Independent publishers and small presses

Your authors sign their contracts and accept or reject your edits in Magpie. Readers pre-order each title, and bookshops buy it at your trade discount.

The press works in one Magpie team. Each author opens only the manuscript you share with them.

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Quillwort Press’s board for its 2027 list: two newly signed titles in Inbox, then the titles in editing, in proofs and at the printer, each card with its editor and next deadline.

This combination of six Magpie areas fits a small press.

Kanban Boards
Kanban Boards puts your list on one board, with a card for every title.
E-Signatures
E-Signatures sends your author contract, and the author signs it before you countersign.
Documents
Documents holds each manuscript, and the author accepts or rejects your edits on the page.
Books
Books lays out each title for its proofs, and makes the EPUB for the ebook.
Store
Store sells your paperbacks and ebooks, takes pre-orders and sells to bookshops at your trade discount.
Contacts
Contacts keeps your authors, agents, bookshops and reviewers, with their contracts and invoices.

A new title goes from the author's signature to publication day.

You move its card across the board as each step is done.

  1. The contract

    The author signs your contract from an email, and you countersign. Magpie will email you both a link to the signed PDF.

  2. The edit

    The manuscript comes in from Word. The author accepts or rejects your suggested changes, one round at a time.

  3. The proofs

    You paste the edited chapters into the book's sections. Its PDF goes to the proofreader, and its EPUB becomes the ebook.

  4. Pre-orders

    The paperback goes on sale with publication day as its ship date. Readers pay when they order.

  5. The print run

    Your printer gets the purchase order. The copies you receive go into stock at their cost.

  6. The bookshops

    Bookshops order at your trade discount. Magpie will email each one its invoice, due on its terms.

  7. Publication day

    The ebook goes on sale at the hour you set. The newsletter goes out that morning.

One board shows every title on your list, and the stage each one has reached.

Kanban Boards gives the list a board, with a column for each stage of production. You name the columns after your stages, such as editing, proofs and at the printer. Each title is a card with its next deadline and the editor who has it.

A card can carry To-dos, such as sending first proofs to the author on Friday. Each one is also an ordinary To-do, which can have a reminder. The board's activity log lists every card moved.

Your author signs the contract from an email, and you countersign it last.

E-Signatures sends your own contract as a PDF for signing. Saved as a starter, it keeps the author's fields and yours in place. A new contract then needs only the author's name and email address.

The author is emailed first, and signs without signing in. You countersign once they have. Magpie will email you both a link to the signed PDF and its certificate.

Your edits go to the author as suggestions, and the author accepts or rejects each one.

Documents is Magpie's editor for formatted text, and it holds each manuscript. The author's Word file comes in with its comments, and its tracked changes become suggestions. Before each round, you can save a named version.

Your structural edit and copyedit go in as suggested wording, with your queries as comments. The author, invited to that manuscript alone, accepts or rejects each change. A clean Word export leaves the suggestions and comments out.

Borrowed Rooms in copyedit at Quillwort Press: the editor’s query and the author’s comment in the Comments and suggestions panel, then the editor’s suggested change to accept or reject.

You lay out each title at its trim size, then download the proofs and the EPUB.

Books holds each title as front matter, chapters and back matter. Book Settings sets the type, the chapter numbers and the running heads. The trim size can be 5 by 8, 6 by 9 or 7 by 10 inches.

The copyright page carries your press as publisher, the edition and the ISBN. The PDF, laid out for print, is the proof for the author and the proofreader. The EPUB carries the cover and the contents.

Readers pre-order before publication day, and the print run arrives into the same stock.

Store is the press's online shop, and card payments go to your own Stripe account. A paperback can sell before it is printed, with publication day as its ship date. Readers pay when they order, and pre-orders have their own tab.

The print run goes to your printer as a purchase order, at its cost per copy. Receiving the delivery adds the copies to stock, less the pre-orders already sold. Each sale then records the cost per copy.

The stock of Heron Weather, Quillwort Press’s poetry collection, before publication day: its paperback at minus 112 from pre-orders, with the print run of 1200 copies on order at CA$3.90 a copy.

Bookshops you approve order at your trade discount, and pay on their own terms.

A bookshop applies from your online shop's Wholesale page, signed in to Magpie. You approve it and give it a price list and payment terms. A price list can take your trade discount, such as 40%, off every cover price.

