One of the go-to platforms for self-published authors, IngramSpark, has decided to dispense with its set-up fees. IngramSpark announced it will no longer charge a fee for new title uploads (for print or ebook formats). Revisions will also now be free for up to 60 days after the book’s first production date. After that, it will…
Publishing Service Index: October 2019 [with notes]
This is the PUBLISHING SERVICE INDEX for 2019. Our previous one was released last year in November 2018. So we have seen almost a full year past by. I am switching to releasing it just once a year. The index takes a great deal of work, and while there are some moderate changes, even a…
CJK Group Agree to Purchase of Printer and Self-Publishing Service Provider Thomson-Shore
Following a March Chapter 11 filing for bankruptcy, the CJK Group has agreed to the purchase of the assets of Michigan-based printer and self-publishing service provider Thomson-Shore. The employee-owned company has been in existence for 47 years and over the past ten years has expanded far beyond printing services into an array of offset, print-on-demand, handcrafted books, pre-production, and distribution services for large traditional publishers, small…
Publishing Service Index: November 2018 [with notes]
This is the last PUBLISHING SERVICE INDEX for 2018. Our previous one was released earlier this year in April and I am switching to releasing it just twice a year (generally, Spring and Winter). The index continues to reflect closures of publishing service providers and our latest release sees the departure of one of the stalwarts of the self-publishing…
Spiderwize UK – Reviewed (Updated, September 2018)
Spiderwize, a division of print and creative and development design company Bonacia UK, describes its services as ‘assisted self-publishing’ and though based in Peterborough, England, the services are available to UK and US authors. Spiderwize has become more prominent in recent years, particularly in the UK, and now has more than 200 published titles. We…
The Radiance of Banality: Predatory Publishers in the UK (Part Two) – Henry Coburn | Guest Post
A gonzo voyage through the ferocious realm of predatory ‘hybrid’ publishers and their mutant product. (Part One, here.) At one point around December, about a month after I had moved to the tiny office run by this black-hearted publishing concern, I had gone for one of my lengthy walks around the pier around midday…
The Radiance of Banality: Predatory Publishers in the UK (Part One) – Henry Coburn | Guest Post
A gonzo voyage through the ferocious realm of predatory ‘hybrid’ publishers and their mutant product. It is difficult, and probably unnecessary, to describe the existential panic that descends on you once you are cast loose from university to fend for yourself in the adult world. In my case, the general misery that descends with…
Google Play Books Platform is Open Again to Indie Authors for Direct Uploads
The Google Publisher Program allowed independent authors and small presses to sell ebooks in the Google Play bookstore. When the program was active it become a cesspool of piracy. Fake authors would sell ebooks they never wrote and publishing companies would rename all of the main characters in Harry Potter or 50 Shades of Grey and…
Matador Announce Launch of Audiobook Publishing and Distribution Service for Indie Authors
Press Release Matador, one of the UK’s most widely recommended self-publishing service providers, is delighted to announce that they now offer a complete audiobook creation, publishing and distribution service for self-publishing authors. With an emphasis on top quality production values at a realistic and affordable cost, all the audiobooks will be narrated by professional actors…
Crowdfunding Publisher Unbound Makes Four Editors Redundant
As part of a strategic reorganisation, Crowdfunding publisher Unbound is making four of its editors redundant. The news was first confirmed by commissioning editor Simon Spanton this week via his Twitter account. Spanton tweeted: So; my dream job is not to be as long a dream as I hoped. Due to cost-cutting I am one…