Straight answers, including the awkward ones

Send it to us. The initial read costs nothing and carries no obligation, and you will get a written response within a few working days telling you honestly what state it appears to be in.

If you want a deeper answer, a manuscript assessment gives you an eight to twelve page report from an editor in your genre, with a prioritised list of what to fix. Roughly a third of the assessments we deliver recommend more revision before any paid production, and say so plainly.

No. Plenty of authors talk to us while still drafting, usually to understand costs and timelines before committing. What we cannot do usefully is assess a partial manuscript, because the problems that matter most — structure, pacing, whether the ending earns itself — are invisible in three chapters.

Thirty minutes with a publishing consultant, by phone or video. You describe the book and what you want it to do; they ask questions and give you a straight assessment of the route, the likely cost and the realistic timeline.

There is no obligation and no pressure. If we think you should revise for another six months first, that is what you will hear.

Yes. Manuscripts are shared only with the team members assessing or working on your project, are never shown to third parties, and are never used for anything other than your project. We do not acquire, license or claim any rights in your work at any stage.

Often, yes. Authors come to us to re-edit, redesign and relaunch existing titles, or having reclaimed rights from a previous publisher. Check what rights you actually hold and whether the existing files are yours to use, then send us both the book and the agreement and we will tell you what is possible.

You do, entirely and at every stage. We are engaged to produce and distribute your book, never to acquire it. Your name appears as the rights holder on the copyright page and in all metadata.

Yes. You are paid by the retail and distribution channels according to their terms, and we take no share of your sales revenue. We are paid for the production and services you commission, and nothing else.

Your print-ready interior PDF, your cover files, your EPUB and, where applicable, your audio masters. They are yours to take anywhere. If you later want to move to another provider or publish elsewhere, nothing in our agreement prevents you.

Yes. You hold the rights throughout, so you are free to query agents or publishers at any point. Be aware that most traditional publishers treat a previously published book differently from an unpublished one, which is a market reality rather than anything to do with us.

You receive full commercial rights to use the design for your book and its promotion. Any licensed stock imagery is licensed in your name for book use. Designers retain the right to show the work in their own portfolio, which is standard practice across the industry.

They are starting points, and they are clearly marked as editable placeholders. Your actual price depends on manuscript length, complexity and the services you choose. You receive a fixed written quote before anything begins, and it does not change unless you change the scope.

Additional words are quoted per 1,000 at the rate shown on your estimate. We calculate this from your actual file before you sign anything, so it never appears as a surprise later.

Yes. Packages are normally invoiced against production milestones rather than in full up front, and larger projects are staged across the life of the work. Your payment schedule is set out in writing before you commit.

Yes, and authors regularly do — adding a copyedit before proofreading, or an audiobook once the print edition is live. You pay only the difference for the service added.

Request a custom quote. Packages are convenient starting points, not a menu you have to choose from. If your project needs a different combination, we scope and price it individually.

Refunds depend on how much work has been delivered — completed editorial and design work cannot be un-done. Our refund policy sets out exactly what applies at each stage, and it is worth reading before you commit.

Developmental editing works on structure, argument and pacing — what the book is doing. Copyediting works line by line on clarity, consistency and continuity. Proofreading is the final check on typeset pages for typos and layout errors.

They happen in that order, and the order matters: copyediting a manuscript that is about to be restructured means paying twice.

No. Every change arrives as a tracked suggestion you can accept or reject individually, and anything stylistic comes as a query rather than an edit. Editors are briefed to preserve voice. If you disagree with a pattern of changes, say so and the editor adjusts for the rest of the manuscript.

Yes. We copyedit 1,000 words of your actual manuscript free of charge so you can see how heavy the editor's hand is before you commit to a full edit.

An editor matched to your genre and form. You are told who they are and what they have worked on before the edit begins. If the match is not right, we will change it.

Review windows are agreed in your production schedule, typically three to four weeks per round. Taking longer is common and completely fine — it moves your production dates rather than costing you anything.

Two on our entry package, three on the next, and an open design phase on the fuller packages. Concepts are genuinely distinct directions rather than colour variations of one idea, and you refine the one you choose.

Yes, provided you own it or hold a licence covering commercial book use. Send it at the highest resolution you have and we will tell you honestly whether it will reproduce at print size. We will also check the files meet print specification before production.

It depends on category and page count. Trade paperback fiction sits around 5.5 × 8.5 inches, business and nonfiction often use 6 × 9, and children's and illustrated books vary widely. Trim size also affects page count and therefore printing cost, so we work it out with you rather than defaulting it.

Yes. A printed proof is sent to you and nothing proceeds until you have held it and approved it. For illustrated and colour books we regard this as non-negotiable, because screens do not tell the truth about paper.

Spine width is a physical measurement — page count multiplied by paper thickness. Get it wrong by two millimetres and the front image creeps onto the spine. This is why the cover is completed after the interior.

Through major online retailers, with print-on-demand fulfilment across our distribution territories, and — from our second package upwards — a wholesale listing that makes the book orderable by bookstores and library suppliers.

Retailer availability depends on each retailer's own catalog policies and can change without notice.

It will be orderable by them, which is what distribution provides. Whether an individual store stocks it on a shelf is that store's own buying decision based on local demand, returns terms and shelf space. No distributor can promise physical placement, and you should be sceptical of anyone who does.

eBook listings usually appear within a few days of submission. Print listings typically take two to six weeks to propagate fully across territories, and some retailers are slower than others. We monitor each channel and tell you when it is live.

Yes — one per format, with you recorded as the rights holder and publisher of record. If you already own ISBNs, we will use yours instead.

Yes. We will advise on what comparable titles in your category charge and what your production costs imply, but the decision is yours, and you can change it at any time afterwards.

We do not know, and neither does anyone who tells you otherwise. Sales depend on the book, the category, the price, the cover, the season, the competition and a considerable amount of chance.

We commit to the marketing activity listed in your scope, report on all of it, and leave the forecasting alone.

No. Reviews are written by readers who owe us nothing, and coverage is an editorial decision made by journalists and producers we do not control. What we guarantee is the outreach: researched targets, personalised pitches, structured follow-up and a full report of every contact and response.

Never. Paid reviews violate every major retailer's terms and can get a book delisted. We send review copies to real readers, who write what they actually think — including when that is unflattering.

Ideally eight to twelve weeks before publication. The advance reader programme needs lead time and pre-orders accumulate over the run-up. Marketing a book published last year is possible but considerably harder.

Less than you have been told. One or two platforms used properly beats five used badly, and a mailing list is worth more than any of them because nobody can throttle it. If you hate social media, build the list instead.

A named coordinator who stays with your project throughout, and on our largest programme a publishing manager who owns the whole schedule. You talk to one person rather than to eight, and you get written updates at every milestone.

Your scope document lists every author input and its deadline: manuscript files, design brief, review rounds, approvals and any images. Most delays in book production are waiting for author feedback, which is entirely normal — we just plan for it rather than pretending it will not happen.

Tell your coordinator early. Most problems are fixable while work is in progress and expensive afterwards. Concepts you dislike, an editor whose approach is not working, a design direction that is wrong — all of these are normal and all of them are easier to solve in week two than in week twelve.

Yes. Life happens, and authors pause for illness, work or simply needing more time with a revision. Tell us and we will hold the project. Rescheduling may affect specialist availability, but nothing is lost.

Yes. We work with authors internationally and distribute globally. Meetings are scheduled around your time zone, and pricing is in US dollars.