Tellwell Talent
reviews and complaints

f you are looking to self-publish and want a full-service company to assist along the way, I found Tellwell to be more accommodating than others that I spoke with. They listened to what I had to say rather than just agree but not take any of my suggestions or concerns. We would all love to have a publishing company offer to pay us to publish our books, but the reality is, it is a rare occurrence. Tellwell allowed me to get my book distributed in many markets but most importantly, did quality work. I had my cover and interior already done so I didn't need design assistance. They did take what I provided and made it work well and communicated nicely.

My book has just been published. I was absolutely delighted with the help I received from Tellwell. They first of all designed me a cover which was exactly what I had in mind - in fact exceeded my expectations, my Project Manager was at all times responsive and helpful, the initial editing of the overall layout of the book was very perceptive and they even checked such things as to whether the name of an Australian road had an apostrophe in it (it didn't) and once we moved on to the marketing I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and well they designed me a very well-functioning website. It was such a pleasant and useful experience and now I have a beautiful book in my hand! I recommend them very highly.

The whole process of publishing my books was good. The communications with staff worked well. The company explained their services and matched them to my needs, with clear pricing guidelines and thorough documentation. Their Octavo design process is clear and leads a writer through a rather complicated system. My experience with this second book was much smoother than book one, but that's because I was familiar with the process from book two. The interior layout went very well. I had prepared my script very carefully before submitting it. Cover design: it took several iterations to yield a very nice product as I had some difficulty in describing what I wanted. The final product is excellent and a credit to the whole Tellwell Team. Thanks everyone.

Having never published a book before, I went in with no idea how to proceed. They were very helpful every step of the way, from editing, to cover design to marketing and distribution. Thanks to them I've launched my career as a writer with my first book (Mystical Force vol. 1), now available online and I plan to go continue working with them as I publish additional volumes of the Mystical Force series. They also helped with the marketing and the setup of my author website: www.authorcraigweidhuner.com. For anyone who wishes to start their writing career but doesn't want to lose the rights via traditional publishing, I would gladly recommend Tellwell. I have no regrets about joining with them and look forward to working with them on future volumes of the Mystical Force series.

My experience with Tellwell was nothing but positive. There were a couple of hiccups along the way but everyone I dealt with were pleasant and enthusiastic about my project, "Memoir of a Hockey Nobody". I would have no hesitation about recommending Tellwell to anybody who wishes to self publish. In fact, I already have. I was completely out of my element and had no clue as to how to publish a book. Tellwell Talent is a treasure trove of information and was extremely helpful with the process. Their team is a marketing guru, and a pleasure to deal with and talk to. In my case, everything that was promised was delivered early. If they said something would be ready in two weeks, I had it in a week. I can't thank everybody at Tellwell enough. If I ever write another book, Tellwell will be my first call.

The Tellwell team are first class. They took my book, which had been previously edited three times and published, and corrected many mistakes in grammar, spelling and brought together many sentences from different paragraphs placing them in context in one paragraph. They improved my book making it more attractive, and easier to read for the reader, which is very important for the sale of the book. Their marketing reach is stunning, in that they can present the book to thousands of outlets all over the world, with the advertising potential , if my book attains a certain high standard, to be seen by hundreds of millions of readers. I'm glad to have given my book to Tellwell because they have taken the story in the book, of the legendary Capt. Guy Earle, my father, to the world--- where it truly belongs.

I'm thrilled with the results I got from Tellwell! Had someone told me a year ago that my debut novel, The Perpetual Now, would be published and available online within a span of 7 months, I'm not sure I would have believed it. Their team was brilliant from the start: knowledgeable, accommodating, efficient, and completely professional. I loved the energy and the positivity with which my project was received, an enthusiasm that was maintained throughout the entire process. Only a few short months after submitting my manuscript, I have a gorgeous finished book that looks and feels wonderful, a top-end professional level website, and a solid marketing plan, all beyond my wildest expectations. I wouldn't hesitate for moment to recommend Tellwell for beginner or experienced writers alike. Outstanding work, everyone!

Have a roughly scribbled dream, and now looking for a way to refine it, without distorting originality? Affordable price tags to fuel the publishing vehicle? Skilled, kind, warm welcoming diverse team of professionals? Do not rush for mainstream, huge publishing companies. Tellwell is the answer. They did it for me, and they will not hesitate to the same, or even more for you! Tellwell's Support Team is incredible. They helped me bring the best out of me. My book 'Effort for Comfort', now in many popular distribution channels, is one among endless testimonies to Tellwell's great services. Big publishing companies resonate with bigger, beautiful bills! Tellwell will do the same job, or even better, at reasonable prices. Like I said above; they did it for me. They will do it for you, too. Call Tellwell and share your dream to the world. Aggrey Bulamu Author.

Having published 3 previous novels with a similar company, I was extremely pleased by the level of service Tellwell provided when they published my 4th novel in the Anandrian Series, Twisted Destiny. My 5th novel, Dark Destiny, will be looked after by them when I finish writing it! Their attention to detail was impressive. Comparing this company to the other one, I found the experience relatively straightforward. Instructional, easy-to-follow videos were provided for each step, and emails and phone calls were readily available should there be a question. I particularly liked their chart explaining how to price my book - I plugged in the numbers and it calculated royalties around the world :) Tellwell's marketing consultant was amazing! I was provided with a 37-page marketing booklet after a one-hour marketing phone call with Katie. I would recommend Tellwell for any indie author that wants a full-service publisher.

