Being the avid yelper I am I do not know why I didn't think to read their yelp reviews before finalizing my decision to self publish with them. Horrible first time experience with utilizing a self publishing company to publish my book. I severed the contract. I'm better off solely self publishing myself. You get kibbles n bits when all the work is yours and they merely have you select a font (and didn't have the desired font I wanted), and a stock image photo selection for the cover. The setup.... You can buy your book at a "discounted price" to sell for the retail price and receive LESS than the discounted price per book. I'll NEVER use a self publishing company again. The editing process was lackluster. One of the reps I dealt with when disputing my dissatisfaction had the gumption to point out a couple typos in my email but couldn't apply that same energy and effort to my book after so many rounds of editing. At the time I was working two jobs and pushing to get my book published. They lack customer driven results and were pressuring me to hurry with my edits. If I still have the emails I will post for reference. This was in 2019. What a joke and a half!! Review has been sitting in my drafts too long. Smh. read more

I am a 70 year old senior citizen on a fixed income that likes to write poetry for my fiancé who's been battling breast cancer. She likes me to read my poems to her during her Chemo treatments. In fact, she's the one who convinced me to publish a book of all of my poems. I contacted Outskirts Press on-line, and was convinced by Allison Hiles, Outskirts Press Publishing Consultant, to put down a $35 deposit on their Ultimate Publishing Package on 4/23. I was immediately nervous with her, because she repeatedly sent me emails that had nothing to do with me and made no sense at all. Nevertheless, on-line, I was able to immediately upload my completed, imageless manuscript, and my finished cover. I accepted their suggested pricing, book size, interior color, and cover style. On 5/2, I accepted Allison's recommendation to purchase their Ultimate Publishing Package for an additional $1,763.99. Then, Allison turned me over to Elaine's Simpson, Outskirts Press Author Representative. Subsequently, Elaine began sending me more emails that had nothing to do with me and made no sense at all. I had had it with this company. So on 5/4, I requested a full refund from both Allison Hiles, Outskirts Press Publishing Consultant and Elaine's Simpson, Outskirts Press Author Representative. I have not heard any response from anyone at Outskirts Press as of 5/28. I now think that this is a dishonest, on-line company that scams seniors that don't know anything about the publishing business. Outskirts press has stolen the equivalent of one month's Social Security check from me, and have done absolutely nothing for me but ignore me after they got my money. Help! There are 6 statements in Elaine's Simpson's email (5/3) that caused me to be extremely concerned about the company's ability to complete my project professionally. Elaine emailed me on 5/3: If your manuscript is completed... - Outskirts Press had my uploaded manuscript on 4/23. In fact, I received this email from Outskirts Press on 4/24: Dear Richard, Thank you for submitting your manuscript to Outskirts Press for publication. I am pleased to say that your manuscript has been accepted! Before I summarize your next steps, here is my overall impression of your work: This is a really well-rounded compilation of poetry and discussion.  Your poems themselves have an enjoyable cadence - the rhyming nature will make readers want to read aloud.  I also love how you often preface poems, inviting the reader into your process and inspiration.  It's clear you've put a lot of time and thought into the overall organization.  The quotations and reviews following the poetry are also a unique addition. Pat Wilson, Manuscript Review Specialist Outskirts Press, Inc. Elaine emailed me on 5/3: I highly recommend a custom cover... - Outskirts Press had my uploaded cover on 4/27. Elaine emailed me on 5/3: ...you do need to enter your title, pen name - Outskirts Press had my uploaded title and pen name on 4/23. Elaine emailed me on 5/3: Once I see your manuscript ...- Outskirts Press had my uploaded manuscript on 4/23. Elaine emailed me on 5/3: Review the attached "Book Pricing" information... - Outskirts Press had my book's pricing ($15.95) on 4/27. Elaine emailed me on 5/3: If your book has images - Outskirts Press had my uploaded imageless manuscript on 4/23. I trust that anyone in my shoes, would be terribly nervous about Outskirts Press' ability to professionally publish my book. I simply want a refund of the $1,799 Ultimate Publishing Package I bought on 5/2. read more

