A MEASURE OF QUALITY... Explaining the ALLi Partner Member Code ALLi is committed to excellence and ethics in self-publishing from all our members, including our Partner Members. Every single service provider listed in this directory is vetted by our advisory team in accordance with ALLi’s code of standards. We take every care to ensure our members access services that agree and comply with the following tenets of Partner Membership: • Integrity: We recognise that Partner Membership of ALLi means our primary aim is to be of service to the writing and reading community. To that end, we follow through on all promised services and fully honour all advertisements and publication agreement terms. We never spam, oversell or harass authors to buy our services. • Value: We add value to each publication commensurate with the fee charged, relieving authors of key publishing tasks, enhancing readability, design or discoverability. • Clarity: We make it clear what we can and cannot do for the self-publishing writer — and how our service compares to others. • Transparency: Our price quotations are accurate, transparent and complete. • Partnership: We involve authors in planning and decision-making for key aspects of the publication process, from titles and cover design to sales and marketing strategies. • Service: We are accountable for our work. We keep authors informed each step of the way and provide good customer service and follow-up. • Communication: We provide helpful and timely information to authors at all stages of publication, and beyond, and facilitate authors to get any necessary ancillary information. • Community: We have a long-term commitment to author-publishing and support the empowerment of self-publishing authors by giving back to the community.
WELCOME... to ALLi’s first Self-Publishing Services Directory. When we founded in 2012, there were a host of author services available but in an unregulated, and wildly varying, marketplace it was overwhelmingly difficult for authors to make good choices. The self-publishing services sector is, on one hand creative, innovative and exciting; on another, idiosyncratic, illogical and incoherent. Some services are run by people who are knowledgeable, dedicated, helpful and fair; others are clueless, greedy, callous and manipulative. Authors make their self-publishing choices in an unregulated environment where the same service can cost $500 against $15,000, for pretty much the same thing, depending on where you shop. Where services that are absolutely useless are sold at inflated prices. And where one large operation with many imprints, and controversial practices, dominates the information stream, including Google Ads/search. And so one of the first jobs ALLi (pronounced “ally”, by the way) took on after its inauguration in April 2012 was to try to understand the self-publishing landscape, so we could guide our members, and other authors, on how to safely navigate what Victoria Strauss, one of our Watchdog team, describes as “shark infested waters”. One of our cornerstones is to encourage all sectors of the self-publishing world - from aspiring author-publishers to global service providers - to aim for the highest standards of ethics and excellence. That’s what readers deserve. Writing and publishing is an awesome responsibility -- and that’s a word that I don’t use lightly. People turn to us for information, for entertainment, for inspiration. Their default is to trust us, because we are writers, because we are publishers. We are the ones who put the written word on the record. That should make us proud and it should also make us humble. And there’s a particular corner of creative hell reserved for those who renege on the responsibilities that go with that privilege. This Directory is the first step to creating a current, coherent and most importantly, credible and trustworthy guide to the global author services market. Its aim is to enable authors to assemble a crack team of publishing professionals so they can write and publish books of outstanding creative excellence. Each service has been vetted by our watchdog, and adheres to the code of conduct opposite. We have also included a range of articles, selected to get authors thinking about some of the issues raised by the new creative freedom of self-publishing. Mainly, it’s about empowering you, dear author, to select the perfect service for the particular project you’re currently working on. We say “first step” as this directory will be an ongoing and unfolding project. Its aim, always, will be to connect indie authors with author-services so we can make, and deliver, great books. If you would like to join us as we walk the indie way, we’d love your feedback and suggestions. Do get in touch. And if you’re not yet a member of our Alliance, isn’t it time you joined?
ORNA ROSS DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER, ALLIANCE INDEPENDENT AUTHORS
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ETHICS... JANE STEEN
FEATURE
Ethics don’t just apply to service providers but also to authors, as testified by recurring scandals around writers who buy reviews and review their own books on Amazon and other outlets. Or deliberately mark down their colleague’s star ratings. Or hassle and hustle for sales and recognition. These are not just issues for self-publishing writers but for all. Here, historical novelist Jane Steen shares her views on ethical issues – an aspect of self-publishing as important as quality in gaining wider acceptance of self-published books. FEATURE BY JANE STEEN I’m enthusiastic about ALLi’s Open Up To Indies campaign, looking forward to the day when it’s commonplace to see indie authors everywhere—bookstores, libraries and award lists. But as a reader/reviewer, I’m well aware that there are still two stumbling blocks to improving public perception of self-publishing. One of those obstacles—quality— is a constant topic of conversation on self-publishing blogs and forums. The other—ethics—is insufficiently discussed. I’m calling on ALLi to make the public discussion of author ethics a high priority as a corollary to the Open Up To Indies campaign. The ALLi Code of Standards deals with author marketing ethics in the following way: “Marketing: In reaching out to readers, I do not bombard, spam or force my writing upon others.” This brief statement is open to wide interpretation. Take the topic of reviews. There are many forms of paid or compensated reviewing arrangements that can sometimes shade into the unethical, and occasionally illegal, side of marketing. Responding to reviews, rating or reviewing your own books, collecting and using email addresses, and working within the terms of service of review sites are other areas where self-publishers rarely agree among themselves. The uncertainty that surrounds ethical issues is compounded by the fact that: •
New self-published authors emerge every day with little experience or knowledge of the publishing world, and often naively and unwittingly find themselves infringing ethical standards.
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Bad advice, sometimes years old, is still circulating on the internet and being sold in the form of cheap or free ebooks.
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The traditional publishing industry has been known to employ questionable marketing strategies—for example, the gaming of bestseller lists is an open secret—and some authors think that in order to compete, we also have to learn to play hardball.
So the subject of ethics is tricky. But we need to tackle it because: We owe it to our readers. Readers feel cheated when they buy a book on the basis of glowing reviews, ratings, or bestseller lists, and are then let down by book quality. Encouraging indies to adopt high ethical standards will result in increased reader trust for our individual brands, and those readers will play an important part in putting pressure on bookstores and libraries to stock our books. We owe it to ourselves. Our indie career is not just about the books we write—it’s about the person we are.
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The subject of ethics is tricky. But we need to tackle it.
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We also owe it to each other. The Open Up To Indies campaign will only convince the “gatekeepers”—who are, after all, far more savvy about the book industry than the average reader—to accept self-published books on the same level as traditionally published books if they feel they can trust in our professionalism and passion for quality. As this organization’s name states, we are an alliance— we are free to act as individuals, but our separate actions have effects that shape our common industry. It’s high time we began discussing ethics as a key element in empowering self-publishers. An expanded Code of Standards would be a worthy goal. Do you agree? ALLi is crafting an Author Ethics Protocol with which all ethical authors, however they publish, can align. Think of it as a Kyoto Protocol for writers. This will allow writers to display a badge on their websites to show that they uphold the tenets of the Protocol — and assure readers that they’re looking at books that are ethically written, sold and marketed. More on this initiative, spearheaded by Jane Steen, coming soon.
