Page Publishing Reviews
Page Publishing Review: Is it Legit?
Page Publishing is a a full-service publishing house that manages all aspects of book publishing, including distribution and royalty generation.
They state their team includes experts in various fields like editing, art, and marketing, who work together to provide a stress-free and easy publishing experience for authors.
However, authors are required to pay Page Publishing to publish their work, which is a hallmark of vanity publishing.
How Does It Work?
Interested writers can submit their manuscript directly to Page Publishing for review. Submitted in almost any digital format is preferable, though they do review traditionally typed and handwritten manuscripts as well.
Their stated aim is to free authors from complex business issues such as eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, and shipping, allowing them to focus on writing and creating.
Manuscripts that are accepted for publication will then be taken through every aspect of the publishing process, including:
- editing
- page design, cover design, & typesetting
- printing & distribution
- copyright registration
- press release creation and distribution
- book signings and event coordination
- royalty management.
They say this entire process should take no more than six months on average, and your book will be available through the world's largest retail book outlets.
Is Page Publishing a Vanity Publisher?
Page Publishing is often described as a vanity publisher, a type of publishing company that charges authors to publish their books.
Unlike traditional publishers, who make money by selling books to the public and pay authors royalties based on sales, vanity publishers make money directly from the authors.
Authors pay for the production and marketing of their book, and in return, the vanity publisher arranges for the book's publication.
This model contrasts with traditional publishing, where the publisher assumes all costs of publication and takes a financial risk on the book's success.
While vanity publishing can offer authors a way to get their work published when traditional publishing routes are not available, it's important for authors to carefully consider the costs and benefits, and be aware of the nature of the services they are paying for.
Customer Reviews & Complaints
Page Publishing earns mixed reviews from customer on review website, including on Reviewopedia.
However, Page Publishing has an A+ rating with the BBB where they diligently respond to customer complaints.
There Page Publishing earns high marks, receiving an average rating of 4.87 / 5 stars from over 500 customer reviews.
The company has received 20 customer complaints in the last 3 years and 8 customer complaints in the last 12 months.
Positive reviews commonly mentioned:
- Professional and Helpful Staff: Several customers appreciated the professionalism and helpfulness of the staff at Page Publishing, citing good communication and support through the publishing process.
Authors appreciated the guidance they received from staff, particularly in navigating the steps from manuscript to published novel.
- Art & Page Design: The company's art department and page designers received praise for their creativity and attention to detail in developing book covers and layouts.
Negative reviews commonly mentioned:
- High Costs and Lack of Clarity: Many authors expressed concerns about the high costs of services and a lack of transparency about these costs from the outset.
Complaints included high costs for services, deceptive contract terms, and renewal fees that were not clearly communicated upfront.
Customers felt misled by Page Publishing, describing it as a self-publisher rather than a classic publisher, and accusing it of not being upfront about its services and costs.
- Quality of Editing Services: Complaints were frequent about the editing services, with authors feeling that their manuscripts did not receive thorough or professional editing, including failure to correct grammatical errors and poor sentence structure.
- Issues with Royalties and Sales Reports: Authors reported difficulties in receiving their royalties, discrepancies in sales reports, and concerns about the accuracy of reported sales.
Authors also stated they faced issues with their books being mixed up with others or removed from major retail outlet websites, causing sales and promotional problems.
- Lack of Proper Support and Miscommunication: Some authors felt unsupported by the publishing team, citing a lack of knowledge about the book's content among the support staff and issues with marketing materials and website construction assistance.
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Lack of Customer Support: Authors reported experiences of poor customer support, including unresponsive coordinators and failure to address their concerns effectively.
In summary, while Page Publishing has been praised for its staff professionalism and the quality of its art and page design, there are significant concerns about costs, editing quality, royalty payments, customer service, and overall satisfaction with the publishing process and the final product.
Customer Service
Contact Info
Customers who would like to speak to their Customer Service team about their questions, concerns, or complaints can do so by phone at 800-204-6099, by email at [email protected], or by submitting them directly to the website.
Cost & Price Plans
The website does not discuss cost directly, choosing instead to say that they provide these services for "a minimal investment."
They do however say that they take 20 cents per book for every book sold.
Refund Policy
This company does not publish and likely does not offer a standard Refund Policy for their services.
They may offer a Cancelation Policy for customers who wish to withdraw their book from publication before it gets too far into the process, but writers should discuss this with a representative before committing to the publication.
If you have any experience with Page Publishing or their services, please leave your reviews below.
