Appendix D: Tips for Recognizing a Great
Self-Publishing Company
Determine a Publisher’s Reputation:
- Get some author references from the publisher and find some of the company’s authors on your own, if you aren’t satisfied with the referrals.
- Check out The Independent Publishing Magazine’s service provider review section at http://www. theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/p/below-is-full-list-of— all-publishing.html.
- Look up the publisher’s rating and report at the Better Business Bureau (BBB.org) and look at both the letter rating and the number of complaints.
Assess a Publisher’s Website:
- Check to see how the website looks in your chosen browser.
- Determine whether you can easily navigate the site and find the information you need.
- Check the website copy for readability and grammar/spelling errors.
Determine an Honest Sales Practice:
- Insist on getting a copy of the contract prior to providing your contact information or paying a fee.
- Make sure there is a way to communicate via email with the company prior to signing up.
- If a company representative hounds you relentlessly or lavishes praise on your manuscript before he’s read it, take these as signs to reconsider.
Choose a Reasonably Priced Publishing Package:
- Don’t spend more than you can afford.
- High-quality design skill is worth the extra money.
- Beware of extremely low-priced publishing packages that provide no distribution or distribution only through the publisher’s online store.
- Examine the printing markups and royalty structure in conjunction with a publishing package price. Low-priced publishing packages with huge back-side printing markups and low author royalties are just higher priced publishing packages in disguise.
- If you purchase a publishing package, make sure that all of the basic publishing elements you need are provided.
Determine Production Value:
- Ask for a sample book to assess the quality of the printing, typesetting, and overall appearance.
- Pay attention to the sample’s cover image and back cover to see if the company made any attempt to impress you with a professional appearance.
Determine Printing Markups:
- Ask the publisher to provide a calculation for how the “print cost” or “unit cost” is calculated.
- Check to see whether your price to purchase your own book is calculated from a print cost or from the retail price.
Determine Royalties:
- Confirm your print costs and, if applicable, your book’s minimum retail price so that you can calculate your royalty.
- Keep in mind that if the only way to gain a decent royalty is to price your book past what the market will bear, your sales will suffer.
- Always make sure you know whether the company calculates its royalties from gross or net sales.
Determine the Original Production Files Return Policy:
- Look for the term “production files” rather than just “digital files” or “interior files.” “Digital files” may refer to a low-resolution PDF, which is fine for looking at but is not high-enough quality for reprinting.
- Even if you see “production files” in the contract, make sure this refers to the InDesign or similar files—some contracts confusingly use “production files” to refer to the print-ready PDF, which is misleading.
- If a representative promises that you can have the production files, but there is no language in the contract that addresses this, ask to have the language added to ensure you’re legally entitled to the files.
Compare Add-On Services:
- Make sure you clearly understand what any specific add-on entails and the value of having the company provide it for you.
- Understand whether a company’s markup on standard fees, like copyright registration, is reasonable, and whether its explanation for these fees makes sense.
- Ask to see a sample of an employee or independent contractor’s work before agreeing to allow them to work on your book.
Determine Wholesaler Availability:
- Make sure your book will be distributed through major resellers like Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
- Make sure that your publisher distributes books through Ingram and/or Baker & Taylor.
- Ask for a list of other resellers through which the company may make your book available.
