Jim Zboran Group
A done-with-you consulting service for first-time authors who are finally ready to get their book out of their head and into the world — from first idea to published book, guided every step of the way.
Jim Zboran Group is an independent publishing company. It exists to publish the works of one author — James Zboran — across four imprints. It does not accept manuscripts. It does not publish the work of others. That is a deliberate choice, not a gap in the business.
But publishing is also a passion here, not just a function. And after decades of learning the craft of self-publishing — helping others along the way long before publishing his own books — Jim Zboran has something genuine to offer the aspiring author who is standing exactly where he once stood: with a book worth writing and no clear path to getting it done.
The self-publishing tools available today are remarkable. A professionally produced book, available worldwide through the largest distribution networks on the planet, is genuinely within reach of any author willing to navigate the process. The obstacle is rarely capability. It is almost always orientation — not knowing what the process looks like, where the real costs are, which decisions matter, and how to avoid the considerable number of ways the industry takes advantage of people who don't.
This service exists because that problem is solvable. Not by doing it for you, but by walking through it with you — as a guide who has built a complete publishing operation from scratch and genuinely enjoys the work of helping a book come into existence.
The service
This is not a course. Not a bundled publishing package. Not a coaching program long on motivation and short on practical expertise. It is a working relationship in which Jim walks alongside your specific project from wherever it currently is through to a live published book available worldwide that you own completely.
His role is part coach, part consultant, part navigator, and occasionally part hands-on problem solver when a specific stuck point needs more than guidance to get past. He brings the knowledge so you don't have to acquire it. He stays in the process until the book exists.
What he does not offer is marketing. His focus is getting your book done and published properly. A completed, professionally produced, properly distributed book you own entirely. That is the result this service delivers.
What you end up with
A professionally produced book available through Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, or both
Your own accounts on both platforms — no platform owns your book
Your own ISBN — your rights intact, your publishing identity independent
Global print-on-demand distribution — no inventory, no upfront print run
The ability to order copies at cost from your own account, whenever you want them
A publishing framework you own permanently — the second book will be substantially easier
A note on outside services
Every self-published book requires editing, cover design, and interior formatting. Jim has no financial relationship with any outside providers. He will help you source, brief, and evaluate competent independent professionals through platforms like Fiverr and Upwork at fair market rates — or navigate doing some of it yourself — or step in directly at a stuck point when needed. Most projects invest between $300 and $800 in outside services. Total realistic investment including consulting fees: $1,800 to $2,300 for a professionally produced, properly distributed book you own completely.
Consulting packages
Every engagement begins with a Discovery Session. Start there.
60 to 90 minutes · Standalone value
A focused conversation about your specific project, including what the book is, who it is for, and where you are in the process. We'll also look at what the path from here to published actually looks like and an honest assessment of what your project needs.
This session has standalone value regardless of what you decide afterward. You leave with a clear picture of your project and a realistic roadmap with next-steps clearly defined. Our Discovery Session is not a consultation designed to sell you something. It is a paid service with your personalized roadmap as the deliverable.
If we decide to work together on implementing your roadmap, the Discovery Session fee will be credited toward that work. A Discovery Session does not imply, nor does it a guarantee, that we will work together further on your project.
If we decide to work together on implementing your roadmap, the Discovery Session fee will be credited toward that work. A Discovery Session does not imply, nor does it a guarantee, that we will work together further on your project.
4 to 6 sessions · For manuscripts close to ready
For the author whose manuscript is substantially written and who needs guidance through the editing, design, formatting, and publishing stages. Structured around the specific decisions and milestones of your project, with Jim walking alongside each one.
Includes guidance on sourcing and evaluating outside services for editing, cover design, and interior formatting through each stage of production and distribution setup.
Book a Discovery Session to Start
If we decide to work together on implementing your roadmap, the Discovery Session fee will be credited toward that work. A Discovery Session does not imply, nor does it a guarantee, that we will work together further on your project.
Most complete
8 to 12 sessions · The complete journey
The complete engagement for an author who is earlier in the process, from clarifying what the book is and who it is for through manuscript development, editing, design, formatting, and publishing setup to a live listing available worldwide.
Includes support between sessions for the moments when questions don't wait for the next scheduled call.
Book a Discovery Session to Start
If we decide to work together on implementing your roadmap, the Discovery Session fee will be credited toward that work. A Discovery Session does not imply, nor does it a guarantee, that we will work together further on your project.
All engagements begin with a Discovery Session. If we decide to work together further, the Discovery Session fee will be credited to the work we do. Outside service costs for editing, cover design, and formatting are separate and paid directly to the providers you select. Jim has no financial relationship with any outside service provider.
Who this is for
This service is for people who have a book they have been meaning to write and publish and who are finally ready to stop meaning to and actually do it.
The retired professional
Decades of expertise, experience, or hard-won perspective that deserves to exist in print before it exists only in memory.
The personal storyteller
A memoir, family history, or life narrative that only you can tell and that has been waiting too long for the telling.
The independent thinker
Something genuinely original to say, and a path from the idea to the page to the published book that has never quite come together.
The professional with a book to write
A published book would change what becomes available professionally. You have known this for years and have been meaning to write it.
What these people share is not a lack of something worth saying. It is the absence of a clear path and someone trustworthy to walk it with them. Once the first book exists, the framework it leaves behind makes every subsequent book substantially easier. Many people who publish their first book with guidance go on to publish independently from that point forward. The goal is your independence, not your ongoing dependency on outside help.
Free newsletter
A weekly newsletter for first-time authors and aspiring self-publishers. Practical guidance on writing, self-publishing, and getting your first book done, written by someone who is actively doing it.
Each issue covers the real decisions and practical questions involved in taking a book from first idea to published and distributed. No hype. No overpriced shortcuts. Just honest guidance from someone who built a complete publishing operation from scratch and now helps others do the same.
Published on Beehiiv. Free to subscribe. Unsubscribe any time.
Subscribe to the NewsletterFree guide
A plain-language guide to every stage of getting your first book from idea to published and available worldwide. Seven stages. Honest costs. No hype. Free.
This roadmap exists because most self-publishing advice is written for career authors who will publish many books over many years. The person writing their first book needs a clear map of the complete journey, not a curriculum. This is that map. It covers every stage from Clarity through Manuscript, Editing, Cover Design, Interior Formatting, Publishing Setup, and Distribution, with realistic cost ranges and key actions at each stage.
Free to download. No obligation. Useful regardless of whether you work with Jim or not.
Download the Free Roadmap