As a child, Michael James Bell spent most of his time reading books. Eventually, he moved to Los Angeles, where he became an actor and a narrator. He narrates across genres, from science fiction to young adult to nonfiction to romance (under the pseudonym Espen Cooper). 

Michael appears regularly on TV and in films, frequently with an accent that isn't his own. He is a dialect specialist.

Michael was a professional fisherman for two months, a child expat for two years, and a backend programmer for two decades. He serves on the board of directors of The Center for Election Science, a nonprofit that strives to make democracy work for everyone.

He works with big publishers, small publishers, and independent authors. He would love to help you bring your book to audio. Reach out!

Your book is more than pages—it’s your story, your voice, your legacy. But if your cover, branding, or marketing don’t reflect that, it’s easy to feel overlooked. That’s where we come in.

We help authors move beyond “just a book cover” by building cohesive brands that make their launches a success. From bold, market-ready covers to author websites, promo graphics, and brand packages, we design visuals that do more than look good—they connect with readers, build trust, and make your marketing easier.

Our process is collaborative, supportive, and strategic. We translate your vision into a visual identity that feels like you and attracts the right audience. With the right foundation—you’ll be able to launch confidently, share consistently, and reuse effortlessly.

You’ve got the passion and the words. We’ll make sure your book (and your brand) shows it, loud and clear.

Digital Authors Toolkit specialises in helping authors build a professional online presence that actually sells books and grows readership. With over 400 author websites created, we’re the highest-rated author web designer on Reedsy and a trusted partner to bestselling and new writers all over the world.

Our work goes far beyond websites. Services include SEO optimisation, animated book covers, augmented reality experiences, and AI-powered tools that engage readers in fresh and innovative ways. Every project is tailored to the author’s voice, genre, and goals, ensuring the finished result is both beautiful and effective.

Our mission is simple: to give authors the digital presence they need to be discovered, connect with readers, and sell more books.

When writing means business, you need a knowledgeable partner, and Indie Author Magazine is as knowledgeable as they get.

IAM understands that self-publishing is more than just writing; it's a business. Get expert advice on marketing, publishing, and everything in between to achieve your professional goals.

WordCount.ink is an author services startup launched in August 2024, created to help independent authors break into international markets and sell more books overseas.

As their main service, WordCount.ink delivers high-quality Hybrid Human-AI translations with exclusive partner ScribeShadow AI. Their unique Translation Review process combines advanced, personalised machine translations with a global network of professional human translators to provide authors with the best possible translation at the best possible price.

Since launch, WordCount.ink has translated and reviewed over 65 million words and collaborated with more than 200 authors to launch their books worldwide in eleven languages.

Beyond translation, the WordCount.ink team also supports authors with foreign language formatting, advanced keyword research and metadata to maximize discoverability, Amazon ads management, and cover design.

Planners for authors, by an author... 

My signature planners include the yearly Author's Planner and its non-dated sister, The Ultimate Authorship Planner. These planners were designed for authors who need to balance writing, publishing, and marketing tasks alongside the rest of their lives. This planner series ensure that writing remains central to your life while offering customizable systems to help you balance the creative, administrative, and business aspects of authorship. They also encourage you to keep your whole life integrated rather than separate.

I also have a series of other more acutely focused planners, such as the Monthly Writing Focus Planner (focused on writing only) and The Essential Book Launch Planner.

The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is a not-for-profit membership organization serving and leading the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing trade association in the U.S. If you're an independent publisher, self-published author, hybrid publisher, university or nonprofit press, you've come to the right place.

Polish Your Manuscript Publish Like a Pro

I coach authors to craft a compelling manuscript that will attract readers and please an audience. Above all, I tailor my editing services to meet the author’s goals. 

Furthermore, I teach authors all the facets of publishing, so they have the tools to accomplish their goals in a professional and successful manner.

Bookvault is a print-on-demand & publishing service, specialising in direct sales and high-quality bespoke printing from a single copy. Their direct sales integrations help authors entirely automate fulfillment with no extra costs and automated shipping profiles!

With BookvaultBespoke, authors can open up their titles to a range of special edition features like foiling, ribbons, endpapers and more.

Every author deserves a partner who cares about their books as much as they do. With Elanders, you maintain creative control while we make print and fulfillment easy, reliable, and flexible. From a few copies to thousands, chapter books to epic tomes, our scalable services fit your needs.

We also offer direct sales, e-commerce integration, inserts, and book sets—plus fast, even next-day shipping—to help you grow at your own pace. And through it all, you’re supported by a team of real people, ready to answer questions and help whenever you need it.

Maximizing your reach is key to increasing your impact and forging stronger connections with your readers. But, where and how do you even start? With PublishDrive, you don't have to navigate the complex world of global distribution alone.

PublishDrive empowers indie authors and publishers to reach hundreds of book channels worldwide, from major retailers and digital libraries to niche apps and international markets, all from a single, easy-to-use platform.

Are you tired of platforms taking a significant cut of your earnings? Curios is guaranteed to change that narrative. With Curios, you keep 100% of your revenue, allowing you to directly reinvest in your craft.