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ALLi EDITORIAL
SPOTTING THE ELEPHANT IN THE SELF-PUBLISHING ROOM ALLi’s blog editor Debbie Young addresses a self-publishing community taboo – the fact that there are so many poor quality self-published books. Now and again, when in conversation with members of the book trade, I’m conscious of a cloud crossing their faces as I raise the subject of self-publishing and pledge my allegiance to its cause. “We might have to agree to differ on this one,” is a typical response. “You see, I’ve read some dreadful selfpublished books.” Cue apologetic look from those who don’t want to upset me, and some embarrassed shuffling of feet as they wait for my reaction. “Of course there is terrible self-published work out there,” I hasten to agree. “And there always will be, so long as it is so easy for anyone in the world to press the ‘publish’ button and upload their work to Amazon or any other ebook platform.”
The Era of Professional Publishing Their relief is almost palpable when they realise I’m by no means out to defend all self-published books, but to encourage indie authors to raise their standards to match those expected of the traditional publishing trade. I explain to them that one of the reasons that many people have a low opinion of self-published books is that only the bad ones are readily identifiable as self-published. Those of better quality are generally assumed to be tradepublished, as they feature strong writing, flawless editing, appropriate cover, high quality production, and all those other things associated with professional standards in publishing.
Professional Quality in Self-publishing This drive for quality is a key theme from ALLi’s new book, Opening Up To Indie Authors, which it was my privilege to co-author with Dan Holloway, steered by editor Orna Ross. As well as offering advice on how to be treated on an equal footing with trade published authors, it is a rallying cry for self-published authors to strive for the highest standards. It was heartening for the launch team to be congratulated by both Hugh Howey, self-publisher extraordinaire, and the distinguished publishing journalist Porter Anderson after the book’s launch at the 2014 London Book Fair. The message was — and still is clear: Self-published authors have a joint responsibility to make the quality issue history by always making our books the best they can be before we present them to readers. This article originally appeared on ALLi’s SelfPublishing Advice blog. For more news, views and discussion, please visit: www.selfpublishingadvice.org If you have a topic that would be of interest to thousands of self publishing writers worldwide, send an idea proposal to Debbie: debbie@Allianceindependentauthors.org
But now is the era of “professional self-publishing”. That’s not a contradiction in terms, but the way forward for selfpublishers who want to be judged on an equal footing with trade-published writers.
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ALLi EDITORIAL
NAME AND GAIN: THE ROLE MODELS OPENING UP TO INDIE AUTHORS You’ve heard of “Name and Shame”? Let ALLi Director Orna Ross introduce you to the idea of “Name and Gain”. We believe the entire publishing industry gains when author-publishers are accepted as an intrinsic part of the literary and publishing world. That means good author-published books are sold in bookstores, eligible for competitions and prizes, stocked in libraries and accepted for review on equal terms with good trade-published books. And author-publishers appear at literary festivals and events on equal terms with their trade-published colleagues. To that end, the campaign team at ALLi is engaged in an email writing campaign to raise awareness and persuade resistant libraries, bookstores, literary events, book reviewers and prize-givers to open up to indie authors who write great books. We also have a petition addressing the same issue, which you can sign here. Being the types that like to focus on the positive, we also want to hear about bookstores, libraries, festivals, organisations who are doing it well, to hold them up as role models to show it can be done – and how everybody benefits when it is. So if you know about a bookstore, a library, a literary festival or event, appropriately recognising indie authors and books, especially if it’s a change of policy, please contact us with your commendations.
ABOUT OPENING UP TO INDIE AUTHORS Opening Up to Indie Authors is a campaign and guidebook encouraging mutual cooperation between the wider book world, and independent authors. Co-authored by Debbie Young and Dan Holloway, this Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) guide will tell you how to recognise opportunities, work with publishing partners and open doors, and keep them open, for your own benefit -- and that of all indie authors. This guide is also aimed at those who work in the literary, publishing and books industries: award bodies, book fairs and conferences, libraries, literary festival and event organisers, retailers, reviewers and anyone who acts as a bridge between writer and reader.
#publishingopenup
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Author-Publishing Packages
Author-Publishing Packages
AMOLIBROS
support@Autharium.com
Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages
AUTHORIGHT
Amolibros provides complete publishing services designed to assist authors who wish to consider selfpublishing but wish to avoid getting overburdened by the time-consuming aspects of either production or marketing or both.
www.amolibros.com amolibros@aol.com
AUTHARIUM Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages The Autharium platform enables an author to create a virtual team of editors, proofreaders, cover designers and others to help them maximise the potential of their work. Autharium provides a collaborative inpage writing, review and editing function and a place for an author to release all, or part of, their work for community review. There are no upfront charges for using Autharium. You can, if you want, pay other community members for their services, but that is between you and them.
www.autharium.com
Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Classes and Courses, Design Editorial, Production, Comms Authoright provides support and services for every author. From editing to cover design, PR and marketing to brand development, websites to social media and even live author events, Authoright offers individual services as well as full-service publishing through our Clink Street imprint.
www.authoright.com info@authoright.com
AUTHORS ONLINE Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages Authors OnLine is a UK-based family company that has been helping authors to self-publish, print and distribute books since 1997. Perfectly adapted to the new digital publishing age, we can deal with all your publishing requirements whether you require an eBook, or printed copies for worldwide distribution, or private use.
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Author-Publishing Packages
www.authorsonline.co.uk submissions@authorsonline.co.uk
BIBLIOCRUNCH Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages A FREE platform that lets authors post the author services they are looking for and then receive proposals from rated and reviewed vetted publishing professionals (award winning editors, designers, formatters, marketers, etc). We also have membershipbased VIP support where we can hand hold you through the process of self-publishing.
bibliocrunch.com
BLURB Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages Blurb® was founded on the premise that everyone should be able to publish, market and distribute beautifully created books. Blurb’s indie-publishing platform provides a full toolkit: free book design tools, various book formats, print and distribution options, plus online selling and social sharing tools. Blurb enjoys global scale via 1.1m book creators, with 2.8m book titles delivered to 70 countries.
www.blurb.com support@blurb.com
BOOKBABY Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages Based in Portland, Oregon, we’re a team of authors, poets, bloggers, and artists — so we know the thrills and challenges of bringing a book into this world. Since 2011, we’ve helped thousands realize their publishing goals, and we’ve paid out millions of dollars in royalties to authors like you. BookBaby offers you the largest eBook distribution network, including Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and many other popular retailers in over 170 countries around the globe.
www.bookbaby.com books@bookbaby.com
COMPLETELYNOVEL Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages CompletelyNovel is a friendly publishing platform and advice centre, specialising in quality print-on-demand. Authors can create, publish and sell print books worldwide for just £7.99/$11.99 per month for two titles, and keep 100% of their royalties. Try it out at
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CompletelyNovel.com.
completelynovel.com team@completelynovel.com
EPUBLI Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Classes and Courses, Comms, Design, Distribution, Editorial, Production epubli is a young and fast growing company located in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Our self–publishing platform has been supporting the work of independent authors since 2008. We offer print as well as eBook publishing and distribution through all major retailers including Apple, Amazon, Google, and more.
www.epubli.co.uk www.epubli.co.uk/contact
FIREBRAND PUBLISHING Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Author Marketing services. Author Websites, BookMark Design and Printing, Marketing Material Design and Printing Firebrand Publishing is a full service self publishing and marketing company for authors. We specialize in producing professional self published books for our author clients.At Firebrand Publishing we make publishing your book easy, and fun.
