Best Self-Publishing company?

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writingsherry
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Best Self-Publishing company?

Post by writingsherry »

Hi there- a couple of years ago my friend and I co-wrote a children's book and we've been looking for a reputable self-publisher ever since. So far we have found nothing but shady scam artists looking to take advantage of our hard work. Any suggestions? We tried to go the traditional publishing route but our stack of rejection letters continues to grow. At this point we just want to get the thing published and on the shelves. Suggestions?
-Sherry
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Deb Porter
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Re: Best Self-Publishing company?

Post by Deb Porter »

Hi Sherry.

It may sound like nit-picking, but the terminology is an oxymoron. You are after a subsidy publisher. Self publishing is where the author(s) take charge of all the pre-press and post-press work (often hiring experienced people to handle those tasks--such as editing, layout, epub prep, cover design). Regardless of what they may say on their websites, a subsidy press company is the publisher and should only be used if the author has no way of organising the pre-press and post-press work.

The reason I say that is because all the money flows away from the author when it comes to subsidy publishers. They also have a certain stigma attached to them. Self-publishers may have to outlay a little more upfront, but all the profit returns to them in the end. Either way, the chance of your book making it onto bookstore shelves is very small (physical bricks and mortar stores). You will need to do a load of marketing to get it there (possibly). It will be listed with online stores, but that's not a bad thing. About 40% of all books are bought through Amazon alone.

So have a bit of a think about how you want to proceed. There are easy ways to get books into print, without having a garage full of books.

If you do want to go through a subsidy press company, Xulon does what it says it will do. It is very upfront about its packages, so that would be an option.

If you want to go it alone, as the publisher, but need help, you can either suss out all the services you need, or use a book shepherd service, like the one I run through my old editing site, Finesse Writing & Editing Service. We only provide the services you need, and will point you in the right direction to help you get your book into print. We don't publish your book, though. You become the publisher in your own right, and you get to reap all the rewards and make all the decisions.

So weigh it up, but like I said, if you decide on a subsidy publisher, you could do worse than Xulon.
Deb
FaithWriters' Writing Challenge Co-ordinator
Breath of Fresh Air Press

Breath of Fresh Air Press - a little publisher with a lot of heart

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