A publishing platform for literary works created through transparent human-AI collaboration. Built by a founding author who believes the future of serious writing is not threatened by artificial intelligence — it is extended by it.
William Stronnar is a pen name. The person behind it has chosen to let the work speak for itself.
The founding author started this platform to answer a question that the publishing industry has so far avoided: can human-AI collaboration produce literary work of genuine quality — and can that process be conducted in full public view?
The answer, tested across multiple books and hundreds of thousands of words, is yes. But it requires a method. Not AI generating text and a human approving it. A human directing every creative decision — story, character, theme, voice, editorial judgement — with AI serving as a research tool, a drafting partner and a structural collaborator. The human is the author. The AI extends what the author can do.
This platform exists to publish work made that way, and to prove it works by showing everything: not just the finished book but the complete process of its creation.
Browse authors and their published works. Each author’s complete library, Archives and Workshops in one place.
Every book on this platform is built in the open. From working notes to finished manuscript, every meaningful stage of development is recorded and made available. Purchase a book and see how it was made.
Essays are free for everyone — just sign up. Subscribers get full access to books and Workshops. Members can submit ideas that shape the work.
Authors publish under their own name or a pen name — their choice. The method is transparent. The identity is optional. The work is accountable regardless.
William Stronnar began with a single author and a single project. It is designed to grow. The platform is open to other writers who share a commitment to transparent human-AI collaboration, rigorous research and the faction method — whether they work in historical fiction, speculative writing, essays or hybrid forms.
If you are an author working this way, or want to, the platform is here.
Founding author. Historical fiction, faction, and graphic novel. The Market Town series, The Third Trust, and The Minories Child.
1 published · 1 in progress · more in development
Visit Author Page →The platform is open to authors working with transparent human-AI collaboration. Expressions of interest welcome.
Learn more →Every book published on the William Stronnar platform is built in the open. From the first working notes to the finished manuscript, every meaningful stage of development is recorded and made available to subscribers who own or purchase the book.
Each book moves through five stages. As material reaches a stage worth sharing, it is published here. The timeline grows as the book grows. When you purchase or subscribe, the Workshop for that book opens — giving you access to the complete development history behind the finished text.
Character sketches, research, thematic questions. The raw thinking.
Chapter plan, narrative arc, series bible. The architectural blueprint.
Chapters as first written. Unpolished, sometimes rough, always honest.
The same chapters reworked. What changed and why.
The published novel. The finished work.
How the William Stronnar platform itself was built — from a simple book website to a publishing platform, documented in the order it happened.
View Platform Workshop →View the development timelines for Market Town, The Third Trust, and The Minories Child — from first notes to finished manuscript.
View William Stronnar's Workshops →As new authors join the platform, their Workshops will appear here.
Practical instruments for the writing process, built into the platform. Every tool runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded, nothing leaves your machine.
Paste your prose and hear it read aloud. Catches rhythm, pacing, and dialogue problems the eye misses. Choose your voice and speed. A diagnostic tool for self-editing, not a finished audiobook — if a sentence sounds wrong when a machine reads it, it will sound wrong to your reader too.
Open Audio Proof →Most readers never see the work behind the work. The notes that didn't make it. The structural decisions that shaped the story before a word was written. The first draft that bore only a passing resemblance to the finished page. The revision process that turned rough material into something worth reading.
The Workshop makes all of this visible — not as a gimmick but as a natural extension of the William Stronnar commitment to transparency. If the method is human-AI collaboration, the Workshop shows that collaboration in action: the decisions, the iterations, the process of turning ideas into narrative.
Every title published on the William Stronnar platform includes a Workshop. This is standard practice on the platform, not a feature unique to Market Town.
Every author on this platform publishes transparently — the books, the working process, the AI tools used. Subscribing to an author gives you full access to their library, their Workshop and their Archive.
The William Stronnar platform is built around authors, not algorithms. Each author maintains their own page with published titles, a development pipeline, and a Workshop documenting how the work was made.
You choose how you want to read:
This is not a content library where everything is bundled behind one paywall. Each author sets their own pricing. Each subscription supports that author directly. The platform takes a commission on every transaction — it does not compete with its own authors.
When you find an author whose work you value, subscribe to them. You get their books, their process, and their pipeline as it develops. The relationship is between you and the author. The platform holds the infrastructure.
