Done With You · Guided Publishing · $2,250 · 90 days · Nonrefundable
Publish independently. Not blindly.
We begin with the work you've already completed. Guided Publishing is 90 calendar days of structured publishing support for an author who intends to manage the publishing work: we set the publishing direction and apply professional judgement at each of the six guided milestones. You prepare, correct and complete your own materials and run your own platform account.
- One fixed price
- $2,250, paid in full before activation. Nonrefundable.
- Term
- 90 calendar days from your activation date
- Six guided milestones
- Target windows only — never auto-advanced
- What depends on you
- Your progress — and whether your book reaches publication during the engagement — depends on the work you complete
Come ready to work. Leave ready to submit.
We begin with the work you've already completed.
Guided Publishing works forward from your existing project. Self Publish Me provides guidance, specifications, professional judgement and publishing direction. You remain responsible for preparing, correcting and completing your own materials. We do not recreate, rebuild, redesign, reformat or repair your existing project as part of this package.
$2,250 · 90 Days · Nonrefundable
- The client purchases 90 calendar days of structured Guided Publishing support.
- Progress and publication depend on the client's participation and completion of required work.
- Self Publish Me does not guarantee that the book will be completed, production-ready or published during the 90-day engagement.
- Client inactivity or delays do not pause, reset or extend the 90-day term.
The six guided milestones
01 · Days 1–14
Publishing Setup
02 · Days 15–35
Prepare Your Files
03 · Days 36–49
Complete the Book
04 · Days 50–65
Publication Readiness
05 · Days 66–79
Final Files & Proof
06 · Days 80–90
Publish & Handoff
Milestone day windows are guided targets only. Milestones are not advanced automatically by elapsed days, and reaching a milestone is not guaranteed.
What Guided Publishing is — and is not
Guided Publishing is professional publishing direction and milestone review. It is not production work.
What Self Publish Me does
- Establishes your Publishing Direction after activation, including the scheduled Publishing Direction Call and a written direction summary.
- Provides professional publishing judgement at the six guided milestones: Publishing Setup, Prepare Your Files, Complete the Book, Publication Readiness, Final Files & Proof, and Publish & Handoff.
- Provides written findings and one clarification round tied to each included Publishing Review.
- Identifies publishing and production concerns reasonably observable in the submitted material, and explains the appropriate next publishing step.
- Maintains the Publishing Workspace as the official project record.
- Provides brief status and reminder messages by email or SMS when appropriate.
What Self Publish Me does not do
- Does not edit, proofread, design the cover, format the interior, repair files, produce an eBook, or perform production work unless separately contracted.
- Does not recreate, rebuild, redesign, reformat or repair your existing project, and does not submit or publish the book on your behalf.
- Does not manage, supervise, chase or coordinate your outside providers or their deadlines.
- Does not provide unlimited calls, unlimited email or text access, repeated reviews of revised files, software tutoring, or open-ended consulting.
- Does not provide manuscript-development coaching, writing help, literary critique, marketing strategy, advertising, sales funnels, author business-model planning, licensing strategy, unconventional distribution strategy, legal advice, tax advice or rights advice.
- Does not interpret or mediate another provider's contract, promises, disputes or business model.
How the working relationship runs
You manage the project and your providers. Self Publish Me provides independent publishing judgement at the six guided milestones, across 90 calendar days.
A typical Guided Publishing author creates their own cover in Canva, Affinity or Adobe software — or hires their own designer. They format their own interior in Word, Atticus, Vellum or InDesign — or hire their own formatter. Then they bring those finished or near-finished results to Self Publish Me at the next major publishing milestone, and we apply professional publishing judgement to what is presented.
- Step 1
Create or hire
You make the cover and interior yourself, or you hire your own provider.
- Step 2
Submit at a milestone
You bring the finished or near-finished result to the next major publishing milestone.
- Step 3
Self Publish Me reviews
We review it from a publishing and production standpoint, explain the findings, and answer one round of clarifying questions on them.
- Step 4
You make or obtain corrections
You fix it, or send it back to your designer, formatter or provider.
- Step 5
Term completes on Day 90
We confirm the appropriate next publishing step and state plainly where the project stands. Completion and publication are not guaranteed.
Are you ready for Guided Publishing?
Guided Publishing works best for an author who is ready to actively move a book forward over the next 90 days. A good fit usually looks like this:
A good fit right now
- Your manuscript is complete — this is not manuscript-development coaching.
- You are prepared to work on the project actively during the next 90 days.
- You can create or obtain the cover, interior and any editing, or you already have providers for it.
- You are ready to make ordinary publishing decisions and respond in a timely way.
- You understand you manage your project and providers, and operate your own POD or printer account.