firebrandpublishing.com
HEDDON PUBLISHING Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Copyediting, Developmental editing, Proofreading, eBook formatting, Print Layout, Cover Design and Marketing. Heddon Publishing was established in 2012 and provides the full package of publishing services to independent authors. Working with authors internationally, in a range of genres. Specialising in transforming a Word document into a fully edited, proofed and formatted print and digital publication more than worthy of public attention.
www.heddonpublishing.com katharine@heddonpublishing.com
INDIEBOOKLAUNCHER.COM Services Provided: Editorial, Design, Production, Distribution, and Promotional Services a la carte and as packages
www.indiebooklauncher.com info@indiebooklauncher.com
INDIEREADER Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Design, Distribution, Editorial, Production Starting ’09 with book reviews, IndieReader has grown into a one-stop shop for discriminating indie authors. Our products, services and properties can get your book in front of discerning readers, bookstore buyers (nationally!) and help you with packaging and design. Book discoverability has never been easier.
www.indiereader.com amy@indiereader.com
JERA PUBLISHING Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Design, Distribution, Editorial, Production Jera Publishing has been assisting authors with selfpublishing since 2003. Our goal is to provide you with the knowledge, services, tools, and support you need to successfully self-publish your book. We understand how important your book is to you and will work hard to help you publish a book you will be proud of and also help you navigate through the self-publishing process. We are located in Roswell, Georgia which is just north of Atlanta.
www.self-pub.net mail@jerapublishing.com
KAZOO INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING SERVICES Services Provided:Author Publishing Packages in print and eBook. Full professional editing services available. One stop complete professional publishing packages for independent authors - with proof reading included as standard.
www.kazoopublishing.com
MATADOR Services Provided:Author Publishing Packages Matador is the self-publishing imprint of Troubador Publishing, and is the UK’s most widely recommended
self-publishing services company. Since 1999 Matador has offered self-publishing advice to authors to ensure they give their project the best chance of success. Our emphasis is on quality of production, distribution and sales for books and ebooks, including high street bookshop and online retail distribution. Authors publishing with us tend to want to give their book the best possible chance in a crowded market, and to benefit from the experience of professionals who know that market.
www.troubador.co.uk/matador matador@troubador.co.uk
Author-Publishing Packages
IndieBookLauncher.com helps independent authors polish, publish, and promote their fiction and nonfiction books. Founded by a designer and an editor with a combined 25+ years of experience, we offer both advice and services, working with authors to help their book reach its full potential.
MEMOIRS PUBLISHING/MEREO BOOKS Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Editing, Book cover design, Ebook production, Distribution, Marketing, Public relations We offer authors mainstream publishing house standards of editing, design and distribution, producing books which can stand alongside anything on retailers’ shelves and compete with the best titles from traditional publishers. We are a growing company founded on personal service, experience, professional skills and a high quality benchmark.
www.mereobooks.com info@mereobooks.com
OFF THE BOOKSHELF Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages Off the Bookshelf is the next frontier for author empowerment and monetisation. Self-publishing has never been easier or more affordable. Free proprietary state of the art conversion software turns your manuscript into eBook, Print on Demand or print ready formats with a few simple clicks. We have a free book cover generator and a free or low cost audio converter. Especially exciting is our Mass Distribution Engine, which lists your book on the some of the most popular online book retailers.
offthebookshelf.com offthebookshelf.com/pages/contact
RETHINK PRESS Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Classes and Courses, Design Distribution, Editorial, Production Rethink Press offers high quality, professional author services (writing coaching, manuscript review & edit, cover design, typeset) and a range of publishing packages. We specialise in business and selfdevelopment non-fiction, and niche fiction, but have also published cooking, travel, inspiration and poetry
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Author Publishing Packages
books. We run workshops and courses on getting your book (whatever genre) written and published.
www.rethinkpress.com lucy@rethinkpress.com
S&H PUBLISHING Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Editing, Proofreading, Formatting, Cover design, Quarterly Promotional Campaigns.
YORK PUBLISHING SERVICES Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages We provide all the services to help authors publish books and ebooks, from proofreading, book covers, book design and ebook files, to printing, book distribution and book marketing. If you want book distribution, a blog set up, a press release, an app or just specialist hand-binding for your memoir, we can do that too!
www.yps-publishing.co.uk
S & H Publishing is a small press sharing ALLi’s code of ethics. We give our talented authors the advantages publisher endorsement and allow them the freedom associated with self publishing. S & H is the venture capitalist of each book it publishes, investing in editing, covers, and marketing.
www.sandhpublishing.com books@sandhpublishing.com
SILVERWOOD BOOKS Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Manuscript appraisal, Editing, Production, Design for print and ebook, Author Website Design, Social media set up and training Expertly produced print and ebooks – designed, formatted and finished to the highest publishing industry standards. SilverWood supports and mentors writers through editing, proofreading, book production and beyond. Publishing Director Helen Hart is the author of 9 novels (HarperCollins, OUP, Scholastic) and an Indie reviewer for the Historical Novel Society.
www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk helen@silverwoodbooks.co.uk
STANDOUT BOOKS Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Editorial, Comms, Book Distribution, Author Website Design, Social Media Management, Ebook Conversion Standoutbooks is an author services agency serving independent authors and publishers across the world. We help you with all stages of editing, publishing, and marketing. We take pride in helping authors make the most of the tidal wave of technological change currently sweeping over the publishing industry.
www.standoutbooks.com contact@standoutbooks.com
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ALLI INSIGHT Throughout the directory, any exclusive offers and discounts for ALLi members will be listed in the company description. Similarly, If you are already an existing ALLi member, you can find selected discounts from our partner members by accessing your members area on the ALLi site. Offers range across the spectrum of author services, and can help you to make your budget go further. Although it goes without saying “you get what you pay for”, don’t be afraid to experiment with some of the complementary services on offer. Some emerging platforms will offer complementary trials and sometimes, it can be interesting to explore new possibilities. As indie authors, we are always experimenting, adding and subtracting from our existing knowledge of what works for our books and our readers. That means selecting services you feel comfortable with, and you believe to fit with the overarching goals of your book.
Comms Includes: Marketing services, Press, Promotion and Publicity
Comms
AUDIO BYTE Services Provided: Audio Marketing and Consultancy A full-service audio and podcast consultancy creating and producing professionally recorded and polished audio content for authors, businesses and entrepreneurs to reflect their brand and use online to communicate with their audience.
www.audio-byte.co.uk viv@audio-byte.co.uk
AUTHOR MARKETING CLUB Services Provided: Marketing Resources and Advice Author Marketing Club provides tools and training for experienced and first-time authors to help them sell more books. Join over 20,000 members working together to learn about successful book marketing. Grab a free membership at:
bublish.com/promo joy@bublish.com
CAMERON MARKETING AND PUBLICITY LTD. Services Provided: Publicity Campaigns, Press Releases, NetGalley Listings, Social Media, Website Design Dynamic book publicity and marketing services for publishers and independent authors. Started in 2006, Cameron Publicity and Marketing founder Ben Cameron has over 20 years of experience in book promotion, publishing and sales. Ben and his team have worked on hundreds of campaigns for independent authors everywhere, on pretty much any subject imaginable.
www.authormarketingclub.com
www.cameronpm.co.uk info@cameronpm.co.uk
BAKERVIEW CONSULTING
CHANTICLEER BOOK REVIEWS & MEDIA
Services Provided: Social Media Consultancy
Services Provided: Writing Competitions, Classes and Workshops
I believe that authors need a social media platform to succeed in today’s ever changing world of selling books. Authors should be allowed to be an author, and not expected to be a technology expert. Your social media platform doesn’t need to be complicated, difficult or time consuming. Let me help you work with technology!
