Covenant Books
reviews and complaints

Covenant Books has helped me tremendously in bringing my book to life.

When you are a first time author and don't understand the details of publishing, it can be a daunting, intimidating process.

Covenant Books and especially Brenda Oakes, my publication assistant, helped me through each step with understanding and patience.

I couldn't be more thrilled with the finished results.

Thank you so much, Brenda Oakes and Covenant Books.

Deborah Sorena

It is such an honor to be a Covenant Books author and a thrill to see my completed book, Calamity Kite and the Wayward Wind! The finished work is so beautifully and carefully produced. This would not have been possible without the personal attention to detail and encouragement of Kris K., the Publication Assistant assigned to direct me through the various stages of the process. At all times, I felt Kris had my book and my best interests in mind. She always promptly and patiently responded to my many questions. In fact, I was treated as if I were the only person she was working with! Kris's support was invaluable.

The illustrators worked very hard to get the illustrations just as I wanted them. I was impressed with the creativity of design and proportion. A surprise delight was a charming border of springtime colors for the story pages!
There seems to be some great teamwork between departments at Covenant Books. They did whatever it took to make sure everything about my book was exactly as I wanted it and ensure it continued to move through the process without unnecessary delay.
Thank you, Covenant Books for making this dream come true!

There is a place for every person to become an Author when you are blessed with a friend to shares your pen and help publish your story into your lifetime book from beginning to end. It's not magic! It's what I know to be the very best Publication Assistant I prayed and asked God for. I asked God to direct my path with his very best Publisher to hold my hand and be with me as I journey into the unknown. I had faith God would give me the best! His best is what I've been given... Michelle H. and Covenant Books.

Michelle is not only my publication assistant, but She is also my side-by-side future Success as an Author. Her professional gifts and talents are what I want to remain in my life as I continue with my writings in my upcoming second book. I went into this journey with faith, her care, and knowledge. I knew I could not do this alone. I thank God I was never alone. I thank Covenant Books for having the best and allowing me to receive your best with my Publication Assistant Michelle H. You gave her to me, and I want to keep her. Please. I am truly grateful. Thank You Covenant Books and Thank You Michelle H. I want the world to know ... YOU ARE THE BEST! I am now an Author! Dr. Cindy

I am a first time author of the material I have just concluded. My previous writing experiences were more technical and well received, so I plunged into this work without a clue. In technical writing, material and numbers are handled much differently than in other works of fiction or non-fiction (as was this writing). My Publication Assistant was Kris *** and what a pleasure it has been to work with her. She guided me through the process and facilitated my work with the copy editors, layout team and cover design in a seamless way. The editors have also been very helpful in tutoring me in the *** Manual of *** and I had much to learn so that the book would not appear amateurish. I have been very impressed by the courteous manner in which they corrected me and tutored me...more than I expected or deserved, since it was my first outing. One issue is that I did not start out to write a book, so I required a lot of help to get the material into a book form that would have appeal to readers. In the last analysis, the book turned out very nicely, and I am pleased with all aspects of it. Lastly, Covenant Books is helping to be sure through a comprehensive marketing program that my target audience sees the book.

Denise H. and her staff at Covenant Books are nothing short of amazing. I have friends who are authors and had told me that trying to get published using a professional publishing house was an enormous, uphill task and not worth the effort. I was strongly urged to sell publish and self market. Then I was fortunate enough to find Covenant Books. My initial contact Joseph was very kind and helpful in preparing my manuscript for submission. He then kept in touch and before long contacted me with the good news that it was accepted. I was next assigned Julie as a publication assistant. Unfortunately due to COVID she became unavailable but they did not miss a beat. Diane H. the company President stepped in and helped me to do what was necessary to transition to distribution. They have done a lot of pre-marketing and even sent me a guide fir personal marketing should I wish to do some. As of today my book is on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and will soon be available on Apple Books and as an ebook in several outlets. All of this done by Covenant. They even provide an easy web based resource so I can track it's sales. I will definitely publish with them when I write another book and strongly recommend them to anyone either writing their first book or looking to publish more.