Better to begin later
- You are still writing or still rewriting the manuscript.
- You have no realistic way yet to obtain the cover, interior or editing work.
- The next few months are not a period when you can move the project.
None of that is a problem — it simply means a later start is better. The free Publishing Starting Point, Self-Publishing Foundations and the Publishing Director are available in the meantime, and Done For You exists if you would rather the work be handled for you.
How you begin
How Guided Publishing begins.
Enrolment is completed online through Guided Publishing onboarding. Scope, your responsibilities, the communication rules, the terms and the Guided Publishing Agreement are all presented and accepted there — before any payment and before activation.
01
Review the program and readiness criteria
Read what Guided Publishing includes, what it excludes, and the readiness criteria on this page. You decide whether it fits your project as it stands today.
02
Complete Guided Publishing onboarding online
A short online sequence: your book, the included scope, your responsibilities, the communication rules, and the terms. Each one is acknowledged explicitly before you continue.
03
Accept the Guided Publishing Agreement
The full agreement is shown in the onboarding sequence. You accept it by typing your full legal name; the version, name and time are recorded.
04
Payment in full, then activation
Guided Publishing is $2,250, paid in full before activation. Your Publishing Workspace opens and the 90 days begin on the activation date — not on the request or agreement date.
05
Publishing Direction begins
The activated engagement opens with the scheduled Publishing Direction Call (up to 45 minutes) and a written publishing direction summary. It is the first of the three scheduled calls included in the package — a paid milestone, not a pre-sale conversation.
Before you request Guided Publishing
Confirm all four statements to continue.
Included human communication is defined: three scheduled phone calls of up to 45 minutes each during the 90-day term, plus one consolidated clarification round for each included Publishing Review. There are no unscheduled calls, no unlimited phone, email, SMS or chat access, and Guided Publishing does not include a free person-to-person consultation before purchase.
How Guided Publishing works
Publishing direction at the start, then six guided milestones.
Every engagement begins by establishing direction from the work you have already completed. From there, the guidance points are the six milestones below, each with a target day window. Between them, the work is yours.
Start
Publishing Direction
The engagement opens with the scheduled Publishing Direction Call: what you intend to publish, in which formats, what you already have, which production and publishing items are still needed, the sequence and the responsibilities. This is not manuscript evaluation or writing guidance.
A written publishing direction summary, and what you are responsible for handling.
01 · Days 1–14 (target)
Publishing Setup
We begin with the work you've already completed, establish your publishing direction, and confirm the specifications and decisions your book will be built around.
You: Share what already exists, answer the direction questions, and confirm the early specification decisions.
Self Publish Me: The Publishing Direction Call, a written direction summary, and the specifications and sequence to work to.
02 · Days 15–35 (target)
Prepare Your Files
Your manuscript, interior and cover materials are brought toward the specifications set in Publishing Setup.
You: Prepare, correct or obtain your own files, and manage any editor, designer or formatter you have hired.
Self Publish Me: Specifications, requirements and publishing judgement on what you bring to this milestone.
03 · Days 36–49 (target)
Complete the Book
The cover and interior reach a complete state, and the remaining publishing decisions are settled.
You: Finish or have finished the cover and interior, and make the corrections identified.
Self Publish Me: Guided review of the cover and interior, with findings explained plainly.
04 · Days 50–65 (target)
Publication Readiness
Your metadata, categories, ISBN and imprint choices, pricing considerations and platform setup decisions are reviewed.
You: Enter your own listing information and operate your own platform account.
Self Publish Me: Publishing judgement on the setup decisions that are expensive to get wrong.
05 · Days 66–79 (target)
Final Files & Proof
Final files and proof considerations are checked against your publishing specifications.
You: Produce the final files, order and inspect any proof, and make final corrections.
Self Publish Me: A final look at files, specifications and open decisions, with what remains stated plainly.
06 · Days 80–90 (target)
Publish & Handoff
If you reach this milestone during your active term, we guide you through your publishing platform setup and submission steps, and close the engagement with a clear statement of where the project stands.
You: Submit from your own account and complete your own publishing steps.
Self Publish Me: Guidance through the platform steps you reach inside the term, and the closing handoff discussion.
How guidance at a milestone runs
Each milestone has a clear beginning and end: you bring the required material, we apply publishing judgement to what is presented, the findings are delivered with one clarification round on those findings, and that milestone closes. Self Publish Me does not recreate, rebuild, redesign, reformat or repair your project — additional production work is quoted separately. Guided support ends on Day 90 regardless of where the book stands, and support beyond Day 90 requires a separate paid continuation.
Included communication
- 3 scheduled guidance calls during the active term.