I have had nothing but good experiences with Outskirts Press. In fact, I've had Outskirts Press help me with both my books. They are responsive and professional. Everyone I worked with was helpful, and my author representative was particularly knowledgeable. The editor they assigned my book had a keen eye and a good command of English vocabulary and punctuation. Even the cover and inside book designers had opinions that I respected and followed. Bottom line, I'd recommend them highly. read more

Outskirts Press is fantastic to work with. I've been with Outskirts Press for 15 years and every day, I work with a very dedicated and talented group of people. We all work towards making each author's experience with Outskirts Press a positive one. Management treats me with respect, they show that they care about every person that works with them. As a small, family-owned business, there is a great deal of flexibility and opportunity to grow and learn. I look forward to continuing my career with Outskirts Press. read more

BEWARE! These people are crooks! I was so excited to publish my first book back in 2013, and they DID NOT Pay my royalties. I advertised my book myself, despite the fact that I paid Outskirts Press to advertise, which they did not, aside from just placing my book on Amazon and B&N, a service that I also paid extra for on top of the supposed advertising. When advertising myself, found many people had purchased my book, and one customer actually bought 10 copies to give out as Christmas gifts. With all that, I received less than $20 in royalties in 7 years, from 2013 thru present, as I saw people purchase my books and even saw them advertised on Ebay. Plus, in very small print they state in your contract that you are responsible for a storage fee due every year. Because I opted for a paper back and hard cover, I was expected to pay $50 every year for storage. I would not have minded that, if I had received my royalties. When you first contact them about publishing, they are the absolute nicest people around, UNTIL you are old news and then NO One ever responds to phone calls or emails. After not receiving royalties for years and not getting return emails or calls, I finally stopped paying Storage fees AFTER paying them on time for 4 years while never seeing a penny of my royalties. So now, through a complaint with the BBB, Outskirts Press responded to my complaint by saying because I didn't pay the storage fees, I was not entitled to receive any royalties. This is so underhanded! They trap you first by not paying your royalties or paying just a very small fraction (Less than $20 over 7 years!), do not answer emails or calls, to where you become so frustrated, you just stop paying the storage fees after paying them on time for 4 YEARS, and after not getting your royalties! AND this is how they get you! They turn it around and say you didn't pay your storage fees while continuing to sell YOUR book, collect profits and NEVER pay you a dime afterwards! I should have read the reviews before I involved myself with them. I SEE NOW SO MANY PEOPLE WERE CHEATED OUT OF THEIR ROYALITES AS WELL. THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON COMPLAINT WITH THIS COMPANY. PLEASE BEWARE! Take a look at the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website and you will see for yourself! They have full control of the accounting so it's easy for them to cheat you. If I had known they'd be so underhanded, I would have never gone with them read more

After doing tons of research, I chose to go with Outskirts Press. I paid my $1300. And then, I waited. I contacted them through chat, sent emails. Nothing. After a few days, I called their number. After a significant time going through their phone menu, eventually I got a real person. I was transferred around until my personal representative was identified. I submitted my manuscript. Waited two weeks, or more. Then I called again to see what the hell was up. Eventually, I received their "corrections". With their formatting changes, it added 60 pages to my book, raising the cover price by $2 per book. I re-editted it and reduced it down by 40 pages. The second round, they took out almost all the italics through the entire book. Every time I turned around it seemed like they needed more money from me. I paid immediately. They screwed around. Over two months into working with them, I wasn't even close to publishing. Everytime I asked for something, like my website address, I was told no. I couldn't get them to start on the cover. I couldn't get the press release. They had a specific timeline they followed. I had a book tour planned and I could tell we weren't going to be finished. I submitted my second book. Even though they allegedly read through my first book, they didn't realize I had explicit sexual scenes. I think I counted five in the first 100 pages. They caught it in the second book and said I'd have to buy my own ISBN numbers, with my own imprint. Immediately, I paid for it. They twiddled their thumbs. When they refused to tell me what my website address would be so I could start producing promotional material, I fired them. They got me my web address several hours later, spelling my name incorrectly. I informed them they were fired and we were done. They said a supervisior would call me. No one ever did. Of note: In three months I got nothing useful from Outskirts. In three weeks with Amazon KDP, I had three books published and books in hand. KDP's editing was far superior to Outskirts. Basically, I threw away over $1500 by the time I fired them. read more