Page Publishing Customer Reviews
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How Page Publishing Scam works
Page Publishing is a scam, I wrote a book that has been distributed around the world, in multiple languages, received call for Publishing from other countries, but stuck with Page Publishing, and every time I phoned them, they would say we will receive the funds next quarter this went on for several years. This is how they keep your money. They sell your book at a discount and keep all the money, it's in the contract but not clear. They can offer discount sales and make more money and pay you nothing, that's the SCAM!
Buyer Beware
You not the only one!!! Let's get together and bring them to justice.
I’ve already complained to them
I have a few calls to make tomorrow but I’m going to see who are the best people to contact , I’m gonna try to contact Pennsylvania Dept of fraud , if they have one!
My sister was told she would get a an editor to work with her. Now that her book published, it is clear no editor was used. I suspect someone ran the book through a spellcheck and let it fly.
These crooks don't have an editor. Uneducated coordinators run this business. Stay away from this organization.
They stated in the contract that they had a press release that included LOCAL area but they did not do that and are making all sorts of excuses why they cannot notify local media outlets like they cannot spam them. Telling me as the author I need to promote my book when they know I am 74 and not real techy and have a small base of family and friends to notify. They keep lying. Angry and filing consumer complaints. My book is a children's book. Nana's Wacky Farm" By Jennine Donier But they failed to notify and refuse to notify local media in my area and notified various spammer scammers to contact me to give a zoom interview if I paid the people who called me due to the so called press release these people got they want from $800 to $4000 that is insane and I am on a low fixed income. Without the local media area notified I will not even get my $5000 back. RIP OFFS
These crooks just look at your money. It's very sad that they are still around. If they don't rob you at the beginning, they will at the end.
A very expensive scam. Here's the contract they gave me
Stay away, this is a very expensive scam. I had to find this out the hard way. I have a book with them. I'm going to give you all the real scoop on these crooks.
They stopped returning my calls when my coordinator quit, apparently because she was tired of lying. I had a good relationship with her, at least I thought I did, but turns out she's a liar too.
This company had me in an exclusive 2 year contract. Every two years I have to pay $90+ dollars to keep my book on sale. Only in the fine print do they tell you that if you do not call or write them to cancel the publishing contract two months before my contract expires that I would be stuck with them for another two years.
The only other company I heard charged a two year renewal fee was Fulton Books but I can't confirm it directly. I threatened to give them a bad review if they didn't return my call and lo and behold they called within minutes after not returning many calls and emails.
They put in the renewal contract that any dispute with them must be in writing and settled in arbitration. Not in court, or through a class action suit. Two sections stood out to me, now watch this...from right out of the contract. I am now with another publisher and they are the best. An absolute breath of fresh air but I will get to them later.
First, the contract:
1. Publisher makes no representations, projections or guarantees as to the projected sales volume of the Work.
2. Any dispute, controversy, or claim between Publisher and Author regarding this Renewal
Agreement or the original Publishing Agreement will be submitted to mandatory and binding arbitration under the terms of the rules of the American Arbitration Association as then in effect. All claims must be brought in the party's individual capacity and not as a class member in any purported class or representative proceeding. Arbitration proceedings shall be heard in Crawford County, Pennsylvania by a single arbitrator serving at the mutual designation of the parties and each party shall be solely responsible for their own attorney's fees in connection with said arbitration.
Any issue concerning the applicability, interpretation, or enforceability of these procedures, including any contention that all or parts of these procedures are invalid or unenforceable, will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. No discovery will be permitted in connection with the arbitration and all aspects of the arbitration will be confidential. Any arbitration award shall not include exemplary or punitive damages. The arbitration award will be final and binding on the parties and may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.
The publisher for my new book is so fair, I just love that whole team. They get back to me right away, their agreement is fair, it's not an exclusive so I still retain 100% of my rights, not that I would even think of going anywhere else. I don't have to pay $90 every 2 years. My sales have been great. I actually sold books and a lot of them which shocked me because I didn't sell any through Page. They market my book, and even built my website. I can check my royalties as they come in. The difference between New Book Authors Publishing (the best publisher) and these scam artists is night and day. The terms about arbitration is to keep people from writing bad reviews about them. Do not engage them. They are liars and crooks.
You are lucky. They both, page publishing and fulton books run by the same crooks.
I just had a big blowup w/Page, cut a long story short I told them to stop lying because I knew their game. Now they’re trying to negotiate w/me.My coordinator is on vacation ? Doubt she’s enjoying it right now). I sent an email to the sales person , I told her editing was extremely important. I have RA in my hands, anyhoo they said please don’t bother her she’s in sales… I said yeah, I wouldn’t have gone a/your company had I known the truth. I think self publishing is most likely the best option but it would take time to find the best editors, page design, cover etc then marketing. Over $2000 invested w/these aholes
Omg I thought Fulton were hood. I’ve heard of them!
