About Pristine Press & Media

Real people. Real books. Your rights, always yours.

Pristine Press & Media helps authors publish professionally and get their books seen — without giving up ownership, royalties, or control. We handle the parts that are hard to do alone: editing, design, distribution to 40,000+ retailers, and the marketing that actually gets a book in front of readers. You keep 100% of your rights and 100% of your royalties. Always.

Who we are

Built by people who know publishing from the inside.

Our mission is simple: help authors publish professionally and get read — without ever asking them to give up ownership of their work.

Our founder has worked in the industry since 2015 — more than a decade spent helping authors turn finished manuscripts into books readers can actually find and buy — and that experience shapes how our whole team works.

We officially formed the company in June 2024 and are registered in Washington State, bringing that experience under one roof: a single team that handles both the craft of publishing and the work of marketing, so authors don’t have to stitch together a dozen freelancers and hope it all comes together. You’ll work with the same team from your first call to your launch day, and you can always pick up the phone and reach a real person.

We’re a proud member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) — the largest publishing trade association in the U.S. — and we hold ourselves to its standards for professional, transparent, author-first publishing.

We started Pristine because too many authors get burned. The assisted-publishing world is full of operators who overpromise, hide their pricing, quietly take your rights, and disappear once they’ve been paid. We built the company we wished those authors had found first — one that tells you exactly what things cost, puts everything in writing, and treats your book like it matters. Because it does.

We work with first-time authors, independent authors, and experts and thought leaders who want a book produced to a professional standard — and who want to keep control of it.

Straight answers

Who we are — and who we’re not.

The assisted-publishing world has earned its share of suspicion. So here’s the plain version, both sides of it, before you ask.

What we are

A fee-for-service assisted publisherYou pay for professional work — editing, design, distribution — not a gamble.
Transparent about pricingFixed prices, in US dollars, in writing, before you ever commit.
Yours to keepYou retain 100% of your rights and 100% of your royalties. Always.
SelectiveWe take on books we believe we can produce to a professional standard.
A real, registered businessRegistered in Washington State and a proud member of the IBPA.
Reachable by real peopleThe same team from your first call to launch day — you can always pick up the phone.

What we’re not

A traditional publisherWe don’t pay advances and we don’t acquire your rights.
A vanity pressWe never promise bestseller status, guaranteed sales, or paid-for reviews.
A rights grabYour work stays your work — we take a fee, never your ownership.
A hidden-fee operationNo surprise charges after you’ve paid. What we quote is what you pay.
A publish-overnight schemeGood books take real work; we’re honest about the effort involved.
A faceless middlemanYou’re never handed off to strangers or a call-center queue.

Our approach

An honest look at how it compares.

There are a few ways to get a book into the world. Here’s where assisted publishing fits — and where we’re different from the operators that give the model a bad name.

	Assisted, with Pristine You’re here	Traditional	DIY self-publishing	Vanity press
Who pays?	You pay a fixed, quoted fee	The publisher pays you	You pay each vendor yourself	You pay — often inflated
Who keeps the rights?	You — 100%	The publisher takes them	You — 100%	Often the press
Your royalties	100% to you	Roughly 10–15% to you	100% to you	Reduced or unclear
Professional team	Yes — one team, all crafts	Yes	You hire & coordinate each	Varies; often low quality
Getting in	No gatekeeping (but we’re selective)	Very hard — most are declined	No gatekeeping	Takes virtually anyone
Bestseller promises	Never	No	No	Common — a red flag
Pricing	Fixed & transparent	Not applicable	You control it	Often opaque, with upsells

Traditional publishing is a great outcome if you can land it — but most authors never get in. We built Pristine to give you a professional result without giving up ownership, and without the empty promises of a vanity press.

What we do

The whole book, under one roof.

Instead of hiring and coordinating a dozen freelancers, you work with one team across every craft your book needs — and we make sure the pieces fit together.

Developmental & copy editing Cover & interior design Illustration Audiobook production Distribution & ISBNs Book trailers & video Author branding Advertising & outreach

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What we stand for

The standards we hold ourselves to.

You own everything

100% of your rights and 100% of your royalties stay with you. We never take a piece of what your book earns.

Transparent, fixed pricing

Every package has a clear price in plain USD. No hidden fees, no surprise upsells, no “we’ll discuss it later.”

Everything in writing

Clear terms, a real refund and cancellation policy, and a straight answer to every question before you pay a cent.

One team, start to finish

From manuscript to launch, the same people who publish your book also help market it — editing, cover, distribution, trailers, and outreach, all in one place.