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I recently had a conversation with a friend and they asked me how much it cost me to publish my books. The answer is "zero" which surprised them. The fact that they are surprised is (in my view) a sad commentary. The persistent drumbeat and marketing dollars spent by "publishing" companies offering to for a fee "publish" your book has become pervasive.
If anybody is charging you to publish your book, they are not a publisher. They are offering print and fulfillment services and you are the publisher. A publisher handles or contracts with others to handle and pays for:
1) Editing and proofreading
2) Cover design and interior layout
3) Fulfillment - AKA "getting the book into the hands of paying customers"
4) Marketing - even if it's just uploading the information to a web page
To be clear, there's nothing wrong with being your own publisher. Now, like many authors, some of my books "reverted" back to me. In my case, the publisher went out of business. So, I re-issued them and became the publisher. My point though is this - writers get paid, publishers pay. Understand which side of the fence you're on.
If anybody is charging you to publish your book, they are not a publisher. They are offering print and fulfillment services and you are the publisher. A publisher handles or contracts with others to handle and pays for:
1) Editing and proofreading
2) Cover design and interior layout
3) Fulfillment - AKA "getting the book into the hands of paying customers"
4) Marketing - even if it's just uploading the information to a web page
To be clear, there's nothing wrong with being your own publisher. Now, like many authors, some of my books "reverted" back to me. In my case, the publisher went out of business. So, I re-issued them and became the publisher. My point though is this - writers get paid, publishers pay. Understand which side of the fence you're on.
