Independent Publishers Can Build Their Own Website, Store and Author Portal

Mythex lets an independent publisher build a website with a page per title, a direct store for print and ebook editions, and an author portal for royalty statements, all from one record per book. You describe it in chat and publish it to a live link.

What a small press needs underneath the list

A list of eight or twelve titles a year still generates a surprising amount of data. Each book has ISBNs per format, an extent, a publication date set a year out, a print run and reprints. Sales arrive in different spreadsheets from the distributor, the ebook platforms and your own site. Twice a year someone joins those files by hand, applies each author's contract rates and advance, and writes royalty statements that authors then question. Meanwhile review copies go out with no record of who covered the book, and boxes sent to festivals return lighter than expected. What helps is one title record that the website, the stock count, the sales figures and the royalty statements all read from.

• A title record with ISBN per format, extent and publication date
• Distributor and retailer sales loaded per period and per channel
• Royalties calculated from each contract's rates and advance
• Review copies tracked against who actually covered the book
• Stock counted per edition across warehouse, office and events
• Pre-orders on your own site from the day the cover is final

What you can build for independent publishers

An author portal with statements they can trust

Authors log in to see each royalty statement with the units behind it, split by format and channel, plus their advance and whether they have earned out. Proofs, cover drafts and the marketing plan for each title sit there too, and event and publicity requests wait for an accept or decline. Fewer emails asking how the numbers were reached.

Build an author portal for a small publisher. Each author logs in and sees their titles, their contract terms (royalty rates per format, advance) and royalty statements per six-month period with units sold by format and channel. Show whether each title has earned out its advance. Let me upload proofs and covers per title for the author to see.

Royalties worked out as the reports arrive

Upload each distributor or retailer sales report when it lands, and the dashboard shows sales per title, format and channel, with royalties owed per author calculated from their contract. Stock on hand set against sales pace warns you when a title needs a reprint. Backlist earnings sit next to new titles so the quiet earners are visible.

Make a sales and royalty dashboard for an independent publisher. I upload CSV sales reports from my distributor and ebook platforms. Match rows to titles by ISBN, show sales per title, format and channel per month, calculate royalties per author from their contract rates, and warn when stock covers less than 8 weeks of sales.

Title pages that booksellers can order from

Every book gets a page with cover, blurb, extent, publication date and the ISBN for each format, because booksellers and librarians order by ISBN. Author pages link to all their books and events, a forthcoming list shows next season to reviewers and the trade, and the submissions page states plainly whether you read unsolicited work and in which genres.

Create a website for an independent publisher. Each title page shows the cover, blurb, extent, publication date and ISBNs for paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook. Add author pages linking to their books and events, a forthcoming titles page, and a submissions page with our guidelines.

A direct store for every edition of a book

Sell print, ebook and audiobook editions from one product page, with signed copies and bundles as their own stock-counted items. Ebook buyers get a secure download link after payment. A signed bookplate for buying direct gives readers a reason beyond price. Card payments need a payment provider account you connect yourself.

Build an online bookshop for my small press. Each title has one page with paperback, hardback and ebook options; ebooks send a download link after payment. Add signed copies as a separate limited-stock option and a pre-order button for forthcoming titles that shows the publication date.

A contact list that learns who reads your proofs

Tag booksellers, reviewers, festivals, librarians and agents, and record every advance copy sent and whether it led to coverage. After a few seasons you know which reviewers read your list and stop posting costly proofs to people who never respond. Submissions get their own record with a response date.

Make a CRM for an independent publisher with contacts tagged as bookseller, reviewer, festival, librarian or agent. Log each advance reader copy sent with title and date, and whether it produced a review or event. Show each reviewer's response rate.

Launches and readings linked to the book

Each event has a date, venue, the title and author it features, and either your own RSVP list or a link to the host bookshop's tickets. Online events send a joining link to everyone registered. Listing the shop as host, and letting it sell the books, gets your authors invited back.

Build an events page for a publisher. Each event links to a book and author, has a date, venue and host bookshop, and either an RSVP form or an external ticket link. For online events, email registered attendees the joining link the day before.

From distributor spreadsheets to royalty statements

Start with the title table: title, author, format, ISBN, list price, publication date, royalty rate per format. Then upload one past period of distributor reports and check that every row matches a title by ISBN. Once the numbers agree with your last hand-built statement, add contracts with advances and let the app produce statements. Keep the old spreadsheet for one cycle and compare before you send anything to authors.

• Match sales rows to titles by ISBN, not by title text
• Store rates per format: print, ebook and audio often differ
• Run one period in parallel with the old method

Stock away from the warehouse

Review copies, author copies, damaged returns and event stock should not count as saleable. Give each its own location, check boxes out to festivals and signings, and count them back in. The difference between what left and what returned is what sold, was given away or got damaged, and it stops the stock figure drifting.

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