Alexandru Filip
I build AuthorAZ and write everything published on this site — 50 guides and 33 Author Answers. This page exists so you can judge whether that is worth trusting.
Who I am
I am an independent author. I publish fiction under a separate pen name, which I keep deliberately separate from this site — the reasons are the same ones covered in the pen name answers. Everything I write here about metadata, identifiers, pricing, launches and the administrative sprawl of running a catalog comes from doing it.
AuthorAZ exists because that administrative side had no home. My manuscripts, ISBNs, blurbs, cover variants, buy links and review quotes were spread across cloud documents, spreadsheets and browser tabs — most of it sitting on servers I did not control, at a moment when it became obvious that mattered. So I built a vault that keeps it on the device instead.
I am based in Brussels. You can reach me at team@authoraz.com.
What I have made
- The AuthorAZ app — a local-first vault for book metadata, covers, manuscript snapshots, quotes and pen-name branding. No cloud, no account, no AI processing, one-time purchase. Released July 2026 for iPhone, iPad and Android.
- The Publishing Manual 2026 — a 150-page operational manual on pricing, distribution, launch sequencing and margin protection, published free as an online course. Read it here.
- This library — 50 publishing guides and 33 short, sourced answers.
Editorial standards
These are the rules I hold myself to. They are here so you can check whether I am keeping them.
Facts carry a verification date
ISBN prices, royalty bands, platform limits and copyright fees all move. Every page states when its facts were last checked, so you can tell whether to re-verify before acting on it.
Sources are primary
Registries, statutes and the platforms’ own documentation — not other blogs. Where something is contested or unsettled, the page says so rather than picking the tidier answer.
Commercial interest is disclosed in the text
AuthorAZ is my product. Any article that mentions it says so inside the article, not in a footer. In tool comparisons the disclosure sits above the table, and the entry names what AuthorAZ is worse at.
Competitors are treated fairly
AuthorAZ does not replace Scrivener, Vellum, Atticus or Canva, and no article claims otherwise. Where a rival tool is better at something, the page says which and why.
No AI-written prose
Every word on this site is written by a person. It would be an odd thing to publish a privacy-first, no-AI product and then generate the guidance for it.
Corrections are made in place
When something here turns out to be wrong, it gets fixed and the update date changes. If you find an error, email me and I will correct it.
Corrections and questions
If a fact here is out of date or wrong, tell me. Publishing terms change constantly and I would rather fix a page than defend it.