I give them a 4-star review. It would be a five-star review had it not been for the editing phase of the process. Basically, I served as my own editor because the editor(s) did not appear to have a good grasp of the English language or grammar. I had to send in so many corrections! And I would have to eyeball the entire manuscript each time I submitted a revision because the editor(s) would make subtle erroneous changes in the words or sentences throughout the manuscript. And the editor made no effort to help improve the structure or format of the manuscript. It was a very frustrating process and I informed my Publication Assistant Michelle about the frustration I was experiencing. I informed her that I should not have had to constantly research the rules of grammar and punctuation. That was the job of the editor. Michelle was so kind and understanding and worked really hard to ensure that the revisions were made. She was very patient with me. Michelle was wonderful to work with. She kept the lines of communication open and flowing and was very professional. I loved the video about the book that the company produced and absolutely loved the cover! I am very pleased with the book which is titled Lessons Learnt: The Story of Young Mai. However, I would strongly suggest that Covenant Books improves its editing process.

I gave Covenant Books a 5 star review over a year ago when I initially got my book published with them. But I have noticed my experience with them decline since then. They don't keep my author portal updated like it should be. My quarterly financial reports haven't been updated since the end of 2019, and I know I've had a few sales since then as I can confirm that my mother and a relative of mine have bought copies of my book. Another thing is that their marketing strategy has been very poor, as I haven't seen or heard a thing about my book in any bookstores, not to mention the price of my little 112 page fiction book is way too expensive, both the physical and digital form. Which brings me to another problem, with all the monthly payments included, I spent over $3,000 for the publication of my book. Over $3,000 for a 112 pages! And now they've already sent me a renewal statement with yet another fee to keep them distributing my book. And the worst part is that none of those fees are discussed in the initial calls and emails when they accept your manuscript. For any new authors out there, beware. Covenant Books is a vanity publisher. Unless you're rich, it's better to look elsewhere for a publisher. When I was just starting out, I was naive and excited to get published for the first time, but now, I greatly regret spending so much money on this company that claims to be "Christian".

So...here I am nearly 8 months after I submitted my last review and the company STILL has not corrected their own error in deleting my footnotes/credits on the digital copy of the book. I have asked, I have called, I have emailed, I have called again and again... NOTHING.
Covenant Books promises to post sales report quarterly - my account hasn't had an update in SIX MONTHS. I have spoken to my rep by phone and by email (i have proof of email and recorded calls) ... NOTHING still. If you call their number you can only leave a message, and when you do NO ONE CALLS BACK.
My book was published 2 years ago and STILL they haven't fixed THEIR ERROR on the digital copy. I am out of options and contacting the ComplaintsBoard.com didn't help either...Covenant's reply was, "We're sorry you feel this way and if there's anything we can do please do not hesitate to contact us"! Well, I did. And they didn't. And NO YOU DO NOT post sales updates quarterly as is promised in our Agreement upon signing. I have copy/paste proof of that as well.
I don't expect anything but another canned reply, but I will say, I am sorely disappointed that a company that claims to be "Christian" has taken requests for their clients so lightly. I hate that I've been forced to feel I should warn others to go somewhere else if you want follow up and follow through or if you want a company that cares AFTER you pay. I wish I could upload my proof on this post so that Covenant would be more accountable.

Covenant Books provided truly great and professional services during the publishing of my third book (Don't Fly Today). During the publishing of my first two book, I used a different publishing company. During the publishing of my first book, they did very well. However, on the second book, I was totally dissatisfied with their services. I even had the same publication assistant for both books. Because of the poor services, I looked for a different publishing company. I really hit the jackpot when I found Covenant Books. I was assigned Renee B. as my Publication Assistant. Renee provided truly superb and professional services throughout the entire publication process, even with the Covid -19 pandemic. Renee responded on an extremely timely basis to all my emails and answered all my questions. In addition, when I wrote a letter of appreciation to the President of Covenant Books (Denice H.) she responded to my letter and even read my manuscript. Since I ran my own Environmental Consulting Services firm for 18 years, I know what it takes to build a team to provide great customer service to support to their clients. As a side note, when I wrote a letter to the previous publishing company's President to express my dissatisfaction with the services his publication assistant, he did not even respond to me. As such it gives me great pleasure to recommend Covenant Books to any one who is looking for a truly great and professional company to publish their book!

