Published properly — and the royalties come to you

We set up your book across the retail and library networks that matter, in your name, under your imprint or ours. Every penny of royalty is paid directly to your account. We never take a cut of your sales.

Short answer Updated 2026-09-14

How do I publish a book and keep the royalties?

Publish through Amazon KDP and IngramSpark with accounts opened in your own name, so retailers pay royalties directly to you. Arkedia handles typesetting, ISBN allocation, metadata and proofing from £1,450 and takes no percentage of sales — a one-off fee rather than an ongoing royalty share.

  • From£1,450
  • Royalty share taken0%
  • ChannelsKDP + IngramSpark
  • Reach40,000+ retailers

There are two ways to get a book onto Amazon. One takes an afternoon and produces a file that looks self-published from the thumbnail onwards. The other produces a book that sits on a shelf next to trade titles without apology.

We do the second. Correct trim size and paper stock for the category, professional interior typesetting, a spine width calculated to the millimetre, metadata and category selection built from actual keyword research, and distribution through both Amazon KDP and IngramSpark so bookshops and libraries can actually order it.

Critically: the accounts are yours. Royalties land in your bank account, not ours. We are paid once, for the work.

From
£1,450

Fixed price, quoted in GBP before you commit. Milestone payments.

  • Free 1,500-word sample first
  • Mutual NDA signed before we start
  • Two revision rounds included
  • Full rights and royalties stay yours
Get a free quote Cost calculator
What is included

Everything in the Book Publishing service

Amazon KDP setup

Print and Kindle editions configured in your own account, with correct categories, keywords and pricing by territory.

IngramSpark distribution

Access to 40,000+ retailers, wholesalers and libraries worldwide — the channel that lets bookshops order your title.

ISBN allocation

Your own ISBNs registered to you as publisher, or ours if you prefer to publish under the Arkedia imprint.

Print-ready interiors

Professionally typeset PDF for print plus reflowable EPUB for Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo.

Metadata & category research

BISAC categories, keyword strings and comparative titles chosen from real search data, not guesswork.

Proof copy review

A physical proof shipped to you for approval before the book goes on sale.

How it works

How book publishing works, step by step

You approve before we proceed. Every time. No stage begins until you have signed off the one before it.

Publishing consultation

We look at the manuscript, the audience and the goal — sales, credibility, legacy — and pick the right route.

45 minutes

Format and typeset

Interior typeset for print, EPUB built and tested on real devices.

1–2 weeks

Cover and spine

Full wrap cover built to the exact spine width for your page count and paper stock.

1–2 weeks

Account and metadata setup

Accounts configured in your name, categories and keywords researched and entered.

3–5 days

Proof and approve

Physical proof shipped. Nothing goes live until you have held it.

1–2 weeks

Launch

Title goes live across all channels, with launch-week checks on every listing.

Launch day
Client stories

What authors say afterwards

I came with eleven years of workshop notes and no idea how to make a book out of them. The outline stage alone was worth the fee — it was the first time I could see the shape of what I actually knew. The finished book reads like me on a good day.
KB Katy BrianAuthor, business non-fiction · London, UK
I had three self-published titles that were not selling. They showed me my covers side by side with the top forty in my category at thumbnail size and I understood the problem in about four seconds. New covers, re-optimised listings, and the back catalogue started moving.
BR Ben RileyAuthor, thriller series · Manchester, UK
Writing about my mother's illness was not something I could do alone. The interviews were handled with real care, and they were clear from the start about what would be in the book and what would not. My family have all read it. That matters more than sales.
PW Paula WilliamsMemoirist · Dublin, Ireland
Questions

Book Publishing — your questions answered

Do you take a percentage of my royalties?

No. Ever. You are billed once for the publishing work and the retailer pays royalties straight into your account. Any company taking an ongoing percentage of a self-published author's sales should be asked, at length, what they are doing to earn it.

Whose name is the book published under?

Yours, by default — your own imprint, your own ISBN, your own KDP account. If you would rather publish under the Arkedia imprint for the credibility it lends, we offer that too, and you still keep full rights and royalties.

Amazon KDP or IngramSpark?

Both, in almost every case. KDP gives you the best print economics and the Kindle store. IngramSpark is how bookshops, libraries and international wholesalers order physical copies. Using only KDP quietly closes the door on the entire bookshop trade.

Can you publish a book you did not write or edit?

Yes. Plenty of clients arrive with a finished manuscript and only need the publishing stage. We will give it a technical read first to flag anything that would embarrass the finished book.

What about worldwide distribution?

Your title is available in every market Amazon and Ingram serve — the UK, the whole of the EU, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and beyond — with territory-appropriate pricing set at launch.

Book a free call

Tell us about your book

A 45-minute call, no charge and no pressure. You will leave with a realistic timeline, a fixed price and an honest view of whether the book is worth writing.