Why Publish with Spoonbridge Press?

We know our services cost a little more than some of the other self-publishing companies out there. But in this case, the old cliche is true—when you publish with Spoonbridge Press, you really do get what you pay for.

If you’re thinking about hiring us to edit, design, and distribute your next book, there’s a lot to consider. To help you make your decision, here are 10 ways we stand out from our competitors, plus 3 situations where we may not be the right company for you. 

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Table of Contents

Why Publish with Spoonbridge Press?

1. We are two real humans who care about your publishing experience.
     2. We build custom publishing plans for every project.
     3. We help you make the right decisions for your book.
     4. We take the time to get things right.
     5. We set you up for future publishing success.
     6. We have an “Excellent” rating with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)
     7. We let you price your book competitively.
     8. We don’t sell you unnecessary marketing services.
     9. We optimize your sales pages to increase your chances of Amazon success.
     10. We don’t keep any of your royalties—ever.

Why Spoonbridge Press May Not Be Right for You

     1. You have a tight timeline.
     2. You’re hiring your own publishing team.
     3. Our proven path to publication doesn’t meet your budget.

Is Spoonbridge Press Right for You?

1. We are two real humans who care about your publishing experience.

For too many self-publishing companies, it’s all a numbers game. They have a slick keyword game, impressive-looking packages, and skilled marketing professionals, but once you become a client, everything changes. They cycle you around to a rotating group of customer service representatives. They take a meat-grinder approach to your book. And they fail to explain how everything they’re selling you will actually help you sell books.

With Spoonbridge Press, our clients aren’t numbers. They’re people. Every time you contact us, you’ll be connected to either our project manager or our lead editor, so you’ll know your requests won’t get lost in the shuffle. We give you clear answers to your questions, expert guidance tailored to your needs, and real support along the way. We’re honest about our services, clear about costs, and dedicated to helping our clients share their books with the world.

2. We build custom publishing plans for every project.

You may have noticed that we don’t list editing plans or publishing packages on our website. That’s because we take the time to listen to your goals and build a customized production plan and distribution strategy that supports those goals.

Before you become a client, we’ll schedule a no-commitment free author consultation to discuss your hopes, dreams, budget, and goals. Then, we’ll use that information to assemble a proposal for the services we believe are right for your project.

3. We help you make the right decisions for your book.

We believe a successful publishing career—however you define that for yourself—begins with three fundamental aspects:

1. An editing plan that bridges the gap between where your manuscript is and where it needs to be
2. Book design that looks professional and doesn’t scream “self-publishing”
3. A distribution strategy that gives you the flexibility to grow your author career

When you self-publish your book, you’re in charge every step of the way—but we’ve learned that most new authors sometimes need extra guidance to help them understand how much editing they need and how their distribution choices can affect their ability to manage their book listings. When you publish a book with Spoonbridge Press, you can rest assured that we won’t let you make a choice we don’t recommend without understanding how it might affect your ability to distribute, market, or sell your book.

4. We take the time to get things right.

One of our first questions for every author is “What is your ideal publishing date?” Tight timelines are stressful (for you and for us!). Rapid turnaround times leave little or no room for delay. If it takes you longer than you expected to review and approve our work, you’re stuck either rescheduling your carefully planned book launch or blowing through checkpoints we rely on to deliver a professional product.

More importantly, rigid publishing timelines just aren’t conducive to producing the best possible version of your book. We believe publishing is a journey, not a race, and we won’t sprint toward the finish line if it means cutting important corners that will end up harming your chances of success.

5. We set you up for future publishing success.

Unfortunately, too many self-publishing companies out there don’t give you control of the book listings or design files you paid them to create. But you shouldn’t have to choose between working with publishing professionals and maintaining control of your author career. 

At Spoonbridge Press, we believe independent authors should be able to independently control their books. That’s why every one of our publishing plans is designed to leave you in the strongest possible position as an independent author:

• Royalties deposited directly into your bank account
• The ability to order copies of your book directly from the distributor—no markups, ever
• ISBNs that show you as the publisher of record
• Your publish-ready PDFs and interior source files on request, no questions asked
• Competitive list prices that are commensurate with your genre
• Total access to your publisher dashboards, distributor accounts, sales reports, and important tax paperwork
• A distribution strategy that maximizes your ability to connect with Amazon customers, bookstores, and libraries
• A publishing agreement that leaves you in complete control of your books
• The ability to transfer your hard-earned reviews to a future new edition or format*

*Subject to distributor policy

We strongly believe that when you go through the time and expense of self-publishing your books, YOU should be in the driver’s seat. Leaving authors in complete control of their publications is just one more way Spoonbridge Press is radically changing the game.

6. We have an “Excellent” rating with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).

With so many self-publishing companies and service providers out there, it can be overwhelming to find one you can trust. Luckily for independent authors, ALLi is out there doing the important work of vetting these companies and providers so you can avoid making a decision you’ll regret. (That’s why we are proud partner members of ALLi, and it’s why we recommend you join them!) 

