Book publishing
Publish your book properly, and still own it
End-to-end publishing for Australian authors, from the first editorial read to a live listing readers can buy from. One project, one schedule, one point of contact.
What full publishing means
The work between a finished draft and a book on sale
A manuscript is not a book. Between the two sits a sequence of specialist stages, each of which can be done well or badly, and most of which are invisible to readers until one of them goes wrong.
Our publishing service covers that whole sequence. You are not managing five freelancers across three timezones and hoping the files line up at the end. An editor, a designer and a production lead work to one schedule, and you approve each stage before the next one starts.
What you end up with is a properly edited, professionally designed book, correctly listed and available to order in Australia and internationally, with every production file in your possession.
Who this is for
Full publishing suits some authors and not others
This is a good fit if…
- Your manuscript is complete, or close to it
- You would rather write than manage a production pipeline
- You want the book to stand comparison with trade titles
- You intend to keep your rights and royalties
- You want print and digital editions handled together
Consider a single service instead if…
- You only need one stage, say a cover or a proofread
- You already have an editor you trust and want to keep them
- Your book is written but you want to publish it yourself
- You have a draft that needs structural work before anything else
- Your manuscript is not written yet: see ghostwriting
Inside the service
Every stage, and what actually happens in it
Publishing packages often list stages without saying what the work involves. Here is the detail.
Manuscript preparation
Before editing begins we standardise the file: consistent styles, clean formatting, no stray manual spacing. It sounds trivial; it saves days later and prevents typesetting problems.
Editorial assessment
An editor reads a substantial sample and reports on structure, pacing, characterisation or argument, voice, and technical accuracy. The report says what level of editing the manuscript needs, and if it needs less than you expected, we say that too.
Editing
Developmental, line or copy editing as required, delivered in tracked changes with a style sheet recording every decision made about spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation and naming.
Cover design
Genre research first, then concepts. You get a full wrap (front, spine and back) built to the exact dimensions your printer specifies for your page count and paper stock, plus a separate ebook cover.
Interior design and typesetting
Typeface selection, margins that account for the gutter, chapter openings, running heads, page numbering and correctly ordered front and back matter.
ISBN and imprint setup
Australian ISBNs are issued through Thorpe-Bowker. We can allocate one from our own block or help you register your own imprint if you would rather hold the prefix yourself.
Print and ebook production
A print-ready PDF built to your printer's specification, and a separate reflowable ebook build, not a PDF renamed, which is the most common reason ebooks read badly on phones.
Proof approval
A physical proof is ordered and checked before the book goes on sale. Screens lie about colour and trim; paper does not.
Distribution setup
Accounts, metadata, categories, keywords, pricing and territory settings across your chosen platforms, then the upload and go-live checks.
Choosing a route
Three ways to publish, compared honestly
We only offer the third column. The other two are here because you should choose deliberately rather than by default.
| Traditional publishing | Do it entirely yourself | Assisted independent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who holds the rights | Licensed to the publisher, often for years | You | You |
| Upfront cost to you | None, they invest | Low, but your time is the cost | You pay for the services you choose |
| Royalty share | Typically a modest percentage | The full retailer royalty | The full retailer royalty |
| Creative control | Shared: cover and title are often theirs | Complete | Complete; we advise, you decide |
| Getting accepted | Competitive, usually needs an agent | No gatekeeping | No gatekeeping |
| Time to publication | Often 18 months to two years after signing | As fast as you can manage it | Typically three to six months |
| Production quality | Professional throughout | Depends entirely on your own skills | Professional throughout |
Formats
Each edition is a separate build
A print interior and an ebook are different objects with different rules. Producing one from the other is where most self-published books come unstuck.
Paperback
Fixed page design at a chosen trim size, with margins calculated for the spine width your page count produces. Print-on-demand or a short offset run.
Ebook
Reflowable text that adapts to any screen and font size, with a working table of contents and correctly structured headings for accessibility.
Audiobook
Narration, editing and mastering to retail audio specification. Best commissioned once the text is final: see audiobook production.
Distribution
Where your book ends up on sale
Independent distribution runs through two main channels, and most authors use both because they reach different buyers.
Amazon KDP
Handles Kindle and print-on-demand paperbacks. Your title appears on the Amazon Australia storefront and on Amazon's international sites. Royalty rates are highest here, and it is where most independent authors make the majority of their sales.
IngramSpark
Reaches the wider book trade: wholesalers, libraries and independent bookshops that order through Ingram rather than from Amazon. Essential if you want your book orderable by an Australian bookshop.
Being orderable by a bookshop is not the same as being stocked by one. Retailers decide their own shelves, and we cannot guarantee physical placement, nor can any publisher who is being straight with you. What we guarantee is that the listing, metadata and trade discount are set up so a shop can order it without friction.
Ownership
We are a services company, not a rights buyer
You pay us to do defined work. That is the whole relationship. We do not take a percentage of your sales, we do not hold your title in a catalogue, and there is no term of years attached to anything.
- Copyright stays in your name
- Retail accounts set up in your name where the platform allows
- Royalties paid to you directly by the retailer
- All production files handed over on completion
- You can unpublish or move your book whenever you choose
- Final say on text, cover, price and categories is yours
The precise terms for your project are set out in your service agreement before work begins.
Timeline
What a typical project looks like
Indicative only: a 40,000-word memoir moves faster than a 140,000-word novel needing structural work. Your quote includes a schedule built on your actual manuscript.
Weeks 1 to 2
Consultation, sample read and editorial assessment. Quote and schedule issued.
Weeks 3 to 10
Editing, with your review and response built into the schedule.
Weeks 8 to 14
Cover concepts and interior typesetting run alongside the later editing stages.
Weeks 12 to 18
Proofread of typeset pages, physical proof copy, setup and go-live.
Questions
Publishing questions we hear often
Not necessarily. Australian ISBNs are issued through Thorpe-Bowker, and we can allocate one from our block so you are publishing straight away. If you would prefer the ISBN registered to your own imprint (which lists you as the publisher of record) we will walk you through registering it yourself. Both are legitimate; the second gives you a little more independence.
Yes. Many independent authors set up a small imprint for exactly this reason. You register the imprint, buy your own ISBN block, and your books list that imprint as publisher. We can set the project up either way.
That is common and completely fine. Quotes are itemised so you can take the editing and decline the marketing, or take design and production only because you already have an editor. There is no minimum bundle.
Yes. Both Amazon KDP and IngramSpark distribute internationally by default, so your title is available on Amazon's other storefronts and orderable through the trade in other markets. You control which territories are enabled.
It depends on word count, the level of editing your draft needs, design complexity and which formats you want. We quote per project after reading a sample rather than publishing a price list, because a fixed list would either overcharge short books or underquote complex ones.
No. If a manuscript needs more work than the author is willing to invest, or if the project is not something we can deliver well, we will say so at the assessment stage rather than take the work and disappoint you.
You receive the print-ready interior PDF, the full cover artwork, the ebook files and the editorial style sheet. They are yours to keep and to use anywhere.
Continue
Stages you can also take on their own
Most authors combine two or three services. Tell us where your manuscript is and we will recommend only what it needs.
Begin
Tell us about your book and we will map out the route
Send a sample and a short description. An editor reads it and comes back with an honest assessment, a recommended sequence of work, and an itemised quote.
- Assessment before any quote is issued
- Stage-by-stage pricing you can decline in part
- A schedule built on your actual manuscript
- Your work treated as confidential throughout
Prefer to talk it through? +61 2 8531 1369 · info@harbourbridgepress.com