WestBow Press Reviews 

895
•
TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

3.7

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 69 reviews, most reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Consumers frequently praise the helpful and professional staff who patiently guide first time authors through every step of the publishing journey. Many people appreciate the responsive communication and the smooth handling of their manuscripts to create a polished final product. However, some customers also noted frustrating delays and communication gaps when trying to get updates during the production phase. A few other people also felt that the editing and formatting stages resulted in unexpected errors and issues with the final printed materials. Some reviewers mentioned that reaching representatives for support when problems arose proved quite difficult.

What people talk about most

Product

Customers consistently note mixed experiences with product quality and the overall publishing process. While... See more

Staff

Clients share positive opinions on staff, frequently highlighting the helpfulness, kindness, and professional... See more

Customer service

People report ambiguous experiences with customer service regarding responsiveness and support quality. While... See more

Service

Users describe ambiguous interactions with service, highlighting a sharp divide in their publishing... See more

Response time

Customers had mixed experiences with response time, with some reviewers noting that representatives were... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Bob DeGroff was an incredible, professional and efficient point man. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and plan on making the seven hour trip from Memphis to Indianapolis to meet and thank hi... See more

Company replied

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Luther Blackwell was great. Donna who was sapposed to help send marketing materials, was not so great. It took her WEEKS and actually MONTHS to send two links for marketing. I had to ask multiple time... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

The first printing of my illustrated children’s book had color washed out and pages sized I correctly. I paid again to get these corrected but still had sizing slightly off. They set the price and wan... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

When I began the processs, I was told that I would have help with website and post-pub publicity. That hasn't happened, even though I paid for it. I received little or not constructive feed... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Media & Publishing

Written by the company

WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan, understands that an author’s work is more than just a book. It’s a calling. We empower emerging Christian writers to answer their callings and share their messages of faith through publishing, helping every step of the way with supported self-publishing services that fit authors’ ambitions. As a Christian book publisher we publish books of all genres but specialize in books with Christian morals and inspirational themes.


Contact info

3.7

Average

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

895 reviews

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3.7

All reviews

(895)

73 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Psalms

WESTBOW provided step by step guidance. Some forms were beyond my aged computer to process, but WESTBOW accommodated me with alternative solutions.
However, I would have liked greater visibility of the actual execution of what WESTBOW promised to do for the particular package I purchased.

September 17, 2023
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Easy to follow process!

The process for publishing my book was very organized and well managed. Deliverables were provided earlier than anticipated all along the way up to the published book.

September 16, 2023
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The People at Westbow Make the Company Great

The book to press process was amazingly smooth with only a few hiccups. It is the people at Westbow, however, who make the company great. Special thanks to Cameron Adamson, Leandra Drummly, and Bob De Groff and his staff who were calm, organized, knowledgeable, and just nice, helpful people. I was confident that when I contacted them by email, I would have a response either immediately or by the next morning at the latest. That meant so much to me.

September 10, 2023
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

The first person that I spoke to was…Eric Shroeder. He is just plain excellent. I have chosen WestBow because of him.

The first person that I spoke to was very helpful in making my decision to go with WestBow. And I'm happy about that. My guide for getting the book to the printer was excellent in every aspect. The only place where things have been less than satisfactory is with the website. The person in charge has made no contact with me. I have two emails and have heard nothing from him. This seems to contrary to the excellent service I have come to know at WestBow.

September 9, 2023
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I would use Westbow again.

I would use Westbow again. This was a long journey for me. However, from start to finish, I received excellent customer service. Whenever an issue occurred, it was taken care of promptly and professionally. There was a considerable gap between when I entered my contract agreement and when I submitted my book, but Westbow kept its promise. I would recommend Westbow without hesitation.

September 9, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Poor

Very similar. Hard to reach and talk to anyone. Was pushed at every turn to go to the next step. My book was published with an error on the back cover. They don’t reply to emails or answer calls. Very poor experience.

September 2, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Professional & Responsive…

WestBow is professional and responsive on all levels. You know you're dealing with experience in the publishing industry.
I rated them 4 stars rather than 5 due to a somewhat slow editing process, particularly for the cost and some inefficiencies in making corrections, particularly in the book formatting.

August 4, 2023
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

West Bow has been very timely and…

West Bow has been very timely and responsive. From my initial phone call, they were able to get my book published, on kindle, and Amazon, etc. in less than a month. They were able to answer any question that I had immediately.

August 24, 2023
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Thank you Westbow Press I learned at

Thank you Westbow Press I learned a lot at, from customer service wonderful. The first part was hard to connect to the process, (everything not done in house). But after completing my book the staff has been excellent. The marketing team is fantastic.
Great to work with.

August 23, 2023
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Lower quality than implied or expected from a Zondervan/Thomas Nelson division

1) have one representative follow from start to finish. That way they will understand the project, the development and make helpful suggestions.
2) Make recommendations to improve the presentation of the book to help the author in their first experience of self-publishing and maintain the image of quality for the publishing company.
3) stop upcharging and trying to sell more services in EVERY phase of the process (editing, marketing and publishing).
4) Let us see email responses to the book on the author dashboard.
5) Use the design and layout provided; use the graphics provided. My daughter created an amazing Adobe InDesign formatted book for the publishing committee to view and duplicate. The end product was much less, and all the public domain graphics are black.
6) Answer the phones when people call. I had to leave messages most of the time and received few return phone calls.
7) I think the marketing is good, but a friend told me their purchase was refunded and had to purchase it again.

August 13, 2023
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Integrated software

Adobe, MS Word, Excel, Outlook, Paint, PowerPoint, and Visio all work together in an integrated data stream. This facilitates sharing manuscript data across the writers environment. The author’s job is simplified; time is saved. Visio integration could be tighter. Jesse W. Addison

August 6, 2023
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Comfort Level

I had an amazing time getting my publication needs addressed and met but some of the attention and efforts to keep me comfortable about this collaboration are starting to change.

July 29, 2023

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