BookBaby - Pennsauken Township, New Jersey

Megan Jordi Brody

BookBaby is great in some areas and really misleading in others. I will say that the end product I received was a beautiful, high-quality book that I'm very happy with. That said, something is terribly wrong with BookBaby's distribution set-up. When you buy the very expensive package that includes having your title distributed to booksellers worldwide, you have the impression that the book will actually be available for purchase on those sites. My experience was that while the title appeared on many sites weeks after I received my 25 copies in the mail, the book art was missing from all of them, including Amazon, for over a month, making the book look totally illegitimate. I was also not able to begin marketing my book because the listings were incomplete. I contacted BookBaby, and they said that the book art can take longer to upload. Fine. Again, I waited. After another couple weeks had passed and the release date was coming up--still with no book art online--I contacted them again and someone finally communicated with Amazon (but no others), and the art was uploaded within few days, only on the Amazon page. Then, I noticed on Barnes and Noble that once my book was released, the online purchase button disappeared. I contacted Book Baby, and they said that Barnes and Noble makes the decision about whether to keep online purchasing available, which I'm guessing is based on prior online purchasing activity. This is maddening because it was due to BookBaby's inaction on my book art that I couldn't send out any marketing about my book, and so it appeared to Barnes and Noble that my book had no traction. Now my book is only available for sale on Amazon and the BookBaby Bookshop, and wouldn't you know, Amazon's stock is temporarily unavailable, and it's been unavailable for two weeks now. Meanwhile, my book was released and while I'm doing marketing and book readings, no one can purchase it and actually receive it from anywhere except the BookBaby Bookshop. I can't help but believe that Book Baby has intentionally set this up so that purchasing the book is ONLY available from their Bookshop. This is disingenuous advertising. I purchased the distribution package that was supposed to have my book available at multiple well-known booksellers, and I'm left with one option for my customers. It looks bad, and I'm losing thousands of dollars--the money I paid BookBaby for distribution and the money I could be making if my book were actually available for purchase on the sites BookBaby promised it would be available on. I will definitely be using a different company for my next title.

Chris Levine

You can do it yourself! I promise!

I used BookBaby to release my 2nd version of a children’s book. Honestly I thought it was just going to be easier. Upload my files and let them handle everything. Nothing is ever that easy.

While yes, they do put it up on platforms on your behalf. But that’s the only benefit.

You won’t get the control on specific platforms like Amazon for instance. I just checked the other day before I finally cancelled and saw my book wasn’t even available on Amazon “not in stock”. Like what?!?

Barnes & Noble could NOT order my book for in store. I have almost 20 emails with Book Baby as to what was going on. Everything is print to order so it made my life a nightmare.

Fast forward to the % they take! I sold almost 100 books at $9.95 each my first quarter… I got paid $90! Less than a $1 a book. That’s ridiculous.

Take your book and go on Fiverr for any finishing editing. Then go on Amazon/KDP, Barnes and Noble Press and Ingram Spark and put the book up yourself and make 40% or more. Oh and none of those platforms charge $100 for the first copy printed. Can you believe that? $100 for the first copy.

Customer service is good but their business model is not for the author’s best interest. Hard pass.

Cecilia Domeyko

My book printed by Bookbaby looked beautiful though the cover was designed by an independent artist. I had bought the full Bookbaby package, including world distribution and promotion. It posted on Amazon and all seemed ok, except that whenever one of my friends and colleagues went on Amazon to purchase it, (including a colleague who wished to use it in his literature course), they got a notice saying it was "out of stock." What? But it had just posted! I called Bookbaby and asked what was happening, and they replied that it was "an Amazon problem". I called Amazon and they told me it was "a Bookbaby problem.' This went on for long enough that I never sold a single copy of my book produced by Bookbaby on Amazon. It was was a total bust. Cecilia Domeyko, author of the novel Sacrifice on the Border".

Jim Griffith

AVOID THIS "SO-CALLED" PUBLISHER. I write under the pen name: J Razor-Backstrom. I had them publish my book, "A Fighting Chance" and it was a disaster. They never edited it. The cover was horrible and bizarre. I got a partial refund, because I was prepared to go to small claims court to have a judge decide the outcome. Now I find out they're selling the book on Amazon after I told them not to print it. This has now forced me to seek legal advice to stop this.

Michael “Gonzo” Barone

Best independent book publishing in the game. I've had 3 novels self-published through BookBaby. They are easily the most affordable, best customer service and most timely efficient company in the industry not to mention beautifully, well put together products! Long live books!

Libby's Bluegrass Videos

I had such a great experience with BookBaby! Their customer service was quick and available whenever I had questions while submitting my book manuscript. I felt comfortable and informed before making my purchase, so I already knew the book was going to turn out beautifully. I was able to see proofs of everything, and then I received updates on the book’s status as it was being printed. The whole process was also so shockingly fast! I received my boxes of 100 books (over 340 pages) just ten days after placing my order. It shipped in just five days! The actual product turned out just perfectly and I couldn’t be happier with the final result. BookBaby was also more affordable than other publishing options I looked into. Nothing but a great experience, and you have a customer for life! -Libby Lindblom, author of “Tried With Fire”- integrityebooks.com

TriMotivate Performance Triathlon Coaching

Unfortunately this is been a complete waste of time. I’ve scheduled two appointments with Book Baby and both have been missed or ‘unable to call your number’ and only email you after the scheduled time has elapsed. If you’re unable to call international numbers then you should not have that offered on your website. The fact I’ve had to wake up early on two occasions to schedule this phone call due to the time difference with the US and then do not receive a call is beyond annoying. Any further communication is ignored as well about other methods of contact. Book Baby are quick to send you a tonne of spam but not actually deliver on any service. It’s a pity the focus is more on marketing than the actual book service. I had a book ready in the correct format for a bulk order. Buisness will be going elsewhere.

Glen C. Kinnaird

DO NOT GIVE THIS COMPANY YOUR BOOK, YOU WILL NEVER SEE ACTUAL SALES. What a scam! This company gave me the runaround for three years, finally I am going to pull the rights to my book from them and go to a different company that is more transparent. I would warn any first time Author not to spend this amount of money on their self publishing program. They did nothing that they said they were going to do and after only a few months of the major bookstores had my book available. Such lies I am seeking to file a class action against them with other authors. Beware!