A bookshop on invoice terms orders without a card, and its copies are held. Magpie will email it the invoice, due on receipt or 7, 14, 30, 45, 60 or 90 days after it is sent. It pays online by card, or you record its bank transfer.

Quillwort Press’s Wholesale page in Store: a bookshop’s request waiting for an answer, then the approved bookshops and a gallery shop, each with its price list and invoices due in 30, 60 or 90 days.

Every author, agent, bookshop and reviewer has a page with their contracts and invoices.

Contacts keeps the press's people, tagged as you choose, such as Author, Agent and Bookshop. An author's page lists the contracts they signed. A bookshop that orders on terms is added for you. Its page lists every invoice.

A follow-up has a date and a reason, such as sending a reviewer the proof. It becomes a To-do, and the follow-ups list shows which are overdue.

Quillwort Press’s contacts by name: an author, an agent, a bookshop, two reviewers and a translator, each with a tag, when they were last contacted and the date of the next follow-up, two of them overdue.

Seven more areas cover submissions, review copies, readers, launches, posts, pitches and the accounts.

Forms
Forms takes submissions during your reading period, with sample chapters as a PDF. You close the form when the reading period ends.
Secure Files
Secure Files sends a reviewer the proof PDF or the EPUB by a link that expires. The link can ask for a passphrase.
Newsletter
Newsletter keeps the press's list of readers, and emails them on publication day.
Calendar
Calendar puts a launch on your public calendar, and takes RSVPs up to the room's capacity.
Social Media
Social Media schedules publication day's posts to Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn. For Instagram and X, Magpie reminds you to post.
Outreach
Outreach emails reviewers and booksellers about a new title, one by one, from your own address. A reply stops the follow-ups to that person.
Accounting
Accounting keeps the printer's bill, made from the print run's purchase order. When a copy sells, its cost moves to cost of goods sold.

Setting up takes five steps.

  1. Make a team for the press

    You create a team and invite your editors, designer and publicist. Help: Create and manage a team.

  2. Put the list on a board

    You add a column for each stage of production and a card for each title. Help: Track work with Kanban boards.

  3. Save your author contract as a starter

    You upload the contract and place the author's fields and yours. Help: Signing starters.

  4. Bring in the backlist

    You connect Stripe, then import your titles from a CSV file, each with its ISBN. Help: Import and export products as CSV.

  5. Set your trade terms

    You make a price list with your trade discount, then turn on wholesale requests. Help: Wholesale customers, price lists and pay by invoice.

Plans

A press with staff fits the Team plan, at one price, with 25 member places. An author or copyeditor you invite to one manuscript takes no member place. Paid plans have room for 100 people invited this way.

Each book you lay out belongs to your own account, not to the team. The free plan allows 1, and Pro has no limit. Outreach needs the Team plan.

Magpie adds no fee to online sales or to invoices paid online. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment.

Other writers, booksellers and makers have pages of their own.

Buchhandlungen

A bookshop sells many publishers' titles, in the shop and online. It orders from distributors and holds readings with RSVPs.

Questions small presses ask

Can we follow every title on this season's list in one place?

Yes. A Kanban board can hold the list, with a column for each stage of production. Each title is a card with a due date and the editor it is assigned to. A To-do on a card, such as sending proofs, can have a date and a reminder.

Can authors send us submissions during a reading period?

Yes. A Form can ask for a cover letter and a synopsis. A File question takes the sample chapters as a PDF of up to 10 MB. Authors send it without signing up first. You close the form when the reading period ends.

Can authors sign their contracts online?

Yes. Your contract, as a PDF, becomes a starter with the author's fields and yours in place. The author signs first, from the email, without signing in. Then you countersign. Magpie will email you both a link to the signed PDF and a certificate of completion.

Can we edit a manuscript with the author, with tracked changes?

Yes. An imported Word file keeps its comments, and its tracked changes become suggestions. Your own edits are suggestions too, and your queries are comments. The author accepts or rejects each change, and whoever suggested it is told which. A clean Word export leaves them out.

Can an author open only their own manuscript?

Yes. You invite the author to that manuscript by email address, to suggest changes or to edit. They join the team as a guest who can open that document and nothing else. An address with no Magpie account gets a free one when they accept.

Can a freelance copyeditor or translator work on a manuscript with us?

Yes. You invite them to that manuscript alone, as you would an author. Before each round, you can save a named version, such as Before copyedit. Restoring a version keeps the later work in the history. The document also has its own chat, beside the text.

Can we typeset our books ourselves?

