Ebook publishers, Subsidy Publishing, Online Resellers

Ebook publishers or resellers exist in a variety of forms offering various options for sales of your content. Some reseller sites resemble vanity or subsidy publishing companies because they provide most of the production details for getting your book ready to sell while marketing and promotion is left up to you.

These providers may call themselves publishing companies, but in most cases, you, the author pay fees to see your book in print or available online which ends their 'publishing' obligation. A 'real' publishing company pays you for the right to license your book, not that the traditional publishing model works so great for most authors.

All ebook resellers are not alike and working with carefully selected sites will be to your advantage. A big plus is that instead of getting one royalty check from one publisher, you could receive ten or twenty royalty checks depending on how many sites your ebook is available from.

Just because an online reseller site has your ebook ready for delivery, there is no guarantee it will sell. The situation is similar to getting your paper books into bookstores. Unless you create the publicity that drives customers to the stores, you won't see many sales.

When examining publishing packagers and resellers, remember:

Each ebook reseller will have its own policies.
Be careful to read all the fine print before entering into any agreements.
Some sites require you to sign over exclusive electronic rights to publishing your material digitally. Avoid granting exclusive electronic publishing rights to a single epublisher because such an arrangement is not in your best interest.
Determine if the site is a "reseller" of published work, a subsidy or vanity publishing company that helps you publish, or a publisher to whom you assign rights. Some companies may offer a combination of programs and options.

Services offered

Here is a list of the possible services you can contract to have a reselling or subsidy publisher accomplish for you. Compare the prices charged with what you would pay for doing it yourself before committing to any agreement.

You could easily spend $400 to $1,000 for a publishing package. Remember this is for production services, not marketing, which you are left to handle. You must determine ahead of time whether you can sell enough books to recoup your costs and make a profit.

Resellers may offer some of the following services:

Editing services.
Convert your text file to PDF, OEB, HTML or other formats for delivery.
Lay-out internal text pages and design cover.
Print-on-demand production of your paperbound books in hardcover or softcover.
Order taking, credit card processing, delivery or downloading to customer.
Assign ISBN number.
Get your title in the database of Ingram for sale to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc.
Get Copyright forms registered.
Get Library of Congress forms registered.
Apply bar coding for sales to bookstores, mass markets, libraries.
Promotional marketing packages.

Ebook resellers and publishing package providers

Here is a partial list of epublishing services excerpted from the book, Ebook Publishing Success. To learn more about how to work with these companies, see the book.

This list is alphabetical and not rated for use or satisfaction. Visit each seller's sites and read their terms carefully, especially costs of services, royalty rates and payment schedules. Look for a reseller who lets you retain all rights including the right to sell your ebook through other resellers and through any and all other channels.

This article is copyrighted and excerpted from the book Your Guide to Ebook Publishing Success by James Dillehay, member of the advisory board to the National Craft Association.

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