Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd. Avis 

This is my experience with Austin Macauley. I was offered a publishing deal for my first book just when I was starting to learn about publishing. In hindsight, after learning the ropes a better, I regret signing with them. Here is a short list of my experience with Austin Macauley.

- Proofreading is not thorough. The whole manuscript is not read by a person, rather it seems it’s run through a software proofreading tool. They wouldn’t answer my question directly if it was read by a person. The external references were not checked. Obvious grammar errors were not picked up. In all, over 1800 errors were noted, all relating to spelling and grammatical errors. I have since terminated the contract with AM to re-release the book myself. I hired a proper editing service and they noted over 6300 errors, which not only picked up grammatical errors but suggested sentence and structural improvements. You don’t get that level of instruction from AM.
- In the copyright page they mentioned the wrong genre of my book – I specified the genre in my application.
- They cover themselves for oversights by placing the responsibility on you to ensure there are no errors.
- When questioning the way they do certain things, they do not respond. Had to send follow-up emails to chase. Takes them days and in one instance, weeks to respond.
- You have no control of timing and release of your book; you are at the whim of AM timing. You have to wait for them to finish.
- The cover design was incredibly basic and unappealing. Not to the standard of an eye-catching design which I had learned for myself. A novice in design software can create a cover design much better than they provided. And when I look at the other covers they’ve designed, I’m not an isolated incident.
- The book trailer they offer if stock standard, applied to all authors. They change the background and music to make it seem fresh. If you’re a novice in multimedia software, you could do a better job yourself.
- No transparency. You don’t have contact with the creatives working on your book, or liaise with them in any way. You deal with an intermediary, which in my experience has changed three times in the book process.
- A very stock-standard approach is applied. Placing the author in an assembly line of production with other books. I was even told at one point that several books are worked on at any one time, so they don’t give individual attention to your book.

At the start they imply that they invest financially in the publishing of your book, I found this to be false. After one week of AM officially releasing my book, I asked for a termination of contractual arrangements. Thankfully they consented (I would say this is the best service they provided me). The fact that they consented without any fuss, suggests that they did not have any financial investment on my book, otherwise they would have not let me go, so they could re-coup funds. It’s goes to show they over charge.

For anyone considering signing up with AM:

From my experience with self-publishing and discovering the costs involved. I would estimate the AM services to be worth a few hundred pounds. Certainly not the amounts they’re actually charging. So, it's not worth it to sign their contracts.
I would suggest self-publish your book via book aggregates, it’s free and they have great instructions to follow, this way you can give your book the attention it needs and release the book on your terms. In regards to Austin Macauley, I would not waste over a year of your time dealing with them or throwing your money away. There are better and cheaper avenues to release your book.

Austin Macauley replied to my review almost a year after I'd posted it on Trust Pilot. This is about as efficient as when they were dealing with my book. In fact I'm surprised they even replied at all to it and certainly didn't address the majority of my complains, which is exactly how they behaved when they were dealing with my book - ignore you and don't answer questions, then provide excuses for their ineptitude. Their insistence that I need permission from the subject matter to publish photos I hold copyright to is laughable. They even ignored the legal advice of a lawyer who confirmed I had the right to publish the photos. Austin Macauley's lack of understanding on copyright is unfathomable. The people they employ have no understanding of how to edit, layout a book or communicate with authors, do not allow you to call them and have no complaints department. They make the whole process as difficult as possible for the author but are happy to take your money. I even wrote to the 'Director' of the company at his home address and his family pretended he didn't live there. Avoid like the plague!!!

I have just been informed that my contract has been terminated with this company. I wanted my $2500.0 money back for them publishing a book i wrote. They are not qualified in any way to publish anything. They do not market your book, they do not distribute your book, they do not understand English and I had to edit it 3 times myself before it was passable. They spent 2 years twiddling their thumbs doing nothing. I did the illustrations myself and could have digitised them on adobe photoshop in a week. The end result was a book
that was pathetic, that i wouldn't give to my worst enemy. There is no upside to this company. They have not paid me any royalties either. Please steer clear of these hybrid publishers, all they do is put up an image of your book on Amazon. They only print one book at a time and the price is extortionate. This practice puts the customer off, as they then have to wait 3 weeks or more get a book. They would rather pop into kmart for a $5 book. It is a Sc-m pure and simple and i was duped. Please dont risk it. Thank you

AMP publishers are great because they do everything they can to make sure you get an amazing book. Sometimes you only go to AMP because you are novice and the path can be difficult...
The process is long but you will get a very good quality book. If you are already a very good author, you must have your eyes wide open. My book was: The Secret Of Axabur, S-F Novel...

