Rowanvale Books Reviews 

The entire team at Rowanvale are amazing. I can't say the process of publishing is an easy one. It takes a lot of time, effort and dedication. However it is worth it and the team will be with you every step of the way. I would highly recommend them.

Rowanvale Books provides the full suite of services for independent authors so end-to-end, I got everything I needed from editing services to marketing services.

I found Rowanvale helpful and professional at every stage. I was struck by how quickly and efficiently things got done (compare most of the publishing industry that takes 6 months to answer an email!) Staff are friendly and willing to respond to individual queries and wish-lists. The fees charged are extremely reasonable. For anyone wanting help publishing a book, Rowanvale is a real find!

the rowanvale team delivered exceptional advice and execution for my book project. this was my first book and i needed all the guidance i could get, and rowanvale delivered. i would not hesitate to work with them again for my next book.

I've published two books with Rowanvale and am looking at my third. The team are friendly and helpful, providing plenty of information for every stage of the process. I have learnt a lot from using their hybrid publishing service. Recommended for any indie author who would like a helping hand.

On this occasion, I was only making use of the skills of their illustrators. It proved to be an enjoyable experience, with all the outcomes as good as I have come to expect. The work was on time and of a high quality. I anticipate that the cover design will help to sell the book.

I reached out to Rowanvale in quite a tizzy , exploring companies to support my literary journey.
I was attracted to them because they really did treat me with respect and an individual . There was no pressure and I had a lot of useful information.
They have followed up and checked in which was very reassuring and pleasant .
Effie is such a wonderful friendly and helpful professional. Thank you so much Rowanvale. - Karen Webb

Four stars represents my relief that the process is over, and my gratitude that the MD stepped in at the end to get it over the line. But I have to say that I found it extremely stressful. The estimate of the timeline was wildly out and it took two months longer than they estimated. Proofreading and formatting went well, and I was delighted with my jacket design from the talented Alex. The problems really multiplied in Production. I did not have a named person liaising with me. Communication was difficult and spasmodic until it transpired that my emails were going into their spam. I think communication would be improved (at every stage) if bullet points were used instead of long long paragraphs, intended to be informative but which often came through barely legible with half of every character invisible. It seemed extremely difficult, for them as well as me, to liaise with Amazon and Ingram Spark, annd work their systems. Obtaining a printed proof copy nearly broke me. Luckily the MD saw what was happening, stepped in, gave me a refund and took over the process. I am so grateful to her. She went above and beyond. Eventually it happened, and I was very pleased with the standard of production and the review service. I have previously had academic books published and have even worked in publishing back in the day, but nothing prepared me for the stress of this. On reflection, I’d have liked a diagrammatic map right at the beginning, indicating all the stages and hoops to jump through. I think the stress came from having NO CLUE about how long all this uncertainty was going to last. But it’s done, so grateful thanks to the team.

For over a year now, I’ve been working with Rowanvale Books on my book “Our Ghost Harry”. At first, it felt like a hurdle race, with the hurdles placed in my path seeming to get higher and higher. But the Rowanvale Team was there with me every step of the way – and whenever they said, ‘Jump!’, I jumped. The result was truly worth all the hard work!

It was a brilliant experience to be so closely involved in the creation of my book whilst retaining control over the entire process at all times. When I finally held my book in my hands for the first time, I could truly say: ‘This is exactly the book I’d always imagined!’

Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm, support and professionalism. I can wholeheartedly recommend Rowanvale Books to any author who wants to see their very own book become a reality.

Really helpful staff responding promptly. The reviews were generally helpful and encouraging with some good points to follow up on. Two were late but one of these was particularly in-depth so worth the delay. It would have been an issue if I had been in a hurry. The profile of the reviewers was pretty similar, I would have appreciated some feedback from older and or male readers.

The company is super-efficient and approachable. They get things done with politeness and competence from start to finish.

