Compared to DIY distribution services like Createspace, LightningSource, KDP and Smashwords, Tellwell offers a full-service team approach to publishing and a better distribution deal. The DIY services listed above are all great, but they don’t help with editing, design, or marketing. They don’t give you guidance at each step. You need to be technically savvy. So, for many authors, they just don’t provide the necessary level of support. Tellwell has better distribution than these companies by combining the best features of each!
Compared to full-service publishing companies like Author Solutions (Authorhouse, Xlibris, Trafford, Iuniverse, Belboa), Tellwell has a much better distribution deal. We work with many of the same distribution channels that they use (e.g. Ingram, Lightning Source, and KDP), but Tellwell doesn’t inflate the distribution costs, at all! The problem with inflated distribution costs is that it can negatively impact how you price your book, resulting in high retail prices and lower royalties. Tellwell offers the smartest distribution model.
We care about quality. We act with honesty and integrity. We listen and improve, constantly. We think long-term.
Tim Lindsay, CEO
Tim has a passion for books and publishing. He encourages and celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit that is so prevalent in indie publishing. With over 10 years in publishing, Tim came to realize that the book publishing industry was broken. All that authors really needed was a small team to help edit, design, distribute and market a book. Passion, teamwork, talent, honesty, and entrepreneurial spirit. These are the values Tim strives to exemplify and cultivate at Tellwell.
Monica Martinez, Marketing Director
Monica has more than 10 years combined experience in storytelling, journalism, and marketing. She works on Tellwell’s content and digital marketing, corporate communications and public relations, to help craft and share the Tellwell story. She also oversees Tellwell’s marketing services program. Before Tellwell, Monica worked as a video-journalist and TV news anchor. She was involved in every aspect of storytelling from shooting, editing and writing.
Pamela Pasco, General Manager
Pamela leads the operations at Tellwell’s Center for Publishing Excellence (CPE) in Cebu, Philippines. She worked in the indie publishing industry starting in 2004 and worked her way up from customer service to leading a publishing operations department.
Pamela’s mandate at the CPE is to find innovative solutions to publishing challenges such as timely workflows, online collaboration, and software development while building a team of talented publishing professionals.
Simon Page, Operations Manager
Alison Strumberger, Managing Editor
In addition to shepherding many of our book projects from start to finish, Alison leads Tellwell’s editorial team. She brings to Tellwell ten years of professional publishing, writing, and editing experience. She has worked as an editor and project manager in trade and educational publishing houses, taught communications at La Trobe University in Australia, and traveled to nearly thirty countries while teaching English and focusing on her own writing.
She holds a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from Concordia University, and an MA in Publishing from the University of Melbourne.
Kevin Matz, Software Engineering Manager
Redjell Arcillas, Assistant Manager – Production
John Henrick Abella, Sales Supervisor
Rhea Mae Inot, Author Satisfaction Specialist
Joy Comendador, Project Manager and Title Distribution OIC
Gezel Zozobrado, Project Manager
Jun Mark Vertudazo, Project Manager and Printing Services OIC
Charlyne Calisang, Project Manager
Sem Delima, Project Manager
Joseph Ragaza, Project Manager
Eden Brillo, Project Manager and Audiobook Service Fulfilment OIC
Mary Grace Gange, Project Manager
Atheena Carilla, Project Manager and Marketing Services Associate
Lyndon Trinidad, Project Manager
Simon, In-house Editor
The youngest son of a linguist with forty-seven unique dictionaries on his shelf, Simon’s excavation of the English language was mandated almost at conception. Mercifully, it all stuck, as a divine infatuation with storytelling manifested sometime after high school and shoved him into the theatre scene. He worked as an actor, then as a playwright, director and journalist for eighteen years.
Elliot, Editor
Jen, Editor
Jen has edited over 200 Tellwell books with rave reviews! She works collaboratively with you to reveal your unique voice while editing your work for logic, clarity, and flow. With meticulous attention to detail, Jen skillfully and artistically guides you through the process of weaving your manuscript until it becomes one unified piece of writing you can be proud to call your own.
Warren, Editor
Warren has worked as a professional editor and ghostwriter for many years. He has worked with self-published and traditionally published authors, and he has played a part in the development of hundreds of manuscripts.
Lara, Editor
Lara comes to Tellwell with fourteen years’ experience working for a major international book publisher. She specializes in editing romance and has edited books across many genres, including thrillers, erotica, fantasy and non-fiction.
