Anybody who has ever had to put pen to paper for any reason will know the feeling.
Whether it’s to write a letter, an essay or a report, to extract the thoughts from your mind into coherent and accurate sentences on the page can be a struggle.
Perhaps this is the case even more so for authors when penning a book. It is not an overestimate to call it a labour of love and the number of hours required to complete such a work from start to finish can be extensive. But often that is where the limits of what we consider a writer's task to be over…if only that was the case.
If a writer wishes for their work to actually be read by an audience instead of sitting on a desk as a makeshift paperweight, there is a wide array of boxes to be ticked before the book is ready for sale.
The challenges of self-publishing
Everything from cover design and marketing to final edits and distribution have to be taken care of. Often this can be an overwhelming amount of work which is why traditionally writers would submit their book to a publisher whose expertise and in house staff would look after these elements. But with an increasingly competitive market and rapid advances in technology, it makes sense that alternative pathways have arisen for authors to realise their literary dreams.
Is hybrid publishing the answer?
One such avenue is the hybrid publishing model, which aims to find the middle ground between traditional submissions and entirely self-publishing.
It will come as no surprise that there are now hundreds of these companies offering similar services, and differentiating between them all can be a job in and of itself. In this Page Publishing review, we will aim to break down one of many companies in order to establish exactly what it is that they do and whether or not they are worth considering.
What is Page Publishing?
Since its founding in 2012, Page Publishing has helped thousands of people make the leap from writers to published authors, with 15,000 books published and counting. Their team consists of experts in various fields, including editors, artists, and marketing specialists all working together with the aim of creating a simple and a stress free publishing experience.
Page Publishing is a full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing a book, getting it into distribution and generating royalties for the writer. They believe that authors need to be free to create and not burdened with editing, design creation, eBook conversion, marketing, insurance, shipping, taxes, etc, all of which are things that can distract the writer and take them away from what they are best at and should be able to focus on.
These tasks are necessary of course, but by their very nature can be tedious, complex and time consuming which is the last thing a writer needs to worry about having likely spent an extensive amount of time actually writing the book itself.
Alongside these services, a browse on their website shows the amount of effort, care and knowledge they put into the industry. Evidenced by their podcast, video explainers and a nice touch by showing behind the scenes footage of the writers they work with unboxing their finished books.
What Books does Page Publishing Publish?
As per their website, Page Publishing accepts all genres of book. They aim to provide a comprehensive and full service for every writer, regardless of the book they are seeking assistance with.
Whether that may be romance, fiction, nonfiction, religious, biographical, self-help or a children’s book, their experts will help each writer transform their book from a rough draft to a published, printed copy and eBook available for consumer purchase at the world’s most prominent retail book outlets.
Whilst their website does not list the titles themselves, a quick internet search reveals a myriad of titles, a selection of which is included below to add some colour to their description about the types of books they publish.
- An Army in Heaven – Kelley Jankowski
- Freddie Mercury in New York – Thor Arnold
- When the Bullet Hits the Bone – Anthony S Luciano Raimondi
- Black History – Stephen Jones Sr
- Forming the Formless – Jason Shurka
- Cern – Nick Huntley
- Ammunition Demystified – Jeff Siewert
- Green Grass in the Spring – Tony Malmberg
- More Than an Actor – W Grey Champion
- To Dance on Sands – Marta Becket
Can Writers Submit to Page Publishing?
Yes, and it goes without saying that any hybrid publisher depends largely or potentially even entirely on receiving submissions. Their website has a handy video guide to the process but the basic overview is as follows.
Writers wishing to work with Page Publishing simply have to fill out a form to begin the process. Upon review of the work, if accepted, each writer will be assigned what they call a ‘Publication Co Ordinator’. Their role will be to walk you through every step of the publishing process and be available for the writer as a way of continuously updating them on where they are in the process and answer any questions they may have.
The writer will also be given complete access to all workflows through a personalized online author portal. The reason for this is that Page Publishing believe that having an expert by the writer's side throughout the process is vital in order to achieve a successful and positive publishing experience, providing a direct point of contact as opposed to a faceless corporation to deal with.
As this process unfolds, conversations will take place to establish exactly which services the writer may require and as a team figure out the best path forward to achieve the writer's vision and ultimately have their work published.
What are the alternatives to Page Publishing?
Roughly speaking, a writer would have three options aside from working with Page Publishing. First of these would be to submit their work to a traditional publisher. The downside to this however is that in such a hotly contested environment the chances of having one’s work accepted are not high and the feeling of being left in limbo whilst the writer awaits a potential response is rather unappealing.
The second would be to become a fully self-published author. This route does provide full autonomy and no fee to be paid but also places the burden on all the tasks mentioned above solely on the writer which may be a lot to handle.
Lastly, a writer could consider the hybrid publishing model but with another company, if they felt Page Publishing did not align with their vision for some reason.
Page Publishing Review – Final Opinion
To summarise then, it is clear that Page Publishing have more than established itself as a leader in the hybrid publishing mould. The extra effort taken with regard to things like the podcast and the video series showcases a level of effort that differentiates them from a lot of the competition.
One also only needs to read the testimonials on their website and watch the authors unboxing videos to see first-hand the impact they are able to have. The only counterpoint worth mentioning here though is the lack of insight into pricing structures, but it stands to reason that upon commencing the process with their team this would be revealed fairly quickly.
Writers then would likely do no wrong from engaging in such a process but it would be wise to keep options open particularly with the ease of self-publishing, in order to maximise their chances of success.