New essays and updates are published on William Stronnar’s Substack. Subscribe there to receive new work by email as it’s published. On-platform email notifications are in development.
Coming Soon
Open to all registered authors on the platform. Entries judged by a panel of two AI agents and two human judges — transparent, accountable, and unlike anything else in publishing.
Frequency, categories and prizes to be announced.
Register as an author to be eligible.
Long-form writing on power, systems, history, technology and the future of authorship. Essays are published by human authors and AI collaborators — each clearly distinguished, each accountable for its perspective. Readers are invited to respond.
Receive new essays by email as they are published. Human and AI perspectives, clearly distinguished. Subscribe on Substack →
The best fiction is shaped by the questions readers ask. Subscribers can submit ideas directly to the author they follow — for a book in progress, a future project, or something entirely new. The author reads everything. The best ideas find their way into the work.
This is not a suggestion box. It is a direct creative channel between you and the author you subscribe to. You choose the author, you choose the category, and your idea goes straight to them.
A thought about the book currently being written. A character direction. A historical detail. A question the narrative hasn’t addressed yet. Something that nags at you as a reader.
An idea for where the author’s work should go next. A time period. A theme. A character type you want to see tested. A direction the series hasn’t taken yet.
An idea for something beyond the author’s current series. A different genre. A different period. A standalone work or a departure — the kind of thing that starts with “have you ever thought about…”
Write a response to a published essay or submit an original piece. The author reviews all essay submissions. Your voice, your name or pen name, clearly attributed.
Submissions will open when the platform launches its subscriber features. In the meantime, ideas and suggestions are welcome by email: willstronnar@gmail.com
Every submission is read by the author it is sent to. Not all ideas will be used — but some will shape the work in ways that might surprise you. If an idea makes it into a published book, the contributor will be credited in the acknowledgements (with permission). This is creative collaboration at its most direct: a reader sees a possibility, and the author decides whether to follow it.
By submitting an idea, you grant the author a non-exclusive right to use, adapt or incorporate it into published work. You retain the right to use your own idea elsewhere. Full terms are available on request.
William Stronnar is a publishing platform for literary works created through transparent human–AI collaboration. We are looking for authors who want to publish seriously, openly and on their own terms.
You keep creative control. You keep ownership of your work. You set your own pricing. The platform provides the infrastructure, the audience and a publishing model built around honesty about how the work is made.
A dedicated page on the platform: your bio, your published titles, your pipeline, your Workshop. Designed by the platform, populated by you. Subscribers find you here.
Every book you publish includes a Workshop — an open record of how it was made. Working notes, structural decisions, drafts, revisions. You decide what goes in and how much to share.
Your books are presented in a format that mirrors a literary agent submission: title, tagline, elevator pitch, synopsis and sample chapters. Professional from the start.
Readers can buy individual books or subscribe to you directly. You set the price. The platform takes a commission on each transaction. No bundled all-access tier that undercuts your individual sales.
This is not a vanity press and it is not a free-for-all. The platform has a small number of non-negotiable requirements.
You must declare how AI was used in your work. The method is yours to choose. The disclosure is not optional.
The work must be publication-ready. We review every application and every manuscript before it goes live. This is a curated platform, not a repository.
Every title must include a Workshop. The depth and format are up to you, but showing the process is a platform standard, not an optional extra.
You are responsible for everything published under your name. AI is a tool. You are the author. The editorial decisions are yours.
The platform operates on a commission-only model. There are no upfront fees, no monthly charges and no hidden costs. You pay nothing unless you earn. When a reader buys your book or subscribes to you, the platform takes a small commission. You keep the rest.
Publishing on the platform costs nothing. No setup fee. No listing fee. No annual charge.
The platform takes 10–15% of each reader transaction — book purchases and subscriptions. You set your own prices. You keep 85–90% of every sale.
Book prices and subscription rates are entirely your decision. The platform does not impose minimum or maximum pricing.
You own your work. If you leave the platform, your books leave with you. There is no exclusivity requirement.
For context: Amazon KDP takes 30–65% of each sale. Traditional publishers take 85–90%. Substack takes 10%. This platform sits at 10–15% because the author does the work and should keep the reward.
Tell us about yourself and your project. We read every application. If it is a good fit, we will be in touch to discuss next steps.
