How the BookNami marketplace works
Whether you are hiring book professionals or offering your own services, this is the full lifecycle — from first post to final payout.
How it works
A clear, step-by-step breakdown for clients and professionals, from the first job post to the final payout.
Hire book professionals with confidence
- Step 1
Post your job
Describe your project, set your budget, and list the book-industry skills you need.
Post a job - Step 2
Browse proposals
Review proposals from vetted professionals with portfolios, ratings, and relevant experience.
- Step 3
Award the job
Choose the best fit and generate a draft contract automatically. Other proposals are declined.
- Step 4
Set terms and sign
Agree on deliverables, milestones, and payment terms. Both you and the professional sign.
- Step 5
Fund milestones
Deposit funds for each milestone. Money is held securely in BookNami escrow until work is approved.
- Step 6
Review work and release
Approve completed milestones. Funds are released to the professional only when you are satisfied.
- Step 7
Leave a review
Rate the professional and share feedback to help the community and build their reputation.
- Step 8
Own your deliverables
Completed work is transferred to your project workspace so you can download and use it.
Turn your craft into paid work
- Step 1
Create your profile
Showcase your skills, portfolio, and experience so clients looking for book experts can find you.
Create profile - Step 2
Get verified (optional)
Complete verification for a badge and higher visibility in search and recommendations.
- Step 3
Browse open jobs
Filter jobs by category, budget, and timeline so you can focus on projects that fit your craft.
Browse jobs - Step 4
Submit a proposal
Pitch your approach, timeline, and price for the jobs you want to win.
- Step 5
Get awarded and sign
When selected, review the contract and sign to activate the shared workspace.
- Step 6
Do the work and submit
Complete milestones and submit deliverables for client approval through the workspace.
- Step 7
Get paid
Milestone funds are released to your BookNami ledger after the client approves your work.
- Step 8
Request payout
Withdraw your available earnings to your connected Stripe or bank account when you are ready.
How trust and reputation work
Both sides of every project are rated. Professionals earn a trust score, clients earn a reputation — and each one is explained here in full.
Professional trust score
A 0–100 performance score
The trust score is a single 0–100 number summarising how a professional has actually performed on BookNami. It is calculated from completed marketplace work only — it can't be bought, and nothing outside the platform counts towards it.
What goes into the score
- 20 ptsClient rating — Deliver work clients love — reviews carry the most weight.
- 15 ptsCompletion rate — Finish the projects you accept.
- 12 ptsOn-time delivery — Ship inside your promised delivery window.
- 10 ptsRepeat clients — Clients who come back are the strongest trust signal.
- 10 ptsResponse time — Reply to enquiries within a few hours.
- 10 ptsVerification — Verify your identity and become a Verified Professional.
- 8 ptsProfile completeness — Fill in every profile field, including a banner.
- 6 ptsPortfolio depth — Publish at least six portfolio pieces.
- 6 ptsPublished books — Claim credits on the books you worked on.
- 3 ptsAccount age — Trust grows the longer you're active on BookNami.
- 5 ptsProject volume — Complete more projects through BookNami.
Maximum 105 points, scaled to a 0–100 trust score. Scores recalculate automatically as projects, reviews and verifications come in.
What the bands mean
- Excellent85 – 100A long, consistently well-reviewed track record. Verified and highly responsive.
- Very Good70 – 84A strong, reliable history with good ratings and on-time delivery.
- Good50 – 69A solid record, still building volume, repeat clients, or verification.
- DevelopingUnder 50New or still growing. Not a warning sign — just limited history so far.
Client reputation
Rated by the professionals you hire
Client reputation is separate from the professional trust score. It comes only from reviews that hired professionals leave after a contract reaches its end, so a client can't be rated by someone they never worked with.
What professionals rate (1–5 each)
- Communication — Were the messages clear, respectful and easy to work with?
- Brief / scope clarity — Was the brief specific enough to quote and deliver against?
- Responsiveness — Did the client answer questions and give feedback quickly?
- Professionalism — Did the client honour the agreement and behave professionally?
- Fairness of revisions — Were revision requests reasonable and inside the agreed scope?
- Approval & payment timeliness — Were milestones approved and released without unnecessary delay?
What the labels mean
- New ClientNot enough completed marketplace projects yet to score.
- DevelopingBuilding a marketplace track record.
- GoodA solid history of paid, completed work.
- Very GoodConsistently well-rated by professionals.
- ExcellentTop-rated client across many completed projects.
- Would work again — the share of reviewing professionals who said they'd take another project from this client.
- Completed hires — contracts that ran to completion, not just jobs posted.
- Spend band — total spend is shown as a range rather than an exact figure, so professionals get a size signal without exposing anyone's finances.
- Reviews are double-blind — neither side sees the other's review until both are submitted, or the review window closes.
Ready to get started?
Post your first job or create your professional profile today.