Bonnier closes UK self-publishing platform Type & Tell

In the UK, Bonnier has closed its self-publishing platform Type & Tell eight months after it was launched, reports the Bookseller.

According to the Bookseller, around 500 UK users were signed up to the platform, which offered authors control over their typesetting, design, editorial teams, pricing and distribution in print and digital. Users paid for the services upfront in return for 100% royalties.

UK manager Jon Watt and two other employees have been made redundant. Watt said Type & Tell’s Swedish parent company had made the decision to close the UK arm after a ‘reassessment of Bonnier Books’ group publishing priorities’.

‘I think the self-publishing services market is quite a slow burner,’ said Watt. ‘We’re asking authors to invest money in their writing and that’s rarely an instant decision. It’s not automated, it’s about building a relationship and that takes time.’

Type & Tell is the second self-publishing platform to close in as many weeks, following Macmillan’s decision to close Pronoun in the US last week.

Category: International news