TCK Publishing Review: Read This Before You Spend Your Money

POSTED ON Jan 12, 2024

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Do you want to know if TCK Publishing has anything to offer you as an author?

Today’s marketplace is crowded with publishing companies claiming to deliver the goods and help writers get closer to the success they dream of.

Sadly, many of these companies are vanity presses at best, or total scams at worst. If you’ve ever been burned in the past, or know other authors who have, you might naturally feel wary about trusting a book publisher like TCK.

But are your fears justified? Or could TCK play a valuable role in helping you realize your author dream?

A Note To Our Readers:

We want you to make informed decisions when it comes to how and where to invest your money. That’s why our mission is to help educate authors on the various self-publishing companies and services that are on the market today.

Our reviews are meant to be unbiased, 3rd party reviews, but we will speak up if there is a scam or a clearly better option.

We’ve researched everything you need to know to make the right choice in this full review of TCK Publishing.

This Review of TCK Publishing Will Cover:

What is TCK Publishing?

TCK Publishing combines many of the benefits of a traditional publisher with the advantages of modern self-publishing.

At this time, authors can take advantage of three offerings from TCK:

Full-service book publishing
Book deal promotion service
Standalone training courses

Although the main focus of this review will be the full-service publishing aspect of TCK, we’ll also break down everything you need to know about their promotion service and training options.

Before we dig deep into how TCK can help you achieve your goals as an author, let's take a quick look at the company itself.

TCK Publishing was founded by Tom Corson-Knowles in 2011. Corson-Knowles is an entrepreneur and publisher with a large number of books on Amazon.

The stated mission is to “help all of our clients earn a full-time income from book royalties.”

Is TCK a Vanity Publisher?

TCK Publishing is not a vanity publisher, despite what you might have heard.

A vanity publisher is a company that charges authors to create their books. This contrasts with the traditional publishing model, where authors receive an advance from a publisher which is then recouped through future sales.

TCK is closer to the traditional publishing model, but with the youthful, creative feel of a modern self-publishing company.

Their model works by accepting submissions from authors, who are usually unagented.

If an author’s manuscript is accepted, TCK provides a range of services to the author at no cost.

Both the author and publisher make money only when books are sold, with book royalties split 50/50 between writer and publisher.

So what do you get in exchange for giving away half your royalties?

What Services Does TCK Provide?

At this time, TCK provides services in the following three areas:

Publishing Services
Marketing Services
Sales Services
Courses

Keep in mind that if you were to fully self-publish, you'd need to either carry out all these services on your own or outsource them to a professional. This is why TCK Publishing takes 50% of your royalties.

Now that you have an overview of what TCK’s all about, let’s examine the services they provide.

TCK Publishing Services and Prices

When it comes to services for authors, there’s seemingly no end to what’s on offer. Let's take a look at each of TCK's service offerings.

TCK Publishing Services

Some of the publishing services TCK Publishing offers to its authors for free include:

Editing. TCK offers proofreading, developmental editing, and copyediting for your book.

Titles. If you’re not sure how to title your book, TCK will suggest options based on their experience.

Covers. If you become a TCK author, you can choose from a selection of professionally designed book covers. The quality is great, as you can see from the image below.

Formatting. Help to get your manuscript formatted to meet online bookstore requirements.

Interiors. TCK provides help to make the interior of your book look as polished as possible.

Audiobooks. A complete range of audiobook services, including narration, editing, mastering, and publishing.

Distribution. Assistance getting your book distributed, online and offline.

Ongoing marketing. TCK won’t abandon your book after its launch. They will aim to ensure it succeeds far into the future through book marketing.

Guidance. Mentorship and advice on how to form a meaningful connection with your readers and turn them into fans.

Sales tracking. Full tracking of your book’s sales performance and royalties earned.

Foreign rights. Foreign markets are lucrative opportunities for authors. TCK can help with foreign rights and marketing.

Website services. Help with designing and creating your web presence as well as setting up an email marketing system.

Networking. Introductions to relevant bloggers and influencers within your genre or niche.

PR. Access to online and offline PR opportunities including broadcast and print media.

