Crossroads Publishing Group
§ Engagements · How we work
Crossroads is organized around five engagement tiers. Each has a defined scope, a transparent price, and a clear relationship to the others. Most writers begin with Tier I or Tier II. Some come straight to Tier III or IV with a manuscript ready to go. The Studio Retainer (Tier V) is for continuing relationships and for authors whose engagement has rolled past its window.
All pricing below reflects founding-author rates locked through August 31, 2026. New pricing applies to engagements signed September 1 and after.
A 90-minute strategic conversation. We listen, we read whatever you've sent, we tell you plainly what kind of book this is, what kind of press should publish it, and whether Crossroads is the right home. You leave with a clear next move whether or not we end up working together.
Credited in full toward any larger engagement signed within 60 days.
An eight-page editorial diagnostic. Names what the book is, what it wants to be, what it comps to, what is missing, what is keeping it from becoming itself, and what the next concrete move is. The deliverable is the document; the function is the decision-making instrument for the larger engagement.
Credited in full toward a Compile to Publish or Architected engagement signed within 60 days.
For manuscripts that are functionally finished and need polish, layout, design from one of three Crossroads house cover families, ISBN, metadata, and distribution through IngramSpark and Amazon. Six-month engagement. No structural revision included.
Includes everything required to publish under the Crossroads imprint as a real book — real ISBN we own, real distribution, real press release at publication, submission to trade reviewers and eligible awards, placement in our catalog.
For manuscripts that need real revision. Editorial architecture (structural editing, manuscript reshaping), then compile-to-print (polish, layout, cover from one of three house families, metadata), then a distribution and launch playbook. Six-month engagement. The Editorial Framing Brief is folded in.
Includes the full Compile to Publish scope plus the editorial architecture phase and the launch playbook. The most common engagement and the one we are best at.
A continuing relationship for authors who need ongoing editorial presence. Defined scope per month: five hours of editorial work (manuscript review, line editing, sample chapter feedback, query letter or synopsis polish, jacket-copy iteration) plus one 60-minute coaching and strategy call. Three-month minimum; month-to-month thereafter. Pause-able with two weeks' notice.
Use cases: post-engagement continuation, pre-engagement development for manuscripts that need work before Architected can begin, bridge for authors whose six-month engagement window has passed but the manuscript isn't yet delivered.
Crossroads coordinates a network of vetted partner specialists for clients who want a launch campaign that goes beyond the included infrastructure. Each partner service is transparently priced. Crossroads keeps a referral margin disclosed in the engagement contract; the rest goes to the partner. None of the services below are required.
Partner relationships are disclosed transparently in every engagement contract. We never promise sales results — the promise is the campaign infrastructure and the partner's process, not the outcome.
Most authors begin with a free 15-minute discovery call. We talk about your book, what stage it's at, and which engagement (if any) is the right next move. There is no pressure to commit on the call.