UAE
Self-Publishing and Ghostwriting Services in the UAE
Many books written in the UAE are written by busy people: founders, executives and professionals with a story or expertise worth sharing and no time to turn it into a manuscript. We write, edit and publish the book for you, and explain the UAE rules on ISBNs, printing permits and deposit so nothing holds up the launch.
- Written and edited by an in-house team, never subcontracted
- Confidential interviews, NDA on request
- Revisions included until the brief is met
- Each book quoted with its own timeline
The problem
The book you keep meaning to write
In the UAE the idea for a book usually arrives long before the time to write it. A founder wants to set down how the company was built. A consultant wants a book that does the selling before the first meeting. A family wants a parent's story recorded while it can still be told first-hand. The material is there; the evenings to write it are not.
Ghostwriting solves the time problem: you talk, we write. The second problem is practical. Most self-publishing guides assume you live in the US or UK, and the UAE has different rules. ISBNs come from a national centre that is new, free and open only to UAE-based publishers, and printing locally needs a content permit. We plan around both from the start.
Services
What we do for authors in the UAE
Business and leadership books
Books built from your experience and methods, written from recorded interviews and structured so a reader finishes with something they can use.
Memoir and family history
Life stories, migration stories and family histories, written in the voice of the person telling them.
Editing and proofreading
For authors who have a draft: structural editing, copy editing and a final proofread, with British or American spelling agreed up front.
Design and formatting
Covers, print interiors and ebook files built to the specifications of the printer or platform you choose.
Publishing setup
ISBN guidance, metadata and uploads to print-on-demand and ebook platforms, set up in your name.
Content for your business
Web copy, blogs and thought-leadership articles for UAE companies, with blog and article writing from $12.95 per 100 words.
Not sure which option fits?
Send us the brief. You will get a scope, a timeline and a fixed price within 24 hours — no obligation.
UAE rules
ISBNs, printing permits and deposit in the UAE
Since January 2026, ISBNs in the UAE are assigned by the UAE ISBN Centre at the National Library and Archives. Assignment is free, but it is only open to individuals, companies and organisations located in the UAE, and each format needs its own number, so an ebook, a paperback and a hardcover are three ISBNs. Once your book is published, copies are deposited with the National Library and the title is recorded in the UAE National Bibliography.
Printing is a separate matter. A book printed in the UAE needs a content permit from the UAE Media Council before it goes to press, so the manuscript has to be final, and the permit allowed for, before a print date is fixed. If you live in the UAE but publish through an overseas print-on-demand platform, or as an overseas imprint, different rules apply. We talk through the route that suits your book, your audience and where you are based, and build the timeline around it. For a firm answer on your situation, the National Library and the Media Council are the authorities, and we will point you to them rather than guess.
- Help registering on the UAE ISBN system and assigning one ISBN per format
- A timeline that allows for a Media Council printing permit if you print locally
- Deposit copies prepared for the National Library after publication
- British or American spelling chosen for your readers and applied consistently
- Calls scheduled on Gulf Standard Time (UTC+4), which does not change for daylight saving
- Work planned around the Saturday-Sunday weekend and public holidays
- Interviews and drafts kept confidential, with an NDA signed before you share anything sensitive
How it works
How a ghostwritten book comes together
1. Consultation
We agree what the book is for, who will read it and when you need it, then send a fixed quote and timeline.
2. Interviews
A series of recorded conversations at times that fit your diary, plus any notes, talks or documents you already have.
3. Chapters
An outline for approval, then chapters delivered in stages for your review and revision.
4. Publication
Design, ISBNs, permits where needed, and release through the route you chose.
Pricing and limits
What it costs, and what we will not promise
Every book is quoted with its own timeline and a fixed price before work starts, in AED on request. The main factors are length, how many interviews the book needs, the number of formats and any illustration or colour printing. Any government fees, printing or deposit copies are listed separately from our fees.
We will not promise sales, rankings or media coverage, and we cannot obtain a permit on the Media Council's behalf. We promise a well-written book, prepared so that the official steps go smoothly.
Free proposal
Tell us the goal. We’ll send the plan.
Share your requirements and a strategist gets back to you within 24 hours with scope, timeline and a fixed price. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
Prefer to talk?
[email protected]Questions
Questions about publishing in the UAE
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
If you are based in the UAE, you register on the UAE ISBN system run by the National Library and Archives and request a number for each format of your book. Assignment is free. The centre only assigns ISBNs to publishers located in the UAE, so if you publish through an overseas imprint or platform, the ISBN may come from elsewhere. We help you work out which applies.
Printing in the UAE requires a content permit from the UAE Media Council, which reviews the publication before it is printed. That means the manuscript should be final before you apply, and the permit needs to be part of your schedule. If your book is printed abroad or sold only as an ebook, the steps are different. Ask us early and we will plan the route.
Yes. Interviews, drafts and anything you share about your business or family are used only to write your book. We sign an NDA before you share sensitive material if you would like one, and the ghostwriting arrangement itself stays private: your name is on the book.
Less than writing it yourself, but not none. Expect a set of recorded interviews spread over the first weeks, then time to read and comment on chapters as they arrive. We schedule interviews around your diary and Gulf time, and you can review drafts whenever suits you. The more access we get early, the faster the book moves.
Tell us on the first call which languages you need. A second-language edition is effectively a second book, with its own translation, editing, ISBNs and, if printed locally, its own permit. We will confirm in writing what we can take on and what needs a specialist, so you can plan both editions properly.
You do. You are the named author, you own the manuscript and design files, and publishing accounts are set up in your name so royalties come to you. If you later want to move to another printer, platform or distributor, your files go with you and nothing ties the book to us.
Works well with
Pair it with the rest of the stack
Ready when you are
Ready to work with the pros?
Get a free proposal in 24 hours — scope, timeline and fixed price. No obligation, no lock-in contract.
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