Accepted/Recommended Contact by Company

When I released my first book in 2020 I was inundated with phone calls and emails from groups trying to sell me services for things like marketing, web design, radios interviews, and more. Most of them didn’t pass the sniff test and I opted not to do business with them. You can learn more about which companies those were and what about the interactions made me choose to decline their services here.

Recently, after someone on that list took offense to their inclusion, I thought about the value of an opposite page that lists the companies that I have done business with or that I have researched with results that were at least encouraging. Some of these groups may be groups that I have never done business with but have been made aware of by one way or another so I researched them.

The absence of information online isn’t a fair condemnation or affirmation of a company’s ability to deliver and/or integrity. And while I have been more than eager to share the negative to help protect others, it is now time to share the positive. It’s one thing to say this is who I don’t want to do business with but there is something else to saying this is who I would, have, or do conduct business with that may also be of equal or greater interest to other authors.

Note: The costs, payment options, packages, services, and other features listed as being offered or utilized for each vendor are what was available at the time of my interactions with them. These vendors have the right to change their offerings and prices without notice so just because I was offered one price/set of services before is not a guarantee that you may receive the same offer.

 

Atmosphere Press

  • While still working with Newman Springs Publishing (NSP) on getting the first few books of my Ascension Legacy series released, I found Atmosphere Press from an ad on Facebook. I researched the group briefly online and found nothing negative about the group. No stories of questionable activity or failures to complete projects like what I had found with other groups who sold services to authors.
  • After doing some research, I submitted a few works to them with the notion of potentially using NSP to publish my fantasy series books while leveraging Atmosphere Press to publish my other completed works in another genre. It took several weeks to get a reply from the group. Their website suggested a window of time that it could take to get a reply and I think I got my reply on the far extreme end of that range, like on the last day, but still within the documented window. While no contract or anything was immediately provided, it was requested that I schedule a meeting with one of their main people, Dr. Kyle McCord. I scheduled my call with Dr. McCord and when the day came we shared a very pleasant conversation where he described their process and various offerings while also engaging in casual conversation about our families, backgrounds, etc.
  • I was very excited and happy by what Dr. McCord described. Atmosphere Press provides developmental editing in addition to the standard basic copy editing. Developmental editing is a form of editing that focuses on plot, clarity, and areas that might need rewording or improving to develop a more complete story whereas copy editing is about fixing verb tenses, sentence structure, punctuation, and things of the basic grammar sort.
  • Ultimately, I chose not to use Atmosphere Press. The decision was purely a financial one. I had suffered a serious injury that required surgery to correct and then months of physical therapy. That cost made it no longer feasible for me to move forward trying to publish two books via two different publishers in the same calendar year. The team at Atmosphere Press was very understanding of my situation and wished me a speedy recovery. They have checked in with me via email a few times since then to see if my situation has changed and if I am still interested in their services but to date I have not chosen to proceed though I feel that Atmosphere Press could be a good provider and produce a quality product if you are willing to pay the price.
  • Services:
    • Developmental editing
    • Copy editing
    • Cover design
    • Interior layout/Typesetting
    • eBook conversion
    • ISBN registration
    • Distribution through Ingram Spark
    • Press release
    • Quarterly royalty payments
  • Cost:
    • ~$3,800.00
    • 50% down and the remainder paid out at the author’s choice of terms but must be paid in full before physical books can be ordered.

 

CleverEditors.com

  • After getting the updated pricing from NSP for Book 4 of my Ascension Legacy series, I began exploring options for independent publishing versus using NSP’s publishing services to get Book 4 (and others) released in a timely but also cost effective manner. I am a member of multiple groups on various social media platforms that cater to authors. When asking in those groups for recommendations for editors for hire, Christine Driver at CleverEditors.com came highly recommended by other authors who I had engaged with in the groups on several occasions and who had proven their knowledge when it came to indie publishing.
  • I reached out to Christine on social media and email. We shared multiple exchanges where I described my goals and what I was looking for from her service and she described how the service worked and what all services were offered. I provided her with a copy of my work for her assessment before she would agree to take the job and for her to understand the full scope of the job to provide me with an accurate quote.
  • She agreed to take the job and provided me a quote that I thought was incredibly reasonable compared to other estimates I had found online. I signed the contract, paid the bill, and a few short weeks later I had a fully edited manuscript back from Christine. The experience was very simple and Christine was super friendly. By comparison, I had struggled with issues in editing with NSP where there were tons of oversights on their part and such things but with Christine none of that happened.
  • I loved the quality and speed of Christine’s work on Book 4 so much that I have (at the time of this page’s creation) already secured her services for Book 5 of my Ascension Legacy series and fully intend to use her again for Book 6 unless something goes tragically awry between now and then for one of us.
  • Services:
    • Copy editing
    • CleverEditors.com & Christine offer other editing options like developmental editing and more but when dealing with an expansive series like this the budget is not always there for the bigger undertakings. I had to choose between spend more money for 1 book to get a higher tier service or spread that money out to complete 2 books and thus the series. I opted to finish the series.
  • Cost:
    • $945.00 (Book 4) 
      • Paid a $500 deposit to secure the contracted dates and paid balance before editing commenced.
    • $897.00 (Book 5)
      • Paid full balance in advance but could have paid it out same as with previous book if I chose.
    • Pricing varies from book to book. Editors, Christine & CleverEditors.com included, typically charge a per word rate depending on the type of editing being performed. That rate is applied to the total number of words in a manuscript to determine the overall price.
  • Learn more about my experiences with CleverEditors.com through my blog

