Editorial Standards & Code of Ethics

Mission and independence

The Publishing Times is an independent publishing industry news site. Our mission is to provide accurate, timely, and useful information to authors, agents, editors, publishers, and booksellers. We cover self-publishing platforms, traditional publishing, book marketing, author tools, and the business of books.

We are not affiliated with Amazon, Draft2Digital, or any other publishing platform we cover. Our editorial decisions are made independently of our advertisers and affiliate partners.

Articles are produced and reviewed by The Publishing Times editorial team and published under The Publishing Times Editorial Desk byline. We do not present unverified individual biographies, credentials, or reviewer identities as authority signals.

Sourcing and verification

When an article relies on external facts, we aim to link readers to the relevant primary announcement, research, or original reporting. Readers should consult the cited source for decisions that depend on current rules, prices, or platform terms.

• Primary sources first. We confirm facts where they originate: the platform's own help pages and announcements, company filings, court records, official prize and organization sites, and the published data itself. A second-hand report is a lead until we have checked it.
• Press releases. A press release is a claim from an interested party. We use it as a starting point, check the key facts against a primary source, say when a story is based on an announcement, and never run a release as if it were our own reporting.
• Tips. We welcome tips, and we treat every tip as a lead, not a fact. Nothing from a tip is published until we have verified it independently, through documents, the organization involved, or another source with direct knowledge.
• Anonymous sources. We rarely use them. We grant anonymity only when the information matters to readers, cannot be obtained on the record, and comes from someone with direct knowledge. We confirm it independently, tell readers why the source was not named, and do not let anonymous sources make personal attacks.
• Numbers. Figures such as royalty rates, sales data, and prices are checked against the source that published them, dated, and linked, because they change.

Accuracy, updates and corrections

Accuracy is our highest editorial priority. When errors are identified — by our editors, by readers, or by the subjects of our coverage — we correct them promptly.

Minor corrections (spelling, grammar, formatting) are corrected silently. Factual corrections are noted at the top of the article with the date of correction and a brief description of what was changed. Every correction of fact is also listed in our public corrections log.

Every article shows its publication date. When a story is materially updated with new information, we add a dated note saying what changed. We do not quietly rewrite a story to change its meaning.

How to request a correction: use the correction form on our Corrections page and include the article link, what is wrong, and the correct information with a source if you have one. We review all correction requests within 24 hours.

Attribution and linking to sources

We credit the people and outlets whose work we build on. When another publication broke a story, we say so and link to it. Quotes are exact, marked as quotations, and attributed to the person who said or wrote them, with a link to where they appeared when one exists.

A significant portion of The Publishing Times consists of aggregated news summaries — brief summaries of articles published by other outlets, with attribution and a link to the original source. Our aggregation standards are:

• Summaries are 2–3 sentences and do not reproduce substantial portions of the original article.
• Every aggregated item displays the original source name prominently and links directly to the full article.
• We do not strip bylines, author credits, or publication dates from original sources.
• We do not aggregate behind-paywall content without permission.
• Publishers who wish to have their content removed may submit a request via our DMCA / Content Removal form. We respond within 48 hours.

The outlets we monitor are listed in our Source Network and the wider trusted sources registry.

Conflicts of interest and disclosure

• We do not accept payment, gifts, or favors in exchange for coverage, and we do not accept payment for editorial reviews or rankings.
• Free review copies, trial accounts, or event passes do not buy coverage. When a review relies on one, the article says so.
• The Publishing Times shares ownership with a small group of sister websites and books. Some house ads promote them; those are ads, labeled as such. If an article mentions a sister site or product, the article discloses the relationship.
• Anyone writing or editing for us declares any financial or personal interest in a story's subject and steps away from that story.

News kept separate from ads, sponsorships and affiliate links

The Publishing Times may use affiliate partnerships and clearly labeled paid placements to support its work. Display ads served by Google AdSense appear on article and news pages.

• Advertising does not influence our editorial coverage. Advertisers do not receive favorable coverage in exchange for advertising.
• Advertisers and sponsors do not see stories before publication and cannot ask for changes.
• Affiliate links (including Amazon Associates links) are used in some articles. When you purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
• Sponsored content, when published, is clearly labeled as 'Sponsored' or 'Paid Partnership' and is visually distinguished from editorial content.
• Classified listings are placed by the people and businesses they describe, and featured placement in the classifieds is paid. Neither is news coverage.
• We do not accept payment for editorial reviews or rankings.

See our full Affiliate Disclosure for details.

How we use AI in reporting and production

Editorial workflows may use software assistance for drafting, summarization, and research. This assistance is not a substitute for source attribution, editorial judgment, or a reader's own due diligence.

• AI tools help us monitor sources, summarize announcements, and draft copy. They do not decide what is true: facts are checked against the cited sources.
• Some routine items, such as short summaries of other outlets' news, are generated and published through automated workflows that the editorial team sets up and monitors. They always name and link the original source, and editors correct or remove any that fall short of these standards.
• The editorial team is accountable for everything published under The Publishing Times name, however it was drafted.
• We do not use software assistance to fabricate quotes, invent sources, or create false impressions of events.
• Articles that rely on external facts should link to a relevant source rather than ask readers to rely on an unsupported assertion.
• News summaries identify and link to the originating publisher so readers can consult the complete source material.
• An organizational byline identifies editorial analysis unless a contributor's identity is truthfully established and approved for publication.

Images and credits

Article illustrations are original artwork made for The Publishing Times, and some are created with AI image tools. We do not present an illustration as a photograph of a real event or person. Book covers, logos, and product images are used to identify the book, company, or product under discussion and remain the property of their owners. Photographs from other sources are credited to them.

Fairness and right of reply

Opinion and analysis pieces are clearly labeled as such. Reported news articles present facts without editorial commentary unless the commentary is clearly identified as such.

When a story makes a serious claim about a person, company, or organization, we ask them to respond before publication and include what they say, or note that they did not reply. If a response arrives after publication, we add it. Anyone who believes a story treated them unfairly can contact the editors.

Privacy and minors

We cover the business of publishing, not people's private lives. We do not publish home addresses, personal phone numbers, private email addresses, or other private details. We do not identify minors in our coverage without a parent's or guardian's consent, unless they are already publicly identified in a clearly newsworthy context such as a published book or a prize. How we handle reader data is covered in our Privacy Policy.

Plagiarism

We do not copy other people's work and present it as ours. Borrowed words are quoted and attributed; ideas and findings from other reporting are credited and linked. If we find plagiarism in our own work, we correct the story, log the correction, and remove material we have no right to use.

How we choose stories

We pick stories by what matters to people who make and sell books: changes to platform rules, royalties, and pricing; deals, rights, and legal cases; tools and services authors pay for; prizes and industry data; and scams and risks to avoid. We favor stories we can confirm at a primary source. Coverage cannot be bought, and sponsors do not choose our stories.

How to contact the editors

• Corrections: the form on our Corrections page.
• News tips, press releases, and announcements: press@thepublishingtimes.com. See how to send news to The Publishing Times.
• Questions and feedback about our coverage: our contact form or hello@thepublishingtimes.com.
• Content removal and copyright: the DMCA / Content Removal form.

We welcome feedback from readers, publishers, and industry professionals.