Hampton Roads Publishing, in a collaborative endeavour with Hierophant, Red Wheel/Weiser Conari, have formed Turning Stone Press – a self-publishing service. Significantly, unlike previous new self-publishing services, this looks like an in-house staffed collaboration rather than a publishing house outsourcing to a company like Author Solutions. It looks expensive, but I’ll take a closer look at this latest development in publishing on my return from overseas next week. For now, from the original breaking source – PW.

Red Wheel/Weiser Conari Press, in collaboration with Hampton Roads and Hierophant Publishing, are entering the self-publishing market for spiritual and self-help authors. The companies have formed Turning Stone Press which will be under the director of Red Wheel /Weiser Conari publisher Jan Johnson.

The press will offer editorial and production services including copyediting, book and cover design that will be overseen by Red Wheel/Weiser’s art and production directors. Red Wheel president Michael Kerber noted that the entire publishing process “is managed 100% by us. We do all the work.” Turning Stone will charge a one-time fee of $7,500 and authors will be paid on a royalty basis. “There are no hidden charges,” said Kerber, noting that if a book takes off, the additional printing costs will be covered by Red Wheel. “We’ll treat [Turning Stone] titles like any other Red Wheel book,” he said.