Questions You Should Ask Your Self-Publishing Company

Since the days of “If you pay to get your book published” advice was the norm, there are many more options for self-publishing. Putting your precious manuscript in the hands of a self-publishing company is no easy feat and there are still scammers out there. You want to ensure you pick a company that will care for your book as much as you do and do so with integrity. To ensure you find the right partner for your book, you must first vet them properly. Here are the top questions you should ask your self-publishing company before picking one to partner with.  

What Types of Books Do You Publish? 

When choosing a self-publishing partner, you’ll want a company that understands your target reader and is familiar with your genre or market. Look to see who they’ve published and what those authors are saying. Legitimate publishing companies will be happy to show off their work and allow you to see testimonials from their authors. At EABooks Publishing, we specialize in Christian book publishing and have testimonials from our authors on our website. You can click on the covers of their books, which links to their Amazon page so you can use the search inside feature.  

How Much Will Publishing My Book Cost?  

While some self-publishing advice may tell you not to pay to self-publish your book, there are many legitimate reasons paying a service fee to a self-publishing partner will help you get your book published, distributed, and marketed efficiently and professionally. Ask about any additional fees an author may encounter. These hidden fees are sometimes a ploy—what we call up charging. Ensure you understand all the costs of publishing before deciding on a partner.  

Learn more about EABooks’ publishing packages here.  

What Additional Services Do You Provide? 

Many self-publishing partners provide various services to get your book into the hands of interested readers. From marketing to cover illustration and editing, take advantage of everything your publishing partner offers. At EABooks we feel that editing services are the most important for an author to spend money on. A well edited book is a well selling book.  

How Will My Book Be Distributed?  

Will you offer your book in print and digital formats? Are you interested in print-on-demand services or offset printing? Offset means you will have a garage full of books to sell or your publisher will warehouse. You’ll want to know how you want your book distributed when deciding on a self-publishing partner. Certain publishers may specialize in specific types of distribution services. We offer two choices in distribution. Ask us about the differences. 

What Percentage of Book Sales Do You Take? 

You’ll want to clearly understand what you’ll make in royalties from book sales before signing a contract with a self-publishing partner. This will help you avoid shock once you start bringing in book profits and realize you signed an agreement that gives your publishing partner a large percentage of royalties. Some self-publishing companies, like EABooks Publishing, don’t take profits from your book sales. When you partner with us, you pay for our services at a flat rate. Then, you get to keep all the profits from your book sales.  

Another related question is how much will you pay for your book when you purchase it to resell it, and how much does the publisher add to this cost? At EABooks, you pay cost with nothing added. Most of our competitors make money by adding to this cost—some as much as $5. On average, our authors pay $2—$4 for their books.  

Who Will Own My Book After It’s Published?  

When you self-publish a book, you should retain all its rights. Read your publishing contract closely to ensure there isn’t tiny print that signs the rights to your book away. This is a common tactic vanity presses and publishing scams use to exploit new authors. Be wary of self-publishers who do this. Also, ask about your files—do you get them back, and are they print-ready? Yes, and yes, to this question from EABooks. 

What’s The Timeframe To Publish My Book?  

While editing, printing, and distributing can vary between each book, you’ll want to understand the general timeline to get your book out to readers. That way, you can ensure you and your publishing partner are on the same page throughout the process. We work off a five to six-month timeframe, but some projects have taken longer because of the complication of the project. Ask us, and we’ll provide that answer for your project. 

EABooks Publishing: Your Self-Publishing Partner 

EABooks Publishing has an experienced team dedicated to bringing your story to the shelves. We’re here to guide you through every step of the self-publishing process. Learn how we can help you make the dream of publishing your book a reality. Contact us for a consultation to get started.