In this day and age, very few people are able to secure a publishing contract, so most find that the only way to have their words reach their intended audience is to self publish. This can be done in two different ways:
Commercial self publishing
Commercial self publishing is where the elements of a book are created (cover and internals and possibly an ebook file as well), for uploading to a print-on-demand-service which prints and distributes the book, collecting royalties and passing them back to the author.
This type of self-publishing can require a steep investment by the author, and without marketing, or knowing who the book’s audience might be and how to reach them, the author may not get a decent return on their investment. However, for:
- business owners wanting to publish a book to help with their business promotion and development,
- people with specialised knowledge which others will want to get their hands on, or
- authors who have a series of books in mind,
commercial self publishing is a good option.
Personal self publishing
Personal self publishing is where the elements of a printable book are created (cover and internals), and the author arranges to have a limited number of copies printed for sale or distribution to family or friends, or to the public via their own website or market stalls.
Printing might take place via a local print shop, or via a print-on-demand-with-distribution service, but without making the title available for distribution to third-party buyers. This is often a good option for people writing their biography or family histories where the audience/demand for the book is likely to be small.
How I can help you
I can help with both types of self-publishing.
To help you work out which services you might need, have a browse through my list of self-publishing tasks here, to see what’s involved in self-publishing: A guide to self publishing
Alternatively, click on the links below for more information about the specific services I provide:
- Transcription of recordings, particularly in relation to family history stories
- Manuscript development and writing for family history stories and children’s books
- Copy editing
- Proofreading
- Manuscript and document formatting and layout in Word with conversion to PDF for commercial printing services
- Ebook creation
- Self publishing assistance
For information on current rates per service, please refer to my Rates page.
And should you have any queries or would like to work with me, please feel free to reach out via my Contact form!