WestBow Press Reviews 

Im so glad I did choose west bows press because they were very patient with me and they really gave me the time I needed! Excellent work from west bow press!!

The analysis and consulting work you do is helpful and encouraging.

Thus far as a new author, my experience with West Bow Publishing has been refreshing. The newly entitle book "I've Got Something to Say, #77 Motivational Quotes" was a little challenging to trust the process of progress at first, however, I overcame the fear of stepping out with allowing my creativity of writing to flow. With the assistance and patient support from Eric Schroeder, May Arado, & Kelly Wilson, I was able to follow through very well. Thanks a bunch, to the marketing team as well.

My first book, I was happy with communication. The timeline was what I was told. The book turned out great, inside and out.

I would highly recommend working with WestBow and all their friendly staff! They guided me with kindness and wisdom during the publication process as a first time author. Any questions or concerns I had they were only a call or email away and always responded promptly. I would say because of WestBow, I am highly likely to write more books!

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 feedback during the writing process. No persoanl contact or conversation about what worked or didn't in my text.
The people I spoke with have been very nice, but reaching people with questions has been difficult.
I was told Westbow was a link to the standard publishing arms of the company, but receive not information about how or why that would happen.

Janet McMullen

When I signed up, I was given the impression that there would be more personal feedback about the book. Maybe I misunderstood. But I have been disappointed. My book does look great!

This is my first time, so maybe I missed some rungs on the learning curve.
Blessings. j

I’m the author of smokescreens and ordering online was easy but also communicating with staff over the phone and email has been easy every time as well everyone has been very respectful and polite

Throughout the process, I felt that Westbow's representatives were professional and gave me clear instructions. They were responsive when I had questions. As well, they were quick to do their part and didn't delay moving forward in production and publishing.

Good publishing service but follow through is slow and they can respond to communication/requests sooner.

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 him!

The design team communicated poorly in the placement of the book’s pictures, although I was very clear with my instructions including to contact me with any questions. However, they failed to contact me and thus sat on production for two additional weeks before my prompting and caused us to miss our publication deadline with the media.

If I work with WestBow on my next book, I would insist on having Bob DeGroff again and write into the contract that the Design team take only two weeks

I liked that I could make payments for three months to pay for the initial $1,499 for the service I chose. I liked that I was given a free modification form for the interior formatting and allowed extra time to re-edit my work one time. I did re-edit twice, so I had to pay for the second one. The turn around time for the editing was very quick, and mostly done as requested the first time. There were some requested changes that were not right, so be sure to check everything you ask to have corrected. They do correct their errors for free.
I paid for some professional reviews through Westbow Press, to be conducted through three different outside review companies. As of right now, I have not received any. I paid for the reviews on May 14, 2026, and today is July 22,2026, and I have not received any responses as of yet. I found that some of the paperwork associated with the reviews to be confusing. I made a mistake and then apologized; however it has been two weeks and my e-mail has not been responded to yet, from my contact person.
My biggest complaint is that when the book was printed and I bought some copies, the image I chose for the cover did not reflect the color of the image I chose from Getty Images. When I complained, I was told THEN that the image I saw on my computer screen would not be as I saw it, but was darker. Instead of a brilliant blue, which is what I chose, it came out printed as a medium gray color. Be sure to ask to see what the actual printed cover will look like BEFORE YOU AGREE. For there is an extra charge to change it after the fact.
Make sure you get FULL DISCLOSURE SO YOU CAN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

I would like to give a higher rating because half of my experience with WestBow was excellent, truly excellent, while the second half has been terrible. The line of delineation has been pre-publication vs. post-publication.

The initial stages of the publication process exceeded my expectations. Communications were prompt, all interactions were polite and respectful, all the information I needed was relayed proactively and everything happened according to plan and even ahead of schedule—both of which were relayed to me ahead of time so I knew what to expect and when. The entire pre-production process was a joy. Truly well done and well executed by a team that seemed eager to help. That team set the service quality bar very high.

However, once my book was published all that professional service quality evaporated. It was as if something was turned off. Communications from WestBow provided inconsistent information, they were very delayed, I had to ask for WestBow to deliver parts of the publishing package I purchased, and some of my appeals to customer support and to my designated post-production contacts have gone without a response.

WestBow could really improve the post-publication process by aligning it with the same standards as the pre-publication process. Provide authors a project manager who communicates proactively, provides consistent (and accurate) information, proactively delivers all that the author purchased, and checks-in with care rather than trying to upsell services.

