Publish your book with us

In a nutshell

The advantage of our no frills model is that the author takes away a higher percentage of the sales and exercises full artistic control over the work while not filling warehouses with unsold books. If you have not already done so please read our section on the publishing revolution at Indie Writers to find out about the pros and cons of independent publishing. Then come back here.

Who are we

We are a collaborative publishers. We work with you to perfect your book and we publish only high quality material. We use print on demand technology. We are run by computer professionals and writers. We are experienced, pragmatic and skilled and we are passionate about books.

Why we are involved in this

As computer professionals we have a pretty good feel for technology and the opportunities it is presenting. We are also aware that books are a labour of love. People either love the art of writing or they love the subject they are writing about. Writing a book is hard work and only the rare individual can complete a book without some passion for either the craft or the subject. We have met people who would write if they could get published and we have met writers who would publish if they could maintain artistic control over their work. We want to help people turn their work into something that will give readers pleasure and we want to do it by being as agnostic about the content as possible. As long as it is well presented and well written it will find an audience and we know from our various careers that quality, in the words of Henry Ford, is doing it well when no one is watching.

We are involved because:

  • We are lucky enough to have skills and tools that the average person does not have at their disposal.
  • We can help you publish the book you want to publish in the way that you want it published.
  • We like to work with creative people and we want to provide a service that adds value to their work.
  • We prefer to spend our time doing something we enjoy instead of chasing careers and money.
  • We have experience and we know what is important and how to get it right.
  • We believe that big companies should not dictate what is worthy or what is art based on sales projections.
  • We are democratising creativity and helping to give a platform to those who would be creative.

Our services

Editing

Quality

We want to raise the reputation of independently published books. Before agreeing to publish anything we will want to see it to make sure it is ready and fit to be published. Naturally we reserve the right to refuse to publish anything we deem to be illegal, offensive or that would benefit from a bit more work. Once we have agreed to publish it we will check it for spelling, grammar and structural consistency.

Content

Once we have agreed to publish your book we may give you an analysis along with some advice. Nevertheless the final content of your book is your decision and we will support your creative vision. Two people will read the book, compare notes and feed back to you. Our authors have found this to be a valuable service. They take many of our suggestions on board. We think that this is because we treat it as feedback rather than criticism. We know that when you have slaved over a book having it read and getting honest and constructive feedback is very important.

Book design

We will design a cover. We are proud of our covers. They routinely attract favourable comment about their uniqueness and creativity. We see them as a mark of our quality and identity. If you have an idea we will certainly listen to it and work with it.

We will design a layout and format that suits the book and typeset it ready for publication.

Our standard package

It includes what you might expect:
  • Typesetting and designing the book
  • Unique high quality cover design
  • A PDF version of your book emailed to you prior to printing
  • 5 copies of your book
  • An ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
  • Listed on Amazon and other online retailers
  • Wholesale distribution through Ingram
  • Placed on legal deposit with the British Library
  • Administration of publication (e.g. listed in right categories, electronic catalogues etc.)
  • Payment of royalties

Marketing

It is up to the author to market and promote their book. As even top earning authors will tell you, all authors have to hustle these days. We are happy to talk to you and give you advice because we are as delighted as you when you sell books.

Print on demand myths busted

Myth: Your book is available only online.

Busted: This is a cynical myth as if online sales are somehow worth less. Being available online is actually a good thing. The internet is where we all buy books now. However if someone wants to buy your book in a shop, most shops will order it. Print on demand books are available through book wholesalers and your book will be listed on the websites of most brick and mortar bookshops. They can and will order it if it starts to sell. However your main revenue stream for sales as an independent writer will be on-line sales.

Myth: Your book becomes the property of the publisher and they steal your rights.

Busted: You retain creative control and copyright of your book. We do own the ISBN and the law forbids us giving it to you but we hold no other control over your work. If you get a million dollar book deal with another publisher, we won't stand in your way. We will be sorry to see you go and we hope you will remember who gave you your start and that if you become rich and famous you will support us in giving other writers a chance.

Myth: Print on Demand is vanity publishing and you will be forced to buy a load of books you will never sell.

Busted: We cover our costs and make a modest profit. In fact we often think we should keep time-sheets and show people just how much time we put into their books and how much it would cost if you were paying people with our skills by the hour. We normally just get too caught up in the work and getting the books out there. We do not insist that you buy any books although we do recommend that if you are serious, you buy some for marketing and publicity purposes.

Tell us about any other myths you hear about independent publishers and we will be happy to bust them for you!