Our position
Most publishing advice fails at the same point: it explains what a book is, then skips the production decisions that turn a manuscript into a saleable object. Trim size, type, imprint ownership, ISBN blocks, metadata, territory rights, price and launch sequence are not details. They are the book.
Foliora exists to make those decisions legible. Every manual is written as a sequence of decisions with a checkpoint at the end of each movement, so an author finishes with a plan on paper rather than a pile of good intentions.
The method
Six movements, twenty-seven chapters, sixty pages. The order is deliberate: nothing is designed before the manuscript is ready, nothing is distributed before the metadata is correct.
- Movement one — editorial: manuscript readiness, structural review, the decision to hire an editor.
- Movement two — design: interior grid, typography, cover strategy and the brief that produces a cover that works at thumbnail size.
- Movement three — rights: ISBN ownership, imprint set-up, copyright registration and the paperwork that precedes publication.
- Movement four — distribution: Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, expanded distribution and direct imprint sales.
- Movement five — metadata: categories, keywords, comparison titles and the discipline of discoverability.
- Movement six — launch: pricing, review outreach, advertising and the long tail after week one.
Producing institutions
The programme is produced with two independent review institutions. Their editorial standards shape the manuals; they do not receive lead data.
- Foliora
- Publisher and campaign house. Author services, book marketing and advertising for independent writers and small presses. foliora.com
- Self-Publishing Review
- Independent criticism and industry guidance for self-published authors since 2008. selfpublishingreview.com
- Independent Review of Books
- Book reviews and author interviews across fiction, non-fiction and translated work. independentreviewofbooks.com
The three editions
Each edition is a complete manual in its own language, not an extract. The English edition is bilingual in its terminology; the French edition carries a full workbook; the Arabic edition is set right-to-left in Naskh and follows the same chapter order.
- Edition 01 — English / bilingual. The Independent Author Manual.
- Edition 02 — French. Manuel de l'Auteur Indépendant.
- Edition 03 — Arabic. دليل المؤلف المستقل.
Work with us
We work with authors, small presses and literary organisations. If you run a writing programme, a residency or a review outlet and would like the manuals for your cohort, write to programme@foliora.com.