WiDo Publishing

What WiDo Publishing does

WiDo Publishing LLC™ is a privately held, family-owned independent book publisher founded in 2007 and centered in Salt Lake City, Utah (with press releases datelined St. George, UT). The company operates two publishing tracks under a single editorial team: a traditional imprint that acquires manuscripts and finances editing, design, and distribution in exchange for royalty rights, and the E.L. Marker™ hybrid imprint that sells a $4,750 author-funded production package while paying authors 75% of print royalties and 80% of ebook/audio royalties and retaining rights reverting after two years. Authors are acquired via an open email-based submission portal ([email protected]) followed by a 10–18 month editorial cycle led by Managing Editor Karen Gowen and a named team of four content editors and two copy editors.

The press has published over 100 titles spanning memoir, historical fiction, thriller, YA, fantasy, middle-grade, children's illustrated, and literary fiction, and currently lists 154 products in its online catalog (WiDō Bookstore), priced $9.95–$23.95 per paperback. The technology footprint is modest: a WordPress/WooCommerce website and email-driven (Proton Mail) submission intake with no public API, mobile app, or proprietary technology stack. Production is performed by a small in-house editorial team with outsourced typesetting, printing, cover design, and audiobook production.

Distribution is the company's strongest commercial asset: titles reach brick-and-mortar and online bookstores globally through Ingram and Baker & Taylor, with library supply via Follett Library Resources and Amazon as the de facto direct-to-consumer channel (the WiDō storefront has paused direct shipping). The company is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and has accumulated multiple industry and trade awards (Whitney Awards, IAN, Readers Favorite, Independent Publisher, FAPA President's Book Awards, New Hampshire Literary Awards, Boardman Tasker shortlist, Chanticleer) across 2013–2024. The business is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, institutional investors, or public listing.

Name

WiDo Publishing

Legal name

WiDo Publishing LLC™

Website

https://widopublishing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WiDo Publishing is a family-owned independent book publisher founded in 2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah, offering both traditional and E.L. Marker hybrid ($4,750) publishing tracks for individual authors, with titles distributed globally through Ingram and Baker & Taylor.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB), Editorial & Production Services (Copyediting, Proofreading, Formatting, Typesetting) (MPAJAJAG)

Keywords

• Independent book publishing
• Hybrid publishing services
• Traditional book publishing
• Book editing and design
• Global book distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Traditional publishing royalties: WiDo acquires manuscripts, finances editing/production/design, and pays authors royalties on book sales distributed through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and Amazon.
2. E.L. Marker hybrid publishing package: Author-funded hybrid publishing package priced at $4,750 (for 50,000–100,000 word manuscripts) covering content editing, copy editing, typesetting, cover design, ARCs, distribution setup, audiobook production, and 90 days of marketing support. Authors retain higher royalty share (75% print / 80% ebook/audio).
3. Direct book sales (own website and Amazon): Per-copy sales via online storefront at $9.95–$23.95 retail; authors receive 50% discount on purchases; website temporarily not selling due to shipping costs, redirecting to local bookstores and Amazon.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

WiDo Publishing is a family-owned independent press that publishes traditionally acquired manuscripts across memoir, historical fiction, thriller, YA, fantasy, and literary fiction. It operates two imprints: WiDo Publishing (publisher-funded traditional acquisitions) and E.L. Marker (author-funded hybrid publishing at a $4,750 flat fee). The company provides full-service editorial, design, audiobook, and global distribution through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and Follett Library Resources.

Product overview

WiDo Publishing is a single unified independent publishing operation composed of three core branded offerings working together: (1) the flagship WiDo Publishing imprint, which publishes traditionally acquired titles across memoir, historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, YA, middle-grade, romance and literary fiction; (2) the E. L. Marker hybrid imprint, a sub-brand that uses the same editorial and production staff as WiDo but offers author-funded publishing packages with higher royalties (75% print, 80% ebook/audio); and (3) the WiDo Bookstore, the online storefront where both WiDo and E. L. Marker titles are sold. Supporting infrastructure includes the open Manuscript Submissions Service (a three-step query/sample/contract acquisition portal), distribution partnerships through Ingram and Baker & Taylor for bookstore availability, and library distribution via Ingram and Follett Library Resources. The portfolio of individual book products (e.g., Hello, Neighbor!, The Making of Margaret Dashwood, Chasing Tarzan, Everfont, Aftershock, Heart of Annihilation, Looking West, Type and Cross) spans the genres covered by the press.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• E. L. Marker™: A WiDo Publishing imprint offering a hybrid publishing model where authors self-fund editing and production while leveraging WiDo's professional editorial staff and global distribution.

