Publishing puts the book in the world. This finds it readers.
Two different jobs, and most authors are left alone for the second one. Everything below is something we have already made for somebody, and you can open all of it.
Live sites,
running right now.
Not screenshots. The real sites, live in this page. Click one and scroll it. Every domain is registered in the author's own name, and every mailing list sits in their account, not ours.
Four of them,
and who they belong to.
Every domain below is registered in the author's own name. That line on an invoice is the difference between owning the work and renting it, and it is argued in full on the websites page.
- Alan McDonald's site, in his name, for his poetry collectionA live author platform we built and he owns outright.therootedsoulbooks.com ↗
- Vernon Smith's, built around one book and its storyA single-title site: cover, sample, buy links, press page.inmyhappyplace.co.uk ↗
- Catherine Rushton's, for a children's picture bookA children's title needs a different site to a memoir. This is what that looks like.littlehedgehogandthemoon.co.uk ↗
- Helen Michael's, doubling as her teaching platformAn author site earning its keep beyond the book.helen4english.com ↗
Somebody else
saying it.
A book described by its publisher is marketing. The same book in a paper with a masthead is a fact. These are live pieces, not summaries of pieces.
Buy it for the record,
not for the feature.
This is the service most often oversold, so the useful question is not what a release can do at its best. It is what you are certain to get.
- 01
What is guaranteed
It gets written, it gets distributed to desks that cover your category, and it exists at a permanent address afterwards. That happens every time, whether or not a journalist reads it.
- 02
What is not
Coverage. Nobody can promise a journalist will run something, because it is not their decision to sell. Vernon reached the BBC and The Yorkshire Post because the story was there.
- 03
When to spend on it
When there is a story that is not the book — a trade, a life, a local connection. Without one, a release is a well-written page nobody has a reason to open.
- 04
The full argument
How the story gets found, how the release is written, and every placement we can point at — on its own page.
The one asset
a feed will show a stranger.
Everything else here works on somebody who already knows your name. Video is the exception: it is the only format a social platform reliably puts in front of people who have never heard of you.
- 01
What you are actually buying
One shoot, cut four ways — vertical, landscape, square and a six-second hook for paid. Not one film cropped three times, which is why most author trailers underperform.
- 02
When it is worth it
After the listing is right. A trailer sends people to a page, and a page that does not convert turns a good film into an expensive way to be scrolled past.
- 03
How to judge it
Not on sales. On reach, profile visits and email addresses — because that is the job it can actually do, and measuring it against sales is how authors conclude marketing does not work.
- 04
The full argument
What gets made, what it costs you in time, and the honest limit of what a film can do — set out properly on its own page.
Read the service
before you buy it.
Each of these has a page of its own, written to be read by somebody deciding whether it is worth the money. That is deliberate: a service you can only hear about on a sales call is a service you cannot compare.
- 01Author websitesThe one piece of the platform you own outright. Ours are running live further up this page — open one and scroll it.↗
- 02Press releasesWhat a release reliably buys, what it does not, and the placements we can point at.↗
- 03Book trailersFour cuts from one shoot, and how to tell whether one is working.↗
The unglamorous work
that decides everything.
None of this photographs well and all of it compounds. An author still selling books in year three is almost always the one who did these.
- 01Amazon A+ contentThe part of your listing below the fold, which is where an undecided reader goes before they buy.↗
- 02Amazon Author CentralSmall, specific, and the reason a reader who liked one book can find your others.↗
- 03GoodreadsWhere readers decide what to read next, and where your book is discussed whether you are there or not.↗
- 04Articles and blogsPublished pieces with your name on them, so a search finds something other than a shop.↗
- 05SubstackAn audience you own and can write to on the day the next book lands. Strongest for non-fiction.↗
- 06ARC and reviewsAdvance copies to readers who choose to review. Nobody is paid — that distinction is what stops a book getting pulled.↗
Rented attention,
spent in the right order.
Genuinely useful, and almost always bought too early. Paid traffic pointed at a weak listing is money handed to a retailer.
- 01
Amazon ads
Keywords, categories and bid strategy. Reported with dates and figures attached rather than as a ratio with no period next to it.
- 02
Reader promotions
Your book in front of people who already buy in your genre, on the days that matter. We run these; we do not name the services, because that is the part you are paying us to know.
- 03
Why the listing comes first
Wrong category and thin keywords make a book invisible for free. Fixing that costs nothing and doubles what every advertising pound afterwards is worth.
- 04
What we report
Spend, where it went, and what happened. Not a screenshot of a good week.
Every cover
was made here.
The catalogue is the portfolio. Open any title and follow it through to the shop it is sold in.
