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Aster House Books

Independent Publishing & Editorial Studio

You bring the story.We make the book.

Some books begin with a manuscript. Others begin with a story, an idea or a lifetime of experience. We help turn them into books.

Start your bookHow it works
Cover of Nani's Red Trunk — an illustrated hardback showing a grandmother and granddaughter looking into an old red travelling trunk.

Sample editions — designed in-house

What we do

From first idea to final page.

Some authors arrive with a finished manuscript. Others arrive with an idea, a lifetime of experience or a story they don't yet know how to tell. We meet you wherever the book begins.

Our services
i

Publish

Have a manuscript? We handle the editorial, design, production and publishing process.

Explore publishing
ii

Ghostwrite

Have a book in you, but not the time to write it? We develop and write nonfiction books with you.

Explore ghostwriting
iii

Edit

Make the manuscript stronger before it becomes a book.

Explore editorial
iv

Create

Cover, interior, typography, illustration and print production — made as carefully as the words.

Explore book production

Categories

Whatever the book, start here.

Publishing should be more than putting a file into print.

We believe the difference is in the details: a manuscript that's been properly edited, a cover that belongs to the book, typography that makes reading effortless, and production that respects the work.

Editorial matters.

Every book benefits from a careful editorial eye.

Design matters.

A book is an object as well as a text.

Transparency matters.

You should always understand what you're paying for, what you're getting and what happens to your rights.

The process

From manuscript to finished book.

Six stages. You see the work at every one of them, and nothing moves forward without your approval.
See how publishing works
  1. 01

    Assess

    We start by understanding the manuscript and what it needs.

  2. 02

    Edit

    We strengthen the writing, structure, clarity and consistency.

  3. 03

    Design

    We create the cover and interior around the character of the book.

  4. 04

    Produce

    We prepare the final files, proof the book and manage printing.

  5. 05

    Publish

    We handle ISBN, metadata and appropriate distribution channels.

  6. 06

    Deliver

    You receive your finished book and ongoing support.

Ghostwriting

You have the story.We find the words.

Not every author starts with a manuscript. Sometimes the book begins with an idea, a career, a body of expertise or a lifetime of experiences. Our ghostwriting team helps turn that material into a complete nonfiction book.
  • Founders & Entrepreneurs
  • Experts & Professionals
  • Memoirs & Life Stories
  • Family & Legacy Books
Explore ghostwriting

Books can begin with an idea

Editorial

Good books begin with good editing.

Four levels of editorial work, done in order. Most manuscripts need two of them; almost none need all four at once.
Explore editorial
Manuscript Assessment
A senior editor reads the complete manuscript and writes a detailed report on what is working, what is not, and what to do about it.
Developmental Editing
Structural work on the book itself: what to cut, what to move, what to expand, where the argument or the story loses the reader.
Copyediting
Line-by-line work on grammar, syntax, consistency, register and factual coherence, against a style sheet built for your book.
Proofreading
The final read, done on typeset pages rather than the manuscript: typographic errors, bad breaks, widows, running heads, page numbers, contents accuracy.

The list

Coming from Aster House Books.

Books in the making, across genres and disciplines. Some begin with a finished manuscript; others with an idea, a conversation or a story waiting to be told.

Fiction, memoir, business, ideas, illustrated books and more. Each one is shaped with care, from the words on the page to the book in your hands. These sample editions offer a glimpse of what Aster House Books is about — and more books are on their way.

Sample edition

Nine Monsoons

Fiction

A literary novel set across three decades. Type-only cover, no illustration.

Cover of The Long Way Home, a memoir — a sepia photograph of a jeep on a mountain road, with the title set in burgundy on linen-textured board.

Sample edition

The Long Way Home

Memoir

A memoir of migration and return. Photographic cover on linen board, foil title.

Sample edition

The Founder's Notebook

Business

A founder book. Grid-led cover borrowing from the notebook it is named after.

Cover of Meri Dilli!, a photographic record of Delhi — brush-lettered title over a collaged street scene with an auto-rickshaw and the Red Fort.

Sample edition

Meri Dilli!

Photography

A large-format photography book. Duotone proofing, offset print run.

Sample edition

Small Hours

Poetry

A first collection. Quiet cover, generous interior measure.

Cover of Nani's Red Trunk — an illustrated hardback showing a grandmother and granddaughter looking into an old red travelling trunk.

Sample edition

Nani's Red Trunk

Children's

Explore sample editions

Bespoke books

Some books are meant to be made once.

Private and institutional editions, made to a specification rather than a template: cloth binding, foil, archival paper, hand-numbered print runs, slipcases.
  • Family histories
  • Memoirs
  • Corporate histories
  • Institutional publications
  • Photography books
  • Art books
  • Architecture books
  • Commemorative editions
Create a bespoke book
Cover of Meri Dilli!, a photographic record of Delhi — brush-lettered title over a collaged street scene with an auto-rickshaw and the Red Fort.

Sample edition — Meri Dilli!

Costs

Publishing, without the mystery.

Every book is different. Costs depend on manuscript length, editorial requirements, design complexity, format and print quantity.

Manuscript Assessment

A full read and a written report. Priced by word count.

From ₹[PRICE]

Editorial

Developmental editing, copyediting and proofreading, quoted separately or together.

From ₹[PRICE]

Publishing

Editorial, design, production, ISBN, print files and distribution setup.

From ₹[PRICE]

Ghostwriting

Scoped per book. Depends on length, research and interview time.

Bespoke

Bespoke Books

Private and institutional editions, quoted against specification and print run.

Bespoke

Every project receives a written proposal outlining scope, deliverables and costs before work begins.

Get a project quote

Journal

The Aster House Journal

Notes on writing, editing, publishing and making books.
All articles

Start here

Have a book in mind?

Whether you have a finished manuscript, a half-formed idea or a story you've been carrying for years, we'd like to hear about it.

Start your book