Rowanvale Books is a first-class organization with a supremely talented staff and leadership. Rowanvale knows how to leverage their considerable experience and expertise to offer aspiring and established writers a worthwhile and reputable platform to launch any writing project with complete confidence. Among similarly situated publishers in the marketplace, Rowanvale stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Alice, Cat and the whole team at Rowenvale were most helpful, speedily and efficiently assisting me to have my book and the covers meet with the Amazon KDP formatting requirements. Their work enabled me to successfully upload my manuscript and covers. Very polite in all communications and a source of great comfort for a non-techie author like myself.

The staff at Rowanvale were a pleasure to work with - friendly, responsive and supportive. They guided me through the process from the submission of my manuscript to publication. I can thoroughly recommend them.

Overall, I had a positive experience with Rowanvale's beta reader service.

Communication was excellent throughout. Emails were answered promptly, I was kept informed at every stage of the process, and the team were always friendly and professional to deal with. The process itself was straightforward, and I appreciated being able to provide my own questionnaire for the readers to answer.

The feedback I received contained a number of useful observations and gave me valuable insight into how different readers responded to my manuscript. Several of the reports highlighted points that I will genuinely take away and consider during revisions.

Unfortunately, one of the five reports I received appeared to have been generated, or at least heavily influenced, by AI. As I specifically paid for human beta reader feedback, this was disappointing and inevitably reduced my confidence in that particular report. It also made me question, briefly, whether other comments might have been affected in a similar way.

However, when I raised the issue, Rowanvale handled it professionally. They investigated the matter, agreed that the report was concerning, removed the reader from their pool, and refunded the fee for that reader. I felt listened to throughout the process and appreciated that they took the concern seriously rather than dismissing it.

No service is perfect, and I think there is room for improvement in terms of quality control around the use of AI by readers. That said, I found the service worthwhile overall and would use Rowanvale again if I needed similar support in the future.

I asked to talk to the Director a second time. The answer came back 'no' it is not part of our business model. One of their employees contacted me several time with a condescending attitude. They charge if you have a question about their editing. Too bureaucratic for me.

I had a very positive experience with Rowanvale Books' review service. The process was straightforward, communication was clear, and everything was delivered within the timeframe promised.
The reviewers clearly took the time to read my memoir carefully rather than offering generic feedback. Their reviews reflected a genuine understanding of the book's themes and emotional depth, which meant a great deal to me as an author. The reviews were thoughtful, balanced and professionally written, and they have been valuable in helping introduce my book to new readers.
I also appreciated how approachable and responsive the Rowanvale team was throughout the process. If you're an independent author looking for an honest, professional review service, I would certainly recommend giving Rowanvale Books a try.

I used the post-publication review service and was very pleased with the results. My book got itself a nice boost of detailed and well thought out reviews. I will definitely be using this service again in the future.

Everyone was nice and quick to answer.

Unfortunately, it should have been clear from the beginning that they were not a good fit for me, but they were certain they would deliver.

After paying Rowanvale for full production, editing, and formatting, there were still glaring spelling errors left in the final manuscript that another partner recognized.

The financial side was messy and poorly communicated. Our agreed-upon contract was for £3,786.13, but my three installments came out to £4,101 (£1,367.70 each) because Rowanvale passed heavy PayPal transaction fees onto you, which wasn't clear to you upfront. Additionally, fees kept be tacked on.

Simple inquiries often turned into a runaround. For example, when I asked a straightforward question about creating an audiobook, I were bounced from your Account Manager to the Publishing Advisor Team, who then pitched me a menu of options that included £35.56/hour consulting fees or a 20% royalty split just to upload the files

At the end of the day, Rowanvale costs way more than freelancers and did almost nothing to ensure my book would be a success, or anything to promote it.

Still, nice friendly people who seem to care

Enjoyable experience. Well guided & really assisted with getting reviews for my new book. The whole experience with Rowanvale Books has been very enjoyable. Publishing is a tricky & complicated business & working with Rowanvale made the whole process a lot easier, would recommend