Customer Reviews

Top Self Publishing Firms: How Writers Get Published, Sell More Books, And Rise To The Top: And Make Money Working From Home With The Best Print On Demand Self-Publishing Companies

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you are planning on publishing a book, Stacie had created an extremely valuable resource to save you time and money getting your book into print. She has also provided a number of tips to help make publishing your book a financial success.

If you have never seriously thought of publishing your own book, you should heed Stacie's advice. "Publishing a book can make you an authority in your field. Writing a book can increase your credibility, advance your career or pave the way for a new one." In a world where it is getting more and more difficult to set yourself apart, writing and publishing a book is an easy and surefire way to do that.

Stacie has done the research and complied a list of the top 26 self-publishing firms based on their sales results. It would take you an enormous amount of time just to find these 26 companies. But she not only list the companies, she ranks them by sales results, recommended publishing packages, Amazon results, bookstore royalties, distribution, author purchases and overall value.

The range in recommended publishing packages shows why this book is such a valuable resource. The recommended packages range from $0 cost to $22,400. And while you might think that the one that cost the most gives the most value, you would be wrong. But the one with the least expensive publishing package is no bargain either.

All the companies are listed on a comparison chart which makes it easy to compare the various strong points and weaknesses of each company. That chart alone would be worth the price of the book.

In addition, Stacie gives some great inside information about how the book publishing business works. Not understanding how the royalty percentage really works could lead you to picking the wrong company. The quoted royalty percentage is not the determining factor. You really need to understand what the royalty is a percentage of and how that number is calculated.

While the book is very short, there is a wealth of other information that you really need to understand if you are going to have a pleasant experience.

If you are serious about writing a book, buy and read this book. Stacie gives some great advice about editing, book cover, topic, titles. I have seen many books that had great content but failed to follow the advice of this book and as a result failed to achieve the results the author expected.

In choosing a company to publish your book, you need to be very honest about what you expect from the book. If you are like most self-published authors, the greatest value will come from the books you use in marketing your business. So pay very close attention to the price the company sells your book to you. On a $14.95 book, the range was from $2.65 to a high of $11.96. For most authors this should be a strong reason for selecting a company. Be sure to think the project through.

The section on Amazon is well worth the price of the entire book. You cannot afford to self-publish without knowing the way to work with Amazon.

If you are in a profession where publishing your own book makes sense, then you really can't afford to be without this resource. It is worth ten times the price in the time it will save you doing all the research yourself. And you will learn all about the process. I highly recommend it.

'Hard times, hard times, come again no more' is an old song that certainly applies to our current economic status in the country at present, but it could also be a frequently hummed tune by first time authors who are struggling to see their words in print. This very well written and designed help book by Stacie Vander Pol should be a welcome light at the end of that dark tunnel of publishing houses. In a very down to earth, practical, and well researched manner Vander Pol distills the information about the many Self Publishing houses available to writers frustrated with returned manuscripts from the major publishing firms and offers insider information and statistics on the strong points and weak points of each of these firms.

But before getting to the 'secrets' of the self publishing firms, Vander Pol offers thoughtful aids in approaching both fiction and nonfiction book subjects, adds a succinct 'glossary' on the ins and outs of publishing packages, and advises writers how to approach self publishing firms. Then comes the meat of the book: 'This book profiles the top twenty-six self publishing firms based on their sales results' (though there are a number of fine firms not mentioned here). And what follows this very informative section is advice on how to gain exposure, obtain reviews, act in a business-like fashion as a new writer, and very importantly, how to utilize the fact that Amazon has long been credited as providing sales pages for the works from self publishing houses.

Vander Pol's book is a solid resource for writers actively searching for avenues for publication, but it is also a fascinating book for students at the university level who are considering a writing career, and for those of us who receive the email requests for reviews of 'new works'. It is a pleasure to read and an important addition to the resource library of every beginning writer. Recommended. Grady Harp, October 08

Big vanity publishers, like iUniverse and Author House, claim to be "self publishing companies" when they are not. What you need to know about self publishing is this:

1. Self publishing is a long and honorable tradition. But it is NOT the same thing as vanity publishing, despite the propaganda of the big "POD" vanity presses.
2. Self publishing means starting up your own publishing company and purchasing your own block of ISBNs for the purpose of publishing your own books.
3. If you do a good job of self publishing, and put a huge amount of work into it, you have a reasonable chance of cf commercial success. If you choose vanity publishing, you have no chance of commercial success.

