WestBow Press

Luther Blackwell was great

Luther Blackwell was great. Donna who was sapposed to help send marketing materials, was not so great. It took her WEEKS and actually MONTHS to send two links for marketing. I had to ask multiple times for her to send. That is it.

Marketing personHas neglected her…

Marketing personHas neglected her responsibilities.She finally answered my email but I still have Questions that she has not answered

WestbowPress, A Bigger Nightmare Than The Twilight Zone

I started pursuing options for publishing a book that I was writing 5 years ago. Then I stumbled across WestbowPress. Seeing that it was corresponding with Thomas Nelson & Zondervan, I thought it was worth moving forward with. I had a consult where I was taken through the publishing packages and their details. Once I made the commitment to sign up, I thought I was closer to finally being published. I was getting calls very often. I fortunately signed up when they put the 40% discount, so I signed up for proclaim package. I had numerous conversations with Jana Philips about the package, and what was included, down to the smallest detail. It took me a year to pay for it all, so my book had been sitting around. It began to raise concerns when the only time I would receive calls from them was when they were looking for a payment. Finally, after a year, I went into the editing phase. The editing team reached out to me and we talked. At first, it felt like my manuscript was going in the right direction, then that's when the hidden fossil was found. I was told that the editing for my book would be $2,000 - $3,000. It didn't sit right with me. I asked him if it was necessary to buy their editing services, he gave possible other options, but said their service was professional and that's what my book needed, or it likely wouldn't do well. After the high-pressure upsell, I asked about marketing, which he said I would also need, beyond the marketing that was an addition to my proclaim package. That's about $2,000 more dollars. I trusted the process, so I bought the editing service. What a terrible mistake that was! Once I received my manuscript back, my words packed their bags and left. It was absolutely horrible! I went through my entire manuscript, and there wasn't one chapter where I wasn't fixing something. My entire manuscript was botched! Missing sentences, broken sentences, incomplete sentences, missing words, misspelled words. It took me about a week to fix everything. I wasn't able to finish the payments on it because I wasn't planning from the beginning to buy editing services. And why should I finish payments on something that I had to redo myself. I paid them to clean up their mess they made of my book. They took my money, and I got nothing! Some professional editing service… Here I am, a year later, and my book has still been sitting around. I've addressed the editing to them, and nothing was done. I finally gave up because I don't want my book just sitting around anymore when I can just publish my book myself. That is the best option for anyone looking to publish your book. Go buy your own ISBN, design your cover yourself, or hire someone, use A.I for editing, and learn how to market your book yourself. You'll save thousands of dollars! Westbow is just after your money. Watch how fast they call you when you ask for a consult, or are looking for money, then watch how they communicate and resolve things when there are issues, or you're looking for a refund. After all of this, I decided to withdraw my book. With their pricing, it would've never gotten published. All they're interested in is funneling you through more upsells, and services which costs thousands of dollars. I contacted them for a refund, hoping that, being outside the window for a refund, they would've offered compassion due to the indescribably horrible service I was given on the editing. Did they? No. All I received was an automated email from Amanda Shoaf, with an attachment of the author agreement. Instead of doing a Christian thing after pocketing your money on poor services that they do for your book, they'll put the author agreement in your face. I called billing again after a couple of days with the same story. All I got was, “I'll send an email.” I got the same email verbatim, just as before. So they send automated emails out instead of personally contacting you to address the problem. I cannot, in good conscience recommend this publishing company to anyone! This is what 2 Peter 2:3 warns about; that false believers will make merchandise of you. I'm not saying that everyone who works there is a false believer. But I find it difficult to believe this is labeled a Christian publishing company, but has no morals for how they're robbing God's people. They won't make an exception for you. They don't care about you. They will give you a mess of a service that you pay for, and will not offer any kind of compensation or remedy. This company is fleecing the flock, making merchandise of God's people. They treat you like you're donating charity money when it comes to refunds. What do you say, WestbowPress?  Do you think God is pleased with you taking people's money (money some don't have, that make sacrifices to get their book published)?

I Like Me

Mr. Luther Blackwell. He was kind and replied to texts and phone messages in a prompt manner. Jeff Sloan very nice, upbeat and also responded in a timely manner

I've Got Something to Say

Thus far as a new author, my experience with West Bow Publishing has been refreshing. The newly entitle book "I've Got Something to Say, #77 Motivational Quotes" was a little challenging to trust the process of progress at first, however, I overcame the fear of stepping out with allowing my creativity of writing to flow. With the assistance and patient support from Eric Schroeder, May Arado, & Kelly Wilson, I was able to follow through very well. Thanks a bunch, to the marketing team as well.

Honest Review

The analysis and consulting work you do is helpful and encouraging.

Impressed!!

Im so glad I did choose west bows press because they were very patient with me and they really gave me the time I needed! Excellent work from west bow press!!

Bryan VinsonUnited States · 1 review · Experienced 2026-05-01 · Posted 2026-08-01

My first book

My first book, I was happy with communication. The timeline was what I was told. The book turned out great, inside and out.

