Expectations vs. Reality: My BookBaby Publishing Experience
BookBaby Promises Full-Service Publishing — But Delivers the Bare Minimum. An honest review from a first-time children’s book author. I chose BookBaby expecting polished design, strategic support, and a seamless publishing experience for my children’s book More Than a Million Stars. What I received felt more like a basic self-publishing platform than a professional, full-service experience. As a first-time author, I was genuinely excited to bring this project to life. I provided detailed, side-by-side PDFs that clearly outlined what text and images should appear on each page—including speech bubbles. Yet the first proofs came back with the speech bubbles completely blank. This glaring omission should have been caught immediately by any professional and attentive designer. It took multiple rounds of revisions just to reach an acceptable version, raising early concerns about quality control and oversight. The cover was another major disappointment. I hired a seasoned marketer who immediately said, “I can’t even read your title in a thumbnail—it’s just a blur.” BookBaby claimed the font couldn’t be enlarged without pushing it off the page—but that was false. The marketer suggested a professional designer create a vibrant, readable cover with a clear subtitle that looked like a true, professional children’s book—even in thumbnail view. My new cover is now vibrant, beautiful, and clear even at thumbnail size. BookBaby also told me they couldn’t upload a PDF cover file to Amazon and instead submitted a JPEG. A JPEG for a print cover? JPEGs compress the image, flatten colors, and reduce sharpness—resulting in a washed-out, blurry appearance. I was shocked when I saw how dull the book looked on Amazon. Later, a seasoned industry professional told me Amazon actually prefers high-resolution PDFs for print covers—and that using a JPEG often causes significant quality loss. This revealed a serious flaw in BookBaby’s process. This poor display quality was entirely avoidable—and deeply frustrating. Another issue: while my book was published through BookBaby, the back cover and spine never appeared on the Amazon listing. I was told this was due to Amazon’s limitations. But when I later republished the exact same book through KDP, the full wraparound cover—including the spine and back—displayed correctly. This strongly suggests the issue was with how BookBaby submitted the files, not a limitation on Amazon’s end. Other authors should be aware: the way your files are prepared and uploaded directly affects how your book appears to buyers. As for metadata—keywords and categories—BookBaby’s process was surprisingly minimal and unstrategic. They simply asked for a few descriptive words, then passed those to an internal team who added what they thought might work. There was no real research, testing, or optimization. In contrast, the marketer I hired conducted keyword analysis and category research using actual performance tools. His selections generated thousands more views than what BookBaby provided. Once the book was published, communication dropped off. Responses became slower, evasive and less personal. It became increasingly difficult to get clear answers. The helpful, supportive tone I experienced early on seemed to vanish the moment my book was live. BookBaby provided surface-level support. Their design oversight, technical limitations, and hands-off marketing support made it clear they’re not equipped to help your book stand out. If you care deeply about your work, skip BookBaby altogether—and invest in professionals who will treat your book with the respect it deserves. IMPORTANT NOTE ON UNPUBLISHING: BookBaby states that unpublishing may take 4–6 weeks, but my old edition remains available far longer—causing reader confusion and reducing visibility for my updated book. A more transparent publisher would have warned authors or acted to prevent outdated versions from continuing to circulate—BookBaby did neither. While not contractually required to coordinate with Amazon, a company truly committed to the authors would do more to prevent ongoing sales of outdated editions—especially when the author no longer receives royalties. Final Thoughts: This review reflects my personal experience and opinion as a paying customer. It is not intended to defame or harm the company, but rather to share an honest perspective—for the benefit of other authors considering BookBaby’s services. In my opinion, BookBaby does not deliver the care, expertise, transparency or the attention to detail your book deserves. If you’re looking for real publishing professionals, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere.