Titles on Amazon.co.uk – 9

Titles on Amazon.com – 7

Domtom Publishing is a recent newcomer to the author solutions scene. They are based in West Sussex in the UK. They describe themselves as ‘…literally a breath of fresh air to book writers’ and were founded by people from the ‘print industry’ with over 30 years combined experience.

“At domtom publishing we have the knowledge, we will supply the effort, act diligently and keep our fingers crossed!”

Domtom Publishing delivery plenty of ‘mission’ statements on their website about their author services and knowledge of publishing but give little away to the perspective self-publishing author that actually backs this up. When a publishing company of any kind makes these kind of statements they really need to demonstrate this. An ‘About Us’ page on their website would not go a miss here. Domtom Publishing do feature their own on line bookstore, which as of April 2009, lists just ten titles.

“Here at domtom our mission is to offer a new and innovative approach to the traditional methods of getting a book to print, breaking free from the restrictive practices often found in the publishing world.”

While self-publishing is certainly very different to the normal path of traditional publishing—it is hard to see what exactly Domtom offers as an ‘innovative approach’.

“There is no guarantee of success, but we assure every author that each publication will be produced to the highest standard and marketed with continued zeal and enthusiasm. Our method of direct marketing and cutting out the distributor ensures a bigger slice of cake to share, a policy which is fast becoming the future of book supply. You will find our royalties generous and we offer industry leading settlement terms.”

This is a fair and honest statement, but ‘cutting out the distributor’ simply means that Domtom, like many author solution companies, do not have a book distributor in place beyond the normal book data listings provided to online retailers and book wholesalers such as Gardners in the UK. Having a dedicated sales team of representatives to sell your catalogue of books to high street stores is not something you decide to ‘cut out’. Domtom Publishing’s strategy is to rely on in-house direct marketing, but again, they need to clearly show to perspective authors how exactly this forms part of their business and the self-publishing services they offer.

Domtom Publishing offer a self-publishing service which includes book layout advise, ISBN and barcode allocation, and Amazon listing. Book cover design and editing/proofreading are offered as additional services. Domtom do have the advantage of having all their book production facilities in-house. However, many of their UK counterparts offer cover design and legal registration in their basic packages, rather than as an add on service.

Domtom Publishing needs to back up much of their website statements. While they may have staff with knowledge and print/publishing experience, they remain newcomers as an author solution service and authors should contact them directly for service costs, royalty and contract details.

Domtom Publishing may have started with great intentions, but clearly, since its inception in 2007, it has become little more than a home for Sue Allan’s own books. It takes a lot to self-publish – it takes even more to become a publisher for others.

RATING: 3/10

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