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Assisted Self-Publishing FAQs
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Assisted Self-Publishing Basics
Assisted self-publishing is a model where the author remains the publisher of record and keeps full rights and royalties, while Britannia provides the professional services needed to produce and release the book: editing, design, formatting, distribution and marketing. It sits between doing everything alone and handing the book to a traditional publisher, who takes on the rights and controls the process.
Yes. You retain 100% ownership of your work, including royalties, pricing and distribution decisions. Britannia's role is to support and produce, not to take ownership of your content at any stage.
Neither. Britannia is an assisted self-publishing company. You keep all rights to your book, distribution accounts are set up in your own name so royalties are paid directly to you, and everything is agreed in writing before work begins. Britannia is registered in England and Wales, Company No. 16937618, so its details can be checked on Companies House.
You do. Britannia never holds the rights to your book, and once a cover is finalised, full rights to the design belong to you as well.
Britannia accepts all genres. Every manuscript is still evaluated before a quotation is offered.
If you need to leave a project midway, you share a reason and complete a form, which allows Britannia to keep your materials on file. There is no fee for this, and you can resume whenever you choose.
Yes. To avoid confusing readers with two listings of the same book, the existing listing is taken down and the newer, revised version is republished in its place.
Preparing Your Manuscript
Share a little about your manuscript and where it stands. Every manuscript submitted is reviewed before a quotation is offered, and a no-obligation, bespoke quotation follows if it is accepted. Nothing is agreed or paid for until that quotation is confirmed in writing.
A Word document is preferred. There is no word count limit.
No. Around 25% of submissions are declined, most often where a manuscript needs more editorial work than can reasonably be offered, or raises legal or content concerns. This applies to every submission equally, including those that come through advertising.
Yes, for print and ebook editions. Each is assigned its own ISBN, which keeps metadata accurate and consistent across retailers and, where relevant, for bookshop and library listings. Audiobooks are identified through retailer-specific codes rather than an ISBN. Authors who already hold their own ISBN for print or ebook are welcome to use it instead.
If your manuscript includes material that belongs to someone else, such as quotations, images or lyrics, obtaining permission to use it is the author's responsibility.
Only with written permission from the rights holder. Britannia cannot clear this on your behalf.
Britannia provides an Excel template. Place each image in its box in the order it should appear, and add a caption in the caption box where one is needed.
Yes, for publish-only projects where no editorial work is required.
Yes. Every manuscript is read in full at evaluation, which includes an assessment of how it is positioned for its readers. Market readiness is also one of the five criteria in the Editorial Standard Seal.
Pricing and Payment
There's no fixed answer, cost depends on the manuscript's length, the type of editing it needs, and which formats and services are chosen. A written quotation is provided after your manuscript has been evaluated, before any work begins.
Because a fixed package means some authors pay for services their book doesn't need, while others find it doesn't cover what their book actually requires. Pricing scoped to the manuscript itself means you're quoted for exactly what your book needs, nothing more.
No. Everything is agreed in writing before any work begins, there are no verbal agreements and nothing is added to your cost without being confirmed in writing first.
Payment is typically taken upfront, though the option to split it into two instalments is available on request.
Yes. A written quotation is shared and agreed before any work starts or any payment is taken.
Yes. All Britannia quotations are inclusive of VAT.
Process and Support
On average, 3 to 4 months, though this varies depending on the manuscript and which services are used.
On average, 3 to 4 months from manuscript evaluation to publication. Books are printed on demand, so there is no separate print run to wait for once the book is published. A copy is printed when it is ordered.
Yes. A project manager is assigned at the start and keeps you updated at every stage, from production through to publication, so you're not left chasing different people for updates.
No. You're guided through your own distribution and retailer accounts until you're confident using them, and support continues afterwards for any post-publication questions or technical issues, at no additional cost.
Yes. Where appropriate, authors can request examples of books Britannia has worked on, and there is a portfolio of published titles and author testimonials to browse.
Editing
Every manuscript is read in full before any work begins, so the editing that follows matches what the book actually needs rather than a single process applied to every title.