Products and services

• WiDo Publishing (Traditional Imprint) Publisher-funded traditional publishing imprint that acquires polished manuscripts from authors, finances editing, design, typesetting, and production, and distributes books globally while paying authors royalties. Targeted at writers of memoir, historical fiction, thriller, YA, fantasy, sci-fi, children's, and literary fiction.
• E. L. Marker (Hybrid Publishing Imprint) Hybrid publishing imprint offering author-funded publishing packages for a flat $4,750 fee (for 50,000-100,000 word manuscripts), covering content editing, copy editing, typesetting, cover design, audiobook production, distribution setup, and 90 days of marketing support. Authors retain 75% print royalties and 80% ebook/audio royalties plus audio, film, and foreign rights.
• WiDo Manuscript Submissions Service Acquisition portal for new manuscripts; authors email the first three chapters in PDF with a query and marketing plan. Editor review leads to full manuscript request, contract offer, and a 10-18 month editing and production cycle.
• WiDo Bookstore Online storefront for WiDo Publishing and E. L. Marker titles, with 154 catalog titles priced $9.95-$23.95. Currently paused for direct shipping; customers redirected to Amazon and local bookstores.
• Hello, Neighbor! Illustrated children's early reader by Michael Gaulden with illustrations by Rod Flower, addressing homelessness through a cat named Harry. 36 pages, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-947966-69-7.
• The Making of Margaret Dashwood Austen-style historical fiction by Carol Pratt Bradley continuing the story of Margaret Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. Historical Fiction, $18.95, 278 pages, ISBN 978-1-947966-67-3.
• Everfont Young Adult Fantasy novel by Alexander Rob set in the dying world of Gritt, following Ryan who must escape with her sister from The Seeker's pursuit. 265 pages, ISBN 978-1-947966-57-4.
• Looking West: The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant Memoir by Albert Nasib Badre about emigrating from Beirut, Lebanon to the United States in 1960 as a teenager, his Catholic conversion, social activism, and career in information technology. ISBN 9781947966130.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 titles published since 2007
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• IngramflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCore distribution partner — both WiDo and E.L. Marker titles are distributed to bookstores globally through Ingram. Booksellers can order through the Ingram catalog, and books are fully returnable for the first six months after publication.
• Baker & TaylorflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCore wholesale distribution partner alongside Ingram, making WiDo and E.L. Marker titles available in brick-and-mortar and online bookstores worldwide.
• Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA, formerly PMA)minorOthersWiDo is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (formerly PMA). IBPA logo is displayed on the WiDo website.
• Follett Library ResourcesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorListed library supply partner: WiDo books are supplied through Follett Library Resources with no minimum order, alongside Ingram.
• Amazon.comcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary direct-to-consumer online retail channel while WiDo's own storefront is paused for shipping-cost reasons; many WiDo audiobook and paperback listings are linked directly to Amazon product pages.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Catapult: Independent publisher of literary fiction, memoir, and nonfiction, plus a magazine and book-day programs. Comparable to WiDo in trade publishing scope, award-winning author roster, and independent-press distribution model.
• Archway Publishing: Hybrid self-publishing imprint operated by Simon & Schuster, offering author-paid publishing packages with editorial, design, and distribution services. Closest scaled analog to E.L. Marker, with brand backing from a Big Five publisher and similar service structure.
• BookBaby: Hybrid/self-publishing services company offering editing, design, printing, and distribution packages to authors at various price tiers. Overlaps with E.L. Marker's author-funded production model and shares the same target market of authors seeking professional production outside traditional deals.
• Atmosphere Press: Hybrid book publisher offering author-funded publishing packages with editorial, design, and distribution services, targeting independent and first-time authors across genres. Operates with a similar dual-track philosophy to WiDo Publishing and E.L. Marker.
• Akashic Books: Independent publisher of literary fiction and nonfiction with a focus on diverse voices, distributed through Ingram and major wholesalers. Similar in scale and independent-press positioning to WiDo Publishing, with comparable award recognition and global distribution.
• Greenleaf Book Group: Hybrid publisher offering author-paid publishing packages alongside traditional distribution services, serving business and general trade authors. Comparable to E.L. Marker in author-funded hybrid model and to WiDo in distribution infrastructure.
• Milkweed Editions: Independent nonprofit literary publisher of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry with national distribution. Similar independent-press positioning to WiDo, with comparable emphasis on editorial quality and award-winning titles in trade categories.
• She Writes Press: Hybrid publishing imprint (sister brand to SparkPress) focused on women authors offering author-funded packages with traditional-quality editorial and distribution. Directly comparable to E.L. Marker in model, target audience, and pricing tier.
• Familius: Family-owned independent trade publisher based in California, publishing across fiction and nonfiction genres with global distribution. Comparable to WiDo in scale, family-owned structure, and broad genre trade publishing model.

Broad incumbents

• Graywolf Press: Long-established independent literary press publishing fiction, nonfiction, and poetry with broad distribution and major award presence. Comparable to WiDo in editorial-quality positioning and independent-press distribution, though larger and more literary-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/widopublishing
• Facebookfacebook.com/widopub
• Instagraminstagram.com/widopublishing
• Pinterestpinterest.com/widopublishing/pins
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wido-publishing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WiDo Publishing