 For the Love of the Page

  • Jill Rey, the mind behind For the Love of the Page, is an avid book reader and online book reviewer.
  • I learned about Jill and her service while listening to an episode of the Authors Spot podcast, listen to her episode here.
  • For the Love of the Page offers book review services. For a reasonable fee, they will review your book. You can even pay a little extra for them to purchase a copy of the book through Amazon for the "Verified Purchase" tag to appear on their review there.
  • The group offers honest reviews with the condition that if they don't like the book then they won't post a review. You still pay for their time to read the book but they won't bust your chops by posting a negative review basically.
  • I've found the turnaround time between placing the order and receiving the review to be very good. Its usually about 2 week (or less). I struggle to read a single book in 2 weeks much less read it, write up a review, and get it distributed so their turnaround time is very good to me.

Inkwell Academy

  • Inkwell is an online learning resource. Authors can watch videos and interviews with others to learn more about writing, publishing, marketing, and more.
  • Inkwell Academy is another resource that I was turned on to by Newman Springs Publishing. Who says having contacts and relationships with groups isn't useful? Not me!
  • Because I was given access to the library at Inkwell Academy through Newman Springs I can't comment on pricing, billing options, or anything like that.
  • I have watched some of their videos and found them helpful. I have even submitted comments and questions to the group for some videos and someone from Inkwell did respond with good feedback.
  • Their content library is always expanding. I have asked for certain videos to be produced in the future to address some of my questions and Inkwell said they would work on getting that content.
  • So far I find it to be a handy and useful learning tool that any author should leverage to increase their own knowledge and skill set.

 

John F. Kaiser III

  • John is an artist who can do both traditional art and digital art. John and I have collaborated on multiple projects involving digital art over the years even before book publishing was even a thought for me. John has produced art of various styles to be used in print media, video games, and even animated movies.
  • John developed the concept for the cover art used for The Ascension Legacy - Book 1: The Shamed Ranger. NSP took John’s concept art and applied it to the standard book cover art layout along with a few tweaks to ensure its compatibility with the printer. 
  • John developed the actual cover art for The Ascension Legacy - Book 4: A Fallen Hero. This book was independently published and John created the covert art and the appropriate files for the printer.
  • John is currently developing the cover art for The Ascension Legacy - Book 5: Conflict & Conquest that is due to be released in late 2023.
  • Services:
    • Digital cover art creation
  • Cost:
    • Varies
    • Due to the long working relationship between John and I, the prices I pay for John’s work may not be consistent to what new customers might pay. I will not disclose any fees charged by John for his previous works to avoid any confusion for newcomers who may expect similar prices otherwise.

 

Josie Hanna

  • Josie is a talented young artist who excels in hand drawn art and sketch art.
  • Book 2 of my Ascension Legacy series included multiple sketches created by Ms. Hanna of prominent characters of the book based on my descriptions. 
  • The goal was to leverage Ms. Hanna’s capabilities to supplement other books in the series with additional character art as new characters were introduced to the story. Sadly, due to timing issues and funding constraints I was unable to secure her services at the times I would have needed to in order for her artwork to be available during the publishing process for Books 3, 4, & 5. I still hold out hope that I’ll be able to include more of her work in Book 6 when it is released in 2024.
  • Services:
    • Hand-drawn character art and sketches
  • Cost:
    • ~$1,000.00
    • All told, I was given 10-12 images. Some were black and white pencil sketches and others were full-color drawings. For printing purposes, the pencil sketches were the images included in the book but I had asked her to produce both while I researched the impacts of including both in the finished work.