Professional editorial book reviews and manuscript overviews. CBR hosts international writing competitions in ten genres throughout the year. Winners are awarded book reviews, cash prizes, social media promotion, and are published in CBR’s magazine. The magazine promotes CBR’s contest winners, top rated reviews, and features writing advice and publishing industry news. Distributed to booksellers, libraries, agents, and publishing houses.
bakerviewconsulting.com
BLUE INK REVIEW Services Provided: Promotional Services, Reviews BlueInk Review is a fee-based review service devoted exclusively to self-published titles. BlueInk offers honest, objective reviews penned by professionals whose bylines have appeared in prestigious publications or who have edited for major publishing houses. Reviews appear on BlueInk’s website and are widely syndicated to readers and industry professionals.
blueinkreview.com info@blueinkreview.com
BUBLISH Services Provided: Promotional Tools Accelerate your book marketing success with Bublish. Our powerful, award-winning suite of creation and social marketing tools is used by thousands of writers around the world to share stories, reach new readers,
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track engagement and build a dynamic author brand that drives book sales. Visit bublish.com via the link below to experience our Authorpreneur Dashboard for a FREE 30-day trial.
chantireviews.com info@chantireviews.com
CIRCLE OF SEVEN PRODUCTIONS Services Provided: Promotional Tools, Multimedia Production, Online Marketing Circle of Seven Productions (COS Productions), incorporated in Brentwood, CA., created the first Book Trailer in 2002. COS Productions continues to be the leader in book trailer production in the U.S.; winning several prestigious awards for both broadband and broadcast videos. COS Productions is a specialty company. Our number one focus is multimedia and online marketing. We not only endeavor to create quality, entertaining book video, but we are constantly looking for innovative ways to bring in new readers.
www.cosproductions.com info@cosproductions.com
Comms
INKFLASH
THE NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages
Services Provided: Author Publishing Packages, Copyediting, Developmental editing, Proofreading, eBook formatting, Print Layout, Cover Design and Marketing.
Inkflash.com is a Virtual Reality (VR) social media website for book lovers; an exciting new platform to promote your books - and it’s free! With the easy-touse online editor, design your VR author room and drag your books onto the virtual shelves. Link your VR room to your Twitter, Facebook and blog pages.
inkflash.com matt@inkflash.com
IPR LICENSE Services Provided: Marketing, Rights Management IPR License is the platform on which to list and license literary rights. The platform offers the opportunity to monetise or find the best new content in a global marketplace, and acts as a copyright hub, making it easier to locate copyright holders for permission to use their work. You can also learn more about the rights process and be featured in rights catalogues at leading world book fairs.
The National Indie Excellence® Book Awards contest is proudly sponsored by Smarketing LLC.™ The competition is judged by independent experts from all aspects of the indie book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. They select award winners and finalists based on overall excellence of presentation in addition to the writing. Out of respect for our judges’ time and professional status we do not require them to supply us with detailed comments on the books they review.
www.indieexcellence.com support@indieexcellence.com
iprlicense.com info@iprlicense.com
PUBSLUSH Services Provided: Crowdfunding, Pre-orders, Marketing, Pre-publication assistance Pubslush is a global pre-publication platform that allows authors to raise funds, collect pre-orders and market upcoming book projects. Authors and literary trendsetters can choose to raise funds and gauge audience response for upcoming projects or conduct comprehensive pre-order campaigns for upcoming titles.
www.pubslush.com justine@pubslush.com
READERS IN THE KNOW Services Provided: Book Promotion Readers in the Know allows readers to browse and stay up to date with book promotions tailored to their preferences in genre and country. Authors can schedule and share their promotions and links to buy, alongside analytics on their promotions.
www.readersintheknow.com
ALLI INSIGHT Many writers say they don’t want to market their own books, because it interferes with their writing time. That split often arises from misunderstanding what marketing a book means. Marketing is not a grubby must-do where you try to manipulate or bludgeon the reader, but an opportunity to more fully engage with what we’re trying to say as writers — and a way to go out and meet our readers and carry forward our message. Viewed this way, your social updates and marketing can become a creative opportunity — which is surely why we write?
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Design Services Includes: Cover Design, Promotional Materials and Web Design
JD SMITH DESIGN
Services Provided: Design
Services Provided: Cover Design, Promotional Design
Cook Street Publishing publishes fiction that’s written for people to read. We create websites designed for people to read from any device. We create affordable electronic versions of our books in every available format (Mobi, ePub, Pdf) for Kindle, Nook, iPhones, iPads, and any electronic reader. We also create beautiful paperback books for you to carry with you to the beach or read at home in the bathtub (bubble bath optional).
www.cookstreetpublishing.com
DAMONZA Services Provided: Cover Design, Print Layout and Ebook Formatting, Author and Book websites, Audiobook covers
Books Made Awesome. Damonza.com specializes in cover design, formatting, author websites, marketing material and more - for self-published authors and publishers.
www.damonza.com info@damonza.com
DESIGN FOR WRITERS Services Provided: Design, Interior Formatting through Partners Design for Writers provides professional design services for writers, publishers and writing organisations. Our services include cover design, website design & development, and design & print of promotional materials. We’ve been working with clients across the globe since 2009 and have a range of offerings to suit most budgets.
www.designforwriters.com hello@designforwriters.com
Suitable for businesses, sole-traders, small groups and organisations, publishers outsourcing design, small press, indie collaboratives and self-published authors, I offer a range of professional graphic design and typesetting services to clients worldwide. Brochures, leaflets, flyers, stationery, business cards, appointment cards, invitations, posters, exhibitions, magazines, catologues, advertising, postcards, packaging, book covers, typesetting and much more. If you’re not sure, just ask.
www.jdsmith-design.com info@jdsmith-design.co.uk
KIM McGILLIVRAY. Services Provided: Cover Design Experienced image-maker with many years professional experience translating texts into effective cover designs for major publishers in the UK, US and worldwide. Increasingly, I am exploring new possibilities in publishing arising from emergent platforms and professional models. This includes providing design services for independent authors and other forms of collaboration.
www.kimfolio.com mail@kimfolio.com
NY MEDIA WORKS Services Provided: Content Design NY Media Works is a boutique publishing company and content provider for new media, film, theater and television. Located in the heart of TriBeCa, we collaborate with artists and filmakers from around the world to create inspiring and compelling content to entertain audiences of all ages.
IDO BOOK COVERS
www.nymediaworks.com
Services Provided: Promotional Services, Reviews
SCARLETT RUGERS
Great content deserves the right book cover. People really do judge books by their covers. So if you’ve written a great work, it pays to invest in a proven e-book cover designer. My award winning covers have worked to double sales overnight, and turn a non-seller into an Amazon chart topper within days.
idobookcovers.com
Services Provided: Design, Interior Layout High quality design and service for both traditional and independently-published authors. Our goal is to help you be the best author you can be, and to be a key player in changing the perception of the self-publishing industry into one of traditional publishing quality.
booksat.scarlettrugers.com admin@scarlettrugers.com
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Design Services
COOK STREET PUBLISHING
Distribution
INSCRIBE DIGITAL
Services Provided: Distribution
Services Provided: Distribution, Conversion, Metadata Optimization, Pre-order Management, Pricing and Promotional support.