By the way, I do think some of the vanity publishers provide a good service for those who want to create a book for families and friends. If you write a family history, Aunt Minnie's poems and recipes, for example, a vanity publisher may provide an inexpensive way to make it look like a book. That's fine--I have books like that from my own family, and they are valuable to me. The problem is that so many vanity POD publishers pretend to offer a possibility of commercial success, preying on the hopes and dreams of would-be authors.

If you want to sell more than 65 copies of a book, and if you want to sell to people other than friends and family, and if you want to sell beyond your own Web site or the back of the room where you speak, then there are two ways to go. You can actually self publish--which means learning all about the publishing business, just like you have to learn about any other business you hope to succeed at. Or, submit your book proposal to real publishers and real literary agents. Those are both difficult options. But anybody who offers an easier route to fame and fortune as an author is a huckster, pure and simple.

--Steve Carlson, president,Independent Publishers of New England

This book exceeded my expectations. Vander Pol has done her homework, and presents it well. It's well-organized, simple to read, and yet thorough. As a successful self-published author myself, I'm often asked for advice on which self-publishing firms to go with and other matters, and I never know what to say, beyond summarizing my own limited experience. Vander Pol provides a far better answer than I ever could. She assesses every firm worth considering (over twenty in all) on almost every important criterion (even those you might not think of), and discusses all you need to know (for both beginners and more experienced writers). She even includes a handy table, where you can compare value-for-price of every firm against every other--just choose which element is most important to you, or consult her overall ratings, and you'll find the firm for you. This book has already been a gold mine of information for me. Well worth the cover price.

My only complaint is that she omits one important criterion: physical quality. This is actually minor considering everything, but it can matter, and it's a point I'm asked about often. She assumes all self-publishing firms are essentially equal in these respects, and though it's true the differences are minor (far more so than other differences she documents), they aren't trivial. For example, CreateSpace (her own publisher) evidently employs a poorer quality paperback cover stock than AuthorHouse (my publisher). Though I also have complaints about the physical quality of AuthorHouse books (they are, I would say, perhaps 10% poorer than conventional publishers provide, which is small enough a difference that I don't complain too loudly, since they offer such a good deal), the cover of even a well-worn AuthorHouse paperback curls negligibly, whereas in just a few days Vander Pol's book cover has curled almost completely outward. That's more annoying and unsightly than important, but some people care more about this sort of thing, and it's useful to know (and this isn't the only question about physical quality people might have, and of course hardcovers will differ from softcovers in what issues are of concern, and some attributes are hard to test, e.g. how well a book survives heavy use over the course of a year).

It's little known in the industry, but the curling of covers is a product of the grain in the material. You can arrange it so the grain works inward (which will produce minimal curling as the binding keeps it more or less rigid) but this causes more books to be destroyed by the automated binding process, so the overall per-unit cost is much higher. Obviously low-cost firms must use the alternative of setting the grain outward, which causes the covers to curl outward (some more than others, depending on the material), but also saves more books in manufacturing, thus keeping costs down. Do any self-publishing firms use the more expensive method of reversing the grain? That's the kind of question I'd like answered, and I hope Vander Pol will do so in a future edition (or sequel!), along with every other important issue of physical quality, even those I don't know about! (though that would be more expensive to research, I admit).

Similarly, consider another experience I've had: my own firm uses half-inch margins, which I didn't know until it was too late, yet I despise that, both aesthetically and pragmatically (as it ruins the benefit to my readers of writing notes in the margins). I might perhaps have been able to insist on one-inch margins had I known in advance, but now re-typesetting would cost a bundle, so I'm stuck with what I got. What exactly are the trends and options regarding visual layout like this among the many firms? That's also something I'd like to know.

But this is a lone defect of small importance--her book is otherwise so useful, if you are an author considering self-publishing, you can't afford not to buy this book.

I wish I had a book like this before I published my first two books with Outskirts Press. I remember I had done at least a year of research on how to publish my books. My final two choices were Outskirts Press and Dog Ear Publishing. I chose OP because they allowed me to make installments on the package instead of paying it all at once.