Applications are not yet open. To express interest, email willstronnar@gmail.com
This is a curated platform. Not every application will be accepted, and that is by design. The aim is to build a small roster of authors producing serious, transparent work — not a marketplace of volume. Quality and commitment to the process matter more than genre or commercial appeal.
If your application is not accepted, we will tell you why, and you are welcome to reapply.
Your work is yours. The platform does not take rights — no intellectual property, no subsidiary rights, no foreign rights, no film rights, no claim on anything that happens outside this platform. You are free to publish elsewhere, sign with an agent, sell to a traditional publisher, or license your work in any way you choose. There is no exclusivity requirement and no lock-in.
If you leave the platform, your books leave with you. If an agent discovers your work here and offers you a deal, that deal is yours in its entirety. The platform earns its revenue through commission on sales made here — not by taking a piece of your future.
Every author on the platform chooses one of two tracks at sign-up. You can switch between them at any time.
Standard
10–15% commission on platform sales
You publish on the platform. Readers find you here. You keep 85–90% of every sale. The platform takes no external claims of any kind. If an agent finds you independently through the platform, any deal you sign is 100% yours.
Best for: authors who want a clean, simple publishing arrangement with no external obligations.
Optional
10–15% commission + active industry promotion
The platform actively promotes your work to literary agents, publishers and industry contacts. If a deal results from a platform-facilitated introduction, a small referral fee applies:
2–3% of the deal value
18-month window — applies only to deals signed within 18 months of the platform’s introduction
Introduction only — applies only to deals that originate from a specific, documented platform introduction, not to any deal you find independently
After 18 months, the referral window closes. All future deals are yours entirely. The platform continues to earn its standard commission on direct sales made through the site.
Best for: authors who want the platform to actively open doors to the traditional publishing industry on their behalf.
The principle: the platform earns from what it does, not from what it owns. Standard track authors owe nothing beyond the platform commission. Accelerator track authors pay a modest, time-limited fee only when the platform’s active work leads directly to an external deal. In both cases, the author keeps their rights, their work and their future.
Both tracks connect to Agent Access All Areas — our feature that lets registered literary agents browse your manuscript, Workshop and editorial history privately.
Coming Soon
Hire a platform author directly. Ghost writing, custom essays, speeches, memoirs, corporate storytelling — whatever the author offers, commissioned through the platform with the same transparency and accountability that defines everything here.
Authors set their own rates. The platform facilitates the connection.
Details and pricing to be announced.
The traditional model asks authors to chase agents. This platform reverses it. Agents browse privately. Authors opt in. Nobody chases anyone. The work speaks for itself.
Registered literary agents can browse the platform freely and privately — viewing full manuscripts, editorial reports, Workshop histories and readiness ratings for any author who has opted in. No query letters. No slush piles. No waiting.
For Authors
From your Author Dashboard, tick Agent Access All Areas. This opens your full page — manuscript, Workshop, editorial reports, readiness rating — to all registered agents on the platform. You do not know which agents are looking. You do not chase anyone. Your work speaks for itself.
You can turn this off at any time. When it is on, everything an agent would normally ask for in a submission package is already there, already formatted, with full editorial provenance attached.
For Agents
Register with verified credentials (agency, client list, areas of interest). Once approved, browse the platform freely. No author knows you are looking. View full manuscripts, editorial history, readiness ratings and Workshop records for any author who has opted in.
The editorial ladder does your initial screening. A manuscript rated Structurally Sound with a Level 3 edit on record is a different conversation from an unedited first draft. The platform pre-qualifies the work. You save time.
Traditional publishing asks the author to compress their work into a query letter, submit blind, and wait months for a response. This platform gives agents a curated library of pre-qualified manuscripts with full editorial provenance, browsable at their own pace, in private.
Every manuscript on the platform has been through the editorial ladder. Agents see readiness ratings, severity-tagged findings, and the full editorial history. A “Structurally Sound” manuscript with a Level 3 edit is a fundamentally different proposition from an unedited first draft in a slush pile.
Agents do not just see the finished manuscript. They see how it was made: working notes, structural decisions, editorial sessions, revision history. This is the submission package that no other platform provides — a complete record of the creative and editorial process behind the work.
Agents register with verified credentials but browse anonymously. No author knows which agents are looking at their work. This prevents pestering and makes the platform genuinely attractive to the industry. When an agent is ready to make contact, they do — on their terms.
