—SELF-PUBLISHING SERVICES
Self-Publishing Services That Leave 100% of Royalties With You
Most companies sell you pieces. A cover here, editing somewhere else, distribution from a third place. You stitch it together and hope the timeline holds.
AuthorWings runs all six self-publishing services on one plan with one project manager and one invoice. Every retailer account opens in your name. Every royalty lands in your bank directly. The price on the page is the price in the contract.
—THE MODEL
Assisted self-publishing is six jobs handled by one team
Assisted self-publishing sits between two extremes. On one side: pure DIY, where you write, edit, design, format, distribute, and market the book yourself using free tools and freelancers you find on your own. On the other side: a publisher acquires your book, pays an advance, and takes most of the royalties plus most of the rights for decades.
Assisted self-publishing is the middle path. A company handles the production work professionally, but you keep every right and every royalty. You pay a flat fee. You own everything that comes out the other side.
There are six jobs that turn a manuscript into a published book. Writing or polishing the manuscript. Editing it professionally across developmental, line, copy, and proofreading passes. Designing the cover so it competes in your genre. Formatting the interior for ebook and print to retailer specs. Setting up distribution across Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, Kobo, and Google Play. Running a launch that puts the book in front of actual readers. Most self-publishing companies cover one or two of these and tell you to figure out the rest. AuthorWings covers all six on a single timeline.
The result of this model is what most first-time authors do not realize they should ask for upfront. You keep 100% of royalties. You keep 100% of rights. Every distribution account is opened in your own name and email, not ours. Your ISBN is registered to you. Your copyright is filed in your name. If you stop working with AuthorWings tomorrow, your books keep selling and the money keeps flowing to your account, because the self-publishing services we deliver build infrastructure that belongs to you.
—OUR SERVICES
Six self-publishing services that cover every stage of publishing
Each of these services stands alone if you only need one. Each combines into a bundle if you want everything handled together. Pricing on every service page sits in plain numbers. There are no “starting at” formats designed to triple after a discovery call, no quotes reverse-engineered to whatever budget you mention. Each bundle covers a different scope and is capped by word count: Starter tiers up to 30,000 words, Growth tiers up to 60,000 words, Authority tiers up to 100,000 words.
—BUNDLES
Three bundle paths for self-publishing services for authors
Bundles save you 15-27% off individual service pricing because the workflow is shared across services on a single timeline. Three bundle families exist because authors arrive at three different starting points. Some arrive with a polished manuscript ready for production. Others arrive with a complete draft that still needs editing. Others arrive with a concept and want the book written. Each bundle covers a different scope and is capped by word count: Starter tiers up to 30,000 words, Growth tiers up to 60,000 words, Authority tiers up to 100,000 words.
Publish-Ready Bundles
Starter $1,099 | Growth $2,195 | Authority $3,295
For authors with a finished, edited manuscript ready to launch. Includes professional cover design, interior formatting for ebook and print, multi-platform distribution setup across major retailers, and author profile setup on Amazon and Goodreads. Editing is not part of these bundles, because the manuscript is already polished. Three tiers cover everything from a single-format launch to a full multi-platform release with library distribution.
Author-Polished Bundles
Starter $2,895 | Growth $5,795 | Authority $9,995
For authors with a complete manuscript that still needs editing before it goes live. Includes everything in Publish-Ready, plus full editing across developmental, line, copy, and proofreading passes. Higher tiers add audiobook setup, expanded author profiles, library distribution, and a marketing campaign timed to launch. The complete path from raw manuscript to a book that competes professionally in its genre.
Launch-Ready Bundles
Starter $6,495 | Growth $12,495 | Authority $28,495
For authors starting from concept, transcripts, or a rough draft. Includes ghostwriting with built-in editing, plus everything in Author-Polished, plus a full marketing campaign. The complete idea-to-launch path with one project manager managing the entire arc from blank page to live retailer pages. Authority tier serves authors who want premium positioning across every stage.
—WHY AUTHORWINGS
Two promises behind every AuthorWings self-publishing services project
Most self-publishing companies hide the things that matter most. Pricing sits behind “request a quote.” Royalty splits get buried on page 14 of a contract. Rights ownership gets a vague line about “shared interests.” Account registration happens in the company’s name, not yours, so the infrastructure of your book belongs to them. AuthorWings runs the opposite model. Two promises sit at the front of every project, written into the contract before any payment changes hands.
Transparent tier pricing on every service page
Every AuthorWings service page shows tier prices in plain numbers. Ghostwriting from $5,495. Editing from $299. Publishing from $249. Cover design from $199. Coaching from $549. Marketing from $1,495. The number on the page is the number in the contract. There is no “starting at” format that triples after a discovery call once we know what you can afford. There is no custom quote reverse-engineered to your apparent budget. There is no surprise scope creep that turns a $3,000 project into a $9,000 invoice.