Draft2Digital is the second largest ebook distributor for small publishers and self-published authors. We provide simple conversion into beautiful, professional-quality ebooks. From our website, authors can distribute to several of the industry’s most powerful sales channels. Draft2Digital services over 8,000 unique authors who have sold more than 5.5 million copies.
www.draft2digital.com Tara Robinette (+1) 866-336-5099
INGRAMSPARK
INscribe Digital is a trusted, full-service digital publishing solution for professional authors. We work one-onone with authors to build strategies, title-by-title, to effectively navigate the digital publishing marketplace. From conversion, to pricing, to marketing we provide guidance based on years of publishing experience that will ensure you reach your goals. Five title minimum.
www.inscribedigital.com larry@inscribedigital.com
Services Provided: Distribution, Production
IngramSpark is the only publishing platform that delivers fully integrated print and digital distribution services to the book industry through a single source. What does that mean? Once you finish and format your book we make it possible to share it with the world. A relationship with IngramSpark allows you to focus on your specialty—creating innovative content while we manage the dull stuff: printing, shipping and distribution.
www1.ingramspark.com www1.ingramspark.com/Portal/Help
Distribution
DRAFT2DIGITAL
LULU Services Provided: Distribution, Design, Editing, Marketing. Lulu empowers people of all ages to explore and express their interests, passions and expertise through books. Since introducing self-publishing in 2002, Lulu.com has empowered creators in more than 225 countries and territories to produce nearly two million publications.
www.lulu.com www.lulu.com/support
ALLI INSIGHT Distribution can be a tricky issue, mainly because there are so many factors varying from author to author, and even book to book. Depending on the territories you want to target, whether you want to distribute in print or digital (or both) or how hands on you’d like to be, there are options ranging from picking one distributor to a combination of many, or even going it alone and working directly with a small group of retailers. Don’t be afraid to shop around and see which services will fit your specific needs. If you are looking for reviews of the major distribution services, you can also look at our monthly reviews on selfpublishingadvice. org, conducted by ALLi Watchdog Giacomo Giammatteo. You can find one in this directory on page 28.
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Editorial Includes: Copyediting, Developmental editing and Proofreading Services
Services Provided: Editorial, Authorfunded Publishing Service, Cover Design, Book Accreditation, Reviews AIA Authors’ Services is dedicated to helping authors produce quality products on a tight budget. We offering comprehensive editing services, book cover design and a selective author-funded publishing service.
aiaauthorservices.com admin@aiaauthorservices.com
www.emeraldedit.com christina@emeraldedit.com
FIRST PAGE, LAST PAGE Services Provided: Editorial We are dedicated writers and ravenous readers and we know, first hand, the struggles of an indie writer. Our feedback is honest, but constructive. And we are always looking for new ways to nurture the storyteller in our clients and empower them as small business authors.
ALISON’S EDITING SERVICE
www.firstpagelastpage.com
Services Provided: Editorial
INKWELL WRITERS
I offer reasonably priced copy editing, proof reading and developmental editing, along with free blurb suggestions if required. Although I specialise in fiction aimed at an adult or teenage market, I also have experience of editing children’s books, historical books and memoirs.
Services Provided: Editorial, Readers reports, Agent Submission Assessment, Workshops, Cnline Courses
www.alisonjack-editor.co.uk alisoneditor@outlook.com
Ireland’s leading publishing consultancy and literary talent scout. Through our critiquing, assessment and editorial services we provide hands-on advice to move new authors closer to their writing goals. We get authors published.
AVERILL BUCHANAN
www.inkwellwriters.ie
Services Provided: Editorial, Book layout for POD; ebook conversion
JANEY BURTON
Editors and proofreader, specialising in fiction (adult).
www.averillbuchanan.com averill@averillbuchanan.com
CYPRESS EDITING Services Provided: Editorial, Production, Author Publishing Packages Cypress Editing is owned and operated by Jennifer Zaczek, an accomplished professional editor. Jennifer has worked for newspapers, a literary journal, a multipurpose publishing company, and an academic publisher. She brings a multitude of skills and publishing knowledge to every project and is committed to delivering quality work.
www.cypressediting.com jenn@cypressediting.com
EMERALD EDITORIAL SERVICES Services Provided: Editorial As editor, I’m your partner, a sympathetic reader who collaborates with you to ensure your writing communicates your thoughts as you intend. Together we transform text from raw manuscript to polished gem. I love to give a manuscript, whether a novel, treatise, or journal article, the attention it deserves.
Editorial
AIA AUTHORS SERVICE
Services Provided: Editorial, Consultancy, Contracts Individually tailored Editorial and Contracts services, and general Publishing Consultancy.
janeyburton.com janey@janeyburton.com
JC CONSULTANCY Services Provided: Structural and Development Editing; Copy Editing; Line Editing; Proofreading, Research services provided at SfEP rates. JC Consultancy is owned by Dr Janette Currie (PhD). Janette supports writers to develop their craft and achieve their creative ambitions. Editing, mentoring, and creative writing advice is delivered via email and/ or in person (UK). SfEP Associate; Publishing Scotland Network Member; Society of Authors member. Accepts fiction and non-fiction.; 10% discount on all services for ALLi members and repeat clients.
www.janettecurrieconsultancy.co.uk janettecurrieconsultancy@gmail.com
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Editorial
LANGUAGE+LITERARYTRANSLATIONS Services Provided: Translations, Editing and Proofreading in Foreign languages, Promoting in foreign language markets Language+LiteraryTranslations is a coop made up of translators, run and owned by translators. We translate into French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese etc. We are part of an international network of highly experienced native-speaking translation professionals, love books and translate as a labour of love.
www.literarytranslations.us info@literarytranslations.us
LUCY RIDOUT EDITORIAL SERVICES Services Provided: Structural Editing, Copyediting, Rewriting into fluent English I am a freelance editor and an advanced member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. I edit literary and commercial fiction, narrative non-fiction and travel titles for self-publishing authors and trade publishers. I am also the author of many guidebooks for the travel publisher Rough Guides.
www.lucyridout.co.uk editor@lucyridout.co.uk
MARK ALLEN EDITORIAL Services Provided: Editorial My career as a copy editor and writer for newspapers, Fortune 500 companies, universities and individuals has taught me the value of simplicity, whatever the audience. My focus is the message, conveyed to the reader honestly and understandably.
markallenediting.com markallen@copydesk.org
NOVEL THINKING Services Provided: Editorial Manuscript assessment, critique, and substantive and developmental editing. I’m an experienced editor with a proven record of success. The journey from idea to finished book isn’t easy, but I can help you at every stage, with practical, professional and applicable advice.
www.novelthinking.co.uk bhardman@novelthinking.co.uk
OPUSCULE Services Provided: Editorial, typesetting for print (including PoD) and eBook in Adobe InDesign; Photography; Image editing; Author websites
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Opuscule offers a range of services for authors: Jodie has many years’ experience in copyediting, proofreading and typesetting for academic texts (humanities and social sciences) and general nonfiction, while Slink provides image clean-up and retouching, as well as original photography and website design for authors.