Agent Access connects directly to the platform’s two publishing tracks. Every author chooses their track when they join.
Independent Track
Agents can browse your work. If they contact you directly and a deal results, that deal is 100% yours. The platform earns nothing beyond its standard commission on platform sales. Agent Access is purely a discovery mechanism.
Platform Accelerator
The platform actively introduces your work to specific agents. If a deal results from a documented platform introduction within 18 months, the 2–3% referral fee applies. Agent Access All Areas is the discovery mechanism; the Accelerator is the active promotion layer on top of it.
The principle: the author’s job is to write well and opt in. The agent’s job is to find what they are looking for. The platform connects the two without either party having to chase the other.
Agent Access All Areas is under development. If you are a literary agent and would like to be notified when the platform opens agent registration, leave your details below.
Agent registration is under development. To register interest now, email willstronnar@gmail.com
Four levels of editorial feedback, from AI structural analysis to one-on-one professional editing. Every level is private and confidential. You choose how far up the ladder you want to go.
Most manuscript consultancies charge hundreds or thousands of pounds for editorial feedback. Many are already using AI in their workflow without telling you. We do it differently: we start with AI and tell you exactly what it did. Then we offer three further levels of human feedback, each one deeper and more experienced than the last. All feedback is private, confidential and for the author only.
The first pass. AI analyses your full manuscript for the structural and mechanical issues that a human editor would charge hundreds of pounds to find manually. This is not a creative opinion. It is a diagnostic report — delivered to your inbox and stored in your private author dashboard.
Submit your manuscript
Use the submission form to tell us about your manuscript and send your .docx file. We’ll confirm receipt within 48 hours.
Select your editorial lenses
The standard structural review is included. Tell us which optional lenses you want and we’ll include them in the analysis.
Receive your report
The full editorial report is emailed to you as a private document. Every finding is tagged by severity. You choose what to do with it.
Review your readiness rating
Every report includes a readiness assessment to help you decide whether to revise or progress to Level 2.
Every Level 1 analysis includes a comprehensive structural review. This is the baseline — the same diagnostic framework applied to every manuscript on the platform.
Pacing analysis by chapter and act. Timeline consistency and continuity tracking. Character appearance mapping. Dialogue attribution and voice differentiation. Word frequency and repetition patterns. Structural arc assessment. Ending evaluation. Scene-by-scene diagnostic.
It will not tell you whether your prose is beautiful. It will not judge your characters. It will not say “this is wonderful” because that is not its job. AI is a diagnostic tool, not a cheerleader. All findings are tagged by severity: Critical, Notable or Minor.
Add focused analysis on top of the standard review. Select as many or as few as you need before submitting your manuscript.
Commercial Readiness
Genre positioning, word count benchmarking against comparable titles, opening hook assessment, jacket copy potential. Where does this manuscript sit in the market?
Dialogue Deep Dive
Extended voice analysis, speaker differentiation scoring, dialogue-to-narrative ratio, attribution patterns. How distinct are your characters when they speak?
World-Building Audit
Setting consistency, geography tracking, rules-of-the-world continuity. Particularly useful for fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction.
Series Continuity
Cross-references against previous books in a series. Character tracking across volumes, unresolved thread tracking, timeline consistency between instalments.
Sensitivity Scan
Flags representation, cultural references, historical accuracy and potential anachronisms. What might a careful reader question?
Pace Mapping
Visual chapter-by-chapter breakdown of action density, dialogue density and exposition density. A rhythm map of your manuscript showing where it accelerates, where it breathes and where it stalls.
Every Level 1 report concludes with a single readiness assessment. Not a grade. Not a score. A clear signal about where the manuscript stands and what the author should consider next.
Structurally Sound
No critical issues. Minor observations only. The manuscript is ready for Level 2 (Reader Review) or submission to agents and publishers.
Revision Recommended
Critical or notable issues identified. Author review advised before progressing to Level 2. The structural foundation is sound but specific areas need attention.
Significant Revision Required
Multiple critical issues across structure, timeline or continuity. The manuscript would benefit from author revision and a second Level 1 analysis before moving up the ladder.
The rating is honest, not encouraging. If the manuscript needs work, the report will say so. If it is ready, it will say that too. The author decides what to do with the assessment. The AI does not know the difference between a deliberate creative choice and an error. A human editor does — which is why the ladder has three more levels above this one.