ALLi doesn’t just aggregate customer feedback. Their internal Watchdog Desk itself reviews companies based on several factors: quality, value, marketing, communication, transparency, and contract terms. They even look into whether any legal action has been taken against these companies for unscrupulous practices.

It’s heartbreaking when authors contact us only after they’ve been taken advantage of by one of our more unsavory competitors. Please—whether or not you decide to publish with us—look up any company you’re considering on ALLi’s Self-Publishing Industry Ratings database to be sure you’re making a choice you won’t regret.

7. We let you price your book competitively.

Think about the last traditionally published paperback book you purchased—it was probably priced somewhere between $8.99 and $14.99. So why are so many independent authors forced by their publishers to price their debut novels at $20 or more?

The answer is that many of these self-publishing companies make money every time they sell your book. (No wonder they won’t set you up with your own distributor accounts!) We can’t quite believe this is still happening with some of the big-name companies out there, but unfortunately, it is. When you publish a book with Spoonbridge Press, we are transparent about your real list price minimums—the ones set by your distributors, not by us—and we work with you to price your book in alignment with your genre.

Of course, print-on-demand (POD) technology isn’t quite the same as traditional offset printing. Depending on your book’s length, it may not be possible to match the list price of traditionally published authors. But it’s ridiculous to expect a new author to charge three times more than famous authors in their genre. We never artificially inflate print costs to line our own pockets, so you can price your books competitively.

8. We don’t sell you unnecessary marketing services.

The main problem with out-of-the-box marketing solutions is that they just aren’t appropriate for every author. A press release campaign for a timely nonfiction book may not work for a fantasy novel by an unknown author. One author might embrace a robust social media campaign; another may choose to submit guest posts to relevant professional organizations.

We believe authors know their audiences the best, and this makes them the best marketers for their books. We’re happy to help you understand your options, but we’ll never pressure you into marketing services you can’t rely on. Instead of selling you a one-size-fits-all marketing solution, we focus on producing a professional book that will stand the test of time, no matter what sort of marketing you decide to throw at it now or in the future.

9. We optimize your sales pages to increase your chances of Amazon success.

Lots of vanity publishers stick you in the default Amazon category and let you flounder. Why? Simply put, it’s easier for them. At Spoonbridge Press, we don’t just do what’s easiest for us. We do what’s best for your book.

With every publication, we do a ton of behind-the-scenes research using PublisherRocket (an industry-leading research tool) to put you in the best Amazon categories for your book without inhibiting bookstores, libraries, and gift shops from ordering your book wholesale through more traditional channels. (And it’s not just us; this best-of-both-worlds approach is also endorsed by ALLi!) This “dual track” approach may not be the simplest path to publication, but it’s the right thing to do.

10. We don’t keep any of your royalties—ever.

It’s hard to believe, but in 2023, there are still self-publishing companies out there that keep your royalties, cut you quarterly checks, and make it impossible for you to access sales reports from your distributor. (Just Google it.)

But KDP sales reports are updated daily, and royalties can be deposited directly into a bank account. Why should you wait months to receive royalties from your self-publishing company after you paid them to produce your book?

The answer is that those royalties are being deposited in their bank account, not yours. These companies received thousands of dollars for their services, and they are still taking a cut of your royalties. That doesn’t sound like self-publishing to us.

At Spoonbridge Press, we make sure our clients receive royalties and sales reports directly from their distributors. After all, they’ve already paid us to produce and publish their books. Once our work is over, we just don’t think it’s fair to stand between our clients and their hard-earned money.

Why Spoonbridge Press May Not Be Right for You

While we fully stand by the value we provide, we’re not the right fit for every author—and that’s OK. Here are three reasons you may be better off publishing your book with one of our competitors.

1. You have a tight timeline.

Lots of self-publishing companies out there will promise you the moon and the stars, and they’ll promise to get it to you yesterday. That’s never been how we operate. In our experience, quality takes time, and we only publish books when we have the time to make them the best they can be.

What does this mean for you? If you need to publish fast at the expense of quality, we’re just not the company for you. We won’t sacrifice the timelines we know are appropriate for your project just to deliver a book you won’t love.

2. You’re hiring your own publishing team.

Some authors have already contracted their own interior designers and editors; they just want someone to manage their distribution. If you’re in this situation, we probably won’t be able to help. We pride ourselves on working with book designers we trust to produce publish-ready files that meet our distributors’ requirements.

That said, if you’re set on working with your own cover designer who has successfully produced covers for POD distribution, we may be able to accommodate—just let us know your plans! But due to our robust proofreading process and unlimited troubleshooting during the distribution stage, it is our policy to publish books produced by interior formatters who are familiar with our proven system.

3. Our proven path to publication doesn’t meet your budget.

Just as we don’t claim to be the fastest path to publication, we don’t claim to be the cheapest solution out there. There are plenty of companies out there with lower prices and faster services. But speed and cost just aren’t factors we’re interested in competing on. 

At Spoonbridge Press, we understand that top quality and personal service take time, expertise, and care. And that’s exactly what we offer at every step, from editing to book design to proofreading to rigorous quality control. We leverage a network of experienced industry professionals and bring our own commitment and expertise to every project.