Archway Publishing Reviews

I'll give you 6 stars if a free but basic marketing package is inlcuded! Anyway, you guys are quick, efficient and reliable. I already recommended Archway to my pastor Mr. Shenton, I believe he's in contact with you now. I'll keep Archway Publishing my priority choice, and tell my friends and acquaintances about it ;)

Date of experience: May 16, 2024

I recently wrote a book and was searching for a publisher. I checked ChatGPT for options and received several suggestions, including Simon & Schuster. Visiting their website directed me to Archway Publishing. I sent them an email, and a very courteous lady followed up on my request.

They offered several packages; I chose the one called "Trailblazer," which costs about $5,000. The services Archway Publishing provides with this package were clearly mentioned and suited me perfectly. I confirmed, and the lady emailed me the agreement, which I signed. I had the option to pay the full amount upfront or in installments over 4 months, which I chose.

After requesting payment, they debited my card for $1,600. As soon as the payment was made, they sent me a new price list called "options." Nothing was clear in these options, and I realized that the $5,000 could easily escalate to $15,000 or $20,000.

I asked the lady for the final cost for my book, but she said she couldn’t provide that. I also asked her how many books they thought they could sell. She was unable to answer and stated that Archway Publishing could not commit to any sales quantity.

Finally, after informing her that I was canceling the order, she gave me the printing cost per copy, which was four times the price that Amazon would charge for printing. Based on all of the above, I requested to cancel the order, which they very reluctantly did.

She deducted $500 as a penalty and said that within 7 working days, they would refund the balance of $1,100. The money was never refunded despite my many emails that remained unanswered.

I was very lucky not to have transferred the total amount because it could have also been embezzled. In short, it was a very bad experience with a very unethical company; my advice to anyone considering using them is not just to walk away, but to run for their lives.

Date of experience: March 21, 2024

Very responsive, helpful crew from start to finish. Their author learning center is a great resource and wealth of information.
Archway made the publication process easy, and politely put up with my neuro-divergent brain.
Calls and emails were answered quickly, and concerns or issues dealt with easily and professionally.
I highly recommend them.
But here is a reality check: No matter how good your book is, it will cost you a lot (and I mean a lot!) in money, time, and effort to get it “out there”. Archway can help but you will pay big bucks for it. Remember: there are hundreds of thousands of other writers out there doing the same. Your book isn’t magically going to sell well. But for the money, Archway is a good start in the right direction.

Date of experience: May 16, 2024

I don't know if I have enough space to write everything I need to write, but I'll give it a shot. My journey with Archway Publishing started February 12, 2024. The staff that I communicated with along this journey, was there and ready to answer any questions I had. They were willing to spare time and have a conversation with me in order to insure I understood everything every step of the way. I know that's what employees are supposed to do. But in today's day and age, that's not always what happens. Before one step of the process was completed, I was being informed about the next step to come, so I felt well prepared and ready without feeling overwhelmed. I am more than happy with the outcome of my project... in fact I am down right impressed. With my instruction, they managed to capture exactly what I saw in my head, and made it a reality. I will never forget what Archway Publishing did for me. They made it possible for me to actually hold my dream in hand. I can't wait to work with them again! If you're thinking about working with them, just know, they are worth every bit of it.

Date of experience: April 19, 2024

They are very misleading in how they present themselves.

While they repeatedly associate themselves with Simon and Shuster, and while they will tell potential clients about being an imprint of Simon and Shuster, with all the implications of being associated with a traditional publisher, they are nothing more than a fancy printshop with services they want you to buy.

Being a first time author, I was fooled by their pitch.

I will note they didn't bother to check if the book title had been used previously - which I learned later to be true.

Date of experience: May 02, 2024

From start to finish, my book looks professionally done. Love the way my book turned out.

Date of experience: May 18, 2024

My books arrived today...on time! It looks good... I am impressed. I started selling books out of the box. Thank you Archway!

Date of experience: May 12, 2024

As I begin the process of publishing my 5th novel with Archway Publishing, I feel the need to share my thoughts and experiences. I have been so happy with their services. Archway staff is professional, trustworthy and easy to work with - they have a process in place that ensures the writer's vision is met.

I have been so pleased with the quality of my first four books. I feel safe in their hands.

Date of experience: March 04, 2024

I haven't received a royalty check since 2021. However, Archway Publishing has received over $5,000 in sales from my books. Customer service is horrible and haven't been supportive in helping me. The manager is currently on vacation, however I have yet to be paid for my hard work.

