What is assisted self-publishing?

A publishing success story illustrates the process

Each week, I visit your inbox with writing and publishing advice in this, the Powerful Story newsletter. I aim to motivate, encourage, and educate writers in this free newsletter—to share my experience of three decades in the publishing business.

A Powerful Story is also the name of my little company, which provides authors with a variety of services, including assisted self-publishing.

Mary Hunt Hauser is one such client. I’m thrilled to congratulate Mary on the publication of her book, Bend Without Breaking: How Struggles Build a Resilient Faith.

Authors often come to us with a draft of their manuscript, and we guide them all the way to a published book. We coordinate all the details, including editing and design and getting your book on amazon. (Some clients come with just an idea and we help them write their book—but that’s a different service.) But what does assisted self-publishing look like? Mary’s story serves as a perfect example.

Mary holding a copy of her book.

I met Mary at West Coast Christian Writers conference last November. She contacted me a month later, and we began working together in early 2025. She had a solid draft of her book, but wanted help with revision, editing, and eventually, self-publishing.

That’s exactly what we do at A Powerful Story. The editing process took a few months of back and forth. After reading through the manuscript, I recommended some structural changes that would improve the flow and organization of the book. We had conversations about narrative arc, keeping the reader in mind, and how to write concisely. As we worked, we came up with a new title and subtitle for the book. We retitled chapters, rearranged them, and even took one chapter out completely.

Mary describes our work together this way:

I came to Keri with stories and information, the raw material of a first draft manuscript. Through several months of her editing and instructing the rewriting process, Bend Without Breaking became an inspirational and encouraging book that is easy to read.

Keri first introduced me to the stages of editing that included line editing, structural changes, and how to form focus in each chapter. She suggested how to create a uniformed flow in each chapter while keeping my written voice intact. After line editing, we focused on phrasing and condensing the prose. She suggested reordering chapters and deleting sections to create better readability. She directed me to those areas that needed more illustration and narrative examples. Early on she had a vision for the book and helped me to see it and coordinate the rewriting to support that vision. We worked together to create a structure that would help develop the book’s message. Because of her expertise and sensibilities in guiding the rewriting, I learned how to keep the reader in the forefront of my mind.

Mary’s story is compelling. After surviving cancer five times, she knows a thing or two about resilience. The book offers practical ways to build resilience and strengthen your faith through struggles.

Because Mary’s in California and I’m in Illinois, we met regularly over Zoom. We edited and revised drafts using Google docs. The process was thorough, and took about six months.

While Mary and I worked on making the manuscript the best it could be, my designer began working on the cover. I wrote a back cover book description and a bio. We went through several design revisions. I’m delighted with the final result.

Once the editing was complete, we began to work on the interior page design. Every detail, from fonts to page numbers to chapter headings, was set up according to Mary’s preferences.

A path to publication

A Powerful Story is not a publisher. (The only books I publish are ones I’ve written.) We provide writing, editing and assisted self-publishing services. We guide authors in the process of becoming publishers. We also provide collaborative writing services, where we essentially interview you and do most of the writing for you. We also do writing coaching.

Assisted self-publishing differs greatly from so-called “hybrid” publishers. The “hybrid” label covers a lot of different models, but often such companies require authors to purchase a large quantity of books. (Sometimes, they’ll simply say your contract includes 500 “free” copies but be assured that is wrapped into the price.) They sometimes require authors to hit certain sales levels in order to earn royalties. They often hold the copyright and ISBN and take a share of the royalties. (Want a little more info on publishing paths? Read this blog post.)

When you choose assisted self-publishing, you’re free from those constraints. You are the publisher, you hold the copyright, so you are in control of the whole process. We simply come alongside and guide you. You drive, we navigate.

Here’s the difference, in a nutshell: I’m not the publisher of Mary’s book. Mary is.

I guided Mary through setting up an account to purchase ISBNs. (Wondering what an ISBN is, and why I don’t recommend getting a “free” ISBN from amazon? Read this blog post.) Mary’s ISBNs are in the name of her company, Compass Pointe Publishing, and therefore, entirely within her control. My role was to help her navigate the process of setting up her publishing company. Because I’ve done this many times, I can make the process smooth and easy for my clients.

I also helped Mary set up a Kindle Direct Publishing account, which allows her to publish her book on amazon.com and other amazon sites around the world. We created both an e-book and paperback version of the book. Amazon sells her paperback as a print-on-demand book, which means when you buy the book, they print one copy and ship it out. Amazon pays Mary royalties directly.

Because Mary is the publisher, she can set the price. For example, right now she is offering the e-book version for just $2.99 (grab a copy here). By the way, Mary would love for you to leave a review after you read it.

Because she is the publisher, Mary can upload revisions to the book if needed. She gets paid a royalty directly from amazon each time a copy of her book sells. That royalty is 60 percent of the sale price, minus printing costs. The royalty is the same regardless of how many books sell. She can buy author copies at a discount but is not required to buy books if she doesn’t want to.

Mary said this about these final details:

Keri assisted me in developing bios for the back cover and guided all the technical specifications for manuscript preparation for Amazon publication. She provided a complete editing process that took the manuscript from inception to online offering.

I especially appreciate Keri’s openness to suggestions and offering input and feedback for the pieces I rewrote. I learned not only about the publication process, but how to write with a clearer focus. I believe the book will find its way to those that need its encouragement directly because of her professional expertise.

Congratulations to Mary on the publication of her book!

P.S. Are you ready to start down the path to publication? If you’re not sure, you can book a free half hour consultation with me to determine your best next step. Click the button below to get in touch.