The reason most self-publishing companies hide pricing is simple: custom quotes let them price each author differently based on what the salesperson estimates the buyer will pay. AuthorWings runs a fixed model instead. Bundle, tier, and word-count scope determine the price. Your perceived ability to pay does not. The same Growth tier costs the same whether you mention you sold a business last year or you mention this is your first book and money is tight.
100% of rights, royalties, and accounts retained
Every distribution account is opened in your own name and email address. Amazon KDP. IngramSpark. Apple Books. Kobo. Google Play. The login credentials are yours. The dashboards are yours. The royalty deposits route to your bank account, not ours. Your ISBN is registered in your name. Your copyright is filed in your name. The book belongs to you in every legal sense the moment we deliver final files.
This sounds obvious until you read what most self-publishing companies actually do. Many register accounts in their own name and route royalties through their books. Many take a 30% to 50% royalty share for the life of the book in exchange for production services that should be flat-fee work. Many embed rights clauses that grant them film, foreign translation, or audiobook rights for years after publication. AuthorWings takes none of these. The flat fee on the contract is the only money that ever moves between us.
—RIGHTS RETENTION
Five things you actually own when you keep publishing rights
Most self-publishing companies say “you keep your rights” without explaining what that means in dollars. Authors do not realize the financial weight of rights ownership until something happens. A producer reads the memoir and asks about a film option. A foreign publisher wants to translate. A podcast wants to adapt. By the time those calls come, the contract has already decided who profits.
Film and TV rights stay with you
A novel optioned for film or TV can earn the author anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000 or more depending on production scale and talent attached. With traditional publishers and many hybrid presses, these rights are split 50/50 or assigned outright.
Foreign translation rights stay with you
A book translated and sold in Germany, Japan, Spain, or Brazil generates a separate royalty stream from each region. With traditional and hybrid publishers, the publisher controls and licenses these rights, often keeping 50% or more.
Audiobook rights stay with you
Audiobook is among the fastest-growing segments of publishing. The Audio Publishers Association 2025 Sales Survey reports that US audiobook revenue grew 13% in 2024 to $2.22 billion, with digital audio accounting for 99% of that revenue. When you keep audiobook rights, you control whether to produce, who narrates, and where it distributes.
Future edition rights stay with you
A 10th anniversary edition with new chapters, a celebrity foreword, a standalone converted into a series, a rewrite after new research: every one of those decisions is yours. With publishers, edition decisions belong to them.
Distribution accounts in your name forever
Your Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, Kobo, and Google Play accounts are yours. If you stop working with AuthorWings tomorrow, every book keeps selling and every royalty keeps paying to your bank account.
Rights matter most when something good happens. The film offer arrives. The foreign deal lands. The audiobook explodes. With many self-publishing companies disguised as hybrid publishers, the author signed those rights away years earlier in exchange for production work that should have been flat-fee.
—COMPARE
How AuthorWings compares to other self-publishing companies
Here is how the five paths to a published book compare on price, royalties retained, rights ownership, and timeline.
Self-publishing services compared across five paths
At a glanceAuthorWings
Assisted self-publishing services with editing included
Up-front
$2,895 – $9,995
Author-Polished Bundles. Publish-Ready Bundles also available from $1,099.
What you keep
100% royalties
Rights and accounts in your name
What’s included
Editing, cover, format, multi-platform distribution, audiobook setup, library distribution, author profiles, Amazon optimization. One project manager. One invoice.
Author Service Providers
Freelance marketplaces and à-la-carte vendors
Up-front
$8,000 – $18,000+
Each service billed separately
What you keep
100% royalties
Mixed account ownership
What’s included
Cover, format, distribution. Editing alone runs ~$9,000 across 4 tiers on freelance marketplaces. Marketing and audiobook setup priced separately.
DIY
KDP, IngramSpark, Apple direct
Up-front
$125 – $500 cash
Plus 200+ hours of your time ($10,000+ in opportunity cost)
What you keep
100% royalties
Rights and accounts in your name
What’s included
ISBN ($125), basic distribution. You handle editing, cover, format yourself or hire freelancers separately.
Vanity Publishers
Pay-to-publish
Up-front
$3,000 – $20,000+
Plus rights claims and royalty share
What you keep
30 – 60% royalties
Publisher owns accounts
What’s included
Light editing, template format, distribution under their imprint.
Hybrid Publishers
Up-front fee plus royalty share
Up-front
$3,000 – $20,000+
Plus 30 to 50% royalty share for life of contract
What you keep
50 – 70% royalties
Publisher owns accounts
What’s included
Editing, format, design, distribution, marketing under their imprint.
What self-publishing help actually costs over five years
For a book earning $10,000 / yr$34,205
Saved over five years versus a hybrid publisher, on a book earning $10,000 per year. Same scope, including editing. The difference is who keeps the royalties.
