Digital publishing

Our full ebook service includes title set-up, ISBN assignment, cover design, conversion to ePub format and worldwide distribution to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble US, Kobo, Google Play, OverDrive, Scribd, Gardners and Borrowbox. In addition, it includes:

• Working with retailers' merchandising teams to seek promotional opportunities.
• Social media posts on our Twitter and Facebook accounts to coincide with your ebook's release.
• Ongoing post-publication support to arrange things like price drops and discounts.
• A sales entry in our print and online retail sales catalogue, Highlights.

We offer authors the flexibility to choose exactly what services they need:

• Ebook creation (from £110) - we'll produce an ePub file that is compatible with all ebook retailers
• Cover design (from £100) - a professional front cover design by one of our in-house designers
• Title set-up and ISBN assignment (£50) - we'd assign an ISBN to your ebook and disseminate the data out to the trade
• Worldwide distribution (£80) - we'd distribute your ebook to our wide range of ebook retailers, applying DRM protection to your ebook to help minimise ebook piracy
• Copy editing (from £110) - One of our skilled editors would correct errors in your manuscript before the ebook is created

The cost of audiobook production is determined by the length of time it takes to record a book, and that is influenced by the word count. We base our production costs on a book's word count as follows:

• Up to 40,000 words*: £1,450 *(equates to around 150 typeset pages)
• Each additional 1,000-10,000 words*: £160 *(equates to around 40 typeset pages)

We usually ask to see a copy of your book first, so that we can give an accurate quotation to you of the audiobook production costs.

The next step is to choose an actor. We offer a range of vocal talents and ask you to choose which you feel would be best to narrate your book. To aid the recording process, we ask you to fill in a questionnaire briefing the narrator on things they need to know – such as accents or pronunciation.

The recording of an audiobook takes place over a few sessions. Once complete, a copy is sent to you for checking – and we allow up to an hour of studio time for re-recording passages, if necessary. While recording takes place, we create your audiobook cover to the specifications needed by retailers. Overall, the production process usually takes around six weeks, but this can depend on studio and actor availability.

For authors who wish to distribute and sell their audiobooks themselves, that is the end of the process. Most, however, ask us to distribute their audiobook to retailers worldwide on their behalf.

We offer two distribution options:

Basic Distribution service (£40)

We make a one-off charge of £40 for distributing an audiobook through Audible, Amazon and Apple for up to two years. A royalty rate of 40% of the cover price (set by retailers) is paid; we deduct a commission of 15% of the net receipts on sales made.

Full Distribution service (£100)

We make a one-off charge of £100 for distributing an audiobook through our extended retailer network (Audible, Amazon, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Deezer, Google Play, Kobo, Audiobooks.com and Barnes & Noble US) for up to two years. A royalty rate of 35% of the cover price is paid; we deduct a commission of 15% of the net receipts on sales made. We assign your audiobook an ISBN and disseminate metadata to retailers.

For both of the above services, we add a sample of the audiobook to our website and provide information on marketing that an author can carry out themselves.