Bipolar SunsetDavid Summerville
Bipolar SunsetDavid Summerville
Frank's Guide to Caring for BonsaiFrank Weaver
The Mystery on Greenfarm RoadGail Simmons
The CPO & The WrenGeoffrey Spinks
The Complete Guide to BarberingGeorge Bembridge
Grandpa Billy's Book of LifeWilliam H Webster
The Adventures of Bert the WormJade Entwistle
Honour Amongst MercenariesJames Vincent O'Donnell
Little Hedgehog and the MoonCat Rushton
The Fathers in my LifeLouise Wynne Jones
Reg Dudley's Camping Memories
William and the Secrets of the Enchanted ForestIdris James
Life Is Full of SurprisesMason Chambers
The Silent ReturnFranklin Josue Rutayungulwa
What our authors say
- Grand Publishers especially David Alonsa were brilliant
Grand Publishers especially David Alonsa extremely helpful and talked me through everything. He was also very patient with me.l would certainly recommend you all and have already done so
Gail Simmons - Book publishing and promotion
Jason and David and the team have worked hard to get my second book into the public eye, and have made some really good social media pictures and promotions. "The CPO & The Wren" is now selling on both sides of the Atlantic. Geoffrey Spinks
Mr Geoff Spinks - I can't tell you how amazing it has…
I can't tell you how amazing it has been working with Grand Publishing. From the very beginning, the experience has been outstanding. When I first reached out, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to publish a project I had been working on for quite some time. Jerry gave me a call and patiently walked me through the entire process. He answered all of my questions and genuinely motivated me to move forward with publishing my book. I was then introduced to David Alonso, who became my project manager. He has been fantastic throughout the journey, keeping me updated every step of the way, answering any questions I had, and making the whole process smooth and stress-free. As a first-time author, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're hesitant about publishing, I'd encourage you to speak with the team. If you don't come away from that conversation feeling confident, then I'll have to call myself a liar! Thank you, Grand Publishing, and especially Jerry and David, for making this such a positive and memorable experience.
Booker Odena - Outstanding Service from Grand Publishers
I had a very positive experience working with Grand Publishers. As a new author, I really needed guidance throughout the process, from editing to preparation for publication. David and Jerry, who were incredibly helpful, professional, and supportive, made a significant difference. They took the time to explain each stage clearly and did an amazing job with the marketing, illustrations, and overall development of my book. Their dedication to making the final result as strong as possible was exceptional. I would highly recommend Grand Publishers, especially David and Jerry, who were fantastic to work with.
Juliet - My book, In my happy place.
Some while ago I submitted a raw manuscript to Grand Publishers. Honestly, at first I was cautious about their enthusiasm, in fact I thought it a sales ploy. How wrong I was! The project has been managed by David Alanza, with input from Arthur J Wayne the marketing director. At every stage I have been afforded full control of the artistic direction and have now got a highly polished book that I could never have produced. I'm now in the launch phase and the marketing so far is beyond my wildest dreams. I know that there's much more to come, but wanted to highly recommend anyone with a book that they believe in to listen to and trust Grand. To verify everything I've said, please search Vernon Smith I my happy place and see for yourself.
Vernon Smith - Helpful and professional
Helpful and professional
Elikem Debrah
How to spend
on this.
Marketing a book is not one purchase, and treating it as one is the expensive mistake. There are three kinds of spend here and they behave completely differently.
Assets you keep
A website, a trailer, a press release, an author photograph, a set of A+ modules. Paid for once and used for years, in every campaign, on every platform. If the budget is tight this is where it goes first, because everything else works better once these exist.
Ground you hold
Author Central, Goodreads, a mailing list, a Substack, published articles. Mostly labour rather than spend, slow, and the only part that compounds.
Attention you rent
Ads and promotions. You pay, people see the book, and when you stop paying that stops. Useful — after the first two, not before.
The order almost everybody gets wrong
Assets, then ground, then attention. Most authors buy ads first, see nothing happen, and conclude that book marketing does not work. It was the sequence, not the marketing.
Marketing
questions.
No, and you should not. They are separate for a reason. Tell us the book and the budget and we will tell you which two or three would actually move it.
No, and anybody who says otherwise is selling you the confidence rather than the work. Marketing gets the book seen. Whether it sells depends on the book, the cover, the price and the category.
Usually yes. Send us the title and we will look at the listing first, because that is often the cheapest thing to fix.
The domain, the source files, the artwork, the mailing list and the coverage links. All of it, in your name.
What is the book, and who is it for?
Those two answers decide which of these is worth your money. A call is the fastest way to work it out, and a person answers.
Authors, filmed
talking about their books.
Video is the only thing a feed reliably shows to strangers. These are our authors, in their own words — the same 9:16 format the platforms reward, and the most persuasive asset any author has.
David SummervilleAuthor of Bipolar Sunset