This book consists of the following sections:

1. Success
2. Nonfiction Titles
3. Fiction Titles
4. Publishing Packages
5. Analyzing the Firms
6. Large and Medium Sized Firms
7. Small Firms
8. Other Firms
9. Best Selling Genres for Self-Published Books
10. Leveraging Amazon.com
11. Promotion
12. Bonus Chapter (Tax Deductions)

All the information in this book is incredible, though the chapter on Amazon marketing contains very basic information that most newbies don't know about. I'd recommend getting a copy of "Plug Your Book" if you plan to have your book published by a self-publishing company.

The author also writes about bypassing the self-publishing companies and working directly with the printer they use: Lightning Source. I decided to go this route because I wasn't completely satisfied with my royalties. But doing this is not easy. If you want to self-publish this way, I recommend you get a copy of "Perfect Pages" and "Aiming At Amazon," both written and published by Aaron Shepard.

My final word of advice is to read this book before you choose any self-publishing company. Another thing you may want to try is to contact authors who have used a self-publishing company you're researching. They'll give you an honest answer.

Brandon Simpson

In addition to the details of about 25 companies, this book gives a general overview of the self-publishing process as well as helpful tips for succeeding as a self-published author. The second chapter lists several hundred recent self-published books that have done well. If you have been skeptical of using a self-publishing company or are looking for one, you will find this book to be very helpful.

I gave it five stars for these reasons:

Strengths
1. The book has a detailed chart where you can compare all of the
companies, head to head - something I've had trouble finding in the
past.
2. The book breaks down the dollar payment for royalty calculations
instead of just telling you the percentage - I was surprised at the
wide range these companies pay.
3. Each firm is ranked by how well their books sell, how well they pay,
and how much they charge for publishing - surprisingly, some of the
most well known firms are not the best choices.
4. A very helpful chapter is devoted to the genres that sell best for
self-published books.

Weaknesses
1. You should double check the information in the book before choosing a
firm because the information can become outdated over time. Hopefully
the author plans to write new editions each year.
2. A couple of the firms in the book are "not recommended" according to
the author. It seems these could have been omitted, as the title is
Top Self Publishing Firms.

I just put the book down. If you are going to self publish a book, I would recommend reading this one...along with The Self Publishing Manual and Plug Your Book. The two chapters giving examples of top selling self published non-fiction and fiction titles is certainly worth the price of admission alone. From there, you can see what really sells. It also gives ideas to edit your book title for greatest impact.
The author also lists and dissects several firms that will print & market the book for you. These firms are not book printers, but are full service firms to handle every part of your publishing needs.

If you are new to writing a book, and want to self publish...this is a valuable directory that can save you tons of money by picking the right book marketer.

The one thing that still stands out is the price. I simply don't understand why this book is so inexpensive. Oh well.

I belong to an online publishers list which consists mostly of self-published authors. These are people who have purchased their own ISBN numbers, registered their own company names and printed their books using either offset or print-on-demand technology. Every once in a while, a newcomer wanders onto the list and asks the simple question, "Which self-publisher is better, iuniverse or Xlibris?"
Well, a furor erupts at this point. The elders tell the quaking newbie that iuniverse and Xlibris are subsidy presses and that in order to self-publish one must own the company name and isbn number. Most true self-publishers believe that, but it is like talking into the wind or trying to make the ocean tide turn the other way to convince the mass of writers of it. The fact is that about 50,000 books were published in the year 2000 and more than 400,000 were published in 2007. And the main factors (or culprits depending on your point of view) in this quantum leap of printed stuff is the prevalence of the Self-Publishing Firms. Frankly, for the majority of readers, POD publishers and self-publishers are one and the same, and they exist to help unpublished authors achieve fame and fortune--or at least allow them to hold a copy of their book in their hands.

Although these companies account for such a large portion of published material, very little has been written about them. Standard books on self-publishing (like Dan Poynter's Manual) concentrate on creating your own company and finding book designers and offset printers, wholesalers and distributors, just like the big boys do. Books on using Print-on-Demand technology like Aaron Shepherd's Aiming at Amazon and Morris Rosenthal's books narrow in on the specifics of that technology but also assume that the reader is creating his own company and simply using a new kind of printing.