Having been moved by the Holy Spirit five years ago to write a book on a rather deep and complex subject and having been given the name of the publisher to contact (yes, Covenant Books, not yet known or formed!) I walked into an unknown arena of book publishing, and its many faceted services to an author, even a newbie like me. I was not an easy customer in retrospect as I felt held to a standard of excellence in the publication of God's heart for His people. But oh what a blessing! The Lord delivered to me as my own "publication assistant" a bright, professional, humble, and Godly woman, Michelle H. Let me expound on the practical fruit of her integrity:
Michelle, always responded to my many requests and concerns. She fought for me when I insisted on striving for excellence, even when i was responsible for the error. Michelle never lost her cool although there were times when we both were frustrated with various road bumps or time extensions. If there was an error in some detail of the process she always took responsibility and apologized and made it good. Michelle was encouraging in the process and even when the book was completed, cover design perfected (she hung with me on that one!) she has been graciously receptive to any additional requests or assistance. She earns her job title but much more importantly, I consider her a precious sister in Christ and a literal "God send". Covenant Books is a gift to the Christian writing movement in this Kingdom season. I bless them and thank them in the name of Jesus!

From my initial verbal and written contact with Ladonna G., the Acquisition Agent and my follow-on introduction to Megan L., my Publication Assistant, Covenant Books has conducted themselves as everything that they advertise themselves to be, as then some. Megan has been stupendous in directing me and leading me through my book's publication process. She was not only very professional, informative, responsive, courteous and thorough in providing me all the information I needed to help me understand each step during the process, but she also continues to be very helpful, quick to respond to my requests and provide excellent ongoing customer service. Megan's outstanding performance is especially worthy of note during these days of uncertainty in many areas of life due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I have not noted any drop-off in her efforts to provide whatever support I've requested, and she continues to keep me informed of the status of my book and everything associated with my author's package, as well as provide me with information regarding upcoming reports and the dates I can expect to receive them. She demonstratively represents Covenant Books as a well-versed, knowledgeable and absolutely professional Publications Assistant. I'm very grateful and thankful that the Lord led me to submit my manuscript to Covenant Books for evaluation. Now that my book is published and undergone printed and video press release, I look forward to learning how the Lord causes my book to be a blessing in the lives of others to His glory, honor and praise.

This will be my 3rd book published with Covenant Books. The process and stages of publishing a book are fairly difficult for a newcomer to understand. Sometimes there are 2 different names for one process and that gets confusing. Going through the process of publishing a book is, at best, a ten month to one year endeavor, if everything goes exactly right. With my first book, *** I was so excited and eager to get each step just right, I would eagerly anticipate each email from Amber. After my 2nd book, *** I was more relaxed and knew it took a while longer than the five to seven months mentioned. My 3rd book, ***, has gone fairly smooth, with a bump in the color of eyes in the Illustration stage slowing the process by a month or so.

My advice to newbies would be to be patient and keep all files and email exchanges you have with your Publication Assistant. It will come in handy to verify and refresh you on what was said and done, as well as keep you in line and on the right path for your next stage of the book process.
I love writing books, but feel this 3rd book will be my last one for a while. It should become available for purchase in Dec/Jan.
Always keep a good and friendly repore, even if you have a few gripes here and there. We are all human and I feel everyone is doing their best to give us a wonderful product we can be proud of in the end. Also, each of my books cost an average of $3500, which I had paid off before each book was published and available for purchase.
Thank you.

