Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd. レビュー 643

My experience with Austin Macauley Publishers, through the publication of my novel Season of the Sardine, has been both refined and reassuring.

From the outset, the process was handled with a notable sense of professionalism, clarity, and respect for the author’s vision. The communication has been consistently attentive and well-structured, allowing me to remain fully confident at every stage.

What distinguishes their approach is a clear understanding that a book is not merely a product, but a work of identity. They demonstrate a careful balance between editorial guidance and preserving the integrity of the author’s voice.

In a publishing landscape that often feels transactional, Austin Macauley offers something far more considered a composed, reliable, and thoughtfully managed partnership.

I would confidently recommend them to authors who value both structure and artistic respect in the publication process.

Dropped after 2 years at short notice, can't republish because books are still on Amazon. Avoid AMP at all costs. You'll never be free of their bad practices.

I received no proper editing for my book and was offered really poor options for the cover image, which I eventually just did myself. Support was minimal and slow. I really can't recommend. Even now - after several years and finally getting my rights back - if I contact them for anything they're disinterested and unhelpful

The staff are willing to take the author's preferences/wishes into account and they complete requests to a faultless standard.

Austin Macauley are a fabulous publisher, they have physical book outlets as well as internet connections. Which means my book can be seen in its physical form on bookshelves internationally.
Also I have a high regard for their interaction with me, with the actual production of the book. Nothing was rushed, we both played a vital role in constructing the front cover.
This made the finished book an exceptional item. I am privileged to be considered part of their publishing family. Thank you Austin Macauley.

Austin Macauley Publishers recognised my talents and encouraged me to pursue my debut novel, “In the Path of Leonardo”, and to present it at the London Book Fair. I was so enthralled by the prospect of representing a character that I hired a Napoleonic officer’s uniform and will present the novel myself at the London Book Fair. None of this would have happened without the help, encouragement and guidance of Austin Macauley Publishers.

So far, I have dealt with submissions, production, finance and now marketing and ordering at AM. No problems with any department. All very helpful and professional. Due for publication in a few days and I am confident their team will do a great job. Solace is my debut novel, so I've been on a steep learning curb and AM have helped me through.

Publishing my debut novel with Austin Macauley has made the whole experience easy and efficient. They have been quick to respond to queries and to offer sound advice.
The finished product is beautiful and to a high standard. I am definitely looking forward to working with them again.

My mental health after my son and mother’s death was controlled by the amount of brandy I could afford. Getting help was my pathway to starting to write. I put everything into this book including over £2000+ I couldn’t and can’t afford. I am very disappointed with the errors within the book. I totally accept I wrote it, I signed off the brief as an inexperienced author and very naive . I trusted you, my author, to edit and put things right. After resubmitting my work after contacting your production team I was told it would be checked. Again this is my work but just checking my work and not fixing issues is not acceptable. I still haven’t heard back from the production team even though I have emailed twice.
My book is my life as writing it saved my life.

I am absolutely furious and deeply disappointed with my experience. I invested thousands of pounds with AM to publish my book, and for months I genuinely couldn’t understand why sales were almost nonexistent. Then, out of the blue, I received a letter informing me that because so few copies had sold, they were planning to shred the remaining stock. Only after digging deeper did I discover the real reason: my book had been incorrectly categorised on Amazon as suitable for ages 6 to 13. This is completely unacceptable. My book is clearly intended for adults only, and placing it in a children’s category not only destroyed any chance of appropriate sales—it could have led to serious complaints or reputational issues. This level of negligence is shocking. I trusted AM with my work, my investment, and my time, and they failed at the most basic level of publishing: placing the book in the correct market. I am left frustrated, out of pocket, and extremely dissatisfied with the entire experience.

Very high costs to initially get published. I had to do all my own marketing. Almost a year after my book came out and I have made very little money.

This company come across as very professional when reeling you in to co publish your book.
I paid a substantial amount of money to publish with them and the process was an education as to how unprofessional they are.
Of course you have already signed up to them and paid when you become Aware of the shody lack of care and unkept promises.
My first worries came when they sent images of my front cover which had no connection with the story eg a young boys bedroom...they sent an image for me to consider of a stark room with a young boy sitting in an armchair wearing old man slippers and a table with a teapot on it?! No cup
However at this time I was already stuck in the process I eventually sent my own illustration for the cover and it took some time even then to be exceptable.
My books arrived with postcards and posters for me to promote.
I believed AMc would promote my book and I can assure you that is not the case it's a nonsense.
A postage stamp photo amoung 50 or so postage stamp photos of other books.
Is what I was sent in response to enquiries about promotions.
Then I was consistently sent emails inviting me to feature my book at book fairs at a cost to me of hundreds of pounds.
The last unprofessional response I had was when I sent them a screenshot of my book on amazon only available if you were prepared to wait for up to 4 months.
A friend had flagged this up.
I said in my email about this. . that this meant my Book was not available as I would never order a book and wait for month's
I received an email with a screenshot of a book with absolutely no connection to mine stating I was wrong.
This was an insult to my intelligence 😒
I have now been informed that my Book will no longer be published.
Although I sent an email saying I had found my experience very disappointing and the hype on the contract had givin the impression that AMc would actually promote your book was misleading.

Very similar to this review.

