Welcome to Kingsgrave Independent Press

“Surely going through a traditional publishing house is the best way, perhaps only real way, for authors to be published?” It’s a common assumption, and for decades it was true. Traditional publishing has long been seen as the gold standard, the ultimate validation of a writer’s talent. But the reality, especially today, is much more complicated. In 2022, an anti-competition case brought by the US Department of Justice against Penguin Random House prised open the lid on the industry. Evidence showed that only a tiny percentage of traditionally published authors actually make any money. Just 35% of published books were profitable at all, and 60% of those profits came from only 4% of authors. Put another way: 85% of books published were considered commercial failures. That’s sobering enough. But then

Kingsgrave was never born out of a business plan, it began at home with me and my daughter building our household, sharing our love of books, ideas, and creativity. Somewhere in those conversations I picked up a pen, started writing, and really didn’t stop. What started as a bit of fun, quickly delivered a novel’s worth of words; not quite a novel in professional terms, as it would need some refinement, but it definitely gave me enough to try to shape it into something more presentable.With the signpost of an editor, my local writing group, some of whom became my beta readers, the rough draft grew into a finished book. But then came the question: Do I publish it? And if so, how?Like many new authors, I looked at the