Good I meant! Well you can see already that I need help with editing!
Beware of Page Publishing
I signed an agreement with Page Publishing on July 13, 2022. The entire project was to take six- ten months to complete, and cost $4,000.00. Part of the agreement guarantees a full copy edit of my manuscript. This includes proper syntax, word usage, sentence structure, consistency and much more.
However, upon receipt of the initial edit, it was evident that my manuscript was not reviewed by an editor. The only corrections made were punctuation marks. That is why I asked for a full refund of $1293 after the first edit, which was refused.
I am very disappointed with the poor, unsatisfactory service provided by Page Publishing. In my opinion, the coordinator, who I caught not being truthful with me, is in charge of the whole process. I believe that there was no editor.
During the second edit, I found more errors made on their end that needed to be corrected. This raises the question, did anyone initially read my manuscript? Also, I was told to point out which parts of my manuscript contained poor editing, which I believe is the editor's responsibility. This confirms that they only rewrote the corrections that I made. This is not what I signed up for.
Furthermore, there is no customer service. Nobody knows anything. All questions in my case were directed towards an untruthful coordinator. I have sent them multiple emails and letters asking for a refund and officially ending my cooperation with Page Publishing. I have yet to receive a response on this matter. I will go into more detail later. Thank you. Peter Luk
That’s exactly the same as me. Snap !
My experience with Page Publishing
I’m happy for you, I really am! Unfortunately I’m not having that kind of luck ! Like a lot of people on here I’m having the same problems, almost identical !
Just another scam
I was not impressed with this company. They are only interested in getting your money. I had the same experience with Christian Faith Publishing. I was not impressed with them either.
Seems like companies that are charging authors a lot of money can run expensive commercials and ads. Their websites also look like infomercials. After reading the reviews here from beginning to end and reading better business bureau complaints on Page, and confirmation from my interactions with them I decided not to take a chance.
It took weeks to find a publisher because there are way too many scammers out there pretending to be publishing companies. One company that called itself a ghostwriting service and "publisher" tried to charge me $16,000 to market my book and guaranteed me thousands of sales. Too many liars!
I went to message forums and Facebook groups to learn how to publish my book on my own but found a lot of the authors make a lot of rookie mistakes that ultimately hurt their books. Some of them were banned from Amazon for breaking rules they didn't know about. Rather than take a chance on doing it myself, I did take the advice of some of the other authors I saw here and in some feedback comments on other platforms and went with New Book Authors Publishing.
Now I'm going to pay it forward and recommend the same. They did a great job with my book. They were friendly and actually cared about my book. I'm publishing my second now, which I did right away. I'll do my best to warn other authors about the scammers. I have a long list of them that didn't sit right with me.
Please please please research these companies before you work with them. Find one who works for you and if it sounds too good to be true then it is. If they have commercials and pressure you into publishing a book, they are not real publishers. Real publishing companies don't chase clients like desperate fools.
The Rise Of A Street General, An Autobiography by Michael Turtoe Stewart
I am the author of the book; The Rise Of A Street General, An Autobiography by Michael Turtoe Stewart.
Me and my cousin paid a total of $3,522 to have my book professional published by Page Publishing company.
I paid to have this book placed into the Online Book Club only to discover later that the Editing & Proofreading was of poor quality. There was total of 108 misspelled words & bad usage of words. I believe this company intentionally failed to uphold their obligation as a professional company for two reasons: 1) my book was not a common part of this company genre and 2) being that i am Black.
I believe it was this company intentions to cause me public embarrassment.
Any one that read my book will have no problem detecting all the errors in this book. I have filed a compliant with the BBB in hopes to have this matter rectified and be financially compensated.
If you are a black author with a nonfiction urban story you want published. I suggest you consider another that has a history of publishing black authors works.
If anyone doubt me. Read my book yourself. Then leave an opinion.
This seems to be yet another example of someone playing the race card. It flies in the face of logic to believe any publisher would intentionally create a failure for any reason, let alone the color of the author's skin, because by doing so, they lose money.
The failure is more likely incompetence on the part of the publishing company, perhaps by placing the account into the hands of an employee with inadequate skills or training. The fact that other authors who are not black have had similar experiences discounts the racial accusation by this author.