I have now received an email asking me to explain my remarks about there unprofessional behaviour and quite frankly cheek to send me a screen shot of another book and suggest my screenshot was wrong...then give me no answer to the valid Point that my Book was simply not available. I will not be wasting my time as I do believe I made it very clear how I have found this experience unprofessional.
And disappointing 😞
I am not at all happy or reassured that any care was given in the promotion of my book
This has not been a good experience.
I feel out of pocket and would certainly not advise anyone to pay this company as it will only be the first of much more cash asking for book fair cost ...and self promotion

It's a vanity press, no getting away from that fact! Also they will hound you for years wanting you to sign with them, £1700 is your cheapest option.
They will send you a review of your manuscript telling you how great it is and how they would love to blah blah blah then it's oh but we need a contribution from you to cover costs!
Bolt ya con artists

My experience with the prestigious Austin Macauley Publisher is in a respectful manner, cooperative and professional. I personally believe that their business services are best in the market presently. Moreover, they are focused on publishing such books that are helpful for the societies, have messages for the nations and make a positive impact worldwide in order to serve humanity.

My experience with Austin Macauley has been very positive.
From the beginning of the publishing process, communication was clear, professional, and supportive. The team guided me through each stage with patience and transparency, which made the journey both reassuring and enjoyable.

I especially appreciated their responsiveness and willingness to answer questions along the way. As an author, feeling heard and respected is very important, and Austin Macauley provided that sense of trust.

Overall, it has been a smooth and encouraging experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with a professional and international publishing team.

The process for review of the manuscript and the publisher's decision making is well structured and informative. I found the initial steps were timely and efficient. The editorial process was painless and thorough and professional. I found every step of the way easy to navigate and at no stage did I feel confused or misinformed.

Austin Macauley Publishers is the reason a family member has put out into the world a generational treasure of Italian recipes. The layout of this book is a huge credit to our Author and the incredible publishers as mentioned above. This gathering of rustic recipes in honour of our beloved ancestors is heart warming and a wonder to share with the world. "La Mia Passegiata" by Prof.Rocky Scopelliti is a must in all homes that celebrate foods of true Italian origin. A huge gratitude of thanks to the amazing publisher Austin Macauley for the graphics and layout of this spectacular compiled book.

I signed a hybrid contract with Austin Macauley (AM) when I first started out and didn't know any better. I paid £2500 which is A LOT of money to me. Here's what I got:

SUBMISSION
Easy submission, nice feedback, very helpful department, answered all of my questions.

After I signed the contract and transferred the money:

PRODUCTION
Proofreading: Mediocre (The worst in any of my books so far)
Editorial feedback: None
Blurb feedback (which I requested because I'd never written one before): None
Cover design: Had a friend finish it because the person working on it at AM had no sense of what they were doing. And clearly didn't care either.
Email response time: A week MINIMUM (most often longer and up to a month)
Questions in general: Unanswered
Updates on production: None, and when I asked about it I got a pissy response that "according to the contract they had 270 working days to finish it" – basically I should stop wasting their time. I've since learned that a year is a ridiculously long time for publishing a book, when all you do is (supposedly) proofread, ISBN-register, and (not) make a cover.

MARKETING AND MARKETING MATERIAL
Postcard: Copy of the cover (AM didn't make)
Bookmark: Copy of the book cover (AM didn't make) and the blurb (AM didn't write)
Poster: Extremely tacky, threw them out 
Author website: So cringe I never told anyone it even exsisted
Press release: Word-document with the cover (AM didn't make) and the blurb (AM didn't write). Nothing else. No sales pitch, nothing.
Book trailer: The entire blurb in writing (before I objected). No illustrations, no animation, or video clip – but hey, at least they spent the first ten seconds displaying their own logo. Format was 16:9 which makes it practically useless on SoMe.
Advice for promotion: None (since I'm writing under a pen name and don't live in an English-speaking country)
Book featured on bookfairs: Only if I paid an(other) obscene amount
Questions regarding their sales effort: Standard answer was: "We're reaching out to our contacts". Another one was: "Ooops, I see there hasn't been a follow-up on your book for a few months." 

SOME
Promotion post I was promised: Didn't happen (not that it would do much good since the interactions they get on IG are mostly SINGLE DIGITS)   
AM's response to being tagged because my book got publicity elsewhere: None (Until I wrote them an email)

All in all, this was practically the equivalent to self-publishing – except it was far more expensive and an overall terrible experience. Since then I've learned that you can get far better royalties, better service, better everything, and more professional handling for far less money elsewhere.

Honestly, if they didn't like or want the book and didn't want to work for it, they could just have rejected it. I actually would have preferred it if they did!

Fortunately, the contract has expired now and it was one of the worst experiences I've had so far publishing. They made ZERO effort as soon as they got their money. 

I'm extremely disappointed with the lack of professionalism and so angry that I've wasted all that time and money, but now, I'm also happy it's over with!

Do I recommend? Hell f**king no. 

I will soon have a story published with Austin Macauley.  I was so delighted when my bundle of finished books arrived!!  The book completely surpassed any expectations I had at the beginning of the process.  Austin Macauley have been excellent, supporting me all the way and doing exactly what they stated they would in the contract.  I would definitely recommend them to others considering publication; and personally I think they were a very lucky find!!

I loved getting my book published and I think the company took care in their process of publishing. They were thoughtful and polite in their dealings with me while at the same time, offering me advice that I can learn from.