Mick Rooney | Self-Publishing Review

About Mick Rooney

Mick Rooney is an author, editor, researcher and publishing consultant from the Republic of Ireland. He has published nine books since 1990, through his own imprint, using author solutions services, and he has also published through mainstream publishers. Several years ago he began researching the publishing industry, and in particular Independent, POD (print-on-demand) and subsidy/self-publishers. Many of the findings of his research can be found at his site, The Independent Publishing Magazine together with his own experiences in the world of writing and publishing. He is the author of To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish? A Seriously Useful Author’s Guide. He is also a contributor to many magazines and online resources including, Writers’ Forum, Publishing Basics Magazine, Publetariat, Carnival of the Indies, selfpublishingreview.com, Irish Publishing News, as well as many writing and publishing forums. In September 2011, he published his latest novel with Book Republic, The Memory of Trees, available in hardback and ebook.

Trafford Publishing Review

Amazon.co.uk titles – 12,261

Amazon.com titles – 12,465

Trafford Publishing is one of the largest author solution service companies in the world using print-on-demand digital print technology. They are a Canadian company but with a considerable presence in the UK and USA. You cannot browse the Internet for ‘self-publishing’ and not come across companies like Trafford and AuthorHouse. They are the Behemoths of the industry.

Unlike other smaller author solution companies, Trafford openly welcome direct contact with them through email and phone calls because they have a skilled team of direct sales representatives who can deal day to day […]

Mick Rooney2017-02-12T09:10:50+02:00March 16th, 2009|Categories: Publisher Reviews|Tags: Subsidy Publishing Articles|

Spire Publishing Review

Spire Publishing first began life as UK based PABD (Publish And Be Damned). It was renamed Spire in late 2006 and although a Canadian company, it has still retained a significant presence in the UK.

“Welcome to Spire Publishing where self publishing a book is simple and affordable.

Your book is published with the same care and attention that it took you to write it. When you publish your book with Spire Publishing it can be designed, published and available for purchase worldwide within six weeks.”

Spire Publishing do have three on line bookstores, (UK, USA and Canada), but all […]

Mick Rooney2017-02-12T09:10:54+02:00March 16th, 2009|Categories: Publisher Reviews|Tags: Subsidy Publishing Articles|

The Next Indie Revolution?

In life, certain things have a way of happening just at the right time. This week’s book publishing news was no exception. I have two quotes below from two senior principles from very diverse areas of the book publishing world, who in their own right believe they are making a difference. Here are the quotes. Follow the theme.

Quote One:

“We regard ourselves as independent in the sense of independence of third-party corporate ownership and feel at home with the other members.”

Quote Two:

“Now, through indie book publishing companies like AuthorHouse and iUniverse, authors can let the readers decide […]

Mick Rooney2011-10-08T20:38:21+02:00March 15th, 2009|Categories: Features|

The Future of Ebooks and The Time Machine

Amazon has just released very healthy figures for the last year and this should be a strong nudge to the shoulder of publishers that they need to be serious about ebooks sales. They need to cast aside the mixture of lethargy and bemusement which was evident at last week’s unveiling of the Kindle 2 in New York City’s Morgan Library. While there are many ebook readers about, from the Kindle, Sony and the European produced Irex—even games giant Nintendo see the possibilities in this area. They released their own ebook styled software reader of books for the 2008 Christmas market.[…]

Mick Rooney2011-10-08T20:04:39+02:00February 20th, 2009|Categories: Features|

The Future of the U.K. Book Market

I wrote an article over Christmas about book retailers in Ireland performing marginally better in 2008 than on previous profits for 2007. Early figures suggest that the UK book retail trade recorded similar results, but that they still were marginally down last year. While better sales than expected might have raised the bar of expectation—it seems early 2009 may see that optimism short-lived. There is much discussion amongst UK retailers about the strategy of committing themselves to larger discounts for the buying public.

Unit for unit, there are more books going out the door of retailers, but the profit figures […]

Mick Rooney2011-10-08T20:06:08+02:00February 18th, 2009|Categories: News|

York Publishing Services Review

I came across York Publishing Services in the ‘Writers & Artists Yearbook 2009’ which I got a hold of in January. No matter how much research you do in this business, week by week, you are always uncovering something or someone you never came across before. YPS is one of the most established companies in the UK, operating for more than 30 years in the print and publishing service industry. YPS provide everything from design, editing, fulfilment, warehousing and distribution of books from the large publisher right down to authors with a just single title. I have talked a lot […]

Mick Rooney2017-02-12T09:10:46+02:00February 16th, 2009|Categories: Publisher Reviews|Tags: Subsidy Publishing Articles|

Self-Publishing Standards Part Two

(Read Part One here)

There are some basic principles and standards an author should look for in a company offering self-publishing services. In my previous article on Types of Self Publishing – Peeling Away the Layers, I explained how many terms can be used to describe these companies, but here are some of the things you should be looking for. You may not find a company that matches all these standards, in fact I think it would be unlikely, but it will go a long way to helping an author find a strong reputable company which best matches […]

Mick Rooney2011-10-08T19:29:52+02:00February 12th, 2009|Categories: Resources|

Self-Publishing Standards Part One

The author who embarks on the journey into self-publishing takes on a great many tasks. If they choose to fulfil all the tasks themselves, they have, in effect, taken on the running of a small business and everything that goes with it. They may decide to run their small publishing business by registering it a sole proprietor company, with the intention of publishing more than just one book. They not only become authors of their book, but editor, designer and illustrator. They will have to go about preparing their book as a digital file for the printers, using a program […]

Mick Rooney2011-10-15T12:26:43+02:00February 12th, 2009|Categories: Resources|