Choices In Self Publishing Services
There are a variety of self publishing services available on the web. Depending on how much money you want to invest up front, how long you have to wait, and how you plan to sell and distribute your books, self publishing services can make your life easier.
The first option for self publishing services is to use a subsidy publisher. These self publishing services are also known as vanity publishers, and will professionally print and bind anyone's book for a fee. They do not make editorial decisions about your book, like a typical publisher would, so you can get your book printed as is, even if traditional publishing houses have rejected your work.
Subsidy publishers offer several types of self publishing services. Some will take your book, print and bind it, and send it back to you. They essentially act as a duplication service. Others offer more comprehensive self publishing services. They will get an ISBN for your book, design a cover, list it in the Books In Print, and do some additional marketing for your book.
If you choose a press that offers this type of self publishing services, you will pay more. They generally require you to sign a contract and you will receive a set percentage of royalties on any sales of your book. Royalty percentages vary, as well as contract terms, so do your homework carefully when choosing this type of company for your self publishing services.
Another popular choice for self publishing services is a company that offers printing on demand (POD). This means that each book is printed after the order is received, instead of a large print run of 500 or 1,000 books. With this method, the customer pays to print their book, not the author. You will need to work out clear payment arrangements and read the contract terms carefully with these kinds of self publishing services, but for those without a lot of cash upfront, they can be a good option.
One last option for self publishing services is to create an ebook. You can send your document to a company and have them turn it into an ebook and design a professional, three-dimensional ebook cover for marketing. The field of ebooks is growing exponentially, and many new publishers are choosing to produce books using these types of self publishing services.
So be sure to check out our pages about Self Publishing Books, Self Publishing Presses, Self Publishing Printing, and Self Publishing Software elsewhere on this site.