 

Newman Springs Publishing

  • Book 1
    • As I started looking into different ways to approach publishing, I reached out to NSP for information. A nice man named Bob contacted me in April 2019 wanting to discuss my body of work. We exchanged a few emails and phone calls over the coming weeks.
    • I researched the group and it had a relatively positive rating. I didn’t find anything very worrying or concerning, just a few comments regarding their level of transparency when it comes to royalty payments. Nothing seemed to contradict anything that Bob and I had discussed and the prices discussed weren’t unreasonable.
      • One of the big selling points for me was Bob’s mention that NSP offered returning authors a discount. The first book would be completed at “full price” but for each additional book published through NSP after that would be $1000 less than the original price.
    • I signed the agreement with NSP in June of 2019. Due to a number of issues and delays, the book was not released until June 2020, smack dab in the middle of the COVID lockdowns.
    • Despite the issues, NSP had delivered content exactly as promised for the price agreed. My first “publishing director” was named Adam. He had some communication issues it seemed and was eventually replaced by Sadie. Sadie got things done and without the communication shortcomings I experienced with Adam. 
    • Services:
      • Basic copy editing
      • Cover design
      • Interior Layout/Typesetting
      • ISBN registration
      • eBook conversion
      • Distribution through Ingram Spark
      • Press release
      • Quarterly royalty payments
    • Cost:
      • ~$3,400.00
      • This also included 12 author copies of the final book.
      • Paid out in 10 installments after an initial down payment
  • Book 2
    • Shortly after Book 1’s release, I moved forward to take advantage of the repeat customer discount that Bob had mentioned in our initial conversations. The services would be the same as with Book 1 but at a cheaper price.
    • Thanks to the lessons learned during Book 1’s publishing, Book 2 went smoother and faster. There were still some hiccups along the way but nothing that couldn’t be overcome. Book 2 was released about 9 months later, nearly 3 months faster than Book 1.
    • Services:
      • Same as Book 1
    • Cost:
      • ~$2,500.00
      • Paid out in 10 installments after an initial down payment
  • Book 3
    • Just as with Book 2, I started Book 3’s publishing journey with NSP almost immediately following Book 2’s release. Aside from some issues with the cover design, Book 2 completed with little drama. 
    • Sadie was again the publishing director for the latest project. Everything was going to be the same as before. Same services. Same output. Just the same as Books 1 & 2.
    • After the book was roughly 80% complete, I received a random email for someone named Lyndie from NSP saying that she was my new publishing director. When I contacted Lyndie regarding the change, Lyndie advised that Sadie was no longer with NSP. Lyndie had a different approach than Sadie. I didn’t fee as connected with Lyndie on the project but since it was close to completion I just chalked it up to being someone new.
    • Services:
      • Same as Book 1
    • Cost:
      • ~$2,500.00
      • Paid out in 10 installments after an initial down payment
  • Book 4
    • Knowing that Book 3 was nearing release and having been mostly satisfied with NSP’s ability to deliver on Books 1-3, I inquired about continuing with Book 4.
    • After a couple of weeks, Lyndie provided me with the proposed contract for utilizing NSP for another book in the ongoing series. After reviewing the contract a couple of things stood out to me. A) the price of the publishing package had changed. B) The return author discount did not appear to be included or applied to the contract proposal that I had been supplied. 
    • When asked, Lyndie advised that NSP had raised their rates while also choosing to no longer offer a returning author discount. So in one fell swoop I not only lost the discount that had been one of the deciding factors when choosing to use NSP’s services instead of a competitor’s but the price had also changed.
      • It is worth noting that when I say the price had increased, it had increased significantly compared to the price paid for Books 2 & 3 but the new price was still similar to Book 1’s cost. NSP has/had developed multiple “packages” that authors could pick from and each package had an associated cost. The basic package, which was consistent with the only offerings in the past when my other 3 books were published by NSP, is the package cost relevant to this point of reference.
    • Services:
      • Same as my other books.
    • Cost:
      • ~$3,100.00
    • I opted not to use NSP to publish Book 4. Instead I chose to handle the various aspects of publishing on my own. I found my own editor, my own cover art, I applied the formatting and typesetting, I registered my ISBNs, I did my own eBook conversion, and I submitted everything to Ingram Spark to enable the book for distribution and retail. Having been through the process a few times, I knew what was expected and needed. Between some of my concerns regarding NSP’s new direction that included my increased costs and my concerns about the issues each book faced, I felt a better use of my time and money would be to publish 100% independently.
  • NSP did all that they promised in the contracts. I never had to threaten or take legal action to get anything done. I never had to argue with them about a failure to meet expectations or demand a refund. They processed only the payments they were authorized for the agreed to amounts. They paid royalties consistent with the times each quarter as described in the contracts. The end result was everything I expected them to be and seemed to be of fair quality. I was included in every decision and approved everything before moving to the next step. The books that were produced were accurately produced using the materials I approved. There was never a time in those few years of working with NSP that I felt I was being lied to, manipulated, given the run around, or scammed. I think there could have been some improvements in certain areas of the process on their end but that can be said for just about any business. As my experience grows, I’ve discovered how to do things that NSP were doing for me. I’ve transcended the need for their services so I no longer use NSP but that is not to say that I would not recommend NSP to a new author looking for a route to get their first book published.
  • Learn more about my experiences with Newman Springs Publishing through my blogs:

