About
We built the company we wished existed.
After watching too many authors get surprised by fees they didn't see coming, we decided to do it differently.
Our story
The origin.
Otic Press started with a frustration. Our founders had worked in traditional publishing for years — as editors, designers, and production managers — and watched the self-publishing industry develop a pattern: lure authors in with low headline prices, then layer on fees for distribution, ISBNs, revisions, and anything else that could be itemized after the contract was signed.
The authors who got burned weren't naive. They were careful people who read the fine print and still got surprised. The problem wasn't the authors. The problem was an industry that had decided opacity was a feature.
We started Otic Press on one premise: show every cost before anyone commits to anything. Not a range. Not 'starting at.' The actual number, calculated from the actual inputs, before you send us a single file.
"Self-publishing should be a real option — not a trap for authors who don't know the right questions to ask."
Values
What we actually believe.
Transparency isn't a marketing claim.
It's a structural commitment. Every price on our site is a real price. The calculator produces your actual invoice. We don't have a sales team whose job is to upsell you after you've started.
Authors own their work. Completely.
Your ISBN is registered to you. Your KDP and IngramSpark accounts belong to you. Your royalties go to you. We do the work and step back. We have no interest in being your publisher of record.
Quality and transparency aren't in tension.
We hire experienced editors, designers, and publishing professionals — not the cheapest contractors we can find. Transparent pricing means we have to be efficient, not that we cut corners.
The refund policy should be easy to find.
It's on the pricing page, not buried in a FAQ. If we haven't started your project, you get a full refund. If we have, you're refunded for anything not yet started. No cancellation fees.
Team
The people doing the work.
A small team with deep publishing experience. No account managers, no middlemen.
Dara Osei
Editorial Director
15 years editing fiction and narrative nonfiction at independent presses. Has worked with debut novelists and bestselling authors. Believes developmental editing is the most undervalued service in publishing.
Marta Solís
Design Lead
Cover designer and typographer with a background in literary fiction and genre. Has designed covers for titles that have appeared on the NYT and USA Today lists. Thinks most self-published covers fail at the thumbnail.
James Whitfield
Publishing & Distribution
Former production manager at a mid-size trade publisher. Knows the KDP and IngramSpark systems inside out. Has set up hundreds of titles for distribution and has never missed a metadata field.
Transparent by design. Every service, every price.
See every service and price →