Alden Dragon
Publishing Services Overview
We offer three distinct routes to publishing your work, each tailored to different author needs, goals, and circumstances. Each publishing route offers distinct advantages depending on your goals, resources, and vision for your work. We’re happy to discuss which option might be the best fit for your specific project.
Self-Publishing
Self-publishing puts you in complete control of your book’s journey from manuscript to market. You retain all rights and creative control while assuming responsibility for production costs and marketing efforts.
Pros:
- Complete creative control over content, design, and marketing
- Higher royalty percentages (typically 70-100% of net proceeds)
- Faster time to market (weeks or months versus years)
- No gatekeepers or rejection hurdles
- Retain all rights and can pivot strategies at any time
Cons:
- Upfront investment required for editing, design, and production
- Limited distribution compared to traditional publishing
- Marketing responsibility falls entirely on the author
- No publisher brand lending credibility or visibility
- Potential stigma in certain literary circles (though this is diminishing)
Hybrid Publishing
Hybrid publishing blends elements of traditional and self-publishing. Authors contribute to production costs while the publisher provides professional services, distribution channels, and marketing support.
Pros:
- Professional editing, design, and marketing support
- Better distribution than pure self-publishing
- Higher royalty rates than traditional publishing
- Faster publication timeline than traditional publishing
- Publisher brand association adds credibility
- More creative control than traditional publishing
Cons:
- Significant financial investment required upfront
- Lower royalty percentages than self-publishing
- Less prestigious than traditional publishing in some circles
- Quality and services vary widely among hybrid publishers
- Potential conflicts between author vision and publisher recommendations
We offer editorial & proofreading support. Guidance & Signposting to Illustration Services, ISBN and Publishing Platforms for your Print on Demand Needs.
Editing & ProofReading Service
Initial Reader Review:
Reader reviews of works are provided as part of our membership packages. If significant room for improvement is found, the review team will recommend to the author that the work is passed on to the editing team for an editorial review. Writers can also voluntarily submit their work for an editor’s review.
Editor’s Review:
When the Alden Department receives a work, we begin by reviewing the work and analysing the scope for improvement. Documents should be provided in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format. With the document provided, the editor will determine based on an initial review where improvements can be made and provide an estimate of the timescale of editing work. From there, the author can choose the editing package that suits their needs, with recommendations provided by the editing team.
This service is free with Book Dragon membership, or £30 (discounted from the Preliminary Proofreading Service) for non-members.
Preliminary Proofreading Service:
This service is intended for writers who are interested in correcting errors in their work on their own time and improve on the technical side of their craft. A comprehensive set of recommendations will be put together by the editing team based on up to a 2000-word sample of the work, with an edit of the sample provided showing where corrections and suggestions have been made. The author is then free to edit their work at their own pace based on the recommendations given. The author can then submit the work back to the team for a second review. For short works such as children’s books and poetry books, this can serve as a full proofreading package.
This will only include an analysis of technical issues, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure.
Price:
£80 for non-members (Editor’s Review included)
£45 for Bronze Members
£42.50 for Silver Members
£40 for Gold Members
Full Proofreading Service:
This proofreading service is intended for writers who would like more thorough assistance in improving the technical quality of their finished work. The full document will be proofread by the editing team. The team will provide the edited document with any changes tracked for approval. The team will also flag up any subjective issues as comments.
A quote for our Full Proofreading service can be obtained following an editorial review or our Preliminary Proofreading service. Our quote will be based on an hourly rate and the projected time required, which may vary based on the editorial complexity of the work. Members are eligible for a discount.
Rate:
£30/hr for non-members
£27/hr for Bronze Members
£25.50/hr for Silver Members
£24.00/hr for Gold Members
This service is further discounted by a flat £50 for works that have already undergone our Preliminary Proofreading or Developmental Editing services.
All Editorial & Proof Reading Queries please send to our Editor-in-Chief, Tim Marshall, by emailing tim@thebookdragon.co.uk
Copy Typing Administration Service
The Book Dragon now provides a Copy Typing Service for Authors with handwritten manuscripts who do not have access to word processing software. All manuscripts are typed using Microsoft Word.