www.opuscule.info jodie@opuscule.info / slink@opuscule.info
PAULINE NOLET Services Provided: Editorial I learned to read before I was four years old. I LOVE books and if it has words on it—and sits still long enough—I’ll read it! I am a full-time editor, which allows me to minimize waiting times and provide a fast turn-around time. I am delighted to be involved with the writing community at a time when authors have so many opportunities and options for publishing their work.
www.paulinenolet.com
REEDSY Services Provided: Editorial, Book Design, Marketing, Translation, Production You already know you don’t need a publisher to work with the best publishing professionals. But you still need to find them. Reedsy is creating a curated marketplace and a set of collaborative tools to allow authors to work with the best editors, illustrators and marketers for their books.
www.reedsy.com service@reedsy.com
SELF-PUBLISHING REVIEW Services Provided: Editorial, Reviews Self-Publishing Review offers professional book reviews and editing services as well as featuring news, opinion, and how to’s on the self-publishing process. Self-Publishing Review was founded by awardwinning author and blogger Henry Baum in 2008 in Los Angeles, California. It is now a family business along with his wife, British self-published author and filmmaker Cate Baum. With a dedicated staff of professional reviewers and editors from both the US and UK, SPR remains one of the top online resources for self-published authors today.
www.selfpublishingreview.com
SHAKESPEARE EDITORIAL Services Provided: Editorial, Design, Production, Distribution Editor, proofreader and designer who can help with
www.shakspeareeditorial.org edit@shakspeare.org
SMART EDIT Services Provided: Editorial, Production, Author Publishing Packages SmartEdit is a new, first-pass-editing tool for creative writers and novelists. It’s not a replacement for a human editor. Neither is it designed to do your editing for you. It was built to act as an aid—a helper for when you begin editing your work.
www.cypressediting.com jenn@cypressediting.com
and specialisms include literary and historical fiction; biography, autobiography and memoir; English literature and literary studies; history and art history.
Editorial
structure, words, look and distribution of both print and ebooks (can supply ISBNs). Alison Shakspeare has been in the business over 20 years and works in fiction (children and adults) and non-fiction (biography, business, arts and lifestyle).
wwww.wendytooleeditorial.com wendy@wendytooleeditorial.com
WRITE WORDS EDITORIAL Services Provided: Editorial, Copywriting (including website content, blogs and press releases) WriteWords helps people tell their story. We offer editing services to self-published authors who want the benefit of a fresh pair of eyes before going to print, or who want detailed feedback on their work. We also offer creative writing workshops to adults and children.
www.writewordseditorial.ie derbhile@writewordseditorial.ie
THE CONTENT SPECIALIST LTD Services Provided: Editorial, Manuscript Critique, ebook Production, (including formatting, file conversion, cover design and interactive content production) We provide a range of editorial and design services for authors, from developmental editing to creating interactive ebook content.
www.contentspecialist.co.uk joy.watford@contentspecialist.co.uk
TREEHOUSE AUTHOR SERVICES Services Provided: Editorial, Print layout (interior and cover design), Ebook Formatting, Promotional Materials Treehouse provides editorial, proofreading, and custom interior and cover design services for authors at each stage of the publishing process. We believe every author and every project is unique, therefore we never offer one-size-fits-all solutions, but instead tailor our services to help authors meet their specific publishing goals.
www.treehouseauthorservices.com authorservices@treehouseauthorservices.com
WENDY TOOLE Services Provided: Editorial, Manuscript Critique Freelance editorial services for authors, publishers and self-publishers of fiction and non-fiction. Subjects
ALLI INSIGHT Editorial is rarely overlooked or handled solely by a successful author when it comes to creating your book, and with good reason. Remember there is a big difference between the structural edits, the beta-readings and the final proof-reads and each of these is crucial for ensuring your book is in the best shape possible. Writers are often too close to the words they have written to be 100% effective at editing and proofreading their own manuscript. This doesn’t mean you can’t play a role in the editing of your book though, particularly if you are facing budget constraints. Step back from your manuscript, print it out (or send to a reading app) and return with fresh eyes. This can help weed out obvious mistakes and also help reduce the workload for any editors you do end up bringing on board.
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Production Includes: eBook Formatting, Print layout and Printing Services
EBOOK PARTNERSHIP
Services Provided: Production, Interior formatting for eBooks/print, EPUB, MOBI, Smashwords .doc, PDF eBook, Print on Demand interior for CreateSpace or Lightning Source
Services Provided: Production, EBook Distribution
BB eBooks is committed to providing professional eBook design services for all clients whether they are an independent press or a self-publishing author. All eBooks designed by BB eBooks are ready for immediate sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, and all other major eBook platforms.
bbebooksthailand.com paul@beebee.asia
BLUEBIRD CONSULTING Services Provided: Production I am a production consultant, helping my clients publish their books in any format they chose whether that is electronic or print only or both. I work closely with my clients to give them a personal, tailored service to help them get the great quality books they want.
www.bluebird-consulting.com heather@bluebird-consulting.com
DISCMAKERS Services Provided: Production From post-production expertise to tune up your project, to distribution packages to help you sell your finished product, you can count on Disc Makers no matter where you are in the manufacturing process. We’ve been in this business since 1946, and we’ve grown to be the leading independent CD and DVD manufacturer in the country by offering superior products and services one customer at a time.
www.discmakers.com
EBOOK LAUNCH Services Provided: Production, Cover Design Ebook Launch is a book formatting company for both ebooks and print on demand. Our focus is formatting for Smashwords, Amazon KDP, Google Play Books and Createspace. Ebook Launch also designs covers for ebooks and POD.
Production
BB EBOOKS
Working with independent authors and publishers. Specialists in all types of eBook conversion, including fixed layout. eBook Partnership offers one of the most extensive eBook distribution networks available. Authors and publishers receive 100% of royalties paid by the retailers. Proud to deliver a personal service, see testimonials page on our website.
www.ebookpartnership.com diana@ebookpartnership.com
FORMATTING EXPERTS Services Provided: Production, eBook Formatting, Print-On-Demand Formatting, Book Cover Design, Publishing Assistance Our team is dedicated to taking the stress and technical complexity out of eBook and paperback publishing, so you, the author, can focus on writing and connecting with your readers. We take care of production and design while providing you the support, assistance and knowledge you need to publish successfully.
FormattingExperts.com contact@FormattingExperts.com
GUNBOSS BOOKS Services Provided: Production, Copy Editing, Promotion, Website Design, Author Publishing Packages, Submission of your book to IngramSpark, Lulu, CreateSpace, Smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing. With over 20 years’ experience in print and digital media design, we offer ebook and print design services to authors, with an emphasis on getting the best results for your book, including cover design, copy editing and submission of your book to your chosen outlet, like CreateSpace, Kindle or Smashwords. 10% discount for ALLi Members.
www.gunboss.com enquiries@gunboss.com
www.ebooklaunch.com team@ebooklaunch.com
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Production/Other Resources
LETTERTEC
THE WRITERS GUILD
Services Provided: Digital Book Printing and Binding
Services Provided: Advocacy and Advice
Lettertec is one of Ireland’s leading design & print specialists. Furthermore, as the market leader in book binding /self-publishing; we are your expert partner to provide quality integrated design, print and binding solutions for any of your needs.
