The 10 Best Self-Publishing Companies
You’ve spent countless hours refining your manuscript and now you’re ready to get it published. While self-publishing companies have made it easy to manage your own content, they vary greatly in terms of what they can offer and deliver. To understand which company can help you achieve your publishing goals, let’s compare the best self-publishing companies.
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
KDP puts the power of Amazon’s reputation and experience to work, helping independent authors reach more than 300 million international users. KDP also offers enrollment in KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited, which provides opportunities to leverage exclusive Amazon and Kindle promotions and unlimited reading options.
However, enrolling in KDP Select means you can only sell your book digitally on Amazon for 90 days – which could be great if you’re a new author, but may be a marketing nightmare if you’re also trying to promote or sell your work on your own website, blog, social media account or other platform.
IngramSpark
IngramSpark is one of the most famous print-on-demand (POD) publishing companies around. In fact, they work closely with KDP to print and distribute POD hard copies. They claim a global distribution network of over 39,000 libraries, bookstores, schools and universities, as well as Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books and B&N.
While distribution is extensive, the costs can be as well, considering their services do not include design, editing, or page layout. And some authors find the platform time-consuming to learn and hard to navigate.
Barnes & Noble Press
Barnes & Noble Press is an easy-to-use service that enables you to sell directly to millions of B&N readers. Because of their reputation, B&N provides many resources to help authors navigate the process, including partnerships with some of the industry’s best editors, designers, marketers and publishers. However, books self-published on B&N Press are available only in B&N’s online and physical bookstores.
Apple Books
Through its Apple Books for Authors platform, Apple markets self-published books directly to more than 100 million Mac users around the globe. While their system is free and easy to use, you have to be a Mac user or use an aggregator – a service that distributes your work across multiple platforms – to publish directly to the Apple Store.
Self-Publishing School
The Self-Publishing School provides a full online curriculum to help authors start their self-publishing career in as little as 90 days. They’ve produced more than 5,000 authors and provide a wealth of educational resources to help students and prospective authors understand what it takes to be successful in the self-publishing industry.
Kobo
Kobo is based in Canada and is a subsidiary of Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company. Kobo alone accounts for nearly a quarter of all Canadian ebook sales. Kobo offers a free, open platform called Kobo Writing Life, which helps self-published authors easily upload their manuscript and add it to the Kobo catalog in three days. Kobo only publishes ebooks, so if you want to hold hard copy of your book in your hands, you will need to go elsewhere.
Reedsy
Reedsy simplifies the self-publishing process by connecting authors with freelance editors, proofreaders, formatters, cover designers, marketing strategists and ghostwriters, all in an easy one-stop-shop. One big difference is that Reedsy is not a retailer or aggregator; rather, they focus on providing education and reliable services to help authors prepare their work for publication.
Lulu
As one of the oldest publishing platforms, Lulu not only makes it easy for authors to self-publish by offering a ton of information and a slew of services, they also aggregate distribution across various online retail sellers, including B&N, Apple and Amazon. Unfortunately, they do not provide any editing or design assistance, so your book needs to be print-ready before using Lulu.
PublishDrive
As a relative newcomer, PublishDrive urges authors to focus on producing content and letting them take care of the rest. As an aggregator that partners with Google and Apple, PublishDrive makes it easy for authors to earn international exposure. They also offer a unique subscription plan that could help authors earn more in total sales. What they do not offer is any service prior to the production phase, like obtaining an ISBN number or formatting the interior of the book.
Publish Pros
Publish Pros is a small, full-service self-publishing company that prides itself in providing the type of personal attention other companies have traded in for templates and how-to webinars. Our services include cover design, interior page layout, editing, proofreading, distribution, illustration, and promotion. We also create author websites and provide the resources needed to market a book both online and in brick-and-mortar stores.
We are known for being the most comprehensive and most compassionate option. If you are looking for a true partner to take the self-publishing journey with you, Publish Pros is who you need.
Choosing the best self-publishing company for you relies heavily on a number of factors – how involved you want to be in the process, your timing and budget, even where and how widely you want your book to be available to potential readers.
Publish Pros can help you manage your vision and focus on achieving your self-publishing dreams. We are your personal, professional, go-to resource to handle every aspect of getting your book from first draft to finished. Contact us today!