But that's not all! With your audience's explicit consent, you gain direct access to their contact information, enabling you to build genuine, lasting relationships with your readers. Plus, you retain complete ownership of your intellectual property, ensuring your creative work remains yours.

Founded by bestselling horror author and ScareMail creator David Viergutz, Epistolary is the world’s first publishing house dedicated exclusively to storyletters—serialized fiction delivered through letters, documents, and immersive artifacts. Built on the belief that storytelling should involve the reader as much as possible, Epistolary reintroduces readers to the intimate power of epistolary writing.

Each Epistolary story unfolds one envelope at a time, inviting readers to experience a character’s voice firsthand and blur the boundary between fiction and reality. As the largest publisher devoted solely to storyletters, Epistolary is pioneering a new category of immersive reading—where every letter opened becomes part of the story itself. 

BooksGoSocial offers complete book promotion packages, including help getting reader reviews, book launch, social media and email promotions, and online ads for your book.

We have in-house editors and designers, and we offer affordable beta reading, editing, ghost-writing, covers, and uploading to Amazon, so you get paid directly by them.

Maverick Independent Book Reviews offers quality, professional book reviews. Created specifically with small presses and self-published authors in mind, Maverick Reviews are written by expert reviewers with genuine industry experience, perfect for use on covers, sales sheets, or in outreach to bookstores, librarians, educators, and consumers. 

Our reviews are published weekly on our site, publicized in our newsletter and on social media, and archived forever, searchable by title, author and genre.

Maverick Independent Book Reviews was launched by publishing experts, Jessica Powers and her team at Catalyst Press and Flare Books (www.catalystpress.org). We have experienced firsthand the problems when a book doesn’t receive reviews by trade industry publications or other places. We decided to launch a book reviews service for authors who need or desire additional professional, public book reviews both before or after a book has been published and for those who desire feedback from beta readers prior to a manuscript being published.

Indie authors wear many stressful hats, but marketing shouldn’t have to be one of them. Written Word Media’s expertise in digital marketing and their ability to reach avid readers make them a straightforward, invaluable resource for authors looking to outsource their book marketing efforts.

From building and managing newsletters to crafting targeted social media campaigns, WWM offers a range of services designed to connect you with your ideal audience.

Booksprout is a trusted platform that helps authors get more reviews in less time.

With over 4.1 million reviews posted for self-published authors across sites like Amazon, Goodreads, Google Play, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and a community of 80,000+ active reviewers, Booksprout simplifies the process of gathering feedback. We help you manage advanced reader copies and get reviews for your previously published books.

Designed to streamline the review process, we help authors quickly collect honest reviews, improving both visibility and reader engagement. Let Booksprout support your next book launch and enhance your connection with readers.

Crafting Legacies, One Book at a Time

Shelf Life believes the true potential of a book isn't realized on launch day—it's built over time. While many in publishing are focused on short-term wins, they're dedicated to the long game.

Their approach is rooted in giving books the time and attention they deserve to grow their audience, break into new categories, and thrive in an ever-changing market.

IndieAuthorBookServices offers custom publishing services, specializing in high quality, custom book printing.

We are not a traditional royalty publisher. We help authors create beautiful, high quality, custom books through editing, design, and printing (including eBooks). The author is the publisher. We are the production team that gets you there.

Book Launchers helps nonfiction authors write, publish, and profit from books that grow their brand and their business.

Our flagship software, the Author Launch Kit, is the only marketing tool built exclusively for nonfiction books. Forget generic advice — this platform delivers a personalized marketing roadmap for your book. You’ll get ready-to-use content tailored to your audience, curated lists of the right influencers, podcasts, and media outlets, plus targeted connections to bookstores and libraries in your region.

Instead of guessing how to market your book, you’ll have a clear, customized plan at your fingertips — complete with strategies and assets that save time, cut through noise, and actually drive sales. Whether your goal is speaking gigs, new clients, or media coverage, the Author Launch Kit gives you the playbook to make your book work for you long after launch day.

Edit your manuscript anytime, anywhere, without the hassle of scheduling appointments or waiting for feedback. AutoCrit provides writers with the ultimate convenience of online manuscript editing.

Whether you're working on your laptop, tablet, or even your phone, AutoCrit is always accessible. Take charge of your editing process and enhance your writing whenever inspiration strikes. Embrace the flexibility and convenience of AutoCrit.

Geniuslink and Booklinker are powerful tools that help authors create smart, reader-friendly links to market their books more effectively.

Geniuslink offers advanced link management features, making it ideal for authors ready to level up their marketing.

Booklinker is a free alternative that lets you create simple universal links across Amazon and Apple Books.

With Laterpress, authors can sell their books directly to readers and keep 100% of the proceeds, less payment processing fees. We only take a cut (10-15%) when our recommendations or affiliate links lead to a new reader finding your books.

There is no fee to create an account or publish books. No contracts to sign. No exclusivity clauses. Publish or unpublish at any time. Authors own their customer data, not Laterpress.

We’re all about giving storytellers the tools they need to create their best work, with plenty of flexibility in how they publish and price that work for their readers. We succeed when you succeed.