The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is the trade union representing writers in TV, radio, theatre, books, poetry, film, online and video games. In TV, film, radio and theatre, the Guild is the recognised body for negotiating minimum terms and practice agreements for writers.We campaign and lobby on behalf of all writers – by joining the Guild you can help make our voice even stronger.
www.lettertec.com
SCOTFORTH BOOKS Services Provided: Design, Editorial, Sales and Marketing advice, Publishing Packages
The friendly book publishing and production company with 30 years’ experience of helping authors. Ours is a personal, professional service offering expertise in all aspects of publishing. We believe self-publishing should be an enjoyable process and one where authors work with people who genuinely care about doing a great job.
www.scotforthbooks.com anna@carnegiepublishing.com
Other Resources LITERATURE AND LATTE LTD (SCRIVENER) Services Provided: Writing Software Creative writing can be messy and non-linear, something word processors aren’t designed for. Enter Scrivener, a powerful content generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents, helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.
www.literatureandlatte.com sales@literatureandlatte.com
WRITING.IE Services Provided: Writing Resources The world’s only national writing resources website, www.writing.ie is an online magazine packed full of tips, competitions, submission opportunities, interviews and giveaways - aimed at writers everywhere.
www.writing.ie
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www.writersguild.org.uk
WATCHDOG REVIEW: DRAFT2DIGITAL
ALLi WATCHDOG
A REVIEW OF DRAFT2DIGITAL Our watchdog ensures all partner members comply with our Code of Standards and independently review service providers on our members behalf. In this article, ALLi Watchdog and author of Choosing a Self-Publishing Service, Giacomo Giammatteo assesses Draft2Digital. REVIEW BY GIACOMO GIAMMATTEO
We’ve covered a lot of aggregators in the “Choosing a Self-Publishing Service” book, released in the Spring, documenting the pros and cons of each one. Draft2Digital was mentioned, but at the time they only had a few channels of distribution. We were pressed for time, so I didn’t dig into what they offered. During the past few months, Kris Austin, CEO of Draft2Digital, has been busy. They have added several new channels and beefed up their services. I spent about an hour on the phone with Kris and came away impressed. I also spent a couple of hours checking out his site and a few more talking to people who have used them. I’ve included results below. Just so everyone knows—I do not use Draft2Digital as my distributor. I did, however, test their services in addition to speaking to quite a few existing customers.
Factors for Consideration • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Cost Ease of upload Conversion quality Conversion costs Sales reporting Payments Channels Royalties Change costs Speed of changes Pre-Orders Customer Service ISBNs
I realize this is a lot to consider, but it’s the combination of services and costs that makes or breaks a service, and each one will mean different things to different authors. Let’s take them one at a time.
Cost This one is easy. Draft2Digital is free. No upfront costs, which is how I like it. This tells me the company supports the authors. Their motivation is to help authors sell books. Why? Because the only way Draft2Digital
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makes money is for you to sell books. As far as I’m concerned, this is the way it should be.
Ease of Upload I have to admit, Draft2Digital shone in this area. The process was simple and intuitive. I tested it out and it took me less than 10 minutes to sign up for their service and upload a Word doc.
Conversion Quality I don’t use conversion tools or software. I pay a third party to convert my books into digital and print format, so this was a first for me. I uploaded a Word doc of my latest book to see how it worked. The process was fairly straightforward. I ran into a few hiccups with chapter headings and font styles, but after a short learning curve, it converted the doc smoothly. I tested it on epub and mobi and pdf. The epub and mobi files were pretty damn good. The pdf looked good, but I haven’t tested it yet with CreateSpace to see how it looks as an actual book. I’ll have to say that the conversions I do with Scrivener (for my beta readers) came out better than Draft2Digital’s conversion, but—and this is a big but—Draft2Digital is offering this free, and I’m not one to complain about free things. For the price, the conversion gets an ‘A’.
Sales Reporting Sales reporting is daily, with the exception of Scribd. I am seeing this more often with many of the progressive aggregators. Smashwords recently went to daily sales reporting on the primary channels also. As the ebook market continues to grow globally and be integrated, I think we’ll see daily reporting with almost all channels.
Payments Payments are monthly and authors can opt for paypal ($10 minimum), check ($25 minimum, or direct deposit for both domestic and international.)
Channels
In addition to the ebook channels, Draft2Digital offers distribution through CreateSpace for print books. Right now they are only set up to do 8.5” x 5.5” but they are working on other sizes.
Royalties Royalties are 85% of net. I always like to get specific on “net” as it can be quite different between aggregators. For Apple it is almost always standard. Apple pays everyone 70%, which means Draft2Digital pays 85% of that, or 60% of list price. B&N seems to be the one with big differences. Some of the aggregators, even the ones who claim to pay 100% of net, only pay 50% for B&N. Draft2Digital pays 60%, and that’s even at the lower prices. So if you sell your book for 1.99 or 99c, with Draft2Digital you earn 60%. If you go direct you only earn 40%.
quite ready, you can list it for pre-order while you finish it. This is a huge benefit, and not to be taken lightly.
Customer Service Customer service is supposedly good. I can only say supposedly because I have never used it, not being a customer. But the people I’ve spoken to say they’ve had good experiences.
ISBNs Draft2Digital offers free ISBNs, although I would always recommend authors get their own ISBNs.
ALLi WATCHDOG
Draft2Digital doesn’t have the reach of some of the bigger aggregators, but they are aggressively pursuing new channels. Currently they have B&N, Apple. Kobo, Page Foundry, and Scribd. They are close to finalizing deals with Google and Flipkart, and they are talking with Overdrive, and are in active negotiations with several other retailers.
The Bottom Line Draft2Digital is author focused and friendly. They develop their programs and policies with the author in mind. This is the kind of place you want to do business with. They don’t have a lot of extra services where they are looking to you for purchases. They are only concerned about helping authors sell books. If you sell books—they make money. This article originally appeared on ALLi’s SelfPublishing Advice blog.
Change Costs This is one of my pet peeves. I admit, it drives me crazy that most of the aggregators charge ridiculous amounts for authors to make changes to their files, and some charge even to change prices. Draft2Digital has followed Smashwords’ lead on this and offers changes for free. I’ll tell you why this is huge. Many indie authors, being inexperienced, make mistakes. Maybe they didn’t hire a good copy editor or proofreader. For whatever reason, they publish a book and discover later that it has mistakes. Now they are faced with fixing those mistakes and uploading it again. If they have to pay for the changes, that’s double punishment. Indie authors also experiment with prices. If you have to pay to change prices…well, that’s ridiculous. Draft2Digital makes sure you can change what you need to without a penalty.
Speed of Changes Draft2Digital shines in this department also. They upload changes hourly to distributors. Apple and Kobo normally show changes within hours. B&N can take up to a day or so, depending on the time of day changes are submitted. Scribd is the fastest, with changes usually taking place within the hour.