Darin, Editor
Darin has helped hundreds of authors say what they mean. He believes that words matter and does his best to refine and polish while maintaining the author’s voice.
Sally, Editor
Sally has more than 11 years of editing experience for three of Canada’s largest and most respected publishing houses. She has worked extensively in the romance genre and has edited university-level textbooks.
Rachel, Editor
Nicola, Poetry Editor
Helen, Editor
Gabrielle, Editor
Laure, Editor
Katie’s marketing experience began during her time working for an international real estate company, but her love for reading started from a young age. Her focus and specialty is in all things children’s literature; although she works with all genres. She enjoys researching new book trends, creating custom materials, and educating authors about all the extraordinary resources available to them. Katie holds an English Literature degree with a minor in Political Science from The University of Victoria.
Katie is a self-proclaimed bibliophile, so when she is not aiding authors at Tellwell, she is likely curled up in one of her favorite book nooks – reading, or rereading, a good book series and she will never turn down a games night.
Get to know Katie better and read her book marketing advice to authors over on our blog.
Chelsea has worked in marketing and communications for over a decade. Her career spans the hospitality and tourism industry to post-secondary institutions; and, most recently, the start-up industry. She’s held roles as a marketing manager, events and promotions coordinator, public relations intern, and social media manager. Chelsea is a graduate of Royal Roads University where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Communication. She also holds a diploma in Public Relations from Algonquin College.
The through-line in her career is her passion for storytelling and connecting with others through collaboration and meaningful communication.
Having relocated from her hometown of Ottawa, she takes advantage of the year-round hiking on Vancouver Island. When she isn’t outside for a hike or run, you can find her knitting, reading, or searching the web for new music.
Get to know Chelsea more and read her marketing advice to authors on our blog.
Angela joins the Tellwell team with a background in marketing, social media, and public relations, and has been in the industry for nearly five years. From an agency that represents children’s toy brands to a not-for-profit entertainment company, Angela has developed a variety of skills to market your upcoming book effectively! Angela is a graduate of the Bachelor of Public Relations program at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario.
An aspiring author herself, Angela is currently writing two books, enjoys walking the trails with her dog, playing card games, and curling up with a good fantasy book.
Learn more about Angela, and her book marketing advice for new authors on our blog.
Joining the Tellwell team, after 5 years of developing engagement strategies for educational institutions, Cassie is an inveterate, and enthusiastic, learner. Supporting Tellwell authors in sharing their newly-published books throughout a variety of mediums, she enjoys the opportunity to adapt and customize these strategies for each author she works with.
In her out of office hours, she is an avid outdoor devotee, exploring the Canadian wilderness as much as she can.
Aside from reading, her favorite rainy day activity is finding the most derelict item in an antique shop, taking it home, and bringing it back to life – it usually makes for a really good story.
Learn more about Cassie and read her book marketing advice to authors on our blog.
Tyler is a part-time marketing consultant with Tellwell. He has a bachelor’s degree in history and English, and a master’s degree in history. He has a strong writing and media background and particularly loves reading non-fiction. His favorite authors include Erik Larson, Sebastian Junger, David Grann, Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft, and Cormac McCarthy.
Tellwell works with Ingram and their print-on-demand operation Lightning Source with printing operations in:
We also print books in Ontario and Quebec Canada, and in Asia.
At our head office we spend a lot of time working on how to give better guidance to authors at each stage of publishing and how to help publishing teams collaborate to achieve their greatest potential.
We are also leading the development of Octavo, our publishing software.
After launching at the beginning of 2015 Tellwell won Douglas Magazine’s 10 to Watch award and we were a finalist for Viatec’s Start-up of the Year.
Our main office is on the West Coast, so what better way to get to know each other than getting outside! Here are some photos from our Fall team-building activities: some canoeing, tightrope obstacle course, and a nice hike. The last photo is an award for being in the Top 50 Growth Start-ups.
The Heart of the Publishing World
Cebu has played and will continue to play a very important role in the evolution of the publishing industry. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s Barnes and Noble and Random House both invested heavily in upstart indie publishing companies and these ventures both culminated with large book publishing operations in Cebu. Since then thousands of people in Cebu have worked in publishing.
But big companies don’t alway provide the best place for top talent to flourish. What has been missing is a smaller company that celebrates talent and teamwork and the pursuit of excellence in publishing. Enter Tellwell! Two of our goals at the Center for Publishing Excellence include being recognized as a great employer so that we can attract and retain the top tier of publishing talent. We are very proud of the team we have built so far!
