Guides

Publishing guides in plain English

Costs, quotes, scams and your rights. Written to help you decide before you pay anyone.

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Protect yourself · 6 min read

Nine warning signs of a publishing scam or vanity press, and the written questions that expose them before you pay a cent.

Costs and quotes · 6 min read

A plain-English way to check any publishing quote: what each line means, which questions to ask, and which items to push back on.

Protect yourself · 5 min read

Twelve questions to ask any self-publishing or author services company before you pay, with what a good answer looks like.

Your rights · 5 min read

You should own your copyright, files and publishing accounts. Here is how ISBNs, KDP and IngramSpark accounts work, and what to check.

Costs and quotes · 4 min read

Setting up on Amazon KDP, getting a Kindle ebook listed, and registering copyright yourself. What costs nothing and what is worth paying for.

Costs and quotes · 7 min read

Typical per-word prices for developmental editing, copy editing and proofreading, what changes the price, and how to compare editing quotes.

Costs and quotes · 6 min read

A cost checklist for self-publishing: editing, cover, formatting, ISBN, printing and marketing, and which costs you can lower or skip.

Basics · 5 min read

Plain definitions of traditional publishing, self-publishing and vanity presses, who pays, who owns the book, and how to tell them apart.

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