0 Discovered Authors (now Callio Press) is a UK publisher and provider of author solutions services since 2005. I have been aware of them for the past three to four years. The company was one of the earliest UK author solution services I took a look at, but consistently, I have had to put off reviewing…
iUniverse – Reviewed (Updated, June 2010)
iUniverse was founded in October 1999, initially as a business print on demand service, but later expanded into full self-publishing services for authors. Originally, the company was based in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, and 49% of the company was purchased by retailer Barnes & Noble. Part of the agreement was that the top iUniverse titles would be listed…
Diadem Books – Reviewed (Updated May, 2010)
Diadem Books are a Scottish author solutions company based in Fife, Scotland, and run by Charles Muller, a South African born academic and former hotelier. An author in his own right, he founded Diadem Books in 1997 and for many years used iUniverse’s print on demand service to issue Diadem’s published books. Diadem became a…
Schiel & Denver – Reviewed (Updated, May 2010)
(Updated, May, 2010, see footer) Founded by authors in April, 2008, Schiel & Denver is pretty much a new kid on the block. One of those founding authors is Director, Tunde Reid-Kapo (3rd comment down on link). Schiel & Denver describe their company as an international publishing services infrastructure provider, dedicated to meeting the needs of…
Self-Publisher Experience Days: (Author’s Choice) – Overview
The Author’s Choice Partnership is a an endeavour set up by UK self-publishing service, Matador (imprint of Troubador Publishing), and MPG Biddles (MPG Books Group), a book manufacturer specializing in short-to-medium print-runs (lithographic and POD). Although both companies operate in the print and publishing industry independently, Author’s Choice will offer a host of bespoke self-publishing…
Dog Ear Publishing – Reviewed (Updated, March 2012)
“What does your name mean? Something that is worn from frequent use—and something that often indicates a reader’s FAVORITE portion of a book is called “dog eared”. We want to be that “favorite” spot for authors on the internet.” Dog Ear Publishing is a US author solutions service located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Formed in 2004…
Ouch! Don’t go about it this way if you are an independent publisher!
Oops. Though admirable and heartfelt, this is really not how you would want your independent publisher to conduct its private business when it wishes to communicate contractual details of royalty payments and delays to its own authors. I think this practice of using journal blog sites for personal business is called ‘hanging yourself out to dry’! Not…
Diggory Press: When Publishing Nightmare Becomes Reality Show
Two weeks ago, a long self-publishing saga finally reached a legal conclusion. It is one, which on and off, since this site began, we have chosen to cover because of its fundamental relevance to authors looking to use various companies offering what I call author solutions services. Frankly, this paid-publishing nightmare for some authors of…
Blurb Release Booksmart 2.5 & Flat-rate-shipping
Blurb, a free self-publishing option for authors, have just released the latest version of their Booksmart software. The 2.5 version of Booksmart includes new design and control features and improved stability of the application. Blurb have also introduced much cheaper flat-rate-shipping and together with the new software improvements, it looks like another significant step forward.…
Blurb – Reviewed (Updated – May 2014)
I have re-edited the Blurb review and updated some separate material not originally included. Blurb was founded by Eileen Gittens, a highly successful business woman with US global companies Kodak and Wall Data amongst others on her CV. She studied photography in her younger days and set up Blurb as on line self-publishing solutions…