From the very first friendly Covenant Books voice, that of Sheree P. inviting me to submit my manuscript for consideration, to holding the completed product in my hands, my experience with Covenant Books has been rich and rewarding! The Formal Offer to Publish and the contract, which outlined what the company was prepared to do and what was expected of me was entirely clear, concise and reasonable. The Author Portal was invaluable in helping me to know, at all times, exactly which steps had been completed and approved.
As a new author, there was much to learn. The unfamiliar and several steps in the process were smoothly guided by the expert hand of Kris K., my publication assistant.
When she has contacted me or responded to an email or call from me, Kris has always been warm and welcoming, causing me to feel she is a friend, who has my best interests at heart. Most particularly appreciated was her patience with and quick responses to my questions and wishes. While she is undoubtedly guiding numerous projects simultaneously, she always made me feel my book was of immediate importance. Usually, email communication was sufficient to receive information or for response to questions. Other times, when clarification was needed, my phone messages to her were returned, at once. This is very important to a novice, such as myself, in order to keep the Work correct and progressing in a timely fashion.
ONE TRACK contains many illustrations. Covenant Books illustrators brought the story alive, with careful color choices and many artful details.
I am so happy with my completed book, ONE TRACK. My experience with Covenant Books continues to be a sterling adventure!

In April , I started praying how to publish My Sister's Walk with God. I wrote the book for my baby sister never thinking it would be published. I felt I would have to self-publish the book as it would be too 'out there' for a publisher. But one evening I saw an ad on television that I've never seen before. It was for Covenant Books Inc. The commercial said "Do you have a story that God wants you to tell?" I contacted them the next day via email for information. They (Ashley) got back to me within a day while I was praying again for whom to use. Ashley from Covenant called me for three months to check on my progress as I gave her a brief overview of what the book was about. She said they were interested. Still not being sure that they would publish my book as I said, I was certain they would reject it. This was the first publisher I approached and the first book I had ever written. I sent Covenant the manuscript in the beginning of July and the same day Ashley called me. She had the book in for review. Ashley called me five days later with the amazing news that they would publish my book. Adam was assigned to me as my Publishing Assistant. He has been a great help in guiding me through the publishing process. Adam and the teams in various stages of the process have allowed me to be creatively active throughout. His wisdom and advice have resulted in a book that I believe will help those who read it see God's glory in the pages of the book. Covenant Books has truly been a heaven-sent partner. I can honestly say now that the book is published, I will miss the excitement of the process. They have allowed me to share my story with the world so that readers can come away with a greater understanding of the Lord's calling on their lives. Thank you, Covenant Books, and may God richly bless you!

Writing a review- of anything, or anyone really- is fraught with danger. Conjuring up sweetness and light is pretty easy, though depending on the amount of shoveling involved it can make that image in the mirror look uncomfortably like your least favorite politician. But the worst part is writing a negative review. It never feels good and rarely serves any good purpose. Even when you couch the criticism in sarcasm: "Yes, the tune had a good beat and if I danced, well, it would be easy on the feet. But the lyrics reminded me of that cheese you think will be ok after the green stuff is scraped off..." So, reviewing is generally no fun. Of course, that presupposes something negative is being reviewed. In this case, that's just not true.
The process at Covenant Publishing is excellent! From Ashley *** introduction to the company to Brenda *** tireless response to my barrage of concerns, everything ran smoothly and seamlessly. The 'timeline' was always as good or better than predicted; the various stages of production were professionally executed; and the final product is beautifully done. In my case, I had experience with another publisher a few years back that was, by comparison, a tedious slog through a swamp, so I do know the difference. I fully expect a successful launch of my novel.
Particular credit goes to Brenda *** who's cheerful, competence helped guide my novel through the various stages of production. It started out as a manuscript, flawed with typos and 'tense' moments, and ended with a book that is as nicely done as I ever could have wanted. In fairness, there was one bump along the road during the process. But Brenda, with her usual dispatch, made the bump go away. It's gotta be said that she's very, very good at her job. Thank you, Brenda!
So, would I recommend Covenant Publishing to anyone who might be interested? Yes!
- ***
*** &

It was time for me to move into my second career once I retired and I knew it would be writing! It was something I had wanted to do since I was eighteen, but God had another journey for me first. I had already been writing and self-published a book. Regretfully I lost my shirt on that one even though it was a very good book. I had children's books to "free" from my computer as well as several adult historical novels. I was most interested in going to Scholastic Press for the children's books. In order for Scholastic Press to accept me I had to be a teacher. I had just decided to let my secondary teaching certificate lapse three years previously. They would accept my work if I had an agent, Well, I really did not want an agent. That evening I was a bit upset and started surfacing publishers. No. No. No. No. No. Hmmmm. I just saw Covenant. Read all about them and liked what I saw and decided to asked them to send me some information.

