Balboa Press Reviews 

My book has been with Balboa Press for a year, I see independent sellers with copies for sale as well as what looks like world wide access and I have not gotten more than 9 dollars in royalties to date. One company had 20 copies on hand at one time when I checked months ago. I never saw anything from it. The experience was hard and I did actually ask for my money back in the beginning because they never seemed to want to communicate and if they did they didn't understand what I was trying to say, honestly it seemed like they didn't care at all. They got me past the refund window and went right back to the same issues. I did finally end up with 2 new women on my book as this book went through so many hands at every stage and they were very nice, the only reason I give 2 stars. To this day they still call me wanting me to purchase my book through them and I get to keep the money on my sells from it. I am highly disappointed that Hay House recommended them during the Author course and when I wrote them they said oh we don't own them anymore and washed their hands of it, a little fact that would have been nice to know up front. They did a great job on my book and priced it themselves at 50.99 and I get a whole 1.39 and that is ebook at 9.99 because I was advised it would not sell as an ebook for more than that. They do not hesitate to call you for more funds for more services and I could also pay them to have a supposed Hay House author to review it, that made me very uncomfortable and I declined. The website I paid for took months to get up and I was supposed to get a whole year, well I guess my year started when they got to that stage and the email I got after it was ready cut me by two months for that service, oh and they cut the traffic if to many people look at it and you can pay them more to keep it flowing. I have written several more books and was more than ready to go with them on the projects, but I have become a self published author doing everything myself. I even did everything including edit and format the book I gave them, all they had to do was copy and paste. I also know they fixed photos in it as I tried hard to get someone to help me with that and I eventually let it go to them. Please very cautious and read carefully. My personal website and all the tools to write and distribute my other books cost less than 1/10 of their package. I was hoping for so much better from this company. I do hope others have a better experience and get the money for their sales.

Not enough personal guidance in purchasing the best plan for my project. I've written three books with Balboa press. The first experience was very personal, the second more automated and the third was AI edited and less human interaction.
The marketng options were (are) much more expensive than the publishing expenses, so I hesitate to invest in the promotional aspects, though I'll probably write another book with Balboa.

I am very happy with the way Balboa staff have attended to my Publishing requirements to date. Marketing seems to have been well looked after & all my books were sold at 2 exhibitions so far which makes me happy.
Thank you Balboa Publishing

As a first-time author, I started the publishing process with a lot of enthusiasm and roughly a thousand questions. The Balboa Press team answered every one of them with patience and care, and never made me feel like I was asking too many (even when I definitely was).

The process itself ran smoothly. The timeline stayed on track, edits were made accurately, and the interior and cover design are polished and professional. I'm proud of how Debug Yourself turned out.

Most of all, the team was a genuine pleasure to work with. If you're a new author wondering whether you can actually do this, Balboa Press is a great place to find out. Thank you for helping me bring my book into the world.

Being on a reduced income, I found, & my friends & relations felt the same, shocked by not receiving what you seemed to promise, at great financial expense. I had to borrow money and spend months repaying it. Of the fifty illustrations, my own artwork, you told me I could add, you allowed 4 or 5! At least you gave me my painting on the book cover. In the U.K., we don't generally, other than those who purchased a great deal of land, for their mansions and hunting, caring little about the peasants and Nature's creatures, birds, fish, insects and all other living animals and beings, including trees, have the same cash rich life styles, apart from the brave few driven to change that in their lives. However, I didn't write in order to benefit financially, but because my spiritual guides gave me the headings of the three chapters I was being guided to write. And I always act on these messages! Thank you, any of you who did listen or do the best they knew. I'll use my own name for my 2nd book, with a local publisher - such is my plan. Ms. P.S.E.Squires. Published 2022

0/10 worst overpriced “publishing house” ever.

Balboa Press are the best self publisher there is. There are many packages to choose from. The team I work with are great. I am really happy with my books.

Balboa Press is a well-known company and carries a certain level of prestige, which was one of the reasons I chose to work with them. However, I have found the support offered to writers to be quite limited in relation to the significant financial investment required.

Publishing a book takes an enormous amount of time, effort, and personal commitment, and I had hoped that working with an established company would provide greater support in helping independent authors reach a broader audience—particularly those who do not already have an established network or platform.
Unfortunately, my experience has left me feeling that the business model is more focused on generating revenue from authors than on actively helping them build visibility and find readers. For the amount invested, I expected considerably more guidance, support, and tangible value.

