What bestsellers have you published? What is your track record?

Izzard offers access to a vetted network of publishing talent, as well as our own years of experience in book publishing. Izzard will act as a hub between you and your team, helping you find the best people and ensuring your goals are met in the process. In fact, you’ll establish a working relationship with a single contact person who will understand your goals and orchestrate your project from start to finish. They’ll help your team stay in sync with each other, ensuring the publishing process adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

Why Izzard Ink Publishing?

These days, authors are faced with a stark choice between “traditional” publishing through a handful of large, major publishers, and solo self-publishing, which is as easy as a few clicks on Amazon. With traditional publishing, authors must market their idea to a handful of large companies that are, for the most part, interested only in books with the widest possible audience. They look for authors that already have an established platform and audience. If they do manage to get a publishing deal, authors also lose control over creative decisions and revenue.

With self-publishing, on the other hand, authors won’t have the support or expertise of professionals. In fact, most self-publishers publish their book without any vetting or support at all, with DIY editing and design. It’s not realistic to expect to succeed this way, and the vast majority of these books get lost among the millions published on Amazon.

Izzard gives authors the tools they need to achieve the quality of traditionally published books, with help from top industry talent, so they can compete with this much smaller pool of high-quality books and have a chance at real publishing success—but without compromising the control and revenue that comes with self-publishing. We also offer authors help in building their platform and audience. It’s a fresh approach that draws on the best of each publishing method.

What are Izzard Ink’s core values?

Thoughtful – We are thoughtful in our approach, ideas, and consideration of the customers whom we serve.

Humble – We recognize that we all are learning. We will listen, learn, ask questions, and maintain our curiosity.

Authentic – We will remain true to ourselves and our core values. Integrity, respect, and kindness are inherent to each of us and we will embody these in our work.

Notice the Good – We will encourage our customers and each other, and work to build those around us.

Knowledgeable – We will be experts in our industry. Our customers will come to rely on us for sound advice and support.

Friendship – We will treat all of our customers and each other like friends and neighbors. We will be thankful, work to solve problems, meaningful feedback, and advocate for them.

Uniqueness – We recognize that each project is unique and we will apply our knowledge, process, and experience to create a customized and high-quality product for our customers.

Love – We love helping our authors and love the work we do.

Who is an ideal Izzard client?

We look for clients who are flexible and open to input, but have a clear vision of their goals. We can help authors develop this vision, but it’s a crucial piece of the publishing puzzle. Authors have different objectives in publishing a book, and therefore, different paths to success. The ideal Izzard client is willing to make the effort to articulate this vision, consider their audience, and build a platform, but is also open to feedback from expert editors and designers.

The full publishing process involves many skills beyond writing—traditional publishers have known this for decades. Just like we don’t expect air-traffic controllers to pilot passenger jets, we can’t expect authors to be experts in marketing, design, and editing. Few if any authors have the background to handle all of these steps themselves, so it’s important to build a team that can help.

We also stick by authors long-term, and we look for authors who keep their eye on the big picture, and who are willing to put in the work. Sometimes books don’t succeed immediately, but ultimately find their footing and audience later on.

I’ve seen a lot of scams and high-pressure or misleading sales tactics in the world of publishing services. How do I know you’re trustworthy?

We’ve partnered with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). As a resource for independent authors, one of ALLi’s chief goals is to help authors sort out reputable publishing services from the rest. Their ranking of the best and worst publishing services is a great place to start your research.

Partners like Izzard must abide by ALLi’s Code of Standards, which we believe in and proudly uphold. Self-publishing should open doors for authors, not set traps. We’ve heard the horror stories. That’s really why we started Izzard in the first place.

We’re also happy to put you in touch with authors that have worked with us in the past, so you can ask questions directly.

How long has Izzard been in business?

Izzard has been publishing since 2013.

Do you publish all books that come your way?

No, we don’t, but we do offer some publishing services to everyone. For the Izzard imprint, we are more selective. However, the question isn’t so much about whether your manuscript is perfect from the start, as whether it has potential and whether the author is motivated to reach the quality of traditionally published bestsellers.

We surround authors with a team that can elevate their book, and provide full service distribution if it can ultimately meet our standards. In this case, your book can be published under the Izzard imprint and we’ll keep looking for opportunities behind the scenes for years to come—similar to a traditional publisher.

Otherwise, we can offer publishing services with “hands-on” distribution, more akin to self-publishing strategies that leave distribution in the hands of the author. This is available to any author.