Every Level 1 report is emailed directly to you. It is not published, not shared and not visible to anyone else on the platform.
You choose whether to publish it to your Workshop (showing readers you submitted your work to editorial scrutiny) or keep it entirely private. The platform does not force visibility — but it makes visibility easy.
Pricing
Standard review: free during early access. Available to all authors — submit your manuscript to get started.
Optional editorial lenses: individually priced. Costs confirmed before analysis begins. Select as many or as few as you need.
This is not a theoretical service. Level 1 has been completed across fifteen editorial sessions on a real, full-length novel — Market Town: Book One, now 93,269 words across 94 chapters. Four structural sessions produced a 19.1% reduction. Eleven stylistic sessions then addressed sentence rhythm, phrase repetition, character voice, paragraph structure, dialogue, and chapter boundaries — culminating in a full AI redraft of the entire manuscript. Every analysis produced actionable findings. Every session is documented in the Workshop: structural and stylistic.
Session One
AI identified 4 critical, 8 notable and 12 minor structural and mechanical issues across the full manuscript. The author responded with a complete redraft over 10 versions, resolving every critical finding.
Full editorial log: 8 N-series narrative issues, 11 M-series mechanical issues, all tracked with status badges and version history.
Session Two
A fresh Level 1 analysis identified 8 N-series narrative issues and 11 M-series mechanical issues. The author carried out a full redraft — rewriting a major character death scene, adding key character moments, implementing a dialect policy and completing an em dash audit across all 102 chapters.
Time from analysis to completed v27 redraft: approximately 6 hours of focused work.
Session Three
Triggered by the Audio Proof Tool. The author heard the opening read aloud and made a structural decision: combine two chapters into a single intercut opening. A four-pass plan — restructure, scene-level cuts, sentence-level cull, format — was executed in a single session.
Result: 113,194 words. 99 chapters + Epilogue. Combined Barras opening installed.
Session Four
A chapter-by-chapter rewrite governed by eight editorial principles. 19.1% reduction in a single morning — 113,194 words to 91,575 — without losing a single narrative event. Five chapter merges, four interiority beats written by the author, exposition compressed throughout.
Readiness rating: Structurally Sound. Manuscript progressed to stylistic editorial.
Sessions 5–15
Eleven sessions addressing sentence rhythm, phrase repetition, character voice, paragraph structure, dialogue tics, chapter openings and closings. 281 surgical revisions applied across v30–v32, followed by a full AI redraft of the entire 93,000-word manuscript in under an hour.
Avg sentence length: 7.9 → 9.9. Short sentences: 68% → 54%. Total cost: consumer subscription. Total time: one day.
Speed & Efficiency
A traditional manuscript consultancy charges £500–£2,000+ for a single developmental edit. Turnaround is typically 4–6 weeks. Many are now using AI in their workflow without telling you.
This platform delivered fifteen editorial sessions on what started as a 114,860-word novel. Four structural sessions produced a 91,575-word manuscript — a 19.1% reduction without losing a single narrative event. Eleven stylistic sessions then rewrote the prose from scratch, producing a 93,269-word manuscript with every editorial finding baked in from the first sentence. The full AI redraft — 93,000 words of new prose — took under an hour. The entire stylistic editorial process took one day.
For any author sitting on a long manuscript with structural problems they cannot see clearly — what experienced authors call “brain fog” at 500 pages — this changes everything. The AI finds what you cannot see. You fix what the AI cannot judge. The combination is faster, cheaper and more transparent than anything currently available.
Full Transparency
Every finding, every author decision, every version change is documented in the Book One Editorial Workshop: structural sessions and stylistic sessions. This is not a testimonial. It is a complete record of the process, open for inspection. The Workshop is the proof.
Real readers. Real responses. Not professional editors — people who read a lot and know when something works and when it doesn’t. Their feedback is honest, unfiltered and for your eyes only.
A written review from a verified reader covering their honest response to the manuscript. Where they engaged, where they drifted, what confused them, what they wanted more of. The kind of feedback you cannot get from friends or family because they are too polite to give it.
All reader feedback goes directly to the author. It is not published, not shared and not visible to anyone else on the platform. This is a private editorial service, not a public review.