I have been writing my book in earnest for the past 18 months. My first contact was Ali Valdez, a delightful person who has been nothing but helpful and friendly throughout. Then Jodie Grant came on board and was very good at selling me a bunch of extras that I was excited to add to my package to give the book its best chance. The hard sells kept coming, and at times I really had to be firm in my decision not to take on any further "deals". Then came the publishing consultant, who seemed to be devoid of any personality whatsoever, and I really struggled trying to get information from him. My book is now published - 5 weeks ago. I am still to receive the social media marketing kit, the digital book codes, a live website.. Even though I know that the first month or two of a book's release is CRUCIAL, I am waiting to send out free digital copies to get people reading it. The 'marketing consultant' might just as well be a bot, as I never received any answers to any of my questions directly addressed to him. No information, poor communication, zero warmth or humanity. I paid a LOT of money to Balboa, and I am bitterly disappointed with their performance. Once they got the cash out of me, It seems like I'm a low priority. Ali continues to be as helpful as he can be. I don't even have access to the live sales figures; I may have to wait until December before I have ANY idea of how the book is selling. Poor poor service.

For a first-time self-publishing author, Balboa Press was good enough. I found their various 'managers' for author care, from marketing to book consulting, to be confusing. Several of their emails are 'form letters' that they cut and paste. Several times, I received emails with my project number, but they were for a different book and included incorrect package information. It was frustrating and diminished my trust. Future authors need to be aware, stay vigilant and review their package list of offerings. You need to manage that, not anyone at Balboa Press will.

I am eternally grateful for all the people who worked on getting my book published and out to the world. I recommend Balboa Press in trusting your desire and goal to get your story out into the world . 100% satisfied-
Art Zapata
Author: Getting Sober. You’re Home. Welcome Home…

Everyone I have interacted with at Balboa Press seems knowledgeable, helpful, efficient, and caring. Although I do feel that the next steps and timelines involved could be a little clearer, Balboa Press is certainly delivering on the items in my publishing package. I am pleased with their integrity, the quality of the work, and their professionalism.

The process was challenging, especially for a first time author. I felt there was very little direction, even though Balboa Press markets to first time authors.
Ann, my main point of contact, was great. She was helpful and responsive, but she had very little authority to help with some of the other areas where I needed assistance.
There was a lack of attention to timelines and details throughout the process.
When I asked for a survey about my experience so I could provide feedback, the representative became defensive and asked what I would say. When I shared a couple of concerns, he wanted to argue with me rather than listen to the feedback.
I suggested an easy way they could improve the process, and I was simply told, “We don’t do that.”
A representative quoted me for an additional service and told me he would waive the financing fee if I moved forward. I did move forward, but when the plan did not work out and Balboa agreed to a partial refund, they deducted the financing fee from the refund anyway.
I pushed the issue and eventually had a manager call me, but he did not feel obligated to honor the agreement because the representative no longer worked there and I had financed the purchase.
The marketing representative presented me with a $15,000 plan that had been used for another author writing on a similar subject. It did not align with my goals, yet it was still presented to me.
When I explained my goals again, the representative told me my book was “just a hobby, not a business.” That was insulting and was not the first time I felt a representative was using that kind of tactic to push me toward purchasing additional services.
There seemed to be an effort to upsell at every turn, but even when I purchased additional services, I did not feel the level of service matched the cost.
Early in the process, representatives recommended that I subscribe to Author Learning Center. I did. Later, Balboa offered a discount for the service, but I could not take advantage of it because I had already subscribed based on their recommendation. I was told they would discount something for me later, but that never happened.
The advice I received from Balboa representatives often contradicted what I was learning from the authors and instructors at Author Learning Center.
Looking back, I probably would have been better off working through Author Learning Center and its webinars and figuring out the process that way. I found the webinars much more helpful than the clunky process I experienced with Balboa Press.
I repeatedly asked about a marketing plan and was told I would receive it during the marketing portion of the process. When I finally received one, it was actually fairly helpful, but it came far too late. Marketing should start well before a book is ready to publish.
Leslie was another person who stood out. I could tell she was busy, but she knew her job and knew how to provide customer service.
The book was published in the end, so there is that. But getting there felt like one stumbling block after another.

Better coordination between individuals.
Better review of the manuscript before printing - too many printing typos.
Should provide free grammar reviews of manuscripts before printing.

My book is in print.

Ms. Emmy valdez was a great check- in coordinator.

Fabulous!! Very prompt service.

I feel that Balboa is money hungry. I have felt under pressure a number of times. The three that stick in my mind are as follows.
Early in my signing up to Balboa I was encouraged to spend several thousand into a possible film of my first book(Swav). This ended as wasted money and the book hidden away in a shed full of other similar failures. Secondly, was my half price to produce my sequel to 'Swav". My wife handles our sparce money and she is sure we were over charged. Third, I made the mistake of mentioning to Carl that I was thinking of writing a novel about my family. I had encouraged my adult nephews and nieces to help with the writing. Carl was on the phone with the half price offer again. My wife and I discussed it and she reluctantly agreed to pay the first of four installments. The result is that the nephews and nieces are reluctant to participate. One of the reactions of these very intelligent people was that Balboa was money hungry. I am going to try to get the story written with their help but the parting with the money was difficult.It was something I wanted to write with them and then give it you Balboa. Now it looks as though it won't go ahead.

The quality of the finished product exceeded my expectations. Balboa assigned me someone from the beginning to walk me through the process. They helped to make each transition easy and straightforward.

Service: please see below.