The next day I received a call on my cell phone and the call was coming from South Carolina. My immediate thought was I did not know anyone from South Carolina and I was not going to answer the call. After a number of rings something told me I better answer that call! I am so glad I did because it was one of the luckiest days for me! It was Kasha, the VP of Acquisitions at Covenant! We had a very nice long visit, she asked to see a manuscript and I have been an author with Covenant since April ! I am so very pleased to be with Covenant!

My Publishing Assistant, Diane, is just the very best! I feel fortunate to have her with me on my writing journey! Diane is right there with me every step. I pretty much know exactly what I want, but if I want her opinion she will give it to me. I could not ask for anyone better to walk beside me! She gives me an opportunity to listen to my concerns when I come up against a roadblock like I have with my next children's book. She ponders with me the options I might have and the course of actions to take. She is supportive with everything and each idea I may be considering. I get excited about something and she is the first person I share that excitement with!

I hope to be with Covenant Press for sometime to come. They are a very professional business.

I have found Covenant Books to be an extraordinary publisher, and the following are just some of my reasons as to why they are: I have had a different publisher where they constantly bothered me about getting a book to them, and they were relentless. The staff member at Covenant Books never harassed me, and when she made contact with me, she was always caring, and willing to answer any questions that I had. She was also very encouraging, patient, and she always left me with a wonderful feeling about Covenant Books. My book was accepted, and then it was assigned to a staff member who would be my only contact during the entire publishing process. I really enjoyed this, because with some of the publishers, you had different contacts as it went through the different phase of publishing. This one staff member knew at all times what phase my book was in, and how long it would be in each phase. If any of the sections that worked on the book had questions for me, they all with through this one staff member, and she would contact me. For me to have only one staff member who knows everything about my book; and therefore, the only person that I needed to contact was fantastic. In addition, this same staff member not only kept track of this book from the beginning, but even now that my book is completed, she is still the person to contact for purchasing extra copies, or for any other questions. Covenant Books also provided me with a Portal that also listed the different phases the book was in, and for me to give my approval as it went from one phase to another. The team members who created the book's cover went way beyond my expectations. When I saw the cover, it took my breath away, and I was very happy to receive this beautiful cover. Having a tremendous cover is what intrigues people to want to read your book, and believe me, the cover for my book does just that. When I received my copies of the book, I got emotional. To look at the finish product, and how fantastic they looked was a wonderful feeling. Using Covenant Books was truly a beautiful and wonderful experience for me, and I will give them all my books to publish. They are a wonderful Christian publisher and you know that God is at work with their staff, and the company as well. Whether you have published before, or you are a new author, I highly recommend Covenant Books as the best publisher that there is.. A special thanks to the team members Diane and Sheree. Lawrence (Larry) Payne

After a year of working on the book, I sold 0 books. There work is something I could have done my self online, and free. I paid them 4k and had nothing in return. The book was not promoted, people don't even know it exist. This was 2020. After 2 years they wanted me to pay again to"keep it in the book list" after I paid 4k with no return don't give them money. There solution... Let's put the book back on the list. With no promo.

This is easy to prove. Have you ever heard about a Book call The Voice of a Phoenix? By Zylkia Swemsen Exactly. No one has.
I paid 350$ for 12 months. For a total of $4,200 To Covenant Books. I was promise that my investment would be by 10% .They did editing, I did cover. They did a boring video so I made a better one, I did the cover because what they sent was depressing. They did launch a Press Realese, but with no marketing plan or advertisement who is gonna know about it? Claiming that's not how you"sell books". If any thing I would have preferred pay for advertising and marketing than for services I ended up doing my self anyway.) I complain to BBB, nothing and got nothing. After 3 years they wanted me to pay again some money, so I can"keep the book up" I said no. I ask about the investment increase by 10% or money back and they stop answering my emails or calls. They answer to BBB offering putting my book on the market for another year, even though I sold 0 books the 3 years I was with them. 0Books. Not 100, 50, no 0$. Keep your money way from this company. Better save than sorry.