If you’re wondering where your book stands, we can offer a manuscript assessment for $595, which will help determine if your book is ready to be published, is a good fit, and editing action plan for the best path forward.

What is collaborative publishing?

These days, many companies offer some form of support for self-publishing authors, but few take a collaborative publishing approach. Many are simply publishing service companies, and usually won’t help authors with distribution or brand building over the long-term.

Collaborative publishing means working with the author throughout the process, putting them in the driver’s seat, and helping them craft a hand-picked team of the best people in publishing, while retaining the final say over their own project. In collaborative publishing, veteran expertise comes together with the author’s vision to create a high-quality book that stays true to the author. There’s no one-size-fits-all publishing plan, and a collaborative approach allows us to craft an approach tailored specifically for each author, and stick with them for the long haul.

How does your process work?

As a collaborative publisher, we offer a curated selection of expert professionals, who have all worked on bestsellers for major publishers, to build a team that will publish your book. You choose the team members, you keep the rights to your book, you have the final say on creative decisions, and hold on to the revenue, but gain access to the same talent major publishers depend on. It’s the best of both worlds, with the independence and revenue of self-publishing, and the expert input and wide networks of traditional publishing.

We call it our Plan, Pick, Publish, and it's Personal method.

Do I get to pick my publishing team?

Yes. Based on your genre, goals, target audience, and other factors, we’ll offer a selection of choices for team members like editors and designers. We’ll provide information on their background and why we think they’re right for your project, but you’ll make the final selection based on your preferences.

What do I need to know about my publisher or project manager?

Izzard offers access to a vetted network of publishing talent, as well as our own years of experience in book publishing. Izzard will act as a hub between you and your team, helping you find the best people and ensuring your goals are met in the process. In fact, you’ll establish a working relationship with a single contact person who will understand your goals and orchestrate your project from start to finish. They’ll help your team stay in sync with each other, ensuring the publishing process adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

How long does it take to publish a book?

Books can get done in as little as six to eight weeks, but once it’s done we send it out for reviews for six months. Timing may also depend on the availability of the team members you select, so this could be a factor to consider when choosing your team.

How do I know I have the right editor?

We start with an editing evaluation to determine the type of editing your book needs—from a simple proofread, to line editing, to developmental editing that can help build your book from the ground up. You’ll be offered a trial edit from a selection of editors to see which editing style most closely matches your vision for your book. We’ll offer input on why we like each editor for your project.

The editing evaluation is one of the first steps of the process, and will help you figure out what kind of work is needed. It will also give you the confidence of knowing whether your book is viable, and may help crystalize your vision for editing.

Last but not least, seek out an editor with the right qualifications. Izzard’s editors have worked as acquisition editors, on top bestselling books, or have thirty plus years of experience editing for major publishers. This is a big part of how Izzard brings traditional publishing quality to the self-publishing world.

Where would my book be sold?

It’s important to go beyond Amazon. With Izzard, the list includes Nook, Books-A-Million, eBay, Amazon, Kobo, Walmart, and more. We put your book into the largest distribution network available, with the potential to get into 39,000 brick-and-mortar bookstores worldwide.

It’s important to note that no one can guarantee a book will end up on bookstore shelves. We put books into the largest possible distribution network and send them to buyers for consideration. It’s ultimately up to them whether they buy a book.

However, this is exactly why we set authors up with experienced professionals for editing, design, and marketing. A high-quality book, represented in the best way possible on its cover and other marketing efforts, will have the best chance of getting into bookstores.

How do you market books?

How would you imagine marketing your book if had the resources and connections of a major publisher? What are your goals? Do you want to build your personal credibility? End up in libraries or bookstores? How much do you want to spend? There’s no one-size-fits-all marketing plan. A basic marketing consultation is included in our Get Ink’d package, and can offer a roadmap of how to achieve your goals.

We call it our Plan, Pick, Publish, and it's Personal method.

I just need books printed. Can you help?

We do act as a print broker, and we can source printed books from different manufacturers to give the best price and quality. Keep in mind, we can get the best pricing with print runs of 500 books or more.

How should I approach cover and interior design?

We generally start with cover design, so the interior can flow with that design, and then finally work on the spine and back cover.

I have my own designer or illustrator, can I work with them?

The short answer is yes, but we do vet team members to ensure quality, which needs to match books from major publishers. We also need to make sure they can work with our process.

What can you offer for children’s books?

Children’s books hinge on high-quality illustrations, and as with editing and design, we can offer access to top illustrators that have worked on bestsellers. This can make or break a children’s book. We can also help with editing that can make sure your book is ideal for the age-level you’re trying to reach.