Publishing
Publish your book.
NineMonsoons
Small Hours
Poems
What it is
Assisted publishing, explained plainly.
In traditional publishing, a publisher acquires your book, pays you an advance, bears the cost of production and keeps most of the revenue. Very few manuscripts are acquired this way, and the wait is measured in years.
In assisted publishing, you commission the work. You pay for the editorial, design and production, you keep your copyright, and you keep a far larger share of what the book earns. What you are buying is a professional publishing process rather than a lottery ticket.
The difference between a good assisted publisher and a bad one is not the business model. It is whether the editorial is real, whether the design was made for your book or pulled from a template, whether the production is specified properly, and whether anyone tells you the truth about what a book is likely to sell.
We do not accept every manuscript. If a book needs more work than you want to do, or if what you want is not something we can honestly deliver, we will say so at the assessment stage rather than after you have paid.
The process
From manuscript to finished book.
- 01
Assess
We start by understanding the manuscript and what it needs.
- 02
Edit
We strengthen the writing, structure, clarity and consistency.
- 03
Design
We create the cover and interior around the character of the book.
- 04
Produce
We prepare the final files, proof the book and manage printing.
- 05
Publish
We handle ISBN, metadata and appropriate distribution channels.
- 06
Deliver
You receive your finished book and ongoing support.
What we publish
Different books need different work.
Fiction
Novels, novellas and short story collections. Structural editing first, then a cover that sets the register before a reader has read a word.
Poetry
Collections and anthologies. Typesetting is the whole job here — long lines, stanza breaks, section dividers, and a measure wide enough that nothing turns awkwardly.
Memoir & Biography
A life, or one part of it. Usually needs developmental work to find the shape, and a plate section designed rather than dropped in.
Business & Professional
Expertise turned into a readable book. Wide margins for marginalia, pull quotes, and an interior built for people who read in twenty-minute pieces.
Academic & Specialist
Footnotes on the right page, a two-level index, numbered figures, a bibliography set to a consistent style, and a trim size your discipline expects.
Children's Books
Picture books and early readers. Illustration commissioned and art-directed, page turns planned against the text, colour proofed on the actual stock.
Terms
Your rights remain yours.
Copyright remains with you
Copyright in the work is yours and stays yours, subject to the contract we both sign. We do not take ownership of your book as a condition of publishing it.
Publishing rights are contractually defined
The contract states exactly which rights you licence to us, for which formats, in which territories and for how long. Anything not written down is not granted.
Costs are transparent
You receive a written proposal with itemised scope and costs before work starts. If the scope changes mid-project, we quote the change before doing it.
Deliverables are specified
The proposal names the editorial stages, the number of author review rounds, the design routes, the format, the paper, the finish and the print quantity.
Sales are not guaranteed
We can control the quality of the book and the accuracy of its metadata. We cannot control whether readers buy it, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Bestseller status is never guaranteed
We do not run chart campaigns or promise list placements. Any publisher who guarantees this is describing a purchase, not a readership.
Sample editions
What we mean by design.
Costs
Publishing, without the mystery.
Every project receives a written proposal outlining scope, deliverables and costs before work begins.
Ready to publish?
Send us the manuscript.
Tell us where the book is, what you think it needs, and we will read it before we quote anything.