As an upcoming African American poet/authoress. I didn't know which route to go for my book publishing. I did my research on different publishing companies. Tellwell was the only publishing company that answered all of the questions I had in regards to how the process works. Tellwelll welcomed me with big open arms and worked with me all the way. Very friendly and professional and the best at what they do. I'm so honored to work with Tellwell. I have more books and poems to publish in the future. Tellwell, let's get ready! Thank you Tellwell for helping me achieve the biggest goal yet. Thank you for helping me create my mark in book industry. I want to say thank you for helping me bring the vision of my book cover to life. I envisioned the main character sitting in her office on her laptop with the sewing machine on her desk. I was beyond satisfied with the final results of my book cover and interior design. Thank you so much, I appreciate it.

I've had a good experience with Tellwell, they were quite accommodating with the package they gave me and then throughout the process as well (project manager included). My book came out and it looks great. Of course with any business you have to put in time and effort. Since TellWell helps you self publish, there is still a lot of work you have to do yourself. This includes being very specific with the cover design, interior design and what your sales goals are. One thing I would have wanted different is having the book edited before making the cover design, this way if there are changes to the manuscript or story the cover hasn't already been made. For example, I had to change the ages of my characters so I had to get the back cover modified to reflect that information. I was lucky that the front didn't have to be changed because after editing my book did have a slightly different story than the story the cover was made for. Lastly, a lot of online forums discuss Tellwell as being one of the bait and switch companies but that was NOT my experience.

Choosing Tellwell to help me create my book, Love Love and Dragonfly, was the very best decision in my author journey. From the beginning, I felt as though Tellwell, and all of the wonderful people that worked with me along the way, were right there with me. The entire process was easy to navigate and transparent every step of the way. The value of their amazing and talented service was incredible. The process and communication was always personal and excellent! I would highly recommend Tellwell to anyone seeking a partner in their publishing journey! Eden, my project manager, was always available for assistance and guidance. He was so enthusiastic and encouraging! He made me feel valuable and confident. A huge thank you to Lara (my editor), Stef (my illustrator) and Gerardo (my designer)! You are all so talented and really understood my vision for my book! Finally, a big thank you to Colleen, in marketing! Your energy and enthusiasm for my new journey as a PUBLISHED AUTHOR was amazing! I would not hesitate to recommend Tellwell to anyone thinking about publishing a book. It was a wonderful and fulfilling experience... and I can't wait to do it again!

This experience was well worth it. Although there were some bumps along the way, these were mostly due to my own inexperience in working with the editing programs needed to craft my manuscript as well as the book cover. I would like to mention that Jun, my project manager was great. He helped me through difficult times and always answered my concerns promptly and accurately. As well, Colleen. my marketing consultant was outstanding. Her advice and honesty were very very reassuring and helpful. My website is amazing! The initial feedback from my published work is very very good and if this project is at all profitable, I would like to write a sequel to my novel and would seriously consider Tellwell to help me through this process again. I cannot give enough praise to the cover and interior designers of my book. They took on my vision of this project and produced more than I could have ever expected. The quality of the finished product was exceptional! Just before completing this survey and went back to my previous emails and completed the editing survey. But, it is important for me to say that the substantive edit turned my very rough manuscript into a novel worth reading. Thank you.

I am the author of Keeping it up; experiences of a powerline worker! I live in Perth Western Australia; we were the first to wrestle the America's cup from the Yanks. My tombstone name is John Cavuoto. When anyone writes a story true or otherwise my experience has been that if a publisher doesn't see value from their point of view then quickly your manuscript is just that, a manuscript. With approaching Tellwell Talent I had none of that. My experience was that the company was prepared to publish my story when others dismissed it as not being worthwhile, but when I spoke with Angus who edited my book, he stated most publishers only read two chapters before giving you the flick. Angus is a retired school teacher, and he is good at what he does. Tellwell did no such thing, rather on every occasion phone appointments were kept even with the 16 hour time difference! The team was very helpful especially Colleen Hay who spoke with me at length. I would suggest for any budding author once you have fully prepared your manuscript, that is key with any book, then I have no hesitations in recommending Tellwell as your first stop. Keeping it up is my second book and I am working on a third. So I have been down that disappointing road and know it like the back of my hand. Just go for it!

Working with Tellwell gave me an opportunity to bring my creation to life! They offered many services and walked me through the various steps to complete my novel. Being a first time author, it was great to have the support they provided throughout the way! I had my vision for what the novel would like, and the design team delivered a product to be proud of! They were able to implement my cover photo seamlessly and format my "blurb" and "about the author" in a professional way. The interior layout is clean and sharp, and I knew from my first glance that they had nailed their execution. I knew that the editing process was going to be a key component to having a successful novel. I used the extensive edit and asked to have it heavily edited. This was a tense period for me, as it was a two stage process with a story/content edit and then grammatical edit. I felt confident about my product as a whole, but when my editor replied that she thoroughly enjoyed the story, a huge sense of relief overcame me. She was very encouraging and provided great recommendations to help strengthen the story. She also made sure there was plenty of variety throughout the story and made sure to point out ways to change things in a productive way, while ensuring that the final decision was still within my control. This was my favourite experience of the process, as not only did it help with the current story it has helped me with my future works, as well.