Copy editing is the final language pass, and it is the stage most manuscripts need regardless of how much other editing came before it. Your manuscript evaluation confirms which types of editing your book requires.
That is the work of developmental editing, which looks at structure, pacing, and plot or argument. Whether your manuscript needs it is decided at evaluation, before any editing begins.
Editing is done digitally, mainly in Microsoft Word using tracked changes and comments, so you can see every proposed amendment and editorial note and keep full visibility of what has changed.
Yes. The same editor works on your manuscript from start to finish, and a dedicated project manager acts as your main point of contact, keeping communication clear between you and the production team throughout.
It's the final check before publication. A panel of editors confirms the manuscript meets five criteria, structure, pacing, clarity, grammar and market readiness, before it's approved to move forward.
On average, 8 to 10 weeks, depending on the type of editing the manuscript requires.
Cost depends on the manuscript's word count and the type of editing required, and is confirmed before any work begins.
Design and Formatting
There's no fixed limit. Revisions continue until the author is satisfied with the final cover and interior layout.
The author. Once a cover is finalised, full rights to the design belong to the author, the same as every other part of the book.
That's fine. Direction can come from the author or be built from scratch based on the book's genre and content, the process works either way.
Yes. Formatting is set to match the book, a novel, a non-fiction title and a children's book are laid out differently, since what reads well for one doesn't work for another.
Yes. A .PSD file is preferred, because it lets us prepare the files for the final publication stage. Without one, the design would have to be replicated. Because every Britannia quotation includes cover design, using your own cover changes the price of your plan. If you would like the option of a Britannia design, a quotation that includes cover design can be provided instead.
Yes. You choose the trim size, the paper type and the formats the book is published in.
Yes. Britannia matches authors with professional artists who create original illustrations for their books.
Ebook and Audiobook
Yes. While most authors choose to publish across multiple formats, an ebook-only release is entirely possible. Because Britannia's quotations are built around a manuscript's actual needs rather than a fixed package, publishing digitally without a print edition simply means the print-specific services aren't part of that particular project.
No. Most Britannia quotations cover all the reading formats, but an ebook-only quotation covers the ebook alone. A paperback can be added to the quotation if you want one.
Audiobook production takes 2 to 3 months in total, covering casting, narration and final production. Ebook file preparation is handled as part of the wider publication stage, since bespoke quotations are built to cover every format a book will be released in from the outset, rather than treating the ebook as a separate project once print is finished.
Ebooks are distributed through Amazon Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo.
Audiobooks are distributed through Audible, Apple Books and Kobo.
Yes. Images are added in the master files of your manuscript, and every format offered will show them in colour.
Yes, for print and ebook editions. Each is assigned its own ISBN, which keeps metadata accurate and consistent across retailers and, where relevant, for bookshop and library listings. Audiobooks are identified through retailer-specific codes rather than an ISBN. Authors who already hold their own ISBN for print or ebook are welcome to use it instead.
Narrators are freelance voice artists, matched to the book based on its genre and tone, rather than selected from an in-house roster.
Print Distribution and Royalties
Books are produced through print-on-demand using IngramSpark and Gardners, so each copy is printed when an order is received, with no large print run or minimum quantity. Print quality depends on the format, paper stock and printer selected, and both networks are established platforms that produce professional-quality editions.
Yes. It's included as part of every quotation, not something an author needs to add on separately.
No. Books are produced through print-on-demand, so no stock is held anywhere, copies are printed only once ordered.
You don't need to decide a print run. Because copies are printed only when ordered, there is no stock to run out of and no reprint to plan.
Being listed through IngramSpark and Gardners means any bookshop can order the book by ISBN, the same as they would any other title, but the decision to stock it sits with each individual shop. If an author arranges their own deal with a bookshop, they only need to share the ISBN, not deliver physical copies.
Once a book is listed, a bookshop can order a copy directly by ISBN, the same way they'd order any other book.
Because books are printed on demand, retailers may show "not in stock" or a 1 to 2 week wait while the copy is ordered through the distribution network and printed. Books are listed through IngramSpark and Gardners, so any bookshop can order them, and you can also approach local or independent shops directly about stocking or display. You can see where your book is available to order, but there is no live list of every shop physically holding a copy.
