About The Author Buddy
Just a collaboration of real-life buddies building a comprehensive, multidisciplinary hub for Author Services…no big deal
Our Mission is to make sure that every author has a buddy on their publishing journey by providing exceptional services to help them polish, publish, and promote their books.
Whether traditionally published or indie, the first book or the fifth, we believe that every author deserves an encouraging support team that’s passionate about their success, that every story deserves to shine its brightest, and that quality author services should be accessible to every writer with a desire to share their story with the world.
The Author Buddy was founded in 2019 as a collaboration of two real-life buddies, Perrin Brunson and Rachel Christley.
With a true love for stories and design, and a commitment to being the buddies you need in the book world now and for many years to come, these two friends have built a professional business that you can trust while knowing you’ll always get a personal touch.
Now, with our growing team, The Author Buddy is here to help even more authors through the publishing process!
The Author Buddy provides:
- Beta Reading & Story Services
- Custom Book Cover Design
- Premade Book Cover Design
- Promotional Graphics
- Marketing & Event Graphics
- Author Swag Design
- And more coming soon!
our Story
Rachel Christley turned her passion for reading into a career in 2013 when she started working as an Author Personal Assistant. As she delved even deeper into the romance book world, she became the head book lover at Steamy Book Bargains and Boxed Romance Bargains, helping authors promote their stories and build their readerships.
Soon Rachel began beta reading, and her talent for identifying and solving troublesome plot and consistency issues was evident from the start. The authors she worked with instantly considered her services an invaluable part of their publishing process, and as word got around of her expertise, Rachel founded The Beta Buddy in 2018, building in new services based on the needs of her authors.
Rachel first met Perrin Brunson in 2017 while the two worked together in Tupperware (don’t laugh…quality food storage is still a passion for both women!), and immediately upon finding out that Perrin was a graphic designer, asked if she’d ever considered designing romance book covers. The two friends discussed it briefly off and on until May of 2019 when Rachel reached out to Perrin about help with a logo. Rachel brought up the idea of joining forces on a new venture that would combine beta services and cover design, and over the course of only a week, the beginnings of our brand new author services hub was born. The Author Buddy officially launched in June of 2019, with Rachel taking the lead on beta projects and plot concepts, and Perrin building out their cover and graphics services.
Through the years, The Author Buddy has added new services to meet the needs of their authors, and the two women found themselves working on more and more projects. Rachel honed her own cover and graphics design skills, and Perrin built her talents for proofreading and editing, so that they could carry the load of their ever-expanding business together.
It became evident in 2022 that The Author Buddy services were more in-demand than either had realized, and so Rachel and Perrin set about growing the team to help even more authors on their publishing journey. Two new beta readers joined the team in 2022, then three more in 2023, as well as a Project Manager. In early 2024, a third cover design joined our team.
As The Author Buddy looks to 2025 and beyond, Rachel, Perrin and the team are excited to expand their services yet again, and help even more authors build success in the book world.
Want to make sure you’re the first to hear what comes next for The Author Buddy?
Our Founders
Rachel Christley
Rachel Christley, Queen of Fiction Finesse at The Author Buddy, has been in the book world for over a decade, and is the original beta reader behind The Beta Buddy, which has now grown into an entire team of trained beta readers that help authors polish their manuscripts.
You may know her from her work as the head book lover at Steamy Lounge, Steamy Book Bargains, and Boxed Romance Bargains.
10+
Years of Book World Expertise
100+
Book Covers Designed
5.9 Million+
Words Beta Read
Perrin Brunson
Perrin Brunson, Grand Duchess of Design and Chief Operating Officer for The Author Buddy, brings her 20+ years of graphic design skills and business management from the corporate and small business world over to the realm of imagination and fantasy…a land in which she is much more comfortable anyway.
20+
Years of graphic design experience
300+
Book Covers Designed
2.8 Million+
Words Beta Read
TestimonialS
What Authors Are Saying About The Author Buddy
Not to brag, but we’re think we’re a pretty great team!
Don’t take our word for it though… check out what our clients have to say! (they might be a little less biased than we are, lol)
I loved working with the Author Buddy!
A beautiful cover and a great value. Something I value highly is working with people who stand by their work and remain professional from start to finish and that’s exactly what I got working with The Author Buddy. 5 stars! Will most definitely work with them again.
The Author Buddy Is Amazing!
The Author Buddy Is Absolutely Amazing!!!
Still Have Questions?
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