RIVER DARK BOOKS
Our exciting new Collaborative Publishing project will launch in late 2026. This fully transparent service will publish curated and professionaly produced titles, working with the author to bring their vision to life - with guidance along the way. Royalty structures are completely different to our traditional publishing model (under which Temple Dark Books operates) because here the financial risk is yours.* We believe in having genuine conversations about sales prospects and shaping your expectations with honesty and accountability.
Please note that in order to avail of the Book Placement and Book Marketing aspects of the project (see below), you must be a Professional Member of Speculative Fiction Ireland. Check out the rates and Member Benefits here and contact us for a quote or with any queries using the form at the bottom of the page.
Book Production
This includes everything from the initial manuscript appraisal right through to print pre-press and cover design and build. Unlike a "vanity press", we want to able to stand proudly behind the output on the River Dark Books label, so we won't publish 'as is' - your book will go through the expected stages of editing and proofreading before we go to work with formatting and typsetting to present it the best we can - with your input, of course (this is a collaboration, after all). We use CPI UK Ltd. for our printing, whose clients include Simon & Schuster and other giants of the industry. All production costs will be made clear to you before we proceed with any short runs or inventory calls.
Book Placement
Your book's metadata will be set up with Nielsen and Gardners, making it discoverable across the internet by readers as well as online and "bricks-&-mortar" booksellers. As well as POD (print-on-demand) setup for customer ordering, we can arrange physical inventory of your titles in the Gardners warehouse, increasing discoverability and improving shipping turnaround, and placing you in the largest wholesale book listing in Ireland and the U.K. For digital formats, we'll get your e-Book listed on 20+ digital storefronts including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Barnes & Noble; and your e-Book will also be available for sale in our dedicated SFI store. And to top it all off, your title will be available on the shelves of our partners, Roe River Books in Dundalk, Co. Louth.**
Book Marketing
The activity starts with the pre-release metadata, listed with Nielsen and Gardners for discovery (and optional promotional activity). Then we build your dedicated webpage, modelled on our TDB title pages. We'll link to your socials, and you can link back here for samples (a protected flipbook for sample reading), pre-orders, and then live sales. Your book(s) can be featured in our newsletters and socials, and we can even interview you for the website and the SFI E-Zine. Your title can be added to our ads roster and our River Dark Books catalogue for booksellers; and we can arrange leaflets and bookmarks at events and in bookshops, and included in the shipments of other titles. We can create roll-up banners and posters, merch for our SFI Store and more!
APPRECIATING THE PROCESS
We regularly see 'publishing' offered to writers at ridiculously low prices, with packages in the low €100s and service delivery promised within 24-72 hours! Sorry to break it to you, but this just isn't a reflection of how much work it takes to produce a strong title and provide a good service. It also plays fast and loose with the meaning of 'publication', reducing it to its simplest definition: making your book available to the public. We could take your book and have it available to the public within hours, running it through automatic spellcheckers and AI 'editors', and then just run a quick conversion to the files necessary for printing and e-reading. "Look, your e-book's on Amazon. Pay up!"
No. Don't fall for this.
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These kinds of e-book processes are simple - they're getting easier all the time - and they rely totally on pre-existing platforms on which your book will drown in a sea of content. As for your physical book, getting it printed and shipping 50 or 100 copies to you and then just washing our hands of you and your work is not a service we would be proud to operate.
We deliver more.
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Check out the gallery below to get a stronger understanding of what's truly involved in our Collaborative Publishing model.
THIS SECTION IN PROGRESS
(IRONICALLY!)
Hats
The Sun-Smart Collection
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Shoes
Comfort X Design
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Bags
Transport In Style
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Express Your Interest
If you're interested in how River Dark Books might help you move forward with the production and publication of your work, don't hesitate to reach out to us. You will also be able to follow up on your initial communication with further questions and requests for clarification.
*River Dark Books (a trading name of Temple Dark Publications Ltd.) will facilitate the sale of physical and electronic books, and will forward 80% of net receipts from each sale to the respective author. "Net receipts" is the final amount received by River Dark Books at the end of the receipt process (which can include, but is not limited to, payment processing fees and shipping and customs fees). You can see an example of a sale on our website at the bottom of the SFI Home Page.
**We aim to have more booksellers joining us on this venture as it expands, in conjunction with the expansion of the SFI Partner Program.