As a self-publishing coach, I am often asked: Which are the self-publishing companies to avoid? Although this sounds like an easy question to answer, it is not. In the changing landscape of digital publishing, companies are coming and going daily. Self-publishing is an emerging industry. The music and photography industries have already made their transition to the digital age. We enjoy downloadable songs and sheet music, digital cameras, online photographic services, online magazines to name a few. Book publishing is still working through the twists and turns of its transition to online digital publishing.
Therefore, to name self-publishing companies to avoid would be a tricky full-time job. Although this is not the easy answer, education is your best defense against self-publishing scams.
Before you decide which company to hire, learn the basic terminology of self-publishing. Two great tools for this are the Dictionary of Self-Publishing Terms and WIKIPEDIA, the definition of Self-Publishing. Once you understand self-publishing is you handling your own project, which self-publishing company to hire is solved. It is nearly impossible to hand over your self-publishing project to someone else. When you do, you create an unnecessary middleman. As SELF-PUBLISHER, you are responsible for all aspects since everything passes through you (or should). Inviting a third party could complicate and slow down the project.
Avoid self-publishing scams by choosing not to hire a so-called "self-publishing company." By definition, only you, the author, can be the self-publisher. Shift your focus to hiring a good print on demand printing company for book printing. The two most experienced print on demand companies are CreateSpace and LuLu. Educate yourself about the book publishing process. Hire your own freelancers for book covers, interior design, promotional copy, editing, and proofreading. For further details read: Self-Publishing Companies: How to Shop Them. For further education, download our free self-publishing toolkit below.
I read a new report today that estimated the self-publishing industry to be a $52 million a year industry! The times are changing in the publishing industry. We did not expect these kinds of numbers, but apparently a large amount people are bringing their manuscripts out of hiding!
The State of Independence 2014 report looked at insights gathered from publishing executives, Amazon, Google and industry data to come up with its conclusions. The report also revealed that the number of aspiring self-published authors that have completed manuscripts is more than 100 times the number of actual published authors. In addition, according to the report, self-published titles are eight times the number of mainstream published new titles.