William Ireland came to us with a powerful, very specific story: a family-run Devon hotel, decades of hospitality life, and a hard-edged campaign for fairness sparked by an email revealed via a Freedom of Information request (“We shall be in for a good scrap, I fear.”).
The brief was clear: publish professionally in both print and Kindle, preserve the warmth and humour of the memoir, handle the technical publishing workflow end-to-end, and create a book website that could support direct sales, press enquiries, and the wider campaign.
Case Study
A Good Scrap I Fear
By William Ireland
The book: A memoir rooted in life at The Cottage Hotel—celebrating the “invisible craft” of hospitality while calling for greater accountability in public life. It blends human stories with documentary evidence, and is positioned as both a personal tribute and a wider “case study” about fairness, community, and resilience.
The author: William Ireland grew up in the family hotel business and wrote the book partly to complete work begun by his late mother, Janet—using her diaries and notes as a foundation.
About the book and author
A memoir rooted in life at The Cottage Hotel
What We Delivered
A full production and launch package
Start-to-finish publishing build—designed to feel traditional-publisher quality while keeping the author in control:
Editing
voice-preserving clarity + flow
Proofreading
final “professional eyes” pass
Interior formatting for print and Kindle
professional layout, consistent typography and structure
Bespoke cover design
print wrap + Kindle-ready front
Amazon KDP
files, settings, checks, troubleshooting
Website Build
author platform + discoverability
Print Support
alongside POD for authors who want stock for events/ signings/press, with bookshop-standard production and flexible quantities
What We Delivered
How we take a complex book from manuscript to market
We began with an initial consultation focused on goals, timeline, and what “professional” needed to mean for this specific project—then mapped the workflow end-to-end so there were no late-stage surprises. This reflects our wider approach: tailored advice, plain-English communication, and author-led decisions.
This matters with books like A Good Scrap I Fear because the “story” and the "infrastructure” (formats, files, listings, website, printing) need to work together from day one.
Discovery → a clear roadmap
With memoir, the line between “polished” and “over-edited” is thin. Editing focused on strengthening clarity and pacing while keeping William’s tone intact—so the humour, including the lived reality of hospitality, remained authentic.
Proofreading then provided the final professional quality-control pass before publication.
Editorial work: protect the voice, raise the standard
We created properly formatted interiors for:
- Paperback (print-ready layout)
- Kindle (a separate version optimised for e-readers)
This avoided the common “one file fits all” problem that leads to messy Kindle conversions and poor reader experience.
Formatting built for two reading experiences (print + Kindle)
Cover design followed a structured process: consultation → concept development → custom front cover → print-ready wraparound (spine/back) → Kindle-optimised digital cover → multiple proof rounds.
This ensured the cover worked everywhere it would be seen—especially as a small online thumbnail—while remaining fully print-spec compliant.
Cover design: professional, platform-ready, and collaborative
We prepared and submitted the paperback and Kindle editions via Kindle Direct Publishing, so the book could be listed and sold in major online shops (including Amazon and Waterstones).
Crucially, the KDP setup is designed so the author retains control—DPC supports the process while the author owns the account and royalties flow directly to them.
This “author stays in control” principle is core to Dave’s philosophy—shaped by his own experience of how hidden clauses and unclear publishing arrangements can reduce an author’s control.
Amazon launch: KDP setup + upload (POD + Kindle)
Publishing is only half the job—discoverability and credibility matter long after launch. DPC’s website work is built around creating a professional online presence that supports sales and brand-building.
For A Good Scrap I Fear, the website supports:
- Direct sales, with signed copies available via the author’s site
- Clear book positioning (memoir + accountability narrative)
- Press and contact pathways aligned to the campaign elements
Website build: direct sales + press + longevity
We combined:
- Amazon POD (to keep availability consistent without warehousing), and
- printing support for physical stock needs where appropriate (bookshop-quality production, tailored specs, and delivery).
Print strategy: POD + printed stock
Let’s Create Something Beautiful
We’d love to design a cover that does your story justice. We’ll include pricing and timelines with no obligation to proceed.
- Paperback via Amazon print-on-demand
- Kindle edition
- A dedicated book website supporting direct signed sales and communications
All delivered through a collaborative process designed to be personal and consultative—“human-first, not platform-first”—with the author in control at every stage.
Result