A lot of these services, such as editing and cover design in particular, are not only essential for a professional-quality book, but expensive if purchased separately by you as an author.

TCK Marketing Services

Book marketing is the decisive factor that determines a book's success, or lack of it, in the modern publishing world.

The marketing help on offer at TCK Publishing consists of:

Packaging and branding. TCK will boost your author brand by reaching out to reviewers and influencers to strengthen your credibility and widen your platform.

Book promotion. Market research and competitive analysis. TCK Publishing can also submit your book to promotion sites, promote it via social media, and draw upon their list of email subscribers. They also offer help with paid advertising such as campaign creation and management on platforms such as Amazon Advertising and Bookbub Ads.

Training. You have the chance to receive ongoing information and guidance on how to grow and monetize your website and email presence.

If you feel like you lack the inclination or ability to learn and execute these marketing activities on your own, TCK Publishing could be a good fit for your needs.

TCK Sales Services

A lot of authors would rather pull their own teeth than handle the logistics of selling their book. TCK handles the management of Amazon and other online sellers, as well as providing offline opportunities at venues such as the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs.

How Do I Submit My Manuscript to TCK Publishing?

So, you’ve considered the services provided by TCK Publishing and decided they are a good fit for your book.

What next? Simply follow these steps to have your book considered for acceptance by TCK.

Make sure your book is eligible. TCK Publishing is only accepting nonfiction at this time. They accept most nonfiction book types except for memoirs. There is a waiting list if you are interested in submitting fiction.

Submit your manuscript via an online form. You can send your book to TCK through their website.

That’s it! Next, you just need to wait to see if TCK Publishing is willing to offer you a contract.

How Long Does it Take for TCK Publishing to Consider My Manuscript?

TCK Publishing states that they will get back to you 14-21 days after you send them your manuscript. This is a much faster turnaround time than offered by traditional publishers.

Which Nonfiction Genres Does TCK Publishing Work With?

At this time, TCK Publishing accepts the following nine types of nonfiction books:

Health and wellness
Business
Finance and investing
Relationships
Religious/spiritual
Cookbooks
Self-help
Advice and how-to
Gardening

How Soon will TCK Release my Book?

TCK publishes books 12-28 weeks after confirming a publishing contract with you. If your book is eligible to be submitted to trade reviewers, the turnaround time is 28 – 44 weeks.

This is a much quicker turnaround time than in the case of the sluggish traditional publishing industry but is slower than you can achieve if you opt to fully self-publish.

TCK Publishing – Book Deal Promotion Service

So, you like the sound of TCK Publishing, but you either don't want to give away half your royalties to them or perhaps you've been rejected after submission. Is there any way you can still work with the company?

Yes. Aside from their main publishing arm, TCK also has a promotional service that operates like a typical book promo site.

If your book is accepted for a promo deal with TCK, it will get exposure to one of their nine curated lists:

General nonfiction
Self-help and how to
General fiction
Romance
Thriller
Fantasy
Mystery
Sci-fi
Teen and young readers

What are the Requirements for a TCK Book Deal Promotion?

Like many other book promo services, TCK requires you to meet certain criteria before they can promote your work.

If your book meets these four requirements, it has a chance of being accepted:

Professionally designed book cover
At least 10 Amazon reviews with an average rating of 4 stars or better
Well-written book description
Promotional price of $0.99 or free during the requested promo period

You can submit your promo request here.

TCK Courses

The final offer TCK Publishing has for authors is a range of standalone educational courses. These can be purchased by anyone, not just authors working with a TCK book deal.

Related: Best Self-Publishing Courses

At this time, the six courses available from TCK are:

Email Marketing Mastery. $147.
The Complete Kindle Publishing Course. $297.
How to Write Nonfiction Like a Pro. $197.
How to Build Your Website Like a Pro. $197.
Systemize, Automate, Delegate. $247.
Unleash Your Creative Genius. $97.

The courses take the form of video modules streamed online. You can check out a free preview of any course before buying the full version.

Should I use TCK Publishing?

Now that you have a clear understanding of what TCK Publishing offers authors, it’s time to consider if they’re the right choice for you.

