Corrections and updates
A definitive map stays correctable
This log records material factual corrections, source changes, and additions. It does not quote private correspondence or imply that a source endorses the map.
6 October 2026
Product update
Answers for self-publishing cost, ads, reviews, descriptions, and ACX
- Added a cost hub that lines up third-party production estimates with KDP, Draft2Digital, IngramSpark, Bowker, and Copyright Office fees.
- Added cited answers on judging Amazon Ads, seeking reviews within Amazon and FTC rules, writing a KDP book description, and ACX royalty and exclusivity terms.
See the affected surface → 6 October 2026
Product update
Answers for agents, queries, copyright, LLCs, and imprints
- Added cited answers on getting a literary agent and on the structure of a query letter.
- Added cited answers on US copyright registration, whether authors need an LLC, and what a publishing imprint is.
See the affected surface → 6 October 2026
Product update
Answers for distribution choices
- Added cited answers on KDP Select versus going wide, IngramSpark versus KDP, Draft2Digital versus IngramSpark, how to go wide, and whether a self-publisher needs an ISBN.
- Where a public page does not state a fee, the answer says so. Draft2Digital account fees are taken from its FAQ.
See the affected surface → 6 October 2026
Product update
Answers for publishing offers and paths
- Added cited answers on vanity presses and hybrid publishers, contract warning patterns, hybrid fees, rights reversion, and self-publishing versus traditional publishing.
- Fee figures are limited to amounts those organizations publish. No company is named as a scam.
See the affected surface → 6 October 2026
Product update
Head-query titles for existing publishing answers
- Retitled existing cost, process, path, offer, and serial pages toward the words writers search for, without changing any URL.
- Added direct answers and question sections on editor cost, cover cost, ISBN fees, KDP Select, and Amazon Ads for books.
- Linked the offer checker to the vanity-press and contract-red-flag answers, and pointed Select and Amazon Ads pages at their decision companions.
See the affected surface → 6 October 2026
Product update
Answers for Amazon Ads and KDP Select exclusivity
- Added a cited answer on when a self-published book can start Amazon Ads, and what a first Sponsored Products test controls.
- Added a cited answer on what KDP Select exclusivity covers, including the 90-day term, the 10 percent sample, and the points the terms do not decide.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
Checked listings for book advertising
- Added official-source-checked listings for BookBaby display ads, Reader Reach ads, and PublishMe Marketing management fees.
- Where a page describes a charge but gives no dollar amount, the listing says so.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
Checked listings for accountability, line editing, and rights
- Added official-source-checked listings for scheduled writing groups, a line editor and a 2026 rate chart, two rights-reversion guides, and a BookBub Ads article.
- Where a page describes a charge but gives no dollar amount, the listing says so.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
Checked listings for rights, licences, and audiobook royalties
- Added official-source-checked listings for a US copyright termination notice, the SIL Open Font License, Wikimedia Commons, ACX royalties, and a book-description guide.
- Left advertising, accountability groups, and line editing unchanged where the official pages were blocked, stale, or did not meet the inclusion gates.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
Checked listings for editing, access, and writing centres
- Added official-source-checked listings for copyediting, proofreading, accessible publishing, research, accountability groups, ghostwriting, and writing centres.
- Noted that Writing Diversely's FAQ and how-it-works section state different starting rates.
- Left rights reversion, licensed images, audiobook distribution, and advertising unchanged where the official pages were blocked or did not describe the task.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
Checked listings for editing, magazines, and residencies
- Added official-source-checked listings for line editing, sensitivity reading, beta readers, literary magazines, residencies, and publisher administration.
- Left copyediting and proofreading unchanged where the official pages did not describe those passes.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
Checked resources for festivals, agents, and the remaining thin tasks
- Added official-source-checked listings for festivals, literary agents, hybrid publishers, fact-checking, crowdfunding, book metadata, and royalty tracking.
- Left fees, submission status, and geographic eligibility unknown where the official page did not state them.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
More checked resources for the thin parts of the atlas
- Added official-source-checked listings for publishers, hybrid presses, proposal help, fact-checking, illustration, translation, permissions, jurisdiction-specific contract help, printing, audience research, bookseller and library access, grants, conferences, crowdfunding, metadata, and royalties.
- Marked guides and essays, including Jane Friedman and Kevin Kelly's self-publishing essay, as reading material rather than hireable services.
- Left submission status, fees, and geographic eligibility unknown where the official page did not state them.
See the affected surface → 3 October 2026
Product update
A compact resource atlas across the publishing stack
- Added 149 official-source-checked resources across twelve lifecycle stages and submissions, with alphabetical ordering and no paid placement.