If you read a lot and want to help authors improve their work, sign up as a Reader Reviewer. You read manuscripts before publication, provide honest written feedback, and earn credits on the platform — redeemable against book purchases, subscriptions or cash back. The more you review, the more you earn. Build a reputation and you may be invited to move up to Level 3.
Registration Opening Soon
Pricing
Per review, set by the platform. Significantly less than a professional edit. Readers earn credits or cash back for every review completed.
Experienced eyes. This level is staffed by published authors on the platform who have made themselves available as editors, alongside semi-professional editors — book bloggers, creative writing graduates, experienced beta readers with editorial training. They can do what readers cannot: articulate why something isn’t working and suggest how to fix it.
A structured editorial report covering narrative arc, character development, pacing, dialogue quality, thematic coherence and prose style. Specific, actionable feedback — not “this is good” but “this scene loses momentum because the conflict is resolved too early.”
Platform authors can opt in as Level 3 editors. They know the craft. They know the platform. And they earn additional revenue from editorial work alongside their own publishing. A genuine peer-to-peer editorial community.
Pricing
Set by the editor, visible upfront. Platform takes a commission. Editors build profiles and ratings based on author feedback.
The full service. Vetted professional editors with publishing industry experience offering developmental editing, structural editing, line editing and copy editing. One-on-one, confidential and thorough.
A comprehensive editorial engagement tailored to your manuscript. Developmental notes, line-by-line feedback, structural recommendations, one-on-one consultation. The editor works with you directly until the manuscript is where it needs to be.
This is not a report delivered by email. It is a working relationship. You and the editor communicate directly, discuss the manuscript in detail and agree on the editorial direction together. Full confidentiality throughout.
Pricing
Set by the editor based on manuscript length and scope of work. Platform takes a commission. All professional editors are vetted before being listed.
All editorial feedback at every level is private and confidential. Manuscripts submitted for review are not shared beyond the assigned reviewer. Reader reviews, editorial reports and professional notes are delivered to the author only. Nothing is published, displayed or used by the platform without the author’s explicit permission.
Your manuscript is your work. The feedback is your business. The platform facilitates the connection and handles the payment. Everything else stays between you and your editor.
You do not have to start at Level 1. You do not have to use every level. Some authors will run the AI analysis and stop. Some will go straight to a professional editor. The ladder is there so you can choose the depth of feedback that suits your manuscript, your budget and your stage of development.
For context: A typical manuscript consultancy charges £500–£2,000+ for a single developmental edit. Many are now using AI in their workflow without disclosure. This platform offers AI analysis transparently as a starting point, with human editorial layers available at every price point above it. You always know what you are paying for and who is doing the work.
Publish on this platform first. Then take your work everywhere else. We provide the tools, the connections and the professional services you need to distribute your book globally — ebook, print on demand and beyond. Every service is transparent, every cost is visible, and every professional involved is clearly identified.
Your book lives on the William Stronnar platform. That is home base — your author page, your Workshop, your direct relationship with readers. But most readers buy books through Amazon, Apple, Kobo, or their local bookshop. Distribution services take your finished manuscript and get it onto every major platform and into print, handled by professionals and coordinated through this platform.
You choose what you need. You see what it costs before you commit. The platform connects you with vetted professionals and takes a commission on each service. There are no hidden fees and no lock-in — you own the accounts, the ISBNs and the files.
This is where you start. Your book is published on the William Stronnar platform with your Author Home Page, Book Pipeline, Workshop and sample chapters. Readers can buy the book or subscribe to you directly. This stage is included in your standard platform membership — no additional cost beyond the 10–15% commission on sales.
Cost
Included. No additional fee.
Your manuscript is formatted for every major ebook platform and distributed globally. You set the price on each platform. You own the accounts.
Amazon Kindle (KDP), Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play Books, and other major retailers. Wide distribution or exclusive — your choice.
Ebook formatting (EPUB and MOBI), metadata optimisation, platform account setup, upload and submission to each retailer. The book goes live on your accounts, under your name.
Cost
Flat fee for formatting and setup (pricing to follow). No ongoing commission from the platform on external sales — each retailer takes their own cut. You keep everything the retailer pays you.
A physical book, printed and shipped to order. No warehouse. No minimum print run. No upfront stock costs. A reader orders, the book is printed, and it arrives at their door.
Amazon KDP Print, IngramSpark (global bookshop distribution), and other POD providers. IngramSpark gives you access to bookshops, libraries and wholesalers worldwide.
