Finding an Online Publisher

Years ago, if someone wanted to get a book self published, they had to pay thousands of dollars. A press would publish the book for the individual and give them a certain amount of copies. All of the copies, plus the fees that were involved in setting the press and printing, were paid for by the author of the self published book. Those who did seek to have their books self published were not thought to be good authors. The name used for self publishing then was vanity press. It was thought that those who got their books published this way just had the money, not the talent, that was needed to be a writer.

The same is not true now. Because so many people purchase books online, more so than at the bookstore, self publishing is seen as much more respectable. And because mainstream press takes very few authors and is so competitive, it is also seen as a way for a writer to have their voice heard.

There have been stories of those who submitted, just for fun, a first chapter and query letter of a great novel to publishers to see if they actually read them. They were returned with standard rejection letters. Many publishing houses will not take writers who are not represented by agents. This makes it very difficult for someone to get their book published as most agents who deal with these publishers only deal with established authors.

Some decide to publish their books using small press publishers. These publishers will not charge a writer for printing their book,, but will also not have the clout to get the book reviewed in the New York Times. The writer has to do all of the marketing for the book and only receives a small portion of the royalties. Needless to say, it makes more sense for a new writer to self publish their book and market it themselves. They can use modern self publishers that print to order and do not charge an enormous fee for publishing a book. The books are given ISBN numbers and are listed on places like Amazon, where most people today are buying books. The author can have their book in a bookstore as long as it has an ISBN. There are many ways for a self published author to market their book.

Since you will most likely do the marketing anyway when you get your book published, you might as well self publish your book with a publisher that does print to order publishing. This way, you get a higher percentage of the profits and the book can be listed online for those who are interested in buying it. Self publishing is the way that many writers today, even those who have been published by small press, are deciding to publish their book.