For the tens of thousands of aspiring writers who want to find comparisons of what the "POD providers" (aka as self-publishing firms) actually provide, there have been scant resources. An early book by Penny Sansevieri compared about 15 of the companies but that book concentrated on getting publicity once the book was printed. In fact Penny has gone on to become one of the most effective gurus in the book promotion game. Mark Levine's book (which I have not read) concentrates on the legal ramifications of the publisher's contracts with the author.

Now, finally, Stacie Vander Pol, has arrived to do the basic research, crunch the numbers and try to figure out how to compare the competing companies. The author does caution the aspiring writer that no publisher can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. If you proffer a manuscript full of spelling errors, grammatical gaffes and characters who change their name every five pages, your unedited book will be full of the same problems. A good cover and a good edit is worth it whoever does the printing.

Ms. Vander Pol analyzes the "self-publishing" companies from several points of view. Which ones have the most best selling titles on Amazon? Do they allow the writer to break the contract? (In other words, can the author switch to a traditional publisher or start his own company once he has established a following?) What is the royalty rate? Does the company establish the list price or does the author? (A major bone of contention). What is the buyback rate--40% or 50%?

The book covers the dominant players such as Xlibris, PublishAmerica, iuniverse, Create Space, Book Surge, Morgan James and others. There are additional chapters on midsize firms such as Booklocker and Infinity. Several chapters are given over to the titles of best-selling books published by these companies, both non-fiction and fiction.

In my own book, Crafting the Travel Guidebook: How to Write, Publish & Sell Your Travel Book I spend a chapter on the various paths to publishing. And when it comes to subsidy publishers I warn to pick and choose carefully. Now, finally, there is a book on the market that makes that choice so much easier. So the next time a newbie wanders onto my publishers' list with a plaintive cry of "which self-publisher is best?" I can answer, "Boy, do I have a book for you!" Anyone contemplating using a subsidy press should absolutely read this book.

Stacie Vander Pol has done authors and aspiring authors a huge favor by writing this book comparing the top self publishing firms. She provides an incredibly detailed analysis of these firms so that apples can be compared to apples rather than apples compared to oranges and bananas and kiwis and every other fruit in existence.

Her explanations, particularly that all royalties are not the same, are clear and from the point of view of an author. She also covers the highlights of promoting books.

The only thing I found missing is that I would have liked more information on Stacie Vander Pol herself. An author's note explaining her journey undertaking this project would have been appreciated. Perhaps she'll include this information in a revised edition.

Are you considering publishing your own book? Have you been more than a tad confused and often felt overwhelmed by the jargon and choices as a potential self-published author? If so, this breezy, informative primer on self-publishing will probably provide valuable assistance.

More accessible and current than Mark Levine's excellent The Fine Print of Self Publishing: The Contracts & Services of 45 Self-Publishing Companies Analyzed Ranked & Exposed and more informative and systematic than Aiming at Amazon: The NEW Business of Self Publishing, or How to Publish Your Books with Print on Demand and Online Book Marketing on Amazon.com, Top Self Publishing Firms provides a solid overview with practical tips. From my perspective, Stacie Vander Pol demonstrated her marketing savvy in two outstanding, concise chapters: Leveraging Amazon and Promotion that should appeal to both novice and experienced authors. (Note: Pol has an MBA and 15 years of sales and marketing experience, and this book displays her awareness of cost-effective tactics).

What's the weakest part? As the industry continue to evolve, the book has already become a bit dated. For instance, Booksurge has ceased to exist and is now part of CreateSpace. As a former Booksurge author Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics- An Engaging ESL Textbook for Advanced Students who is now with CreateSpace, I found this oversight surprising. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book that I wish I had read when I first started looking into self-publishing - and I picked up several tips here.

Bias confession: Pol mentions Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics- An Engaging ESL Textbook for Advanced Students on p.17 as an example of a successful self-published book. This evaluation raised my spirits on a day when I was feeling less than successful, and her generous evaluation of my small niche book helped me gain perspective. (I lean toward Winston Churchill's classic definition: "Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.") Naturally, I'm quite grateful for gentle warnings against excessive expectations - and suspect other self-published authors will benefit from her reflective opening essay titled Success and Self-Publishing.