I’m rethinking on page publishing for my book so page publishing, HEY I’m Colton J welch I can and will have my book withdrawn from here if it’s accepted and horrible I have a promise from y’all and blm and I’m white but still BLM
Hi Michael, I had the same problem with the editing, the first was bad the 2nd not much better, I think this company is out to make money at whatever expense they can. I too wanna pull my book but of course they want to negotiate about lowering payments this that or the other ! Don’t be embarrassed, they’re the ones that should be. They’re disgusting. My writing is bad ( as far as the physical sense
I’m going to go after them. If anyone else is interested let me know. Their sales people lie to get you roped in & then we see how awful they are. Then according to them we are stuck with their policy etc. & we have to pay the piper! No way, we were lied to, therefor that entire contract was based on a lie. They’re not up to par as a regular traditional publisher would be. If they were truly hybrid they would at least make sure that their editing, page design & cover hat their editing, page layout design & cover design were up to par, but they’re clearly not!
That's how they operate for years. This organization and her 'brothers and sisters' ripping people off for a long time. It's time to stop those crooks. Hopefully, authorities help the authors get them out forever.
SCAM - Sad they are allowed to do this...
Very interesting proposition. Need more people
Don’t use Page Publishing
Scam.
They do have a great art department and page designers. They will not do a complete edit on manuscript for customers. You will have to give page and line numbers in Excel to their experts to “edit”.
Yes, you will have to pay an English major to check grammar and more! They will do a very general edit and mail it make for you “to approve” in a PDF formate. You will have to re read your manuscript and find errors for them.
Yes, Chicago Manual is quoted but not used with authenticity or consistently. Of course every time they insert your corrected spelling or grammar they MISSED- they count as their edit!
The coordinators copy and paste their response., never being honest. Worse experience ever! Don’t go with them! Liars and thieves!
Amateurish books
Read the reviews here and on the feedback page of Page Publishing's website and contacted them about publishing my book and was disappointed with everything I learned about them.
Unfortunately, I don't have room in my budget to make large monthly payments to them for a monthly bill, not that I would have published with them even if I could afford it. Somehow, I got the distinct feeling Page Publishing didn't care about plunging me into debt.
I ended up going with one of the other companies recommended here, New Book Authors and I am so glad I made that choice. They were super nice and did a great job on my book. Page Publishing is okay, but I was not impressed with the quality of the books they published, which looked a little generic and amateurish to me on top of their outrageous publishing fees.
I felt like I needed my lawyer present, the contract was so sketchy. So naturally I backed out before signing anything. Plus they hound you so much you end up feeling guilty for not responding to them. I told them I was no longer interested and that I'm already published and I'm still getting emails months later. I regret even giving them my information.
I need help to get my book published and need advice to go and see if i can get it published without having any money for it. Sincerely Phillip Gutshall
Chance Evers and Two for the Seesaw
Every book requires scrutiny and direction from editing professionals. I received great care from one of Page Publishing's project coordinators, Lana Beers. From there I developed a sense of trust with the copy editors. They were honest from the very beginning, noting that although this is a painstaking process, it is necessary to arrive at a finished product everyone can be proud of.
The inventiveness and attention to detail from the artists in developing covers for both of my books, "Chance Evers" and "Two for the Seesaw," gave me the confidence I needed to promote them. You can see their work by searching Bill Heitland at www.twofortheseesaw.com or Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55579315-chance-evers
I recommend Page Publishing for anyone who would want their work to stand out.
My two cents
I came here a few weeks ago because I grew tired of looking for a traditional publisher. The whole experience was killing my self-esteem and I almost gave up on publishing my first book. These companies just don't give you the opportunity. I wasted my time submitting my manuscript to dozens of publishing companies, and most of them didn't even read it before telling me no. Eventually, I decided to go a different route. Even though I read mixed reviews about hybrid publishers, Page Publishing seemed like a good place to start.
That said, I always do my research. After reading comments on the Better Business Bureau, Quora, and a bunch of other reviews out there, I decided not to go with Page Publishing. $3700 just seems a bit high to me for the quality of work, not to mention how they treat their customers.
I took the advice I found in the comments here and chose New Book Authors publishing as the publisher of my children's book. I worked with Junior, the illustrator. He did a phenomenal job with the artwork. The end result was a beautiful children's book, my dream come true. If you could see me I am beaming ear to ear. I'm so glad I went this route. Just thought I'd offer my two cents.
Thank you so much! I was about to call Page myself! I also checked with I Universe who charge $5,000 --if you want full service, about 2,000 dollars for basic service. It's great we all keep this communication open as we are serious writers who believe in our work. Your two cents speak volumes.
An Actual Page Publishing User Here
I wish I had found this page BEFORE going to Page Publishing. I suspected that something was not right with them, but also knew that I had no experience whatsoever in this area.