It depends on the order and fulfilment route. Ingram fulfils orders placed through its network, but tracking details are not always visible to the author for individual retailer orders, so you should not expect a tracking number for every bookshop sale.
Order author copies through your print-on-demand account and have them delivered to you beforehand. Plan the quantity and timing in advance to allow for printing and shipping.
Yes. Authors can order copies of their own book through their distribution and publishing accounts, and the copies are sold to the author at the printing cost.
The author does, directly. Distribution runs through the author's own IngramSpark and Gardners account, so royalties are paid to the author, not routed through Britannia first.
The percentage depends on the format. For ebooks, 70% goes to the author. For print books, the author decides what percentage to offer wholesalers, and 55% is the level wholesalers prefer. What remains after the wholesaler's share and the print cost of the copy is paid to the author. Print costs are deducted only when a copy is purchased, so nothing is paid upfront. Royalties are paid directly to you, not routed through Britannia.
Authors do earn from their book sales. Self-publishing is a long-term process that requires patience, and how much a book earns depends on its genre, its readership and the marketing behind it.
Britannia recommends a price based on your book's genre and current market trends in that category. The final decision always rests with you as the author.
Retailers apply their own discounts, so the price shown on their site can differ from the price you set.
Yes. Because listing runs through IngramSpark, one of the largest print-on-demand and distribution networks globally, a book isn't limited to UK bookshops and wholesalers. The same listing that makes a book available to a UK bookshop also makes it visible to international retailers and wholesalers connected to the IngramSpark network, without needing a separate setup or a second production run for overseas availability.
Book Marketing
Because different books sell to different readers through different channels. A plan built for one genre and audience would waste budget applied to a book it doesn't fit, so each plan is scoped to the specific book rather than pulled from a fixed package.
Digital promotion runs across both pre-launch and post-launch, rather than starting only once the book is available to buy.
Yes, the two do different jobs. Social media reaches readers where they're already browsing, but the content is temporary and lives on a platform outside anyone's control. A website is permanent, it's where an author's full story and full backlist live, and it's the only one of the two that search engines can actually index and surface to new readers.
Not as a managed service at this stage, Britannia's marketing is currently focused on digital promotion. Where relevant, authors are given a list of media contacts suited to their book, so they can pitch it themselves, rather than being left to build that list from nothing.
No. Britannia does not offer managed press outreach, and no coverage can be promised.
Yes. Each marketing plan is built around the book's market and audience, and if posters, bookmarks or other materials belong in that plan, we can produce them.
Not automatically as part of every quotation. Where an author's campaign includes advance review copies, we can discuss the right approach and help coordinate it.
Amazon sets its own rules on who may submit customer reviews, so an external review cannot simply be copied across. Genuine editorial or professional endorsements can be shared in the appropriate areas of your listing, subject to Amazon's policies.
We support launch planning and promotional materials. Physical launches and events are organised together with the author and the venue, and arranging a venue is not part of every bespoke quotation.
Yes. Your Amazon KDP account stays in your name, so you keep ownership and control of it. We can optimise your listing and make changes as part of the agreed service, and you can also manage it yourself. Changes to published files or metadata may have platform-specific requirements.
We can help identify suitable contacts and prepare professional outreach, normally made on your behalf with your approval. We cannot guarantee that any public figure, author or industry professional will agree to endorse the book.
Ghostwriting
No. If one exists already, the process moves faster, but the discovery and interview stage is specifically designed to build an outline from scratch, based on what the author shares.
On average, 5 to 6 months for the full manuscript, longer than editing an existing book since it's being written from the ground up. This is separate from the production and publishing stages that follow once the manuscript is complete.
That's the purpose of the chapter-by-chapter process, each chapter is reviewed and approved by the author before the next is written, rather than the author seeing a complete draft for the first time at the end.
Per chapter, rather than a flat project fee. This is confirmed before work begins.
Yes. An NDA is signed before any work is scheduled.