Self-Counsel Press

What Self-Counsel Press does

Self-Counsel Press is a Canadian specialty publisher founded in 1971 and headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with a six-person operating team and a US office in Bellingham, Washington. The company produces do-it-yourself legal, business, real estate, personal finance, and equine-law content in print, EPUB, PDF download, and CD-ROM formats, alongside the WillKit online will service for Canadian consumers. Its product catalog emphasizes provincial-specific Canadian legal kits (BC, Ontario, and Alberta divorce, probate, and wills forms), an equine law niche line, and small-business guides including cannabis retail.

The business operates a multi-channel go-to-market model combining direct-to-consumer e-commerce through self-counsel.com, retail distribution through Staples Canada, Indigo/Chapters, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores via CIBA/ABA networks, plus Ampersand sales representation across Canadian regions. International reach is enabled through dedicated distributors: Independent Publishers Group (USA), University of Toronto Press (Canada), Footprint Books (Australasia), Roundhouse Group (UK), SG Distributors (South Africa), and Advantage Quest (Malaysia). All products are sold under one-time, perpetual-license pricing denominated in Canadian dollars, with download kits ranging from roughly CA$16.95 to CA$59.00 and specialized equine agreements priced CA$139.95 to CA$299.95.

The company is privately held with no disclosed parent, institutional backers, or revenue figures, and operates without proprietary technology infrastructure beyond standard e-commerce and content delivery. Marketing is executed through the company website, social media (Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter), a monthly email newsletter, semi-annual print catalogues, and author events at Canadian bookstores.

Name

Self-Counsel Press

Legal name

Self-Counsel Press

Website

https://self-counsel.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Self-Counsel Press is a privately held Canadian specialty publisher (founded 1971, North Vancouver, BC) producing do-it-yourself legal books, downloadable form kits, EPUB eBooks, and the WillKit online will service for individual consumers and small businesses in Canada, the US, and select international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Self-Help Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Book Publishers (513130), Books Printing (323117)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Book Printing (2732), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Editorial & Production Services (Copyediting, Proofreading, Formatting, Typesetting) (MPAJAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Author Website, Storefront & Direct-to-Reader Commerce (D2C Sales) (MPAJAJAE), Personalized & Customized Book Print-on-Demand (Variable Data, One-to-One) (MPAJANAH)

Keywords

• DIY legal publishing
• Self-help law books
• Downloadable legal forms
• Online will preparation
• Small business guides

Headquarters

HQ city

North Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Physical Books and Kits: Sale of printed self-help law, business, real estate, and personal finance books. Products sold through retail distribution and direct website orders.
2. E-books and Digital Downloads: EPUB and PDF downloads of legal forms, kits, and guides available for immediate digital delivery after purchase.
3. WillKit Online Will Service: Online will creation service at Will-Kit.ca providing Canadian will preparation tools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Self-Counsel Press publishes and sells do-it-yourself legal, business, real estate, and personal finance content in three formats: printed books, downloadable legal form kits (wills, divorce, probate, power of attorney, separation, real estate, landlord, equine), and EPUB e-books. Its flagship digital offering is WillKit, a Canadian online will preparation service priced at CA$59. Products are sold direct-to-consumer through self-counsel.com and through major Canadian and US retail chains and international distributors.

Product overview

Self-Counsel Press is a Canadian publisher offering do-it-yourself legal and business self-help resources. The product portfolio centers on downloadable legal document kits (wills, probate, divorce, power of attorney, separation agreements, real estate forms) and comprehensive books covering law, business, real estate, personal finance, eldercare, and writing. Key products include WillKit (online will service), provincial divorce and probate kits, Complete Canadian Wills Kit, and a specialized Equine Law product line. Products are available as digital downloads, CD-ROMs, EPUB eBooks, and print books. The company also publishes environmental/sustainability guides under the 'Greening Your...' series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Will-Kit.ca: Dedicated Canadian will kit and estate planning online service, operating at will-kit.ca