Yes. Books lays out each title in serif or sans type. It adds chapter numbers, page numbers and running heads. The trim size can be 5 by 8, 6 by 9 or 7 by 10 inches. A chapter pasted from the edited manuscript keeps its italics and headings.

Can we send PDF proofs to the author and the proofreader?

Yes. The PDF is laid out at the trim size, each chapter on a new page. You save it from the browser's print dialog. Secure Files can send it by a link that expires, with a passphrase if you choose.

Can we make the EPUB for the ebook?

Yes. Books downloads an EPUB 3 file with the title, author, language, contents and cover. About this book becomes its description. Pictures from your image library are packed into it. Typographer's punctuation gives the EPUB and the PDF curly quotes.

Where do our ISBNs go?

Book Settings has a field for the ISBN. It is printed on the copyright page, beside the publisher and the edition. In the online shop, each edition has a barcode field that takes its ISBN. A 13-digit barcode is given to search engines as the product's GTIN.

Can readers pre-order a book before publication day?

Yes. The paperback keeps selling before its stock arrives, with publication day as its expected ship date. Readers see that date from the product page to their order emails. They pay when they order, and pre-orders have their own tab. The print run counts up from below zero when it arrives.

Can we sell ebooks ourselves, from publication day?

Yes. An ebook is a download, with the EPUB and the PDF as editions, each up to 500 MB. Readers download theirs from their order page or the confirmation email. The product can go live at a date and time you set, such as publication morning. A replaced file reaches everyone who bought it.

Can we order a print run from our printer?

Yes. The print run is a purchase order to your printer, at its cost per copy. You download it as a PDF, or email it from Magpie. Receiving the delivery adds the copies to stock. The printer's bill can then go into your accounts, owed until you pay it.

Can Magpie tell us when a title is running low?

Yes. You give each edition a reorder point. When its available stock falls to it, Magpie will email you. Readers can ask to be emailed when a sold-out title is back. When the reprint arrives, each of them gets one email.

Can review copies and the author's copies come out of stock?

Yes. You record a stock change for the copies you send, with Other as the reason. You say what happened, such as Review copies. The stock history lists it with who recorded it. With two stock locations, you choose which one they left.

Can we import our backlist?

Yes. A CSV file of up to 5,000 rows adds your titles, one row for each edition. A row carries the ISBN as its barcode, the price and the stock. The import lists what it will add before anything changes. New titles come in as drafts.

Can bookshops order from us at a trade discount?

Yes. A bookshop applies from your shop's Wholesale page, signed in to Magpie, and you approve it. Its price list can take a percentage off every title, such as 40%. It sees those prices at your shop's Magpie address. Everyone else sees your cover prices.

Can bookshops pay on 60 or 90 days?

Yes. A bookshop's invoice can be due on receipt or 7, 14, 30, 45, 60 or 90 days after it is sent. Magpie will email it with a Pay online button. On the invoice's page, you can turn on reminders, which stop once it is paid. When it is paid in full, the order will be marked paid.

Can we see how many copies each title sold?

Yes. Your shop's reports list each title's units, sales and margin between any two dates. By variant splits them by edition, such as hardcover and paperback. An order counts on the day it was paid. Each table downloads as a CSV file.

Can we keep our authors, agents, bookshops and reviewers in one list?

Yes. Contacts holds them all, tagged as you choose, and a tag filters the list. An author's page lists the contracts they signed. A bookshop's page lists every invoice billed to it. A follow-up with a date and a reason becomes a To-do.

Can we email our readers when a new book comes out?

Yes. Newsletter keeps the press's list, with a sign-up page and double opt-in. Readers can also tick a box at checkout to join. You write the email, send yourself a test and schedule it for publication morning. A sent email can have a web copy to share.

Can we hold a launch with RSVPs?

Yes. The launch goes on your public calendar, with RSVPs up to a capacity you set. Its page will say when it is full. People RSVP with a Magpie account, and can make one there. Sharing the event starts a social media post about it.

Can we offer proofs to reviewers and booksellers by email?

Yes. Outreach sends each person a short series of emails from your own email address. They go out one at a time, inside the hours you set. Each email can open with a line you wrote for that person. A reply stops the series for them, and arrives in your mailbox.

What does Magpie take from our sales?

Magpie adds no fee to your online sales or to invoices paid online. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. The rest goes to your press's own Stripe account.

Bring your next season's list into Magpie.

Create a Magpie account and make a team for the press.

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