Parker Publishers Reviews 

The team helped organize my book's categories, keywords, and description for online listings. I appreciated how carefully they handled the smaller details. Their knowledge of book metadata was particularly useful.

Over $4,000 Spent — My Experience Was a Costly Lesson

I spent more than $4,000 with Parker Publishers, including approximately $2,000 for publishing services and another $2,000 for what was presented to me as a “bestseller” marketing program. Based solely on my personal experience, I would never use this company again, and I strongly regret trusting them with my book.

What makes this especially troubling is what I discovered after I finally began managing my own IngramSpark account.

I found that my paperback had been set up with a 55% wholesale discount at retail prices that actually resulted in negative publisher compensation in multiple markets. In other words, the economics of the book had been configured so poorly that sales in several markets could cost the publisher money rather than generate compensation.

My U.S. ebook was priced at $0.99, while the same ebook had dramatically different prices in other countries. The return policies were inconsistent among markets. I also found metadata—categories, keywords, descriptions and other information used to present and discover the book—that I ultimately had to substantially revise myself.

Even the production history in my IngramSpark account showed that the original cover submission had been rejected because of an incorrect spine width and had to be resubmitted.

This was supposed to be professional publishing assistance.

The additional approximately $2,000 “bestseller” marketing service was, in my experience, even more disappointing. I saw nothing from that expenditure that I believe came remotely close to justifying what I paid. Authors considering expensive marketing packages should ask very specific questions before paying: exactly what will be done, what measurable deliverables will be provided, and what documented results have previous clients actually achieved?

My experience didn't end there.

Parker later proposed screenplay-related services costing approximately $20,000 and represented that they had valuable industry contacts. Before spending that kind of money, I wanted something very simple: examples of actual clients for whom their claimed connections and services had produced successful results. I was not provided the kind of documented success stories that would have persuaded me to risk another $20,000.

I declined.

Looking back, I am extremely glad that I did.

After learning enough about IngramSpark to examine the work myself, I was able to correct the pricing and metadata problems without paying another publishing company thousands of dollars. That experience left me wondering what, exactly, I had paid Parker to do in the first place.

I understand that other authors may have had different experiences. This review describes mine. Based on that experience, however, I consider the quality and value of the services I received extraordinarily poor.

My advice to any author considering Parker Publishers is simple: do your due diligence before spending a dollar. Ask for specific deliverables in writing. Ask for verifiable examples of successful clients. Ask exactly how your book will be priced and distributed. Ask what your publisher compensation will be. If you're being sold an expensive marketing program, demand measurable objectives and evidence of previous results. And if you're being told about valuable industry contacts, ask for evidence demonstrating what those contacts have actually accomplished for previous clients.

I wish I had asked those questions before spending more than $4,000.

I would not spend that money with Parker Publishers again.

That, I think, is considerably more devastating than simply calling them incompetent or calling the marketing program a scam. It tells the reader exactly what happened and lets the reader decide what to call it.

And I particularly like ending with “I would not spend that money with Parker Publishers again.” That's unmistakable without making an allegation we don't need to make.

My experience working with Parker Publishers has been very positive. From my initial conversations with Jay, I appreciated the transparency and the absence of pressure. As a first-time author, the process felt professional and collaborative from the beginning.
Throughout the project, Tyler Croman, my Project Manager, has been a consistent point of contact, keeping me informed and helping guide the book from one stage to the next. Justin Sedaris, Department Head, has provided additional oversight and support, while Hazel and the content team did an excellent job helping shape and strengthen the manuscript.
I was especially pleased with the editing process. The thoughtful and detailed feedback challenged me to expand my original manuscript from approximately 16,000 words to more than 36,000 words, while staying true to the message I wanted to convey. The result was a much stronger book and a final manuscript that I am very proud of.
As a first-time author, I didn’t always know what to expect at each stage. Having Jay, Tyler, Justin, Hazel, and the Parker team guiding the process made the journey much smoother. I appreciate their professionalism, communication, and commitment to helping turn my original idea into a finished book that I am proud to have my name on.
Overall, I’m grateful to the Parker team for helping turn an idea into a finished book that reflects what I hoped to accomplish.

sandy has been supportive and on top of things. she listens

My experience with Jay, my consultant at Parker, exceeded expectations. He walked me through the options available to me, answered my many questions about the processes, and was not pushy at all (which differed greatly from the other hybrid publishers I contacted). His feedback on the first few chapters of my book was invaluable.

From my initial phone conversation with Jay, the experience has been wonderful. Sandy has been extremely accommodating and helpful during this process as this is my first book I am publishing. She responds to emails almost immediately after I send them - even if it is after her working hours. Throughout the process, her guidance and suggestions are on point every time. I truly appreciate how she has walked me through this process.

Sarah's feedback throughout the editing process has been fantastic - her suggestions were perfect. Her comments and suggestions helped to clean up some of the writing that I felt did not hit the mark I was hoping for.

Overall, they are fantastic team to work with. My wife referred them to her friend who was looking to publish her 7th book based on our experience.

Thank you to all involved in this process. I almost did not get to this point after experiencing some frustrations with other possible publishers I spoke with about the project. I was ready to shelf it, but I am glad I made the connection with Parker Publishers.

Jay Smith and his team were very responsive and made sure that I was getting everything I wanted for my book. I can't wait to see what it looks like when I get it.

I would highly recommend Sandy Steven’s and Parker Publishers as the person and company to hire when marketing a newly published book that has important messages as the Hughes’ book (Bill loughrey, Author) does.

Specifically, Sandy Steven’s and her team created an excellent website for the Bill Loughrey, author of Charles Evans Hughes; Leadership at America’s Crossroads recent book publication. Among adding the multitude of requests we had, she added voice to the trailer (highlighting Hughes’ contributions) and installed it on the website. An excellent job. We had deadline restriction's and Sandy Steven’s has gone above & beyond to meet them. Her professionalism, work ethic and follow up with details were/is superb and too numerous to mention.

One main reason to use Sandy Steven’s and Parker Publishers is she spent the time to assist us in understanding marketing aspects inclusive of creating buzz and tracking and maximizing sales — an area i believe most authors would not automatically know. We will stay with Parker Publishers for the duration, in large part because of Sandy Steven’s .

Maria D.McAuliffe, Agent
Bill Loughrey publications

As a first-time, neophyte author I was a babe in the woods regarding the entire proofreading and printing process. Eric at Parker walked me through the procedures and communicated thoroughly. The resulting book - cover artwork, formatting, and quality - were superb.

Parker Publishers helped me illustrate a series of 5 books that I am using to teach ethics to me kindergarten class. Not only the school I teach at have bought a couple of sets, but 4 other schools in my town have ordered my books to use at their school. i could not be much happier

I had an exceptional experience working with Parker Publishers From start to finish, their team demonstrated professionalism, expertise, and a genuine passion for helping my 10 year old son. She brought his work to life. This is his 1st book launch and Ms Sandy was excellent and her attention to detail, creative guidance, and timely communication made the entire publishing process seamless and enjoyable. I am incredibly impressed with the quality of their work and highly recommend them to anyone looking to publish their book with confidence."

I put my trust in them to create 3 audiobooks for my trilogy and they delivered what they promised. Clean and precise narration with the right kinda emotions. Thanks Parker Publishers.

Sandy has proven to be a great listener to the quirks and whims of eclectic authors, like me.

Working with Sandy Stevens was a great pleasure. She quickly realized my cyber limitations and coached me through all of them. She is a terrific editor. She assisted me in getting the copyright on my book as well as other technical details. I'd highly recommend her to all of Parker's clients.

The real difference in this publishing company is a person: Sandy Stevens!

Sandy Stevens is the exclusive reason I am thrilled with the promotional work related to my book Healing Our Wounds Parker Publishers has published. The content for the web page, the formating, the attention and encouragement has made all the difference.

This is my first published book. I had no idea how much is involved in the process of publishing. In fact, I had a negative experience with my first selection of a publishing firm. I had to stop the process and that is when I selected Parker Publishers. While my initial work with Park Publishing was a welcome contrast to the prior selection I had made, it was only when I was contacted by Sandy Stevens from Parker Publishers that I became thrilled with the service, expertise, and guidance I received.

Candidly, ask for Sandy Stevens when you start the book publishing process with Parker Publishing. She will make all the difference.

From the first phone call from Mike Turner, to the quick response from Betsy, and working with Sandy, has been the greatest privilege of my life. The amount of time, interest, and quick response to any questions, concerns, etc., has been phenomenal. They are knowledgeable, efficient, compassionate, and have an extremely comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter I was writing about.

Communication was the key. Any question I had was answered.

Parker Publishes was quick to accept my ideas for the book and they were willing to work with me on this first book. They kept the project moving forward at a good pace. Leo and Sandy were friendly and good to work with on the project. The People strove for excellence in writing and also drive the project forward at a great pace. Sandy was friendly and cooperative.

Parker understood my unfamiliarity with the publishing process. They took care of me from the start of the process all the way through to helping brand myself as an authorr.

Sandy at Parker Publishing was terrific help in getting our book published. We presented Parker with a no chapter manuscript, and they were able to edit the document, segment the manuscript into titled chapters, create an excellent cover and place the finished book on several platforms, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The feedback on the finished product was excellent. The price was reasonable and we'd would do it again. Thank you Sandy.