- Reasonable project-specific email support during the active term.
- SMS for brief communication, coordination and quick clarification.
SMS is not unlimited consultation, and email support is project-specific rather than open-ended.
What you are paying for
Professional judgement, not file inspection.
Guided Publishing is not “we look at your files”. It is professional publishing guidance applied at the points where mistakes are expensive.
Professional publishing direction
You start with a clear picture of what you are publishing, in what order, and who is responsible for what.
Professional judgement at the major milestones
An experienced publishing view of the cover, interior and setup decisions that are expensive to get wrong.
Problems found before production
Publishing and production concerns are identified and explained before you submit anything to a platform or printer.
Clear explanations and next steps
You are told what matters, why it matters, and what the appropriate next publishing step is.
Knowledge you keep
You learn the publishing process by moving your own book through it, and what you learn stays with you.
A straight answer on where the project stands
The engagement closes with a plain statement of what is finished, what remains yours to complete, and what the sensible next step is.
Starting at the beginning
You have a manuscript and have not begun production yet. We set the publishing direction before you spend money or time in the wrong order.
Already underway
You already have a cover, an interior, or a designer, formatter, editor, publisher or consultant in motion. Guided Publishing can begin with the project exactly where it stands today.
Already working with another provider?
That is perfectly fine. Guided Publishing can begin with your project where it stands today, alongside whoever you have hired.
- We review the publishing work and decisions presented to us within our engagement.
- We do not supervise your provider, interpret their agreement or promises, or determine contractual responsibility.
- We do not mediate disputes, take sides, or criticise or defend another provider's philosophy or service.
- If we identify a publishing concern, we explain the concern, why it matters, and what must be resolved before moving forward.
- Working with your provider — or choosing a different solution — remains yours.
5.0 out of 5, from 100 Google reviews
Guided Publishing is new, but responsive personal guidance has long been part of Self Publish Me. See customer reviews.
All my questions were answered and addressed in a timely manner.
Your responsibility
You manage and complete the publishing work.
Guided Publishing works because the author stays in control of the project. During the engagement you are responsible for the following.
- Completing the manuscript
- Arranging editing or proofreading if needed
- Creating or obtaining the cover
- Creating or obtaining the interior formatting
- Making corrections
- Managing outside providers
- Maintaining their own POD or printer account
- Entering information, uploading files and submitting the book
- Keeping the project moving within the 90 calendar days
Completing the project is not Self Publish Me's responsibility on this path.
What the guidance covers
Standard publishing decisions and production requirements.
We help you navigate the publishing process — not build a business or marketing strategy around the book.
Guided Publishing covers established publishing decisions and production requirements for preparing a book for standard print or POD submission. It does not include custom marketing, sales, business-model, licensing, promotional or unconventional distribution strategy.
In scope
- Trim size
- Print format and binding choices within ordinary publishing practice
- Interior production specifications
- Cover and full-wrap requirements
- ISBN and imprint choices
- Title and subtitle presentation
- Book description and metadata
- Categories and keywords
- Normal list-price considerations
- Standard file readiness
- Readiness for submission to a conventional POD platform or commercial printer
Not part of Guided Publishing
- Custom marketing strategy, promotional campaigns, advertising strategy
- Sales campaigns, funnels, affiliate schemes or direct-sales systems
- Author business-model development, licensing or revenue schemes
- Custom subscription concepts or unusual bulk-sales structures
- Experimental or unconventional distribution arrangements
- Assessing whether an author's own marketing, sales or publishing-business concept will work
- Interpreting or mediating another provider's promises or business model
Normal book list-price considerations are a publishing decision we can review. Designing your broader pricing, discount, sales or business strategy is not part of Guided Publishing.
Communication & support
Human guidance tied to your milestones.
You will not be left wondering what our review means. Each major publishing milestone includes our professional findings and an opportunity to clarify those findings.
The Publishing Workspace is the official record
Reviews, decisions, files, findings and next steps live in one place, so the project record is never scattered across inboxes.
Three scheduled guidance calls are included
Up to 45 minutes each, at no extra fee: the Publishing Direction Call near activation, a Mid-Project Direction Call, and the Closing Guidance Call. Scheduled only — no drop-in or unscheduled calls. Your workspace shows how many you have used.
Each Publishing Review includes one clarification round
Consolidated questions about our own findings for that milestone. Not unlimited coaching, software tutoring, repeated file reviews or new consulting topics.
Email and SMS between milestones
Reasonable project-specific email support is included during the active term, and SMS is used for brief communication, coordination and quick clarification. SMS is not unlimited consultation.
General questions between milestones
The Publishing Director answers ordinary general publishing questions any time, at no cost.
