Author.Inc vs. Greenleaf Book Group

A book for your business, or a book for the shelf.

We aim the book at your business. Greenleaf aims it at the book trade.

Greenleaf's model, royalties, and timelines on this page come from greenleafbookgroup.com, their FAQ, and Greenleaf's own 2026 brochure, quoted directly, as of August 2026.
What each firm optimizes for

Two different jobs

Author.Inc builds the book as a business asset. The idea is pressure-tested with your readers, you speak the book across two recorded days, and the manuscript is built from your own recorded words. It publishes in 6 to 8 months with the copyright, the ISBN, and 100 percent of royalties in your name, and the launch is aimed at your first 1,000 copies and the business the book opens.

Greenleaf optimizes for the book trade. You submit, a committee decides, and an accepted book enters the retail machine: catalog seasons, buyer presentations, print runs, warehousing, and returns. It is real infrastructure, and it measures success in shelf presence, awards, and copies, which is a different job than filling your pipeline.

35% of cover price
Their trade royalty, per their 2026 brochure. Direct sales pay the author 100%.
Paid 90 to 120 days after sale
Net of returns. The trade is, in their brochure's words, ultimately a consignment business.
Fewer than 10% accepted
Their stated selectivity, with a two to six week evaluation across their FAQ and brochure.
The signature difference

Distribution won't move the needle

More than 70 percent of US book purchases happen online, across print, ebook, and audio, and online has outsold physical bookstores every year since 2017. Your book sits on that shelf from day one with any publisher. The needle moves on what the book does for your business after it exists.

70%+
of US book purchases happen online, across print, ebook, and audio
Online has outsold physical bookstores every year since 2017, and ebooks run near 80% through Amazon alone. Every publisher's books sit in those stores on day one, ours and theirs.
Author.Inc · Where the needle moves
01
A book built to produce clients, keynotes, media, and pipeline under your name
02
Done-with-you launch strategy aimed at your first 1,000 copies
03
Twelve months of weekly advisory calls with Charlie Hoehn after the book exists
04
100% of royalties and rights, wherever the reader buys
Greenleaf Book Group · Where their model points
01
A sales team pitching retail buyers, aimed at the minority of purchases that happen in stores
02
Shelf placement that stays a buyer's decision, on print runs you fund
03
35% of cover price on trade sales, paid 90 to 120 days later, net of returns
04
Marketing and brand services priced separately, with success measured in trade terms

The return comes from what the book produces after launch. That is the part we build.

Online purchase share: WordsRated, online book sales statistics. The Association of American Publishers' 2025 StatShot reports online retail outselling physical retail nearly two to one. Greenleaf terms from their 2026 brochure.
What the money buys

One number, or an open meter

Greenleaf publishes no pricing. Their brochure structures editorial by the hour and production by the project, and the author funds the print runs. Here is what sits inside each engagement.

Author.Inc
$75,000

Idea validation with your readers, two recording days, the full editorial cycle, custom cover and interior design, publishing with 100% of rights and royalties, launch strategy to your first 1,000 copies, and twelve months of weekly advisory calls with Charlie Hoehn. One number, stated before the first call.

Greenleaf Book Group
Quoted per project

Editorial billed by the hour and production negotiated per project, per their brochure. You fund the print runs, warehousing runs 6 cents per book per month, and marketing campaigns are priced separately. Third-party reviews report $15,000 entry points climbing to six figures. The meter reflects the model: a trade operation with real costs at every stage.

Terms from Greenleaf's 2026 brochure and FAQ. Third-party pricing from selfpublishing.com and ghostwritingsolution.com reviews, 2026; Greenleaf publishes no pricing. Trade royalties: 35% of cover price, paid 90 to 120 days after sale, net of returns, per their brochure.
Getting in, and getting to market

Who decides, and when

How fast can you start?

Author.Inc

Talk to a founder this week. If we are a fit, the timeline is set by you, and we will tell you if the book should wait.

Greenleaf Book Group

You submit and a committee decides. Their FAQ says you hear back in two to four weeks, their brochure says four to six, and fewer than 10 percent get in.

How fast is it on sale?

Author.Inc

Published in 6 to 8 months, on a schedule the two of us control.

Greenleaf Book Group

Their headline says as few as six to nine months. Their own distribution podcast says chain buyers need title data seven months before the pub date and presentations run six months out, so full retail placement follows the trade calendar, not yours.

A fair account

When Greenleaf is the right choice

Work with us if the book must feed the business

You want the book in your own voice, on a timeline you control, owned outright with every royalty, and built to produce clients, speaking, and authority for years. You are willing to give it two recorded days and real decisions. That is the whole company, and the buyer we take on.

Greenleaf fits if the bookstore is the goal

If retail shelf presence is the point of your book, Greenleaf is one of the few hybrids that can genuinely pursue it, with 28 years of trade relationships, real selectivity, and a production reputation that holds up. Go in with a manuscript or their coaching, a budget for print runs, and patience for the trade calendar, and they do that job well.

Questions founders ask

Author.Inc vs. Greenleaf, answered

What does Greenleaf Book Group cost?+

Author.Inc's signature service is $75,000 with everything included, and we tell you that before the first call. Greenleaf publishes no pricing: their brochure bills editorial by the hour and negotiates production per project, the author funds the print runs, and third-party reviews report engagements from $15,000 into six figures.

What royalties would I keep?+

Author.Inc authors keep 100 percent of royalties, with the copyright and ISBN registered in the author's name. Greenleaf's brochure pays 35 percent of cover price on trade sales and 100 percent on direct sales, with payment arriving 90 to 120 days after sale, net of returns.

Do I have to write the manuscript first?+

At Author.Inc, no. You speak the book across two recorded days and the manuscript is built from your own recorded words. Greenleaf accepts anything from an idea to a full draft and sells ghostwriting and an editor-coached Spoken Draft program, each priced separately, and a review committee still decides whether you get in.

Who decides if my book gets published?+

At Author.Inc, the two of us on a call, and we will tell you if the book should wait. At Greenleaf, a review committee decides after a two to six week evaluation, and their site says fewer than 10 percent of submissions get in.

How long does each take?+

Author.Inc publishes in 6 to 8 months on a schedule you control. Greenleaf's FAQ says as few as six to nine months, and their own distribution podcast notes chain buyers need title data seven months before the pub date, so full bookstore placement runs on the trade calendar.

What happens after launch?+

Author.Inc stays on the book: launch strategy aimed at your first 1,000 copies and twelve months of weekly advisory calls with Charlie Hoehn, all inside the one number. Greenleaf offers marketing, branding, and digital outreach services priced separately, and its case studies measure success in awards, reviews, and shelf presence rather than business results.

Not every expert should write a book.
speak to a founder to decide if publishing a book with us gets you where you want to go.
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