Pre-orders Draft2Digital offers pre-orders to Apple, B&N, and Kobo, and they offer them both with and without assets. What that means is that even if your book isn’t
ABOUT ALLi’s WATCHDOG TEAM ALLi’s Watchdog Team play a crucial role in ensuring our partner members adhere to our code of standards, as well as reviewing some of the key publishing services available every month on the Self Publishing Advice blog. The Watchdog desk is headed up by Giacomo Giammatteo. If you have any experiences to share with our watchdog, please get in contact with us.
info@allianceindependentauthors.org ABOUT CHOOSING A SELF-PUBLISHING SERVICE Compiled by the Watchdog team at The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), this guide tells you all you need to know in order to choose the selfpublishing pathway that’s right for you. Drawing on recommendations from ALLi members, warnings from our Watchdog Services, other community word-of-mouth and in-depth research, the book compares and evaluates the most significant self-publishing services. Using twenty examples, we show you how to do such a comparison yourself: the good and bad signs to look for, the questions to ask. In a landscape where things change rapidly, the Guide provides the criteria by which you can evaluate any author service.
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FEATURE
PR: WASTE OF TIME, OR WORTH IT? Being an independent author means being able to decide what works for you. The great thing about self-publishing is that there is not one set path to take. But understanding other author’s experience can be a huge help when it comes to working out which path you do want to venture down. Each guide, we’ll take a look at a sector and present some stories from our authors. This issue: PR.
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I don’t see any way to crack it other than via readers, and by sincerely focusing on readers, rather than sales.
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I’m sorry to hear that so many self-published authors have paid out for PR services and been disappointed, but I’m not surprised. I’ve said this before, but for the benefit of new readers, this is how you get discovered… • • • • • • • •
Cultivate readers, *one by one* Give away books to individuals Do talks & workshops for free (to begin with) Give books to BookCrossing.com so they can circulate them Donate books to organisations concerned with the issues raised in your books Cultivate bloggers (but only after you’ve researched their blogs to see if they’ll like your books) Ask any reader who contacts you if s/he’d be so kind as to leave a short review on Amazon & Goodreads Get quality promo postcards made & have them with you at all times so that when you get into conversation with people you can offer one (I handed mine out to nurses on my cancer surgery ward and to the ambulance men when I was knocked down by a motor bike.)
People will remember you if you do things like that & if you’re a struggling indie, you’re never off duty. Make people remember you. If we feel overwhelmed by the quantity of books, imagine how readers feel – and they’re pushed for time. Give them a reason to remember your name, to choose you, to stay faithful to you. Readers want to discover a new author who has a backlist so they don’t have to shop around.
The people whose help we need to enlist are chatty readers who go on forums, tweet a lot and have hundreds of friends. I acquired some of those through BookCrossing and similar activities. They drip feed stuff about me to other people, so I’m always acquiring new readers.
Focus on Readers I don’t see any way to crack it other than via readers, and by sincerely focusing on readers, rather than sales. They hold all the power now. I think it’s up to us to create authorial personalities, become star authors (like Hugh Howey & Neil Gaiman) that people want to read and read *about*. Do all this (and more) for five years, and publish a book a year. Then get in touch & tell me it didn’t work, and I’ll apologise for wasting your time. But I guarantee you will have made a lot of new friends.
LINDA GILLARD
JOIN THE CONVERSATION, JOIN ALLi Joining ALLi gives you access to one of the fastest growing independent author communities. With members across the world, we are a diverse, inclusive and exciting group of individuals and business who believe in ethics and excellence in self-publishing. ALLi memberships are available for all levels of authors, students and service providers, and offer great benefits, advice and contacts no matter what publishing journey you are on. Take a look on our website for more details on our memberships and the range of benefits available for you. If you’d rather chat directly, you can always reach us via email. Simply drop us a line at the address below, and we’ll get back to you. info@allianceindependentauthors.org
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FEATURE
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I’ve established a relationship with them, they know my brand and where I want to go and they will help me to get there.
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Are PR firms really necessary if you are an indie author? No. But do they help? Absolutely. Do they increase your sales? No. Do they help to expand your digital reach to find new readers? Yes. Can they help you focus on or create a brand? Yes. Can they help you become more visible to readers so they will buy your books? Yes, yes and yes. I’m on my fourth title with my PR firm and I have no regrets working with them. I am a strong believer in partnering myself with others to further my career. That is why I have an agent. Why I have an assistant. Why I work with a PR firm. Indie authors are entrepreneurs and like any growing business, there comes a point when you have to bring in help – partnering with others who have the experience, the expertise and the knowhow – to spare up your time so you can do what you do best. And as an author – what I do best is write. There are a lot of PR/marketing firms out there willing to take your hard earned money. Some are worth it, some aren’t. Know what your goal is from the beginning and be very clear about it. Do your research before approaching a firm – who do they work with – and not just their list of author clients – but the ones they go to with information about their author’s latest novel. Do they have other successful authors in your genre who have made some lists, seen some success via magazines etc? Do you know the names of the authors without having to look them up – are they a household name?
Another thing to think of is what do you need from a PR firm? Do you need sales? Then a PR firm is probably not going to work for you. Try a bookbub ad or put your books on sale or partner up with some other authors and do a giveaway. Do you need to expand your reach, find new readers in your genre – push beyond where you have been able to go? Do you want to grow your newsletter, increase your social presence or drive people to your website? If the answer is yes, then looking at a firm to help you might be beneficial. A good firm is going to cost you money – you need to be aware of how much you are willing to spend and what they will do for that. Can you do it yourself? Probably – although, if the firm you are looking at has been in the business for a while and has high end clients, then I can guarantee that you will not reach the same people and level that they can on your behalf. I have continued to use my PR firm for a few reasons. I’ve established a relationship with them, they know my brand and where I want to go and they will help me to get there. Yes, there is money involved, but it’s an expense I am willing to pay as their services compliment mine. Not every author needs to work with a PR firm. There are a number of reasons for this. You may be starting out, you may already be well established, you may have the time to do the work yourself…there are a slew of reasons for not working with a firm. If it’s not part of your goal or needs, then it’s not for you. But notice I didn’t say you may not be able to afford it. There will always be costs to being an indie author. Covers, editing, websites, promo, advertising…add marketing to that as another expense. If it’s something you need then you’ll budget for it. What works for one author may not for another. What one authors is able to do on their own, another may not. So should every author have a publicist? Only you can answer that.
STEENA HOLMES
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ABOUT ALLi ALLi (The Alliance of Independent Authors) is a non-profit professional association for author-publishers. A global organisation, we are organised across nine territories, offering connection and collaboration, advice and education, advocacy and representation to self-publishing writers around the world. We have four member levels, three for authors (from student to professional) and a partner-membership facility for author-services who are willing to be vetted and approved. All members, both authors and partners, sign up to our code of excellence and ethics in self-publishing. People self-publish for many reasons and all who want to do it well are invited to join our diverse, supportive and friendly community. Visit our website for more information on joining ALLi.
Š ALLIANCE INDEPENDENT AUTHORS, 2014 CONTACT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS DESIGN BY NERYS HUDSON For all enquiries related to the Self-Publishing Directory, please contact: nerys@allianceindependentauthors.org For membership enquiries, please contact: info@allianceindependentauthors.org Alliance Independent Authors c/o The Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Rd London EC1R 3GA United Kingdom www.allianceindependentauthors.org www.selfpublishingadvice.org @indieauthoralli