The three included calls
Three scheduled guidance calls of up to 45 minutes each, included in the $2,250 package, during the 90-day term. Reasonable project-specific email support is included, and SMS is used for brief coordination and quick clarification — not unlimited consultation. Each call is scheduled in advance — there are no drop-in or unscheduled calls.
01
Publishing Direction Call
Near activation
Establish direction, priorities, risks, which providers you are using, and your immediate next steps. Followed by a written publishing direction summary.
02
Mid-Project Direction Call
During the active production and milestone phase
Resolve nuanced publishing decisions that are inefficient to handle through long written exchanges.
03
Closing Guidance Call
Toward the end of the engagement
Resolve final publishing decisions and clarify Day 90 and what happens next.
A clarification round means consolidated questions about our own findings. It is not unlimited coaching, software tutoring, repeated file reviews or new consulting topics, and phone access is limited to the three scheduled calls. Extra calls, repeated reviews or additional work require separate written approval and pricing before work begins.
Authors already understand this about editing.
Most authors accept that professional editing matters, because important weaknesses are far better found before release than after it. Publishing and production decisions deserve the same seriousness: trim, cover specifications, interior production, ISBN and imprint choices and setup decisions are all easier to get right before you submit than to unwind afterwards.
Guided Publishing puts experienced publishing judgement in front of those decisions while you still control them. It is not a promise that every possible issue will be caught, and it is not a criticism of authors who publish alone — it is professional oversight at the points where it counts.
Terms at a glance
One price, one book, one focused term.
- $2,250, paid in full before activation. Nonrefundable.
- One book, one Guided Publishing engagement.
- 90 calendar days from your activation date. Inactivity or delays do not pause, reset or extend the term.
- No guarantee that the book will be completed, production-ready or published during the term.
- Three scheduled guidance calls, up to 45 minutes each, plus reasonable project-specific email support and SMS for brief coordination and quick clarification.
- Included reviews are the defined major milestones only.
- One clarification round per included Publishing Review.
- Unused milestone reviews expire when the 90-day engagement ends, unless Self Publish Me agrees otherwise in writing.
- Delays caused by you or your outside providers do not automatically extend the term. Delays caused by Self Publish Me are handled fairly.
- Substantially changed files, repeated reviews, new issues or added professional work are separately assessed and require a separate written agreement and price.
- Guided support ends on Day 90. Support beyond Day 90 requires a separate paid continuation.
Requests outside the package
If you ask Self Publish Me to perform work outside Guided Publishing, that does not become included simply because the request is related to the book. Any additional professional production work or additional formal review must be separately agreed in writing and priced before work begins.
If a review finds a problem
- 1You correct it yourself.
- 2You send it back to your designer, formatter or provider.
- 3You separately hire Self Publish Me to do the professional work, where it is work we offer, by written agreement.
How the engagement ends
The 90-day term completes, and your project outcome is recorded separately
Reaching Day 90 means the engagement is complete. It does not by itself mean the book is published. Your recorded outcome is one of: Published; Publication Ready; Files Ready — Client Publishing Independently; Incomplete — Client Work Outstanding; or Continuation Purchased.
Closed with items outstanding
The 90 days end with corrections, files or standard publishing decisions still yours to resolve.
Expanded
You ask Self Publish Me to perform specific professional production work, or to handle submission. That work is separately assessed, agreed and priced.
Optional add-on
Need concentrated help on one specific task?
An active Guided Publishing client can add a VIP Publishing Intensive — a private, scheduled Zoom working session of 3 focused hours on one defined objective, at $600 instead of $750. It is additional to the $2,250 Guided fee, not included in it, and it is still not production work.
General questions between reviews
The Publishing Director is available for ordinary general publishing questions, and can relate answers to what you have recorded in your Book Publishing Profile in this browser. It does not replace a human Publishing Review: it does not review your manuscript content, make consequential publishing decisions for you, or take actions on your behalf.
One package · One price · 90 days
Guided Publishing is $2,250.
One fixed package of structured publishing support: we begin with the work you have already completed, set your publishing direction, and provide professional publishing judgement at each of the six guided milestones across 90 calendar days. There are no tiers to compare and no hourly billing. It is paid in full before activation and is nonrefundable, and the written agreement states the six milestones, the boundaries of the service and the 90-day term before you commit to anything.
One fixed package · $2,250 · 90 calendar days · nonrefundable. The term begins at activation and ends on Day 90 regardless of where the book stands. Your progress — and whether your book reaches publication during the engagement — depends on the work you complete.
If you later want Self Publish Me to take over specific work, or to handle submission, it becomes separately assessed professional work or a Done For You project, by written agreement. See what a full project covers.