 

Snow Tree Media

  • I was first connected with Snow Tree Media through Newman Springs Publishing as part of my ongoing publishing deal with them. During Book 2’s publishing process, NSP undertook an initiative to partner with other vendors to increase their offerings to authors. Snow Tree Media was one such vendor. Authors using NSP who wanted social media management and marketing help could leverage their partnership with Snow Tree Media (or through part of the publishing packages on offer I assume) to engage the fine folks at Snow Tree Media to help promote their newly published books.
  • I was a trial run, a beta tester if you will. NSP selected a handful of current customers/clients and gave them a free 6 month trial with Snow Tree Media. STM would develop a new e-commerce capable website through Shopify. STM would takeover as admins on my social pages where they would create and distribute posts about my books, about my as an author, and other general literary related content at least twice a week. I was allowed to communicate with the STM rep assigned to my project, Brett Mason. Brett and I would discuss social media strategies, ads, and how they all worked together. I was able to learn a lot about how to use social media from Brett during those 6 months.
  • When the 6 month trial concluded, I was given the option to retain Snow Tree Media’s services at my expense. At the time, the cost was outside of my monthly budget so I had to decline. I was able to keep the website that they built (you’re using it right now if you’re reading this page) so long as I continued to pay for the Shopify hosting subscription and annual domain registration. My social media accounts were never out of my control but once the partnership had ended I was able to remove access for the STM team.
  • I really liked working with Snow Tree Media and have given them multiple shout outs on social media and in my blogs even since I opted to no longer use their services. It was never a case of being unhappy with their services but choosing to put what funds I have available into producing finished works above all else. It does me no good to only publish the first 2 books in a 6 series only to never publish the remaining books because all of my funds are tied up marketing the 2 that are released. Perhaps one day when I have published all the books that I want to publish I can divert more funds into marketing and reacquire the services of Snow Tree Media.
  • Services:
    • E-commerce web design & administration
    • Social media account management (Facebook and Instagram)
    • Marketing ad creation (I would pay separately for the ads but they would help create the ads)
  • Cost:
    • ~$400-$500/month?
      • I’ll be honest, I don’t recall the exact price and I can’t find the email from Brett yet with the actual numbers. If I find it, I will update this point to accurately reflect the offer extended. I think it was in the neighborhood of the cost currently listed though.
  • Learn more about my experiences with Snow Tree Media through my blog:

 

StoryOrigin

  • This is more of a website/online service provider than a typical vendor but still one that I recommend other authors explore.
  • StoryOrigin is a website that lets authors take control of their books in a way that no other website does. Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark allows uses to adjust the prices on their books and offer specials but StoryOrigin is designed to help authors promote their books in a different way. StoryOrigin is about helping authors get their books in the newsletters of others by agreeing to “swaps”. It is one of those “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” scenarios where two authors agree to promote the other’s book(s) in his/her upcoming newsletter. It also allows for authors to selectively giveaway free eBook copies of their work to applicant readers who suggest that they will leave a review one of the author defined targets like Amazon, BookBub, etc. The site is full of options for authors to explore.
  • For authors to take full advantage of the services StoryOrigin offers, authors do have to pay a rather nominal annual subscription fee. For readers who go to StoryOrigin to participate in the website’s beta reader function or to apply for free review copies, the website’s services are 100% free. The authors bear the burden of supporting the website while the readers simply get to enjoy a cornucopia of material that fits their desires.
  • StoryOrigin is a website in active development. While there are a bevy of features and services already available, the team that manages the website continues to tweak existing services for improvement and expand the website to include new features and services to better support both the authors and the readers that make up its user base.
  • Cost:
    • $99/year
    • Only authors pay the fee. Reader accounts are FREE ($0)
  • Learn more about my experiences with StoryOrigin through my blog

 

The Authors Spot

  • This is one of the main groups that I participate in on Facebook. This group, which now also has a website and offers a variety of services, has been instrumental in helping me learn how to navigate the world of independent publishing. The online group has authors, editors, artists, voice actors, and more among its members. You can generally find someone in the group that is capable of helping do what you need to produce the literary content desired or answer questions about what to do, where to do it, how to do it, or who can help get it done.
  • The group also sponsors a podcast, an online book store, and profiles on just about every social media platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, and who know what else). They provide reviews. They have a newsletter. Just in general the group offers many different ways for authors in the group to help spread the word about their books, connect with other authors, and learn about publishing practices. 
  • The social media group is very active. Members are constantly asking questions and posting various tidbits of knowledge for others to find. It is a wealth of information for indie authors.
  • Cost:
    • Varies depending on what services are requested.
    • For the services I used, I was often among the first to use those services when they were initially being rolled out by the administrators and as such I received special pricing that isn’t fair to disclose on this page as it may cause confusion to potential customers expecting to receive similar quotes.