- Added search-first browsing, seven journey groups, 72 tasks, compact expandable listings, and shareable structured filters, plus links between directory collections and the guided and reference stages.
- Published per-listing evidence, restrictions, and checked dates. Inclusion is informational, not endorsement or an independent service audit.
See the affected surface → 29 September 2026
Correction
Lulu print options, proofing, and volume pricing
- Removed the unsupported claim that Lulu has the widest print options and quality.
- Replaced it with Lulu support’s confirmed scope: configurable print specifications, proof ordering, and automatic volume discounts from 100 copies.
- Clarified that manufacturing, shipping, and tax costs depend on the final format, quantity, and delivery destination.
See the affected surface → 24 September 2026
Correction
Kobo Writing Life ebook royalties and reach
- Removed the unsupported $12.99 upper ceiling from Kobo’s 70% ebook royalty wording.
- Added Kobo’s country-specific minimums, 45% below-threshold rate, and 20% public-domain rate from current first-party guidance.
- Replaced the subjective regional-strength summary with Kobo’s documented availability in over 190 countries.
See the affected surface → 21 September 2026
Correction
Voices by INaudio royalty and digital-narration scope
- Replaced the secondary platform summary with current first-party pricing, distribution, and Digital Voice Narration guidance.
- Clarified that authors keep 80% of the royalties INaudio receives rather than an undefined percentage of net receipts.
- Narrowed AI-narration coverage to the approved-provider LPF workflow, participating retailers, and automatic disclosure.
See the affected surface → 21 September 2026
Correction
IngramSpark fee and ebook compensation verification
- Re-anchored the 85% of net ebook compensation claim to IngramSpark’s official pricing page.
- Recorded IngramSpark support’s direct confirmation of free upload and revision and the 1.875% market-access fee.
- Kept the separate print-margin estimate on its existing source rather than extending the source check beyond the confirmed scope.
See the affected surface → 17 September 2026
Correction
Spotify for Authors pricing and rights wording
- Replaced a secondary Spotify comparison citation with Spotify for Authors first-party upload guidance.
- Removed the overbroad “set your own price” wording and retained only the first-party-supported fact that uploads are free.
- Recorded Spotify’s direct confirmation that uploads are non-exclusive and authors retain ownership and rights.
See the affected surface → 20 September 2026
Edition update
Traditional submissions and contract rights
- Corrected the assumption that every major publisher requires an agent or buys only a finished manuscript.
- Added a practical fiction, nonfiction, memoir, query, synopsis, and sample-page submission toolkit.
- Added geography-aware direct-submission examples, live-pitch opportunities, and a contract-rights checkpoint.
See the affected surface → 15 September 2026
Correction
Chapter ghostwriter source URL
- Updated source [41] from a 404 Chapter blog URL to the live ghostwriter-cost article.
See the affected surface → 10 August 2026
Edition update
Quibble web-fiction coverage
- Added Quibble as a web-fiction platform for ongoing serials and completed fiction.
- Recorded its chapter-scheduling and reader-community features and current monetisation status after a direct source check.
- Kept serial platforms separate from owned subscriber relationships and finished-book distribution.
See the affected surface → 8 August 2026
Correction
Primary-source citation upgrade
- Replaced secondary platform-price and distribution citations with official pages from Amazon KDP, Draft2Digital, IngramSpark, ProWritingAid, Apple Books, and Amazon.
- Updated the current professional self-publishing range and KDP print royalty tiers.
- Removed unsupported sales and BookBub acceptance-rate claims instead of repeating estimates without primary evidence.
See the affected surface → 7 August 2026
Product update
First-edition launch infrastructure
- Added scoped “Checked with source” markers to eight source entries following substantive direct replies.
- Added searchable decision pages, privacy-safe activation analytics, result forwarding, and reusable partner resources.
- Added a public explanation of what source checking does and does not mean.
See the affected surface → 4 August 2026
Edition update
Serialisation and direct-audience routes
- Separated subscriber serials, web-fiction serials, platform discovery, and direct digital sales.
- Added first-party Substack, Royal Road, Medium, and Gumroad sources.
- Added a long-tail audience stage to the guided and reference experiences.
See the affected surface → 2 August 2026
Correction
Writer Beware correction
- Updated Writer Beware resources and preserved the distinction between independent watchdog guidance and commercial offers.
See the affected surface → 18 July 2026
Correction
Formatting-tool source correction
- Removed competitor-authored comparison sources for Atticus, Vellum, and Scrivener.
- Re-anchored each price and platform claim to the tool company’s official page.
- Corrected Scrivener to a per-version purchase with fees possible for major-version upgrades.
See the affected surface →
Found something wrong? Email Euwyn Goh, the maintainer, with the exact claim and a better source.