Welcome to Taiwan.com.au Portal

Taiwan.com.au Portal: FAQs

• What kind of organization is Taiwan.com.au Portal? What services do you provide?
• Why are you doing this?
• What do you need to start promoting my book?
• How much do you charge for the whole project?
• What is the difference between Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese? What about Mandarin?
• Will I still have all my rights as the author?
• Do you use Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies?
• How do I contact you if I have more questions?

Q: What kind of organization is Taiwan.com.au Portal? What services do you provide?

A: Taiwan.com.au Portal is owned and operated by Australia's Solid Software Pty Ltd (ACN 084 786 498). The Portal was established in 1997 as a business and cultural conduit between Australia and Taiwan. Our extensive records in serving clients around the globe indicate that we can do more for authors and readers in both English and Chinese worlds. We translate and promote English books to readers across the Greater China, while doing the same for Chinese books that are worthy of notice by English readers.

Since 2011, we have established a Chinese eBook store to actively enhance the production, publication and promotion of Chinese e-books, including those that are translated from English. This service will be formally launched in mid-2012 as eBook Dynasty, our new Chinese eBook Store.

eBook Dynasty: Leading Publisher of Chinese eBooks

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Q: Why are you doing this?

A: We simply love good books. Our long-term goal is to help the best literary voices reach across all linguistic and cultural boundaries.

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Q: What do you need to start promoting my book?

A: Please send us a copy of your book. Feel free to also tell us all relevant details -- your awards and achievements, previous and subsequent works, passions, dreams, etc. As soon as we receive your book, we will send you a draft contract that details your rights and our obligations, including the proposed price for your Chinese ebook and how often we will pay you the royalties. The full publishing and promotion process commences after the contract is signed. For more details, please have a look at Our Chinese ePublishing.

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Q: How much do you charge for the whole project?

A: For the publishing and promotion of your Chinese ebook in Traditional Chinese -- for readers in Taiwan and all overseas Chinese communities that use Traditional Chinese -- we charge a fee of US$399. However, for an extra US$50, i.e. US$499 in total, we can publish and promote your Chinese ebook in Simplified Chinese as well, which covers readers in China, Hong KOng, Macau and all overseas Chinese communities that use Simplified Chinese.

For children's illustrated books, we charge US$199 for the publishing and promotion in Traditional Chinese, and US$249 for that in both Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.

Once your Chinese ebook is published, you as the author receive 80 percent (80%) of the net proceeds for each copy sold, while we receive the remaining 20 percent (20%). For more details, please have a look at Our Chinese ePublishing.

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Q: What is the difference between Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese? What about Mandarin?

A: Mandarin is the official dialect used in both China and Taiwan. As for writing, however, we translate and publish ebooks in both Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. Here is an explanation from Wikipedia:

"Traditional Chinese characters are currently used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and in [China's] Guangdong Province... In overseas Chinese communities other than Singapore and Malaysia, Traditional Chinese characters are most commonly used, although the number of printed materials in Simplified Chinese characters is growing in Australia, USA and Canada, targeting or created by new arrivals from China... In contrast, Simplified Chinese characters are used in China, SIngapore and Malaysia in official publications."

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Q: Will I still have all my rights as the author?

A: Yes. All your rights, including the Chinese e-rights to your book, will still remain with you. We only ask that when you promote your Chinese e-book elsewhere, you keep the price the same as that agreed in our contract. The standard term of a contract is five years.

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Q: Do you use Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies?

A: The different ebook formats we use involve the use of different kinds of DRM mechanism. For example, the industry standard ePub format does not use DRM at all, while the PDF format uses a minimum of DRM (i.e. allowing printing in low resolution, but nothing else). Our own SODA format is a propriety technology that uses DRM, but it can reach across different platforms.

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Q: How do I contact you if I have more questions?

A: Whether it is to publish and promote your writing as a Chinese ebook, or you wish to comment on any aspect of our operations, please feel free to Contact Us. We are always happy to hear from you.

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