Translations are automatic convenience copies. English remains the source edition.
Independent, evidence-led intelligence for writers who would rather know how the industry works than hear how it ought to.
“Your book will pay the bills.”The income lie — read the file →
№2“Real writers never pay to publish.”The history lie — read the file →
№3“A deal proves your book is good.”The status lie — read the file →
№4“You’ll see it on bookshop shelves.”The shelves lie — read the file →
The publishing conversation has a fact problem.
One says a traditional contract validates the work. The other says any author investment invalidates the deal. Both replace analysis with identity.
We audit the parts that matter: money, rights, labour, reach and risk.
Whitman set the type himself. Austen carried the financial risk of her debut. Potter printed 250 copies with her savings after six rejections. The self-funded first book built a surprising share of the canon.
Click a claim. Leave with questions worth asking.
Compare who pays, who controls, who works, who reaches the market and who carries the downside.
Compare the modelsA traditional contract proves one thing: an editor believed the book could make money for that house, on that list, in that season. Quality is a different question.
Median book income for American authors: 2,000 dollars a year. For British professional writers: 7,000 pounds. The dream is not dead — but it is a lottery ticket, and the numbers are the odds.
“Global distribution” means a bookstore could order your book. Placement means it chose to. The distance between those two verbs is where most publishing disappointment lives.
New files land daily. No newsletter, no tracking — just the same evidence, wherever you already read.
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