Products and services

• WillKit Online Will Service Online will preparation service for Canadians providing comprehensive will kits and estate planning tools, priced at CA$59.00 and hosted at Will-Kit.ca.
• Downloadable Legal Document Kits Downloadable PDF legal document kits covering wills, probate, divorce, power of attorney, separation agreements, real estate purchase and sale, landlord rental, and pet will/estate planning for Canadian consumers.
• Power of Attorney Kit (download version) Downloadable legal form kit for creating power of attorney documents, priced at CA$26.95.
• Provincial Divorce Kits (BC, Ontario, Alberta) Provincial divorce form kits for do-it-yourself divorce proceedings in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta, each priced at CA$39.95.
• Last Will & Testament AND Living Will Combined will and living will document kit for comprehensive estate planning, priced at CA$16.95.
• Provincial Probate Kits (Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia) Provincial probate court form kits for executor guidance in estate administration, priced at CA$39.95 per kit.
• Complete Canadian Wills Kit Comprehensive will preparation kit for Canadians covering all provinces, priced at CA$24.95.
• Separation Agreement (download version) Legal separation agreement form kit for couples separating, priced at CA$29.95.
• Residential Real Estate Purchase and Sale (download version) Real estate transaction form kit for residential property purchases and sales, priced at CA$19.95.
• Canadian Landlord's Rental Kit Landlord forms and agreements for rental property management in Canada, priced at CA$19.95.
• Canadian Pet Will & Legal Care Kit Legal care planning documents for pet owners including provisions for pet care in wills, priced at CA$19.95.
• Equine Law Product Line Specialized legal document kits and a reference EPUB for the Canadian horse industry including co-ownership, boarding, breeding, lease, purchase and sale, syndicate, and waiver/release agreements, priced CA$139.95 to CA$299.95.
• Business Books Product Line Books and guides for small business covering business plans, start-up guides, marketing, sales, cannabis retail, and meeting/event planning. Includes the Start & Run series and the Cannabis business guide.
• Real Estate Books Product Line Books and forms for real estate transactions, landlord-tenant matters, and property management.
• Law Books Product Line Legal self-help books covering wills, divorce, prenuptial agreements, incorporation, and executor guidance.
• Personal Finance Books Product Line Personal finance guides including cross-border financial topics for Canadians and US-connected readers.
• Reference Books Product Line Reference materials including digital content, environmental/sustainability guides (Greening Your... series), and newcomer resources.
• Writing Guides Product Line Books on business writing and book writing techniques, including the third-edition Writing for Children and Young Adults guide.
• EPUB/eBooks Digital Format Electronic book (EPUB) format versions of selected titles available for download, including Canadian Equine Law at CA$12.99.
• CD-ROM Legacy Products Physical CD-ROM products containing legal form kits for Windows and Multi-OS (Windows, Mac, Linux); legacy format retained in the catalogue.
• Eldercare Resources Product Line Books and guides on aging, caregiving, dementia in the family, fall prevention, and home adaptations for seniors.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Toronto PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrint distributor for Canada handling distribution and supply of Self-Counsel Press books throughout Canada.
• Independent Publishers GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution center at 600 N. Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL 60624 handling US distribution. Toll-free: 1-800-888-4741.
• Footprint BooksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Australasia covering Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea. Located at 4/8 Jubilee Avenue, Warriewood, NSW 2102, Australia.
• Roundhouse Group (UK)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK distributor at Unit B, 18 Marine Gardens, Brighton, BN2 1AH, UK.
• SG Distributors South AfricaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouth African distributor at PO Box 781021, Sandton, 2146.
• Advantage Quest (Malaysia)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMalaysian distributor at 37 Jalan SS26/14, Taman Mayang Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
• Ampersand (Canadian Sales Reps)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCanadian sales representative firm with offices in Toronto (Head Office, 321 Carlaw Ave) and Richmond BC (2440 Viking Way). Handles regional sales coverage for Ontario/Nunavut, Quebec/Atlantic, BC/Alberta/Yukon, Vancouver Island, and Manitoba/Saskatchewan/NWT.
• Staples CanadacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Canadian retail chain carrying Self-Counsel Press titles in stores and online.
• Indigo/ChapterscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Canadian bookstore chain and online retailer for Self-Counsel Press titles.
• Barnes & Noble (USA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor US bookstore chain and online retailer for Self-Counsel Press titles.
• BookManagerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCanadian book industry platform used by independent bookstores for inventory and ordering.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LegalZoom: Online legal services platform offering wills, business formation, and legal documents as paid SaaS-like products. Competes directly with WillKit and Self-Counsel's downloadable kits at the consumer end, but operates at vastly larger scale as a venture-backed incumbent.
• Rocket Lawyer: Subscription-based online legal services platform providing document generation and attorney consultations. Overlaps with Self-Counsel's will and business-formation offerings as a digital-native alternative to static form kits.
• FindLaw: Thomson Reuters-owned consumer legal information site offering free legal articles, forms, and directory services. Competes for the same DIY legal self-help traffic in the US market that Self-Counsel serves in Canada.

Direct peers

• Nolo: Long-established US DIY legal self-help publisher producing books, legal forms, and online tools across wills, divorce, business formation, and real estate. Most direct analogue to Self-Counsel Press's catalog structure, though with a US-jurisdiction focus.

Regional players

• Lone Pine Publishing: Canadian independent publisher with a long operating history (similar vintage to Self-Counsel), producing practical non-fiction across regional and self-help categories. Comparable in scale and Canadian independent trade-publishing orientation.
• House of Anansi Press: One of Canada's largest independent publishers with broad trade and literary catalog and national retail distribution. Comparable as a Canadian independent publisher of established vintage, though Anansi is materially larger and more diversified.
• Arsenal Pulp Press: Vancouver-based Canadian independent trade publisher with similar West Coast roots and comparable independent-press scale. Relevant as a regional Canadian publishing peer of similar size and orientation, though focused on literary and cultural titles.
• Dundurn Press: Independent Canadian trade publisher with comparable mid-sized catalog and similar reliance on Canadian retail and library distribution channels. Comparable as a Canadian independent publisher of comparable scale, though Dundurn's focus is more literary and historical.
• Heritage House Publishing: Canadian independent publisher operating from Victoria, BC with a comparable distribution model through major Canadian retail and trade channels. Similar regional scale and trade-publishing orientation, though not focused on legal content.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SelfCounsel
• Facebookfacebook.com/selfcounselpress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/self-counsel-press
• Pinterestpinterest.com/SCPBooks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Self-Counsel Press