As a
publisher,
you create
the value. But do you
capture it?

We build websites for book publishers — with your catalogue, your own shop, and the reader data no other channel will give you.

From the team behind PublishersGlobal

Book a 15-minute conversation

“The essence of the change brought about by digital was less about formats than the shift to the end consumer… Cracking that code of discoverability in this new digital world — that is the task for book publishers today.”

Markus Dohle, former CEO, Penguin Random House

The reality

In most industries, the internet weakened the middlemen. In publishing, it made them stronger.

Retailers, distributors, and platforms have gained power. Publishers — the people who find the authors, take the editorial risk, and invest in quality — have lost it. Not just margin. Control.

Your books exist online. Your brand doesn’t.

Your titles sit as isolated listings on dozens of platforms, presented however each channel sees fit. You manage your metadata — the single biggest lever for discoverability — in spreadsheets. And 1.4 million self-published titles a year bury you in noise that makes curation invisible.

Your readers exist. Your relationship with them doesn’t.

Bookshops don’t share customer data. Distributors don’t. Online retailers don’t. It’s not a failing of any single channel — it’s how the industry is wired. Without reader data, you can’t build an audience. Every new title starts from zero.

You take the risk. Someone else takes the margin.

Someone else decides the discount. Someone else decides when you get paid. But the real cost isn’t just the margin you lose on each sale — it’s the reader data you never receive. Every book sold through a middleman is a reader you’ll have to find again from scratch. The margin funds your next book. The data funds your next sale. Lose both, and every title starts from zero.

The next wave of discovery will skip you entirely.

When readers ask ChatGPT or Perplexity for a book recommendation, those tools surface websites, shops, and editorial content — not marketplace listings. Publishers without their own digital presence don’t appear. This isn’t a future problem. It’s happening now, and each month the pattern deepens.

What we build

The tools to take back control exist. We built them around how publishers actually work.

It all works together — catalogue, shop, reader data, metadata. You own it, not rent it. Start where you need to. Add the rest when you’re ready.

Your catalogue, properly presented

The one place online where your list exists as the curated collection it actually is — not scattered listings on someone else’s platform.

Browsable catalogue with series/format/contributor support
Author pages that build discoverability
Admin panel for easy updates
ONIX-compatible data structures from day one
Search-optimised so your books surface — in traditional search and AI discovery

Build an audience that’s actually yours

Every other marketing channel is rented. Social media algorithms change. Ad costs fluctuate. Your email list is the one audience asset you fully own — and every site visit is a chance to grow it. We build the mechanisms that give readers a reason to arrive, a reason to return, and a reason to tell you who they are.

Email capture and newsletter sign-up built into every touchpoint
Buy links auto-generated from ISBN
Blog/news/events to drive repeat visits
Social sharing and open graph optimisation

Your own shop

Keep the margin and the data. Works alongside your other channels — not a replacement, an addition.

Full e-commerce
Special editions/bundles/pre-orders/signed copies
Inventory synced with catalogue
Customer data you own

Your ONIX metadata, handled

ONIX is what connects your catalogue, your shop, and every sales channel into a single consistent system. Generic website builders don’t understand it. We built on it from day one — so your site stays in sync with your title management system without duplicate data entry or manual updates.

ONIX 2.1 and 3.0 feed processing
Automated catalogue updates
Metadata enrichment and quality checks
Integrations with title management systems

Why us

We didn’t discover publishing last year.

We’ve been building for the web since 1998 and for the publishing industry since 2008. Our platform is built on ONIX from the ground up — not bolted on as an afterthought. When we say we understand your world, it’s because we’ve been in it.

28 yrs

Building for the web

Since 1998, through every era of the internet. We think in decades, not quarters.

20K+

Publishers in our network

PublishersGlobal connects the publishing industry across 135 countries. We’ve maintained it since 2008.

Big 5

Publishers licence our content

Our sister company, Pitara Kids Network, has had its content licensed by OUP, Cambridge, Pearson, HarperCollins, and Macmillan.

Direct

No handoffs

No account managers, no support tiers. The person you speak to is the person who makes the decisions and understands your needs.

Work with us

It starts with a conversation.

Fifteen minutes — no pitch deck, no pressure. If we’re the right fit, we’ll send a clear proposal: what we build, what it costs, and a realistic timeline based on where your data is today. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so.

Built for you if —

You publish 50+ titles and your website doesn’t reflect your list

You want a direct channel alongside existing distribution

You work with ONIX metadata — or want to — and need your site to stay in sync

Probably not if —

You need a website tomorrow — we do thorough work, not rush jobs

You’re after a template you can fill in yourself

You already have a tech team that builds custom solutions

Your books.
Your readers.
Your terms.
Let’s build it.

Fifteen minutes, no commitment. Just an honest conversation about where you are and what might help.

Prefer to read first?

A Catalogue of Strangers — what the data says about selling direct, how other publishers are doing it, and what it takes to start. Free, no email required.

Download the report (PDF)

As a publisher, you create the value. But do you capture it?