses (in niche of publishing): NO.

If you are a traditional publisher, bookstore, library or any such business in similar niche who is looking to acquire more customers, understand their purchase behaviors and maximize your profits then we invite you to purchase our annual membership. Let's work together where we bring in our expertise of digital marketing and use your knowledge, networks and resources to help you grow your brand.

Why should I buy a membership?

Most of the offline traditional publishers offer very little or no marketing of the titles. They would just print and hand over the copies to authors. The case with local online forums is pretty much same. In the end, author suffers. In past, we have witnessed many such plagiarism scandals. We, being the author-friendly platform have changed our policies significantly to support authors.

All the premium members who have purchased an annual membership will get proper marketing of their titles by Daastan throughout the year. We dream to transform Pakistan into a country where we produce top quality content locally and sell it in global market. If you believe in this dream and want to be a part of something historic which is growing by leaps and bounds then you should consider purchasing an annual membership.

Daastan is the oldest, technologically advanced and the most credible publishing platform of Pakistan. We are known in market for our professional conduct, competent team and quality of work. We do things which others don't dare to think of. Follow our day to day journey here.

Still have questions? Talk to us at merasawal [at] daastan [dot] com

Are there any other hidden costs, other than annual membership?

For authors: NO. 

Even though Daastan has published content in all verticals i.e. digital, audio, print and video. However, currently, we are providing digital and print publishing solutions to the authors. 

When author submits the work then we assume that the manuscript is properly edited and formatted (as per our requirements) and book cover is good enough to go ahead with. If anything is lacking then we suggest authors to get it fixed from wherever they want (which does involve some cost).

For digital publishing, there is just a nominal book registration cost where we do the necessary legal paperwork to protect your work. Whereas, for print publishing, print cost is also involved.

For details on optional and compulsory services, please visit Daastan Services.

For literary societies/clubs: NO.

Most of the opportunities that Daastan share are free to apply where you can partner with us and conduct events in your campuses locally. However, some opportunities may have registration fee involved, due to high volume of applications. Being a member organization, you would be given prefrential treatment and discounts.

For businesses (in niche of publishing): NO.

Our team will work with you closely to co-create a win-win solution for you. Our purpose is to strengthen the local key players and enable them to florish so we can create more job opportunities in the creative sector. Let's join hands and work together for rebuilding the foundations of publishing space of Pakistan.

Talk to us at merasawal [at] daastan [dot] com

Can I just avail editing or design services and publish my work somewhere else?

Yes, in this case, since you are not publishing with Daastan, you do not need to purcahse our annual membership. You can just pay for the editing, design or any other optional service, as per the schedule of rates defined here.

I am already published elsewhere, how can Daastan help me?

We understand that most of the authors have either opted for some international self-publishing platforms like Amazon's Createspace or some local traditional or self-publishing platforms. If you own the content rights then you can REPUBLISH your work either digitally or in-print through our platform to make it available for readers in Pakistan.

However, if you already have the hard copies printed with you then you can purchase our annual membership which will allow you to use our marketing channels to generate sales of your work. 

I am a new author who needs professional mentor, how can Daastan help me?

Everyone starts their journey from zero. At Daastan, we provide authors with professional mentorship where you can hire some of the best people on an hourly basis for personal consultation online. They will assess your work, provide you with right personalized resources and teach you how to improve your creative writing skills.

This facility is currently being tested with limited audience. If you want to participate in this program, please write to us at merasawal [at] daastan [dot] com

If there is something that is left unanswered here then write to us at merasawal [at] daastan [dot] com