What self-publishing companies bill extra. What AuthorWings includes.
Same scope, line by lineTypical Author Service Provider
Billed separately
Editing alone $9,000 · cover/format/distribution extra
Editing
~$9,000 across 4 tiers
Marketing
$1,000+ extra
Audiobook setup
Billed extra
Library distribution
Billed extra
Author profile setup
Billed extra
Imprint removal
Fee to use your own imprint
Account migration
Fee if you want to leave
Royalty processing
Recurring fee on payouts
Transparent pricing
Custom quotes required
AuthorWings Author-Polished Bundles
Included in your tier
$2,895 – $9,995 · self-publishing services for authors, all in
Editing
All 4 tiers included in every Author-Polished package
Amazon Description Optimization
Included in every tier
Audiobook setup
Growth tier and above
Library distribution
Growth tier and above
Author profiles
Author Central, Goodreads, BookBub. Growth tier and above.
Your imprint, or none
No removal fee
Free to leave
No migration cost
Royalties direct to your bank
No processing fee
Every price on every page
No custom quote loop
Author-Polished Authority bundle is $9,995 versus $13,880 buying the same services individually. Save $3,885 with the bundle. Zero hidden charges.
Word count caps apply: Starter up to 30,000 words, Growth up to 60,000 words, Authority up to 100,000 words. Custom quotes for projects above 100,000 words.
Sources: Authors Guild on hybrid contract terms ·
Writer Beware on vanity publisher practices.
Author Service Provider pricing reflects 2026 freelance marketplace rates for comparable scope packages including 4-tier editing on a 90,000-word manuscript.
—Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about self-publishing services
What is self-publishing?
Self-publishing means you publish your own book instead of selling it to a traditional publisher. You handle (or pay someone to handle) the production work: editing, cover, formatting, distribution, and marketing. You keep the rights, the royalties, and the creative control. Traditional publishing works the opposite way. A publisher acquires your manuscript, pays an advance against future royalties, takes most of the rights, and pays you a small percentage on each sale for years afterward. Most self-publishing today is not pure DIY anymore. Authors hire self-publishing services companies to handle the production work professionally while still keeping every right and every royalty themselves.
How does assisted self-publishing differ from DIY self-publishing?
DIY self-publishing means you do all six production jobs yourself using free tools, YouTube tutorials, and freelancers you source independently. It costs less in cash and more in time, usually 3 to 6 months of part-time work. Assisted self-publishing means a service company handles production on a single timeline. Cost runs higher, typically $1,000 to $30,000 depending on scope, but production wraps in 4 to 8 weeks and you avoid the learning curve on file specs, metadata, and retailer requirements. DIY makes sense if you have time, technical comfort, and a tight budget. Assisted self-publishing makes sense if you have limited time, want professional output, and treat the book as a real investment.
How much do self-publishing services cost?
Costs range from effectively $0 (DIY using only free tools) to $30,000 or more for a full ghostwriting-to-launch package. AuthorWings publishing starts at $249. Cover design starts at $199. Editing starts at $299. The Publish-Ready Starter bundle is $1,099. The Author-Polished Starter is $2,895. The Launch-Ready Starter is $6,495. Comparison points across the industry: à-la-carte freelance marketplaces typically run $8,000 to $18,000+ to assemble a full publication-ready book, with editing alone commonly charging around $9,000 across four tiers (developmental, line, copy, and proofreading) on a 90,000-word manuscript. Hybrid publishers charge $3,000 to $20,000+ up front plus 30 to 50% of royalties for the life of the book. Vanity publisher packages run $3,000 to $20,000+ while also taking royalties and rights.
Are self-publishing companies legitimate or scams?
Most established self-publishing companies are legitimate businesses doing real production work for a flat fee. Vanity publishers are the scam category. They charge large upfront fees, take rights, keep a share of royalties for the life of the book, and often pressure authors with manufactured urgency. Red flags to watch: refusal to show pricing without a sales call, vague packages with words like “premium” and “elite” instead of actual deliverables, contracts that take any percentage of royalties, and language like “we have selected your manuscript” on unsolicited inquiries. The Alliance of Independent Authors Watchdog Desk Service Ratings cover dozens of self-publishing companies on pricing, contract terms, transparency, and customer satisfaction, which is the place to check before signing anything.
Who owns the copyright if I use a self-publishing service?
With AuthorWings, you own the copyright outright. The contract states this in plain language before any payment changes hands. Your name goes on the copyright filing. Your name goes on the ISBN registration. Your name goes on every retailer account. Most legitimate self-publishing services follow the same model. The exceptions are vanity publishers and some hybrid presses that embed clauses granting partial copyright assignment, exclusive licensing for years, or shared ownership of derivative rights. Always read the rights section of any contract before signing. If a company refuses to send the contract for review before payment, that alone is reason to walk away.