Before you can make your final decision, you need to fully understand what you are giving up, and what you will get in return.

The main tradeoff is exchanging 50% of your royalties for the full range of services on offer.

Let’s go through a hypothetical example to figure out if this makes sense for you. The figures we will use for this exercise are ballpark numbers:

Approximate cost of a book cover – $400.
Approximate editing costs – $750.
Approximate formatting costs – $150.

Those are the basics of a respectable self-published book. We'll leave bells and whistles like audiobook recording out of the equation for the time being.

Related: Self-Publishing Costs

Based on the above, we can say that the approximate basic cost of self-publishing a book is $1300 to do the bare minimum.

One of the most common price points for Kindle books, especially for new authors, is $2.99.

When your book is priced at $2.99 on Amazon Self-Publishing, you will receive 70% of sales in royalties, so let’s say $2 for the sake of simplicity.

If you were to self-publish on your own and had invested the $1300 mentioned above to do so, you would need to sell 650 copies to break even.

If you had a TCK Publishing deal, you would receive only $1 per book in the above scenario.

Even after recouping all of their costs, TCK Publishing would continue to receive 50% of all your royalties for five years after publication.

Ultimately, if TCK Publishing accepts your manuscript, they see it as a book they can profit from. Only you can decide if you will be receiving enough value to justify 50% of your royalties going to TCK.

The Pros and Cons of TCK Publishing

Sometimes, making a decision is a lot easier with a concise breakdown of the pros and cons.

Here are the advantages and disadvantages of choosing TCK for your book:

Pros of TCK Publishing

Longevity. TCK has been in business since 2011, and Tom Corson-Knowles understands the publishing industry firsthand.

Services. The services on offer to TCK authors are likely to move the needle. They aren’t useless vanity services.

Quality. The quality of the books published via TCK seems to be high, and the reviews on Amazon attest to that.

Ease. TCK removes the hassle of having to take care of the many elements of self-publishing a book. You can focus on what you love most – writing.

Cons of TCK Publishing

Less choice. You have less creative control when you work with TCK. You will use their in-house designers, for example. This might not appeal to a lot of authors.

Less revenue. The major drawback is giving away half of your royalties for five years. This will be the case even after TCK recoups what they have spent on your book.

Other TCK Publishing Reviews

Choosing a company worthy of your book is no small decision. To help you get as much information as possible, we’d like to share some other takes on TCK.

Over on Quora, in a discussion about TCK Publishing, someone confirms they aren’t a vanity press and there is nothing to suggest they are predatory.

At Kboards, which is an often hard-to-please community, the quality of the output from TCK is praised by a forum member.

Alli, one of the most trusted companies in the entire indie author world, lists TCK Publishing as mixed.

This mixed rating means that the company is ethical, but somehow falls short of Alli’s overall standards. It’s impossible to say how, as no notes have been added.

Alternatives to TCK Publishing

If you’re looking for an alternative to publishing with TCK, you have two main options:

Choose an alternative publishing service company
Opt for full self-publishing and oversee the process with full control

If another company appeals, you can check out our guide to some of the best options here, and see our complete list of relevant reviews here.

If you want to learn how to self-publish, we suggest checking out what’s on offer at our partner company, Self Publishing School.

Unlike TCK Publishing, Self Publishing School will teach you everything you need to know to self-publish a successful book that makes you money and changes lives.

You will also keep all of your book revenues. The investment you make in a self-publishing program will set you up to publish books for life.

Our Final Rating of TCK Publishing

Our Rating

Overall, we give TCK Publishing four stars out of five.

We like the fact that this isn’t a vanity press. They claim to accept only around 1% of manuscript submissions, showing that they have standards.

We also like the range of services they provide and the final quality of the books they produce.

LIKE these reviews? Read more reviews on these popular companies:

If you are planning on writing a novel or a memoir, Elm Hill is not the right fit for you. Instead, you should look for a reputable self-publishing company that works with all genres (or at the very least the one you are writing). At self-publishing.com, we can help you write, edit, format, and publish your book – regardless of what you're itching to write about.

If you are interested to learn how to turn your dream book into a reality, contact our team for a free, no-obligation strategy call today.

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