Date of experience: March 04, 2024

First they wanted me to go back and change the names of people in my memoir. Then names of companies. Then publish as anonymous. A memoir . They were afraid of being sued. These people are dead, in the public domain or from 30 years ago. Got my money back as my husband is a lawyer, otherwise their agreement would have allowed them to keep it. Wasted 6 months. New publisher published book without a question.

Date of experience: October 17, 2023

Publishing through Archway was very expensive. My book was a children's story in need of illustrations. The illustrations provided by Archway were poorly done, and I only had 2 chances to make corrections. My suggested changes were ignored. The drawings did not meet my expectations.

Date of experience: December 03, 2023

Archway publication process has been excellent. The only problem I had was that editing takes too long. That is true for my first book and also for current second book. Publicity has to be aggressive as very few copies of my first book got sold. I tried to have my second book about half the size of first book, hoping that price of the book will be according lot less. But again, it is almost $30 for paper back.

Date of experience: December 31, 2023

Archway concierge Faye Lewis was responsive and helpful. I don't think I had to wait more than 24 hours for a response from her. She answered most of my emails the same day I sent mine.
The line editing was good and accurate.
I'm pleased with the cover they designed and we selected.
They provided excellent service and advice for a new author, like me.

Date of experience: November 29, 2023

Archway Publishing has been a great experience for my first publishing experience. My initial quest to get the ball rolling during a time life got extremely busy, and had to put this process on hold. No matter how long it took, Archway was ready and waiting for me, as they were about their business. The process was exciting, scary, fun and now published and ready to share.

Date of experience: March 02, 2023

I spent thousands to have a top line review of my manuscript and recommendations. Practically none were done. Only side notes like to “spell out acronyms.” Meanwhile my cover story was rewritten to appeal to a readers who watch soap operas instead of the legal and medical community. Archway even required that I write it as fiction though the evidence could easily be sourced for accuracy through the public medical boards and court records. Archway did everything to sabotage my book as they ran off with thousands of dollars and then asked for even more. I refused after that.They are a complete rip- off publisher. I may have sold a total of ten books in 5 years.

Date of experience: March 22, 2023

Archway helped me to publish my first novel, and I couldn't be more pleased. Faye was my concierge, and she was wonderful! She responded to my inquiries quickly; encouraged me to keep going when I began to drag my feet; cheered me on; and made the whole process easy. I purchased the line edit and was satisfied and grateful for the finished product. The cover design team was top shelf. So far, the response to my cover has been overwhelmingly positive. The print-on-demand softcover is of a higher quality than I anticipated. I'm planning on writing a sequel and will definitely choose Archway Publishing again.

Date of experience: January 23, 2023

First I dealt with Duane Johnson, President of Archway. He congratulated me for being an author. That made me feel very excited! I dealt with so many wonderful Archway employees, Andre Trent, who helped me get my manuscript sent in, Tim Fitch was also very helpful, and always returned my calls and emails quickly. Aaron Hurwitz was very nice, and would be a great marketplace member for me. Hanna Nate was also very helpful for me. The editorial group was excellent, and did a great job, Nolan Estes was also doing a fine job for me. James Bauman was also helpful getting me my books.

Date of experience: March 23, 2022

I knew what I was getting into and wasn't expecting too much. They did a good job formatting the book and doing all the stuff behind the scenes to get it listed in Amazon, B&N, and make it available in catalogs. However, don't fall for the marketing add-ons. They send out press releases, but there's no follow-up. In short, there's no guarantee or real effort to try to get your book reviewed or in stores. Maybe I had a poor marketing rep, but they only did the bare minimum and were never proactive. I always had to reach out to them. It's not a scam, but there's not a ton of value in what they claim as marketing.

Date of experience: August 18, 2023

I found that there wasn’t a lot of support, i was bounced around from department to department with little support if I didn’t want to spend additional funding. I had a hard time getting a document stating that I was indeed the author of my book to be able to log into Amazon and see my stats. I have not received a follow up from my rep at all to provide feedback. Archway takes a large portion of the profit from the sales but doesn’t do any of the marketing and doesn’t support their authors at all through the process. My next book will not be published with this company.

Date of experience: June 16, 2023

Every step of the way was described and handled in a clearly and efficiently. The tools provided by The Author Learning Center were extremely useful. Only one small glitch occurred when I did not realize that Archway had had so quickly published my book (the day after my final approval of the galleys).

Date of experience: March 08, 2022