We will ask you to buy your own ISBN numbers. These cost $125 each or you can get 10 for $295. Each format of your book will require an ISBN. We have you buy these because whoever owns the ISBNs controls distribution of the book. We want you to have that control.

While you may choose to invest in a book website or outside marketing, there are no other required expenses.

The Ignite Press logo will be featured on the cover and copyright page of your book, but we will make you or your company the official publisher. This ensures that all royalties go directly to do. This also means you have complete control of your content in the future.

You can order author copies “at cost.” The price varies by cover (paperback or hardcover), interior print (color or black and white), and page count. For reference, a 180-page paperback with a black and white interior costs under $3 each plus tax and shipping.

You do! Ignite Press has no claim of ownership over your content.

You—within limits. This is your book, and we want you to be proud of it. Creative control is yours, but you may incur additional expenses or delays if you choose to go beyond our normal parameters.

Most books are published and launched within 90-120 days of the date you submit and sign off on your manuscript. This time will be used for copy editing, cover design, interior layout, publishing, and launch.

You receive all available royalties. Your book is hosted in accounts you own, so royalties flow directly to you. The amount varies by distribution channel and is affected by print costs. Amazon pays a 60% royalty on paperbacks after deductions for marketing, printing, fulfillment, etc. For example, a 180-page paperback with a black and white interior that retails for $19.95 may generate a royalty of approximately $8. Amazon pays up to 70% on Kindles. Therefore, $7.99 Kindle sale may generate $5.50 in royalties.

Your book will appear online worldwide on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Baker and Taylor, Apple iBooks, Google Books, Walmart, and more. The ebook version may appear on apps like Scribd, Overdrive, and others. It will also be available through the Ingram network, which makes it available to physical bookstores and libraries.

Your book will be placed in the Ingram network, which makes it available to bookstores and libraries on a wholesale basis. You may speak with your local bookstore to see if they will sell your book.

You! We publish your book in accounts you own. You own the copyright. You own the ISBNs. You own the book.

Vanity publishing (sometimes called a subsidy press) is a model where the publisher accepts any manuscript in exchange for payment, does little to no editorial vetting, and makes most of its money from author fees rather than book sales. There's a real history of authors overpaying for low-quality production and vague promises, and that history is exactly why the skepticism exists.

We're not a vanity press: we turn down projects that don't fit our focus areas or aren't ready (see the next question), we hold every book to the same editorial and design standards, and we're transparent about every cost before you sign anything. We'd rather you go in with clear eyes about the difference than take our word for it, which is why we lay out our answers to the questions below:

Isn't "hybrid publishing" just a nicer name for vanity publishing?

Fair question. A lot of vanity presses do call themselves "hybrid" to sound more credible, so the skepticism is earned. The real difference isn't the name, it's whether the publisher (a) vets what it publishes instead of accepting anyone who pays, (b) meets real editorial and design standards, and (c) is transparent about costs and rights from day one.

We start every relationship with a consultation, not a checkout page. Before we take on a project, we look at whether there's a clear message, a defined audience, and a topic that fits our focus: nonfiction, leadership, personal development, faith-based work, and memoir with a message. If a project isn't there yet, we'll tell you what it needs, and in many cases we'll recommend a different path rather than take you on as a client.

You can also check any publisher (including us) against the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) Watchdog list and the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association). We'd rather you verify than take our word for it.

We send you all of your files and logins on completion of the project. You are not beholden to or held captive by us in any way. While we would love to assist you in the future, you are welcome to proceed without us.

No. We turn away projects all the time, especially those that fall outside our focus areas, that don't yet have a clear enough message to serve the author's goals, or where we don't think we're the right fit to do the work justice. Every manuscript goes through a 20-point acquisitions evaluation by our acquisitions editor to determine if we and the manuscript are the right fit. Being selective takes more time than accepting everyone who can pay, but it's what keeps the "200+ books published" number meaning something. Rather than accept every manuscript that comes our way, we often recommend a different publishing path entirely.

We don't declare a book to be an Amazon bestseller. Amazon does.

A #1 bestseller is a book that has reached the #1 sales rank in one or more specific categories on Amazon during a launch window is featured by Amazon as the top entry on a bestsellers page on Amazon. Amazon's bestseller lists are updated more frequently than the the New York Times bestseller list, making Amazon's more accessible. A book may be a bestseller for a short period of time. That being said, the phrase in the publishing world is, "once a bestseller, always a bestseller." Bestseller status is a well-known and legitimate accomplishment and marketing tool to used by you in the future to share your message, build your brand, and sustain your business.

In traditional publishing, the publisher shares a very small royalty percentage (often in single digits) with the author. In most hybrid models, you pay a premium to the publisher to receive a higher royalty rate (or to get your books more cheaply). We do it differently: you cover the production investment upfront, and in exchange you keep all the royalties for the life of the book, and you get your books at cost. We make nothing on book sales or printing. Our incentive isn't back-end royalties. It's that our business depends on referrals and reputation. In fact, more than 90% of our business comes from referrals and repeat business. So if we do a poor job, or if a launch flops, that is bad for us whether or not we're collecting a cut. That said, this is a legitimate trade-off to weigh: a royalty-sharing publisher may be financially motivated to keep marketing your book after the launch, while our model puts that responsibility on you once the book is live. Our clients tell us the ownership and control are worth that trade-off, but you should go in knowing it's a trade-off, not a free upgrade.

We are huge fans of self-publishing, whether on KDP, IngramSpark or some other platform.

Self-publishing has many advantages. You have complete creative control. All royalties flow to you. You get your books at cost. And you own everything. But you also have to do everything. This means performing (or sourcing and then managing) professional editing, cover development, interior design, publication, distribution, launch, and more. And if you do any one of these things poorly, the entire project can become a disappointment.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, self publishing through one of the various platforms may be a great match for you. Our clients, on the other hand, seek professional-level editing, layout, design, and project management, recognizing they don't have the time, inclination, or energy to learn the publishing business in order to successfully bring their book to market. And they don't want to risk disappointment with a book they have worked so hard to write.

That being said, we use platforms like KDP and IngramSpark for fulfillment and distribution because they offer incredible benefits to you as the author. You will receive international distribution, inexpensive printing, very high royalty rates, and more. But we know what we are doing. We have used some of these platforms since their infancy, and we know how to help you get the best from them. Frankly, we're the right fit if you want a guided process and don't want to become your own project manager, editor, designer, and launch strategist.