There are lots of companies out there for authors who want to self-publish a book. Can anyone recommend one? I’m looking for one that could publish a children’s picture book, preferably in hard cover.
I don’t know a whole lot about self-publishing, but there is Trafford which someone I’m on a mailing list with used. And a tenant of ours is using. They have a blurb on their site about self-publishing a children’s book.
Depends on what you mean.
First of all, don’t expect to make any money self-publishing. It doesn’t happen. For something like a children’s picture book, the odds drop precipitously.
Second, don’t look for a publisher – look for a local commercial printer. They can print copies of your book for far less than any publisher (since there’s no middleman) and in most cases the “publisher” does nothing but take your money.
Avoid anyone who hints that you have a fair chance of success. You don’t. You have to assume it will be a labor of love.
If you want POD publishing, then I’d recommende lulu.com. They give a fair price and allow you to set your price points. If you want a few copies to sell around town, this might work – you can price things at a rate so that the bookstores will carry it and still make a profit.
This isn’t being done for any commercial purpose, so no income is expected. The copies will be given away. It’s entirely a vanity project.
Not experienced here per se, my I’ve seen my father’s work in advertising. As such, it might be best to have a local printer help you. Talking face-to-face about your layouts might give you the best end product.
Adding my support for a local printer. Cut out the middleman.
A friend of mine published a book he wrote (and I laid out!) and went this route. He did/does all the marketing himself, and did ok (maybe broke even). A self-publisher wouldn’t have done anything but made a profit for themselves.
Lulu.com allows you to, pretty much, just upload a Word document and go. You can then set it up so the customer is paying all of the printing cost, with you deciding how much profit you want off the top (though since you’re not printing a batch this route, the books are something like x2 what you would see in a bookstore for a single copy.)
I’ve printed a few things with lulu.com, and found the quality of the final product to be really good. I’d use them again if I just wanted to make a few books to pass around.