Founder's Manifesto
Why this business exists
We didn’t set out to start a publishing business.
We set out to understand why so many intelligent, capable authors were losing money,
confidence, and dignity in an industry that claimed to support them.
What we found was not a lack of talent.
Not a lack of effort.
Not even a lack of good intentions.
What we found was a system built to reward activity instead of outcomes.
The problem BOS is addressing.
The modern publishing services industry asks independent authors to take all the risks and
reward others regardless of results.
Authors are charged:
- Before books sell
- Before readers exist
- No bookstores are involved
- And before outcomes are known
Marketing is sold as motion.
Selection is implied without accountability. If you have the money, you are fair game. In
fishing, they call it “catch and release” For vanity publishers, it is simply catch!
The language borrows credibility without bearing responsibility. It is enticing and self-
aggrandising.
This is not how healthy businesses work.
It is undoubtedly not how creative people should be treated.
What we believe.
At Books on Shelves, we believe a few simple things:
1. If a book cannot sit on a shelf, it is not truly in the market.
2. If money flows before results, incentives will always drift.
3. If success is promised without shared risk, disappointment is inevitable.
4. If authors are treated as fully-paid-up customers instead of partners, trust collapses.
These beliefs are not ideological. They are commercial common sense.
What makes BOS different?
Books on Shelves exists to reintroduce consequence for authors in the independent
publishing space.
We do that by anchoring everything to one reality:
Books only matter when they move.
That is why:
- We prioritise physical shelf placement over abstract exposure
- We work with bookstores, not around them
- Bookstores win with super profits.
- We focus on sell-through, not vanity metrics
- We provide guaranteed royalties at the front end, not vague promises at the back
- Authors earn guaranteed royalty payments.
- We are a low-cost enterprise, able to deliver results that far outweigh the investment.
What we do not do!
We do not:
- Sell hope disguised as marketing
- Upsell endlessly without accountability
- Use acquisition language we cannot honour
- Claim selection where none exists
- Hide behind complexity or jargon
If something cannot be explained plainly, it does not belong in our model.
Who is this for?
Perhaps Books on Shelves is not for everyone.
It is for authors who:
- Want readers, not just publication.
- Value bookstores as cultural gatekeepers
- Prefer modest, tangible outcomes to inflated promises
- Understand that trust matters more than scale
- Understand that BOS is the best place to start a book marketing campaign.
It is also for bookstores that believe:
- Local shelves still matter to local authors and residents.
- Readers value discovery- they are interested in endeavour.
- Authors of all grades deserve respect. I cannot think of a single successful author from a publishing company who would begrudge the opportunity to discover a hidden talent.
- BOS is a nursery for emerging capable authors.
- Participation will provide the platform for success.
Our commercial ethic.
We believe honourable business has one defining feature:
Outcomes are aligned.
When authors lose money while service providers prosper regardless of results, something is broken.
At Books on Shelves, success is shared.
If books do not sell, we do not pretend otherwise—and we do not profit from failure.
Our job is not to publish the most books.
Our job is to help books earn their place.
A note to authors.
If you are tired of:
- Paying before knowing.
- Being promised without proof.
- Being marketed without measurement.
- Being supported without responsibility.
You are not naïve.
You are not alone.
And you are not the problem.
You are simply navigating a system that forgot how trust is built.
In closing.
“The illusion of selection.”
A particularly damaging practice is the suggestion that a manuscript has been:
- “Chosen”
- “Accepted”
- “Shortlisted”
- “Reviewed favourably”
In many cases, nearly all submissions are accepted, provided the author can pay.
This is not a selection.
It is a qualification by credit card.
For authors who grew up understanding publishing as a merit-based filter, this distinction is
often realised too late.
Books on Shelves exist not because we are trying to reinvent publishing.
We are trying to provide a sustainable solution for independent authors who are at the
mercy of a wayward and untrustworthy vanity industry.
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.