Recommended Services for Authors

Self-published authors do the work of a whole publishing house: editing, design, formatting, distribution and marketing. You do not have to do all of it alone, but every service you hire should earn its fee. This is our guide to the help worth paying for, and the offers to walk away from.

Editing

If you pay for one thing, pay for editing. A developmental edit looks at structure, pacing and character; a copy edit fixes grammar, consistency and style; a proofread catches the last typos before publication. Ask for a short sample edit of your own pages before you commit, agree the price and deadline in writing, and look for editors who work in your genre.

Cover design

Readers judge a book by its cover, especially as a thumbnail on a phone screen. A professional designer who knows your genre's conventions is worth the money. Make sure you receive the full rights to use the artwork on print, ebook and promotional material, and check that any stock photos are properly licensed.

Formatting and conversion

Clean ebook and print formatting makes a book look professional. Many authors learn to do it themselves with free or low-cost tools; if you hire help, ask for files you can update later, such as when you add a new title to your back matter.

Reviews and promotion

Honest reviews matter, but paying for positive reviews breaks the rules of most retailers and misleads readers. Use legitimate routes instead: advance reader copies, book bloggers, library programmes and the free ideas on our book promotion resources page. Specialist audiences can be loyal, too: crime readers, romance readers and fans of gambling fiction and poker books all have their own lists, which is why our Casino Novels section exists.

Warning signs

  • Large up-front fees for "publishing packages" that bundle services you could buy separately for less.
  • Promises of bestseller status, guaranteed sales or a set number of reviews.
  • Contracts that take your rights for years or charge you to get them back.
  • Pressure to decide quickly, or no clear list of what you actually receive.

Have you had a great or a terrible experience with an author service? Tell us through our contact page; we read every message.

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