How Estorytellers Rescued a First-Time Fiction Author from a Vanity Press

Background:
A first-time fiction author in New York had been approached by a vanity press promising bestseller placement and social media campaigns. The author paid an upfront deposit but received minimal guidance and no native files.

Challenges:

• Vanity press lacked editorial gatekeeping and file handback.

• Metadata errors and poorly formatted EPUB files caused repeated rejections from retailers.

• Marketing promises were unfulfilled, leaving the author frustrated and financially exposed.

Estorytellers’ Intervention:

• Editorial Gatekeeping: Conducted a thorough developmental and line edit to ensure narrative clarity and pacing.

• Design & EPUB Conversion: Delivered print-ready and validated EPUB3 files; corrected formatting issues from the previous vendor.

• Metadata & Retail Upload: Configured BISAC codes, keywords, and pricing for Amazon, Ingram, Apple Books, and Kobo.

• Project Management & QA: Established a single-source-of-truth (SSOT) file repository, milestone tracking, and preflight QA checks.

• SOW & File Ownership: Ensured author retained full ownership of InDesign, Photoshop, and metadata files.

Timeline & Results:

• Transitioned from vanity press to Estorytellers in 4 weeks.

• Retailer acceptance achieved within 2 weeks of file resubmission.

• Author retained all rights and gained transparent reporting on sales and analytics.

• Breakeven achieved within first 300 units sold, demonstrating strong unit economics with POD pricing.