Strong on formatting be cautious with extras
Finest Book Publishers – generally strong on formatting, but keep control of your accounts and be cautious about the extras
There are many good points about Finest Book Publishers, particularly when a project is progressing well. I found them responsive, helpful and capable of producing high-quality, professional formatting. They were also very supportive in helping me understand the process of self-publishing and uploading books to KDP and IngramSpark.
There were, however, some areas where I felt greater caution was needed.
I was disappointed that the likely production cost of a colour illustrated book was not made clear early enough. In the end, I had to revert to black and white to make the book commercially viable.
I also found them quite persistent about offering to publish and upload books on my behalf, which would require access to my KDP and IngramSpark accounts. I allowed this for my first book, which was then published under their name. Since then, I have preferred to retain full control of my own publishing accounts and have not shared access again.
On another occasion, I agreed to purchase 10 copies of a book for them to take to a book fair. I understood from the written agreement that I would receive feedback or a report from those to whom the books were presented. No such report was produced, and I was later told this was not something they provided. The evidence I was shown of the book at the event also left me unconvinced.
I would also be cautious about their marketing services. I found the sales approach quite pushy, particularly from one US-based marketing representative, and felt there was more emphasis on selling the package than listening to what I actually wanted. In my view, the marketing packages appeared expensive and high-risk, and I chose not to proceed.
That said, the core formatting service has been successful. Finest Book Publishers have now professionally formatted four of my books, and I have been pleased with the standard of that work. Alex Smith, Assistant Project Manager, was particularly helpful, responsive and easy to work with.
My overall view is that if you know what you want, retain control of your KDP and IngramSpark accounts, and use them primarily for formatting rather than wider marketing services, they can do a very good job. On that basis, I would probably use them again. If you are happy to let them do it all then they are very capable of that too.
Reply from Finest Book Publishers
Thank you, Mike, for taking the time to write such a detailed and honest review. We really appreciate the positive comments about our formatting work, our support during the self-publishing process, and the help you received from Alex, It is good to know that the final formatting met your expectations and that you found our team responsive and helpful throughout the project.
We also appreciate you being open about the areas where your experience did not meet your expectations. We understand that decisions around publishing, account access, additional services, and marketing can have a significant impact on an author, particularly when you are managing your own publishing account. Your comments about keeping control of your KDP and IngramSpark account are completely understand, and we respect an author's desire to retain ownership and control over their publishing activity.
We are also sorry to hear that the communication around the illustrated book and the marketing services left you disappointed. We understand how important it is for expectation, costs, deliverables, and timeline to be clear before a decision is made. Your comments are valuable because they highlight areas where we can make that communication clearer and ensure authors have a better understanding of what is included before moving forward.
At the same time, we are genuinely pleased that yo were happy with the core formatting services and the quality of the books produced. We will certainly share your kind words with Alex, as it is always encouraging for our team members to know that their patience, responsiveness, and willingness to help are appreciated.
Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to work on your books and for sharing both the positives and the areas where you feel we could improve. We value honest feedback like this, and we hope the work we have completed continues to serve your book well. We wish you every success with your publishing journey and your future project.