So I went to them, with the knowledge that I was "paying for education" in this area. So, call me crazy, but even though I had a manuscript that had been edited TWICE by industry professionals, they still said that they needed to do their own editing. Also, I had my cover photo shot by a professional photographer I know, so they didn't have to do anything there either. After their "edit" they came back with less than a dozen corrections in a 300 page manuscript. The fee they charged me was roughly $3700.00. In their sales pitch, they offer you a web page for your book. The "web page" they offer is INTERNAL. You actually have to sign onto their site to access it, so it's not accessible to the public. They also mention radio interviews, which I have yet to hear anything about. They dangle a "marketing package" out there, which actually you can put together yourself for a fraction of what they want to charge you!
Much of this is not really made clear until you sign the initial contract. It actually took them a year for my book to go live. During that period, they align the "stages" of publishing your book to coincide with the payment schedule they've set up. You're admonished that should you miss a payment, publishing of your book will be suspended until you make the payment. Once the payments have all been made they place your book online and make it available in print form. You are informed that you will get "Quarterly sales reports", however you will only get royalty checks if your payout is $100.00 or greater. If it's less than, your payout will be sent in the next quarter. Funny, but despite several persons through my OWN PROMOTION on social media have alerted me that they have purchased the book, and have shown proof that they have done so, my quarterly report only reflect less than 6 copies sold. While I certainly never expected to "get rich" with the sales of the book, it's publication and distribution means a lot to me, and of course is my work. I certainly didn't intend to make a bunch of scam artists rich off of my effort. STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!
Thank you. That is sobering news. I was about to contact them, primarily because they advertise all the time on tv and sound quite professional. I came upon another self publisher called BOOK BABY, geared for new authors. I had a long chat with them and it turns out YOU do everything online. You are basically paying for THEIR advice. They do nothing. I told them I am a writer, not a computer guru. There was silence! And they want good money for instructions they email to you. What a sweet deal for THEM!
Page publishing
Read every review I could find
I read every review I could find before taking a leap of faith and boy am I glad I stopped here! Their book covers looked mediocre for what you pay, and they ask for 3,000 and still take a cut of your royalties. If I'm covering my own overhead, then why am I giving them a percentage of my royalties?
After reading everything else I went with New Book Authors as everyone else suggested. I also used their marketing and they don't take a piece of the royalties. I was sold from that point and haven't looked back. They did a good job on the marketing and a beautiful job on the book.
Thanks for the feedback. It helps when people are trying to make a decision.
I took your advice and chose New Book Authors as the publisher of my children's book. I worked with an illustrator named Junior, who was very patient with me. The end result was a beautiful children's book. I am BEAMING ear to ear. I'm so glad I went this route, as I was really skeptical at first.
They promise the moon
Really?
Quality just isn't there. Don't waste you money.
Thank you everyone!!
Thank GOD I decided to come here because I've had page one of the publishing company. Good I came here first..
Did you find Page Publishers to be a reliable source, easy to work with, trustworthy and helpful? I am a first time author and can't afford mistakes.
Freda, I did not find them honest at all. I am still getting spam from page publishing, and it is very annoying. 8 ended up publishing with newbookauthors.com and was happy with that, and just published my second book. I don't like page iv their sales tactics or the fact that they pretend not to be a real publisher and not a vanity publisher who as accepts everyone. Doing my research really saved my butt because I very nearly paid them to publish my book after seeing the commercials.
Thank you. I sent my manuscript to them after I looked them up. The site I went to seemed okay and I saw they were distributed by Macmillan. Now, I'll head elsewhere.
Be Judicious and Do Your Homework
There are a lot of people jumping on the publishing bandwagon making all sort of claims.
As a publisher for over 25 years, I've heard many sob stories from authors who paid big bucks to get their book published.
Authors, please do your homework before committing your hard-earned cash!
I was recently approved for publication by Page Publishing, but they did not inform me about the initial up front fees until they'd told me the news, and after I had become very excited. It seemed as id they set me up by getting me excited about the prospect of publishing my works.
I feel they should state up front they the up front costs BEFORE they tell you your work has been accepted. Thank you.
Thank you Mr. Michael Matthews, for that well-needed piece of advice. See, there are some people out there who are not considerate enough to help the next man/woman who may be in peril when it comes to matters such as these. It's people like ourselves who cares for others that these things matter...THANX AGAIN!!!! I did the same thing on Poetry.com
What I find curious are the many publishers out there who won't tell us the "good" literary agents to get to them. Why put everybody through endless nonsense and spend months doing homework? That seems so counter-productive and insane. They put all these companies between them and the authors and say, "Sink or swim!" But WHY?