I have found Austin Macauley Publishers to be extraordinary in their support of their authors, from providing accomplished project coordinators, exceptional illustrators and a vast and far reaching marketing department. My partnership with them has exceeded my expectations!

I'm completely satisfied with my experience with Austin Macauley. I like everything from beginning to end!
Thank you very much and good luck!

THE AUSTIN MACAULEY PUBLISHING TEAM ARE EXPERT AND FRIENDLY AT THE SAME TIME. THEY TAKE NOTE OF MY INPUT AND CONCERNS - AND THEY ALWAYS RESPOND PROMPTLY. IN PREFACE TO MY FORTHCOMING BOOK - ENTITLED TIME-SPACE - I THANK THEM VERY WARMLY FOR HAVING 'GRASPED THE NETTLE' BY ACCEPTING MY TYPESCRIPT. PJC

I thought it was great to work with Austin Macauley, because they have a high work ethic, timeliness, expertise, and quality.

Communication initially by phone and then email has been supportive, prompt and helpful. Clear guidance has helped me, a new author through the process. I feel that whenever I was uncertain, help was available.

My over all experience was attentive and helpful.
It did take longer than expected but that was due to my own process.
Bradley Palm

Scammers!!! Please do not use this publisher. They just take your money and do nothing with it!!! Unbelievable. They will get very bad karma.

They are experts in giving hope for new unpublished authors. Unlike the quality which they offer, starting from editing, to designs to the high promises in marketing, and the most important, they don't care about their clients. They only care to be paid.
I would never recommend this publishing house.

I found Austin Macauley Publishers to be an ethical company in my experience. Sadly, I could not afford the fees to cover the publishing of my book.
When I explained my health situation, the owners were very understanding. All parties agreed to end the contract between us and went our separate ways.
I am now a self-published anthropomorphic storyteller living in South America. My first book will be released on January 27th this year.

Alas, I must admit to having been wrong about AMP - it is a scam, and quite possibly, the worst out there! Just received my first royalty statement: zero dollars earned, 13 sales for the last six months. Which I know is impossible, because 21 copies were sold to Canadian libraries, and can easily be shown by checking the relevant library data bases of copies on hand. Also, two Amazon sites had significant surges in June, but no sales shown on my royalty statement. But if that isn't enough, my book "VLAD DRACULA: THE IMPALER" has been ranked in the top ten (in keyword subject) on virtually every bookseller online for the last 10 months, which begs the question: How does a book rank high competing with several hundred other books on the subject when you've sold ZERO copies???! I have to admit, the authors on Austin Macauley's website, many who have numerous titles published, must all have been given traditional contracts, and therefore an advance. Unfortunately, I hadn't considered that as a reason for their "success." AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!

I would like to thank Austin Macauley sincerely for their support. As a foreign writer, I am very satisfied with their editorial contributions. Austin Macauley did a fantastic job with the illustrations, including the cover page and also the layout of my book. It is printed to a very high standard. If I want to publish again, I would definitely like to work with Austin Macauley.

Demet Nell

My experience working with AM Austin Macauley is one I wish to experience many times over as I further continue my Writing; the feeling that resonates most is the feel that the AM Team have a great passion for Publication much like my love of Writing; All are helpful, informed and professional always, I will most certainly continue my connection with the AM Austin Macauley team, mandaang guwu -Thank you to all,

I had an amazing experience with Austin Macauley. From the moment I submitted my story, they provided incredible feedback and worked closely with me every step of the way. They maintained regular contact, ensuring I was always in the loop and had the support I needed.

One of the things I appreciated most was the options they gave me for the book cover, making sure it matched my vision for the book. They also sent me complimentary copies of the book, along with bookmarks and postcards featuring my book title and blurb, which was a lovely touch.

Overall, Austin Macauley made the entire publishing process smooth, easy, and exciting. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results and highly recommend them to anyone looking to publish their work.

Guided through the process of publishing my first book by a wonderful team. Lots of communication and any action dealt with immediately. Definitely recommend this publisher.

My experience of working with Austin Macauley has been a wonderful and enjoyable experience from start to finish. I had a dedicated co-ordinator who kept me up to date with progress on a regular basis and answered any questions I had in a timely manner. All changes I requested were done quickly and in line with my direction. The final product -my book - looks fabulous. I couldn’t be more pleased. I have nothing but praise for those involved in the production and marketing of my book. This is my first leap into publishing and I would thoroughly recommend this company to anyone considering publishing a book.