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Family owned, established 2011. Every right stays with the author.
Est. 2011
About
Us
Us
We help authors in the United Kingdom publish properly and keep every right to their work. Writing, editing, design, registration, distribution and the events that follow — under one roof, at a pace that suits the book.
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More about us →
Bath — United Kingdom
Founded by two people who spent thirty years in trade publishing. We take on a limited number of books each year, so you speak to the same editor from the first call to the last proof.
No.ServiceWhat it isFee
Nothing bundled. Nothing compulsory.
Not sure? Find your path →
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Words from
our authors
our authors
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Services08 under one roof
Each service stands alone. Most authors begin with an audit, then take the two or three things their book actually needs. Fees are fixed in writing before work starts.
No.ServiceWhat it isFee
Most authors start with an audit. Send us the manuscript, or simply tell us what the book is about, and we will tell you plainly what it needs next.
First conversation free
Start a conversation
Tell us about the book. We reply within five working days.
Where the book is now
What help do you need
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Your manuscript details stay with us. We never share or forward them.
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Four stages · fixed fee
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From an author
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Fill in as much as you know. A rough word count and two sentences about the book are enough to begin — we will ask the rest on the call.
By telephone+44 (0)20 7946 0812
Mon–Fri, 9am–5.30pm
Mon–Fri, 9am–5.30pm
By post14 Chandos Street
Bath BA1 2QT
Bath BA1 2QT
Send an enquiry
Where the book is now
What help do you need
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Your manuscript details stay with us. We never share or forward them.
About usEst. 2011 · Bath
We spent three decades inside large publishing houses. The books we most regretted losing were rarely bad — they were simply too small, too specific or too late in someone’s life to fit a sales forecast. Mercer & Vale exists to publish those books properly.
How we
came to it
came to it
The first book we published under our own name was a history of a Lancashire mill written by a retired engineer in his seventies. Four houses had told him the readership was too narrow. It sold eleven hundred copies in its first year, and he signed every one he could reach.
That set the pattern. We work with first-time authors, with people writing at the end of a career rather than the start of one, and with authors who published elsewhere and found the result unrecognisable. We are a family business: the second generation now runs production and marketing, and the reading is still done in the same room.
We take on a limited list each year, we say no when a book is not ready, and we tell authors when the honest answer is to spend nothing yet and write for another six months.
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Three of us · one room
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Send us the first three chapters. We reply within five working days, and the first conversation costs nothing.
Which path?Publisher or your own imprint
Both paths end with a book in a reader’s hands. They differ in what you give up to get there, how long it takes, and who decides. Here is each one, honestly, so you can judge which one your book wants.
01 — The two journeys
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02 — Side by side
QuestionMercer & ValeTraditional publisher
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We’re not saying traditional publishing is wrong. We’re saying the terms have never favoured the author.
03 — The small print
None of this makes trade publishing dishonest. It is simply the part of the conversation that happens after the contract, rather than before it.
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04 — Our side of it
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05 — Is traditional right for anyone?
Yes, and for some authors it is plainly the better choice. If you already have a large public platform, if your ambition is literary prize recognition, or if the validation of a trade imprint matters to you more than the terms, a publisher can offer things we cannot. We will tell you so if we think it applies to your book.
Send us the first three chapters, or simply tell us what the book is about. We read everything that arrives, and the first conversation costs nothing.
ResourcesBlogs
What we find ourselves saying to authors again and again, written down so you can read it before you pay anyone.
ResourcesFree guides
The same documents we send our own authors. No charge, no newsletter required — an email address is enough.
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ContactReply within five working days
Every enquiry is read by an editor, not a form handler. The first ninety-minute conversation is free, whether or not you go on to commission anything.
By telephone+44 (0)20 7946 0812
Mon–Fri, 9am–5.30pm
Mon–Fri, 9am–5.30pm
By post14 Chandos Street
Bath BA1 2QT
Bath BA1 2QT
Enquiry
Start a conversation
Where the book is now
What help do you need
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Your manuscript details stay with us. We never share or forward them.
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