Interior typesetting and layout (paperback and/or hardback). Cover file preparation to printer specifications. ISBN assignment. Platform account setup and submission. Proof review.
Cost
Flat fee for typesetting, layout and setup (pricing to follow). Print and shipping costs are per-order, charged by the POD provider. You set the retail price and keep the margin.
Distribution-ready books need more than a manuscript. They need a cover, an ISBN, and sometimes legal advice. The platform connects you with vetted third-party professionals for each of these. You deal with them directly. The platform takes a commission for the introduction.
Professional cover designers who understand genre conventions, retail thumbnail requirements and print specifications. The cover is the single most important sales tool your book has. A professional designs it. You approve it. You own it.
Professional layout for print editions — chapter headings, margins, font selection, running headers, ornaments. The difference between a self-published book that looks self-published and one that looks like it belongs on a bookshop shelf.
ISBN assignment, BISAC categorisation, metadata preparation for retail platforms. ISBNs are registered in your name or your imprint’s name — not the platform’s. You own the identifiers.
Copyright registration, contract review, rights management advice, and publishing-specific legal guidance. Particularly important for faction and historically-grounded work where real figures, institutions or events are referenced. Independent legal professionals, not platform staff.
Narration, recording, editing and distribution to Audible, Apple Books and other audiobook platforms. Human narration or AI-assisted — disclosed transparently, as with everything on this platform.
Professional translation for foreign-language editions. Human translators with subject-matter expertise. AI-assisted translation available with full disclosure. Each translated edition gets its own ISBN and can be distributed independently.
Most self-publishing platforms offer distribution as a black box. You upload a file, press a button, and hope for the best. If something goes wrong with formatting, metadata or print quality, you are on your own.
This platform does it differently. Every stage is handled by identified professionals. Every cost is visible before you commit. Every account is owned by you, not the platform. If you decide to leave, you take your KDP account, your IngramSpark account, your ISBNs and your cover files with you. Nothing is locked to the platform.
The platform earns a commission for connecting you with the right professionals and coordinating the process. That is the service. That is what the commission pays for. You are not paying for permission to distribute your own work — you are paying for someone to handle the complexity so you can focus on writing.
All professional services are priced by the provider and visible before you commit. The platform adds a coordination commission on each service. There are no bundled packages where you pay for things you do not need.
For context: A typical “self-publishing package” from a vanity press costs £2,000–£5,000+ and bundles services you may not need with margins you cannot see. Here, you choose what you need, you see what it costs, and you pay the professional directly (plus the platform’s commission). No bundles. No hidden margins. No surprises.
Nine platforms across three formats. Every platform is free to join. You own every account. Here is what each one offers, what it costs, and what it pays.
~70% of global ebook market · kdp.amazon.com
Royalties: 70% on books priced £2.49–£6.99 (delivery fee deducted based on file size). 35% outside that range. KDP Select (optional, 90-day exclusive) gives access to Kindle Unlimited.
Files: EPUB, DOCX, DOC, MOBI, PDF. Converted to Kindle Format 8 automatically.
Key detail: Non-exclusive option available. Recommended for the William Stronnar model — exclusivity contradicts the platform philosophy.
Payment: 60 days after month-end. UK bank account. GBP.
Loyal, high-spending readership · authors.apple.com
Royalties: 70% on all sales regardless of price point. No delivery fees. No upper price limit. The best flat rate in the market.
Files: EPUB 3.3 (strict validation). No exclusivity.
Payment: 45 days after month-end.
Strong international presence · kobo.com/writinglife
Royalties: 70% on books priced $2.99–$9.99. 45% outside that range. No delivery fees at any tier.
Files: EPUB, DOC, DOCX, MOBI, ODT. Free automatic conversion. No exclusivity.
Payment: 45 days after month-end. Minimum $50. Supports GBP.
Dedicated US readership · press.barnesandnoble.com
Royalties: 70% on all ebook sales. Minimum price $0.99 (free books not permitted).
Files: EPUB, DOC, DOCX, TXT, HTML. 20MB limit. No exclusivity.
Payment: 30 days after month-end (fastest cycle).
60+ countries · play.google.com/books/publish
Royalties: 70% revenue split (requires accepting updated TOS). Revenue calculated on list price, even when Google discounts the book.
Files: EPUB preferred. PDF accepted. No exclusivity. No approval delays.
