Dorrance Publishing review: what it costs, what the contract says, what authors report

Dorrance publishes no prices for its three publishing plans (checked 18 October 2026). Its services page says: "The cost varies depending on the level of support and services you require." A Publishing Services Consultant gives a price after a consultation.

The plans and what Dorrance lists in each, from its publishing services page (archived copy):

The same page offers "Print Ready and Expedite services" on request. Add-ons carry no published price either: a Pre-Publishing Report (sample cover, sample pages, a copyright title search), audiobooks (AI text-to-speech, a hired narrator or your own voice), illustrations and three promotion bundles.

What authors report paying is the only figure on record. A BBB reviewer (August 2026) paid $159 a month for 24 months, about $3,800. A BBB complaint (June 2026) gives a package total of $8,100, paid in monthly installments. For scale, published pay-to-publish packages elsewhere run $999–18,599, with a median of about $4,900; see what it costs to publish a book.

Dorrance publishes no author agreement, so its terms cannot be read before you talk to a consultant. Its FAQ says: "Authors retain full rights to their work when publishing with Dorrance." No page states the term of the agreement, whether it is exclusive, how much notice you must give to leave, or whether you keep the print files and cover when you go.

Royalties are described without numbers. The FAQ says the Dorrance Bookstore is "where authors earn the highest royalties", and no page gives a rate for print books or ebooks. The audiobook page is the exception: "For each audiobook purchased, you keep 80% of any royalties." It does not say 80% of what. Earnings appear in an online Earnings Portal; the payment schedule is not published.

The plans list "ISBN Assignment" but do not say whose imprint the number is registered to. That matters if you leave, because an ISBN belongs to the publisher named on it.

Dorrance's own blog gives the right advice here. Its post of 13 October 2026 tells authors to "Ask about additional charges, author copies, payment schedules, and how sales earnings are calculated."

You get a finished, printed and distributed book with one company handling every step. Dorrance says everyone who works on its authors' books is US-based and the books are printed in the USA. After release it handles orders, shipping and customer service for its bookstore, Amazon and other retailers, and distributes print and ebooks through Ingram.

The editing in every plan is light. Its production page describes editing "to refine grammar, spelling, and punctuation while preserving your voice". That is the work of the person who checks every comma, a copyeditor or proofreader, not a developmental editor who fixes structure. Content editing is sold separately, through a writing coach.

Marketing in the Standard plan is email outreach to bookstores, a press release and a bookstore feature. Paid reviews from Kirkus Indie and Midwest Book Review come only in the Prime promotion bundle. The site footer says Dorrance "does not guarantee the sale of any book."

Doing it yourself costs less. Amazon KDP charges $0 to publish. A copyedit of an 80,000-word non-fiction book costs $2,400–3,200 at the EFA's 2026 median rates, and an ISBN costs $125 from Bowker.

Dorrance against IBPA's 11 hybrid publisher criteria

Dorrance calls itself a "full-service hybrid publishing company". Its own blog adds that "Paying a company to publish a book does not, by itself, make that company a hybrid publisher." This is what its pages show against IBPA's criteria, checked 18 October 2026.

Dorrance has an A+ BBB rating and has been BBB-accredited since October 1995 (checked 18 October 2026). The BBB profile shows 58 complaints in the last three years, 9 of them in the last 12 months. Its 105 customer reviews average 4.1 out of 5. BBB states that "Customer reviews are not used in the letter-grade calculation." BBB lists the business as started in May 1989, with alternate names RoseDog Books and Red Lead Press.

Two BBB reviews, one each way:

• "The communication between myself and all of the people I had working with me was and continuing to be phenomenal." (a BBB reviewer, April 2026)
• "I paid $159 a month for 24 months." (a BBB reviewer, August 2026, on a children's book)

On Trustpilot, Dorrance scores 4.6 from 45 reviews: 36 five-star and 4 one-star. Dorrance claimed the profile in July 2026 and pays for a Trustpilot subscription.

• "Dorrance did an excellent job and I give them top ratings for all their work." (a Trustpilot reviewer, October 2026, on a math and physics book)
• "The contract specified 'mechanical' (or grammatical) editing only by the publisher. And no recommendations for style." (a Trustpilot reviewer, May 2025)

The Alliance of Independent Authors rates Dorrance "Watchdog Advisory" and lists its concerns as value, transparency and marketing. Writer Beware discussed Dorrance's emails to authors in "Why Not to Register Copyright for Unpublished Work" (26 February 2013).

Dorrance Publishing lawsuit records on CourtListener show four federal cases brought against the company since 2021:

Dorrance has also filed three trademark suits in the Western District of Pennsylvania against businesses using similar names, in 2023, 2025 and 2026. A news search for 2023–2026 found only company press releases.

On Reddit, authors have asked about Dorrance in at least five r/selfpublish and r/writing threads since 2020. The largest is "Dorrance Publishing?" (r/selfpublish, 53 comments, December 2022); others include "Dorrance Publishing" (r/writing, December 2020) and "Dorrance publishing?" (r/selfpublish, October 2025).

1. Ask for the total price in writing, including the payment schedule and the sum of all monthly payments.
2. Ask for the author agreement before you sign, and find the term, the notice needed to leave, any exit fee, and whether you get the print-ready files and cover.
3. Ask for the royalty rate for each format and channel (Dorrance Bookstore, Amazon, Ingram) and whether it is a share of list price or of what Dorrance receives.
4. Ask whether your plan's editing covers anything beyond grammar, spelling and punctuation. If the book needs structural work, price a developmental edit: $3,200–4,000 for 80,000 words at the EFA's 2026 median rates.
5. Ask whose imprint the ISBN is registered to, who sets the retail price, and whether you can change it.

• Palmetto Publishing publishes a starting point ("start around $1,598") and a per-word copyedit rate, and ALLi rates it Excellent (Partner).
• BookBaby prices components separately, such as $299 ebook distribution and covers from $399, so you can buy only what you need.
• Atmosphere Press describes itself as a selective hybrid and publishes its fees; it is next in this series.
• Amazon KDP plus a freelance copyeditor costs $0 to publish and $2,400–3,200 for the edit, and you keep every right.

See the best self-publishing companies, compared, and vanity press vs hybrid publisher for how to tell the models apart.