How long does it take to self-publish a book?
DIY self-publishing typically takes 3 to 6 months depending on how much time the author can commit and how steep their learning curve is on file formatting, metadata, and retailer setup. AuthorWings runs production in 4 to 8 weeks once the manuscript is ready, with timeline depending on bundle scope. Traditional publishing takes 2 to 3 years from query letter to bookshelf, sometimes longer. Hybrid publishers usually run 6 to 12 months. The bottleneck in self-publishing is almost always editing and design, not distribution. Distribution setup itself only takes a few days once files are ready.
Do I keep all my royalties with self-publishing?
With AuthorWings, 100% of royalties go directly to your bank account. The retailer takes its standard cut (typically 30% on Amazon for ebooks priced $2.99 to $9.99, with similar splits on other platforms), and the rest pays to you. With DIY self-publishing, the math is the same: retailer cut, then you. With hybrid publishers, expect to keep 50% to 70% of royalties because the publisher takes 30% to 50% for the life of the book. With traditional publishers, authors typically receive 8% to 15% of royalties on print and 25% on ebooks, with the publisher keeping the rest.
Do self-publishing services include editing?
It varies by company and package. AuthorWings offers editing as a standalone service starting at $299 or as part of Author-Polished and Launch-Ready bundles. Publish-Ready bundles do not include editing because they are designed for authors with already-edited manuscripts. The four editing types most self-publishing services offer are developmental editing (story structure and big-picture issues), line editing (sentence-level rhythm and clarity), copy editing (grammar, consistency, style), and proofreading (final pass for typos before print). Most full-service bundles across the industry include at least copy editing and proofreading. Some bundles labeled “complete” actually skip developmental editing entirely, so always check the inclusion list.
Can I self-publish if I’m not in the United States?
Yes. Major retailers (Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, IngramSpark, Google Play) accept authors from almost every country. Tax matters vary. Authors outside the US complete a W-8BEN form to claim treaty rates on US royalties, which often reduces or eliminates US tax withholding. Royalties pay in local currency or USD depending on the retailer and your bank setup. AuthorWings serves authors globally, with active clients across 20+ countries. Distribution reach is the same whether you live in Karachi, London, Sydney, Toronto, or Atlanta. The book sells on the same retailers in the same territories regardless of where the author is based.
What’s the difference between self-publishing and hybrid publishing?
Self-publishing means you pay a flat fee for production work and keep all royalties and rights. Hybrid publishing means you pay a fee AND give up 30% to 50% of royalties for the life of the book AND often sign over partial rights. Hybrid publishers position themselves as “between” traditional and self-publishing, but the contract terms typically favor the publisher heavily. The Independent Book Publishers Association Hybrid Publisher Criteria defines 11 standards that separate a legitimate hybrid publisher from a self-publishing service provider mislabeling itself, covering transparent terms, higher-than-traditional royalties, professional editorial standards, clear rights-reversion clauses, and negotiable contracts. Most companies marketing themselves as hybrid do not meet IBPA’s criteria. AuthorWings is not a hybrid publisher and does not take royalty share, which is what makes self-publishing services for authors a cleaner financial path.
How do I avoid getting scammed by a vanity publisher?
Five red flags to watch for. First, unsolicited contact: legitimate self-publishing companies do not cold-call authors saying “we have reviewed your manuscript and want to publish it.” Second, hidden pricing: any company that refuses to publish package prices is reverse-engineering quotes based on what they think you can pay. Third, contracts that take any percentage of royalties or rights for the life of the book in exchange for production work that should be flat-fee. Fourth, manufactured urgency, exclusive-use clauses (you cannot bring your own freelancer), and contracts longer than the actual production work justifies. Fifth, refusal to send the full contract for review before any payment.
What if I’m a first-time author and don’t know where to start?
Three steps for first-time authors. First, run the AuthorWings cost calculator to see a ballpark estimate based on your manuscript stage and word count. Second, read the cluster pages on cost, process, and royalties so you understand what you are buying before any sales conversation. Third, book a free 30-minute consultation. There is no sales pressure, no follow-up calls without permission, and no obligation to commit to anything during or after the call. AuthorWings serves first-time authors specifically, and the Publish-Ready Starter bundle at $1,099 is designed as the lowest-friction entry point for someone publishing their first book. Most first-time authors do not yet know what they do not know, and the consultation surfaces the questions they should be asking before they start spending money.
—GET STARTED—
Start your self-publishing services project today
Two paths forward. Run the cost calculator for an instant estimate based on your manuscript stage and word count. Or book a free 30-minute consultation with no sales pressure, no follow-up calls without permission, and no obligation to commit. NDAs available before any project discussion begins. The flat-fee contract lands in your inbox before any payment changes hands.
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