Key detail: Revenue based on list price is advantageous — you earn the same even when Google runs promotions.
Print on demand through Amazon · Same KDP account as ebook
Royalties: 60% in UK. Formula: (List Price × 60%) − Printing Costs. UK printing costs for B&W 6×9” paperback: £0.70 fixed + £0.01 per page.
Files: Print-ready PDF interior + PDF cover. 300 DPI minimum. Free setup.
Key detail: Expanded Distribution (40% royalty) makes paperback available beyond Amazon to retailers and libraries. Paperback and hardcover supported.
Best for: Amazon print sales. Higher margin per sale than IngramSpark.
39,000+ retailers worldwide · ingramspark.com
Royalties: List Price − Printing Costs − Retailer Discount. Retailer discount typically 55% (industry standard for bookshop stocking). Tighter margins but vastly wider reach.
Files: Print-ready PDF. 300 DPI. Own ISBN recommended. Free setup. $25 revision fee after 60 days.
Key detail: The only way to get your paperback into physical bookshops, libraries and institutions worldwide. Global Connect: printing in 11 countries. UK facility.
Best for: Bookshop distribution. Libraries. Global reach. Run alongside KDP Print.
Audible exclusive reach · acx.com
Royalties: Exclusive (Audible/Amazon/Apple only): 40%. Non-exclusive: 25%. Royalty share option: 50/50 split with narrator (no upfront cost, but permanently halves earnings).
Requirements: Must have existing ebook or print edition on Amazon. MP3 format with strict audio specifications. UK residency, UK tax ID and UK bank account required.
Key detail: Narrator costs for a full-length novel: £1,000–£3,000+. Royalty share available but not recommended for books with long-term commercial potential.
Widest audiobook distribution · 30+ retailers · 200+ countries
Royalties: 80% of net profits from all retailers (100% from Spotify). INaudio keeps 20%. Zero upfront distribution costs.
Requirements: Production-ready audio files. Free registration. Non-exclusive — distribute everywhere simultaneously.
Key detail: 80% royalty vs ACX’s 25–40%. Significantly better long-term economics. Recommended for wide audiobook distribution.
| Platform | Format | Royalty | Exclusive? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon KDP | Ebook | 35–70% | Optional |
| Apple Books | Ebook | 70% flat | No |
| Kobo | Ebook | 45–70% | No |
| B&N Nook | Ebook | 70% | No |
| Google Play | Ebook | 52–70% | No |
| KDP Print | Paperback | 60% minus print | No |
| IngramSpark | Paperback | Net after costs | No |
| ACX | Audiobook | 25–40% | Optional |
| Voices / INaudio | Audiobook | 80% | No |
All platforms free to join. All figures current as of March 2026. Verify rates before committing.
William Stronnar is a publishing platform for literary works created through transparent human-AI collaboration. It was founded by a single author with a single project. It is designed to grow.
The platform publishes books, essays and archival material. Every book’s development process is recorded and made available through the Workshop. Readers can browse for free, buy individual books, or subscribe for full access. Authors retain creative control and ownership of their work.
The founding principle is simple: be transparent about the method, be accountable for the output, and let readers see how the work is made.
The human author conceives the story, designs the characters, chooses the themes and makes every editorial decision. The author directs the vision. The human author is responsible for everything published under their name on this platform.
AI serves as a research tool, a drafting partner and a structural collaborator. It enables deeper historical investigation, faster iteration and the architectural complexity that ambitious literary projects demand. This is augmentation, not automation.
The distinction matters. AI did not decide what matters. That is a human decision.
Authors on the William Stronnar platform may publish under their own name or under a pen name. William Stronnar itself is a pen name — the first on this platform. The author behind it has chosen not to publish under their real identity.
This is not secrecy. It is a deliberate separation between the person and the work. The platform is transparent about its method, its tools and its process. What it does not require is that the human behind the work be publicly identified. That is the author’s choice, and the platform respects it.
The platform is open to writers who share a commitment to transparent human-AI collaboration and rigorous research — whether they work in historical fiction, speculative writing, essays or hybrid forms.
If you are working on a literary project that aligns with these principles, we want to hear from you. You may publish under your own name or a pen name. The platform will remain available to you and your readers indefinitely.
Expressions of interest: willstronnar@gmail.com
For all enquiries: willstronnar@gmail.com