The publishing went well. I should have done a better job of editing,

The overall process was acceptable. What would be a significant improvement would be to explain the queueing process upfront. Once I responded with the information required for a specific step, my work product(s) went into the internal queue.
It would have been excellent to have been told the estimated time I would spend in the queue based on the current status of the queues. Yes, the upfront materials provided anticipated time frames for review. A "real time" estimate would have been nice.
It would also be highly acceptable to get a periodic update on my relative position in each queue. My experience was there is no communication from the ACM until the work product was finished.
I recognize internal queues is probably the norm in other self-publishing firms.

One of the biggest disappointments I experienced with WestBow Press was their lack of communication.

Throughout the publishing process, I found it difficult to get clear, timely responses. When I expressed legitimate concerns or frustrations, I was hoping for understanding and accountability. Instead, I consistently received explanations or excuses rather than a simple acknowledgment or apology.

To their credit, WestBow does offer a broad distribution network and can help get your manuscript into the marketplace, which is certainly a positive aspect of their service. However, for authors, communication is just as important as distribution. Publishing a book is a significant investment of both time and money, and authors deserve to feel heard, respected, and kept informed throughout the process.

Based on my overall experience, I can only give WestBow Press 2 out of 5 stars. While they have strengths in distribution, their customer communication and responsiveness need significant improvement.

Keeping in touch and replying to our emails as well as providing us with helpful information as this was our first book as authors.

The whole process was quite detail oriented. There was just a lot of effort made towards marketing which incurred additional expenditures.

This disaster trip started January 24th of 2026 after I spent $10,919.31. First I was given an author support person who didn’t know how to communicate. When I made a complaint I was assigned another support person who, at first, was very convincing and concerned about my situation. After 4 months of being told 2-3 weeks here and 2-3 weeks there, I finally received a digitized approval form…..not a physical copy. Upon approval and never receiving my Author copies, I purchased one from Amazon. The book chapters were jammed together, missing the dedication page, cover design and title were not centered, title on the spine not centered………shall I keep going?
After I brought this to their attention, they wanted to charge me for their mistakes. Once I complained and threatened legal counsel, they said they would waive the resubmission fees and fix the screw up. Fast forward a month later and I’m unable to receive the package books which I paid for, the 30 free PROMO books that were part of the promotional package, marketing materials, book stubs, website design and hosting, etc etc etc…….and that’s not all folks. The 10 hardcopy and 30 soft copy books they sent to me that were full of errors will not be corrected and resent. I just have to sit on the books that they made the mistakes in.
Furthermore, when I try and call the marketing guy, Jose Viejo, his extension doesn’t work! How convenient, right?! When I submit an email to him with questions, I do not receive a response to my email, it’s just another basic email that everyone receives. What kind of ponzi scheme , so-called Christian company is this? There are all these companies supposedly selling my book online and it release was supposed to receive at least 100,000 impressions? If statistics are correct, then you’re telling me that not even 1% of that 100,000 didn’t have an interest in my book?
Next issue, the Amazon listing description is all jacked up. Words are cut in half in the description and it’s hard to read. I’ve emailed Jose Viejo the marketing guy once again and here we are with no response and no corrections made.
At this point I am seeking a full refund and legal counsel. DO NOT USE WESTBOW PRESS, not even if your cat wants to publish a how-to guide on catching chipmunks. I wouldn’t even recommend this place to the Taliban. Westbow, I want my money back. You’ve screwed me for the last time. Want pics and verifiable information that I’m telling the truth? Reach out and I’ll provide it.

We chose WestBow Press to provide only the basic publishing services for our book.
In November 2025.

After the project took considerably longer than we had been led to expect, we informed WestBow Press that we wished to terminate our agreement. Interestingly, the very next day they sent us documentation indicating that work had supposedly been completed.

For the past month, I have been diligently working to obtain the refund that WestBow Press claims has already been processed.

We waited several months before anyone contacted us regarding a refund. Although the company maintains that a refund was issued, the documentation they provided raises serious questions. Their own account records show that we supposedly owe WestBow Press the exact same amount, $1,299.50 that they claim was refunded. Those two positions cannot both be correct.

Throughout this process, we have dealt exclusively with one individual identified as a "Resolution and Support Specialist", who has repeatedly assured us that everything on their end has been completed.

My wife, Helen, has also attempted to reach this representative on two separate occasions, leaving voicemail messages both times. To date, neither call has been returned.

We are not looking for conflict. We simply want this matter resolved fairly and completely, just as you did for Matthew NoLastName of Canada.