Let’s take this simple fact. With a highly competitive environment in traditional publishing, many worthwhile authors cannot find a publishing home although there may well be an eager and receptive audience for that book. And, that’s one of the reasons why self-publishing is getting more and more popular with every passing day.

Let us first see what are the services you need to produce and promote your book, which is in fact your long nurtured dream:

•    Typeset your copy: This for the layout of your book. Using a word processor or page layout, your typesetter will do that for you.

•     Printers- for self publishing: Here the thumbrule is that the less copies you print the higher goes your cost.  So, ideally you should negotiate for at least 1,000 copies of your book. Make sure that you print what you are confident of selling. And remember, you can always print more in a second printing.

•      Bookbinders: To produce a hardcover book, you need to look for a binder.

•     Book distributors: You also need to find distributors to get your books listed in their catalogs. Keep it in mind that your distributors are wholesalers to the local book stores.

•     Publicity and marketing: Bear it in your mind that you are your salesman when you go for self-publishing. So, you need to work on every possible thing that encourages your retailers to carry your book and the readers to buy your book. For this purpose you need to be read with press-releases to get media coverage, obtain reviews and .When self publishing you are responsible for encouraging retailers to carry your book and the public to buy your book. You will write press releases, get media coverage, obtain reviews, and organize book signings.

•    Book Cover Design: This is another very crucial factor, if you want to see your book selling.

•    CIP Data: A Cataloging in Publication record or CIP data is a bibliographic record prepared by the Library of Congress for a book that has not yet been published. When the book is published, the publisher includes the CIP data on the copyright page thereby facilitating book processing for libraries and book dealers. You need it if you feel like selling your stuff to the libraries.

•    ISBN Number: It’s a 13 digit commercial book identifier you need to sell your book anywhere.

•    SAN Number: The SAN the Standard Address Number recognizes your publishing address and is available only in the United States.



Self publishing could really be your big break as a writer. Let’s now see the advantages of self publishing…

•    Always in your control: Self-publishing keeps you in firm control of your book. It’s all you who take the decision how your book will turn out…whether to add some more color or use thicker print stock..it’s all up to you. Also, since you are in control, you can offer book returns to please retailers. So, with such ultimate control, self-publishing puts you at par with any publication house. But this isn’t the case when someone else is sponsoring your publication. In that case you can’t take any decision about just anything. Whether it’s the editing part, the cover-design, the title or even the marketing. it’s always your sponsor who would have the last word.

•    Higher return: As because the competition is fierce in printing industry, you can reap in greater profits by self publishing. Because the printing industry is highly competitive you can achieve better profits than traditional publishing.

•    It’s faster: If you go for traditional publishing, it might take you more than two years to release your book. Whereas self publishing is much faster.

•    You retain your profits: This is a real benefit Self publishing allows you that. Here, you do not have to wait for months or years to see your takings. In traditional publishing you get royalties only once or twice a year. And royalty is only a small percentage of the book price. Whereas, when you self publish your book then everything you earn is pure profit once you have covered the publications costs.

•    You can switch over: Finally, in self publishing you always have the option to break into print, but never the other way round.

•    It’s affordable: Besides everything, it’s affordable and very much within your reach…and it has been never so before. Renowned organizations like www.writer4me.com and www.power-publisher.com offers top-class self publishing services at a rate that suits everyone.