ProWritingAid is the storytellers' toolkit. They help you write your story and bring it to life. Offering the security and privacy you need, ProWritingAid can be integrated with every writing app.

As well as the basics of grammar, style, and clarity, they help you craft vivid descriptions, add depth to your characters, and add impetus to your plot. It’s like having an English teacher, editor, writing buddy, and honest critic sitting inside your favorite writing app.

Tailor-made for long writing projects, Scrivener provides everything need to craft your first

draft. Used by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, lawyers, students, journalists and more,

Scrivener brings together tools familiar to writers everywhere in new and exciting ways.

“As a writer’s application, Scrivener is damn near perfect…”

—Neil Cross, bestselling novelist and screenwriter (Luther, Mama)

“I genuinely think this is the biggest advance for writers since the word processor.”

—Michael Marshall Smith, NYT bestselling novelist

Writers need tools that can keep up with their creative vision. Sudowrite's AI writing partner is here to help. Sudowrite assists creative writers in boosting their productivity, hitting their deadlines, and bringing their stories to life with greater speed and ease.

Want to write faster, more efficiently, and without sacrificing quality? Sudowrite's AI is like a collaborator that can help you generate ideas, expand your scenes, and refine your prose.

Vellum software can help you create beautiful books. Format for ebook and print in minutes!

AuthorScale is the go-to marketing tool for indie authors who want to turn their stories into viral slideshow posts for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and beyond—without showing their face or spending hours creating content.

Just upload your manuscript, and AuthorScale will find the most emotionally gripping scenes, transform them into viral-ready posts with mood-driven visuals, and let you review, tweak, and publish in minutes.

Whether you’re launching your debut or promoting a 20-book backlist, AuthorScale helps you stay consistent, boost sales, and stay visible—while keeping your time focused on writing.

BookFunnel makes it easy for readers to download ebooks, audiobooks, and bonus content from their favorite authors. No hassle, no spam.

Dibbly is a software company that focuses exclusively on the needs of indie authors, providing a refreshing alternative to generic solutions. No more adapting general software to fit your publishing workflow! Dibbly provides tools built from the ground up to address your specific needs.

From formatting and design to marketing and distribution, Dibbly simplifies your self-publishing journey, allowing you to focus on what you do best: writing.

Novelio is a web-based app to help writers, screenwriters, and RPGers develop and organize their creativity, with extensive prompts and tools to craft better characters, build immersive worlds, and plot intriguing storylines.

CREATE A PORTFOLIO for novels, screenplays, & game stories. Link stories into series; link characters and worlds between stories. 

CRAFT BETTER CHARACTERS with personality typing and thoughtful prompts. Use groups and filters to organize them in whatever way is helpful to you. Link relationships; track scene appearances.

BUILD IMMERSIVE WORLDS that pull your readers in. With quick-cards for organizing maps, places, items, species, creatures, etc. and a full, prompted deep-dive into every aspect of world building. Keep track of every detail. 

PLOT INTRIGUING STORYLINES with our incredible plotting portal. Templates, timelines, drag-and-drop workspaces, and scene sheets will help you build and/or audit your plot and character arcs. Whether you're a pantser or a plotter, Novelio will level up your plotting game!

Craft better stories. And never lose a detail again. 

All-in-One Book Reporting Dashboard For Authors

Publisher Champ allows you to track profitability, sell-through, and more - all in one automated dashboard, no spreadsheets required.

Features include: advanced book analytics, series sell-through and read-through tracking, Amazon attribution insights, journaled events with graph annotations, smart link performance tracking, and a fully customizable dashboard.

Whether you're a fiction author seeking to immerse your readers in your world or a non-fiction writer aiming to educate and inspire, Spoken has the expertise to bring your vision to life. From casting the perfect narrator to mastering the final audio, Spoken ensures a polished and professional product that resonates with your audience.

Whether you're launching a new project or revitalizing an existing work, Spoken crafts an audio experience that captivates listeners and enhances the storytelling journey. Transform your words into an auditory masterpiece that echoes beyond the page today.

We believe authors deserve so much more than permission to publish and sell their books. They deserve true power over the process, and to come away with the largest portion of those efforts.

The Bookshelf exists to empower every author with the tools and support they need to control their creative destiny, connect authentically with their audience, and build a thriving publishing business on their own terms.

No gatekeepers. No compromises. Just ownership, clarity, and choice.

Kobo Writing Life is Rakuten Kobo’s self-publishing platform, favoured by independent authors all over the world. A small, author-friendly team with a big vision, their mission is to help you reach digital readers, wherever they are, however they want to read.

Kobo makes it easy for you to start online book publishing and get your books seen by millions of readers. Self-publish your own eBooks and audiobooks. If you like, distribute to public libraries through OverDrive, or add your books to Kobo Plus, their non-exclusive subscription platform. The possibilities of reaching a global audience are endless!

Choose Wide—Let Readers Decide

We’re a global network of dedicated writers, committed to going beyond Kindle Unlimited to publish on multiple platforms, connect with more readers, and share cutting-edge strategies for thriving in a wide market.

If you’re serious about publishing wide and ready to level up your author career, you’ve found the right place.