Average words per minute 65. Average words per hour 3900. Rounded up to nearest hour.
Typing with basic editing: £10.00 per hour
Basic Editing Includes: Spelling, Grammar & Punctuation Only
Example 10,000 words = 3 hrs £30.00
50,000 words = 13 hours £130.00
80,000 words = 21 hours £210.00
Book Dragon Members receive a 10% discount.
Our Formatting Services in Partnership
with RARN Publishing
For Formatting of Children’s Illustrated Books please contact the Alden Book Dragon Team: thebookdragonteam@thebookdragon.co.uk to arrange a quote from one of our partners.
Formatting for Children Books Starting Prices at £50.00
Our Illustration Services Partners
6E Publishing
Full Book Jacket Cover: Fixed Fee of £175.00
Contact Alden Book Dragon Team at thebookdragonteam@thebookdragon.co.uk to arrange an Introduction.
Lucy Maggie Designs
Contact Alden Book Dragon Team at thebookdragonteam@thebookdragon.co.uk to arrange an Introduction and Price confirmation.
Larraine Rowney
Contact Alden Book Dragon Team at thebookdragonteam@thebookdragon.co.uk to arrange an Introduction and Price confirmation.
Illustration Prices.
Please note that a byline for any artwork produced by Larraine – must be included in either the cover or on the inside cover, along with copyright of that artwork.
Book Cover Design
Package 1: Cover Design, 4 design adjustments, Paperback cover PDF, eBook cover & social media Banner. Price £210.
Package 2: Cover Design, 4 design adjustments, Paperback cover PDF, eBook cover, social media banner, promotional artwork for print / digital use. £250 – £275.
Inner Illustrations Design
Single illustration rate:
- Quarter-page: £55
- Half-page: £95
- Full-page: £125
- Double-page spread: £190
Complete children’s book illustration rate:
- Cover design/illustration plus 6 illustrations: £500
- Cover design/illustration plus 8 illustrations: £625
- Cover design/illustration plus 10 illustrations: £700
Our Print on Demand Service: Quoin Publishing
Package 1 Novel: Book size up to 142.5mm x 198mm – 250gsm laminated cover, 100 inner pages on 80gsm white uncoated paper and perfect bound £2.35 each, for every extra 10 pages add 10p.
Package 2 Novel: Book size up to 154mm x 213mm – 250gsm laminated cover, 100 inner pages on 80gsm white uncoated paper and perfect bound £2.65 each, for every extra 10 pages add 10.5p.
Package 3 Novel: Book size up to 142.5mm x 198mm – 250gsm laminated cover, 100 inner pages on 80gsm cream uncoated paper and perfect bound £2.43 each, for every extra 10 pages add 11p.
Package 4 Novel: Book size up to 154mm x 213mm– 250gsm laminated cover, 100 inner pages on 80gsm cream uncoated paper and perfect bound £2.50 each, for every extra 10 pages add 11.5p.
Books need to be ordered in multiples of 4. You can have as many books as and when you require them. Any other sizes would have to be priced on an individual basis. Colour images for Novels or coated paper will incur extra charges and, again would be priced on an individual basis.
Authors may also take advantage of our design service for their bookmarks, using our in house templates. Once the design is approved by the author this will be forwarded to our partner, Quoin Publishing, for printing.
If an author would like to add additional features to their bookmark this service can be provided at a starting cost of £10.00+ (depending on the additional features the author would like to add on.)
Bookmarks without add on’s, size 200mm x 45mm printed both sides would be 10p each.
Please note there is a small £3.50 Admin Fee payable to the Book Dragon for the facilitating of POD Books and Design of Bookmarks. This charge is per order (not per item).
Members Admin Fee £2.50 (excludes Corporate Fellowship & Concessionary programmes).
Advertising / Promotional Literature
Our Front of House Team offer Authors a design and printing service for their leaflets & flyers using our in house templates.
- 20 A5 flyers single sided = £4.50 (including admin fee)
- 20 A5 flyers double sided = £6.00 (including admin fee)