They were helpful

Great Experience with WestBow

I would highly recommend working with WestBow and all their friendly staff! They guided me with kindness and wisdom during the publication process as a first time author. Any questions or concerns I had they were only a call or email away and always responded promptly. I would say because of WestBow, I am highly likely to write more books!

I’m the author of smokescreens and…

I’m the author of smokescreens and ordering online was easy but also communicating with staff over the phone and email has been easy every time as well everyone has been very respectful and polite

When I began the processs

When I began the processs, I was told that I would have help with website and post-pub publicity. That hasn't happened, even though I paid for it. I received little or not constructive feedback during the writing process. No persoanl contact or conversation about what worked or didn't in my text. The people I spoke with have been very nice, but reaching people with questions has been difficult. I was told Westbow was a link to the standard publishing arms of the company, but receive not information about how or why that would happen. Janet McMullen When I signed up, I was given the impression that there would be more personal feedback about the book. Maybe I misunderstood. But I have been disappointed. My book does look great! This is my first time, so maybe I missed some rungs on the learning curve. Blessings. j

A Satisfied Customer

Throughout the process, I felt that Westbow's representatives were professional and gave me clear instructions. They were responsive when I had questions. As well, they were quick to do their part and didn't delay moving forward in production and publishing.

I liked that I could make payments for…

I liked that I could make payments for three months to pay for the initial $1,499 for the service I chose. I liked that I was given a free modification form for the interior formatting and allowed extra time to re-edit my work one time. I did re-edit twice, so I had to pay for the second one. The turn around time for the editing was very quick, and mostly done as requested the first time. There were some requested changes that were not right, so be sure to check everything you ask to have corrected. They do correct their errors for free. I paid for some professional reviews through Westbow Press, to be conducted through three different outside review companies. As of right now, I have not received any. I paid for the reviews on May 14, 2026, and today is July 22,2026, and I have not received any responses as of yet. I found that some of the paperwork associated with the reviews to be confusing. I made a mistake and then apologized; however it has been two weeks and my e-mail has not been responded to yet, from my contact person. My biggest complaint is that when the book was printed and I bought some copies, the image I chose for the cover did not reflect the color of the image I chose from Getty Images. When I complained, I was told THEN that the image I saw on my computer screen would not be as I saw it, but was darker. Instead of a brilliant blue, which is what I chose, it came out printed as a medium gray color. Be sure to ask to see what the actual printed cover will look like BEFORE YOU AGREE. For there is an extra charge to change it after the fact. Make sure you get FULL DISCLOSURE SO YOU CAN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

Bob DeGroff was an incredible

Bob DeGroff was an incredible, professional and efficient point man. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and plan on making the seven hour trip from Memphis to Indianapolis to meet and thank him! The design team communicated poorly in the placement of the book’s pictures, although I was very clear with my instructions including to contact me with any questions. However, they failed to contact me and thus sat on production for two additional weeks before my prompting and caused us to miss our publication deadline with the media. If I work with WestBow on my next book, I would insist on having Bob DeGroff again and write into the contract that the Design team take only two weeks

Good publishing service but communication can be slow

Good publishing service but follow through is slow and they can respond to communication/requests sooner.

I would like to give a higher rating…

I would like to give a higher rating because half of my experience with WestBow was excellent, truly excellent, while the second half has been terrible. The line of delineation has been pre-publication vs. post-publication. The initial stages of the publication process exceeded my expectations. Communications were prompt, all interactions were polite and respectful, all the information I needed was relayed proactively and everything happened according to plan and even ahead of schedule—both of which were relayed to me ahead of time so I knew what to expect and when. The entire pre-production process was a joy. Truly well done and well executed by a team that seemed eager to help. That team set the service quality bar very high. However, once my book was published all that professional service quality evaporated. It was as if something was turned off. Communications from WestBow provided inconsistent information, they were very delayed, I had to ask for WestBow to deliver parts of the publishing package I purchased, and some of my appeals to customer support and to my designated post-production contacts have gone without a response. WestBow could really improve the post-publication process by aligning it with the same standards as the pre-publication process. Provide authors a project manager who communicates proactively, provides consistent (and accurate) information, proactively delivers all that the author purchased, and checks-in with care rather than trying to upsell services.

The publishing went well and I'm happy with the book

The publishing went well. I should have done a better job of editing,

Keeping in touch and replying to our…

Keeping in touch and replying to our emails as well as providing us with helpful information as this was our first book as authors.

Poor Communicators

One of the biggest disappointments I experienced with WestBow Press was their lack of communication. Throughout the publishing process, I found it difficult to get clear, timely responses. When I expressed legitimate concerns or frustrations, I was hoping for understanding and accountability. Instead, I consistently received explanations or excuses rather than a simple acknowledgment or apology. To their credit, WestBow does offer a broad distribution network and can help get your manuscript into the marketplace, which is certainly a positive aspect of their service. However, for authors, communication is just as important as distribution. Publishing a book is a significant investment of both time and money, and authors deserve to feel heard, respected, and kept informed throughout the process. Based on my overall experience, I can only give WestBow Press 2 out of 5 stars. While they have strengths in distribution, their customer communication and responsiveness need significant improvement.