There are a number of businesses that call themselves “self-publishing companies.” In fact, they are subsidy publishers. That means that, for a fee, they will publish your book. This may be the best option for your book, but it is important to understand the pros and cons before committing to a contract.

Subsidy publishing is a good choice for books such as family genealogies, personal memoirs, and books where the author does not plan to promote and has little or no expectation of selling a large number of copies. If you have written a book that you would like to share with friends and family, but you have no desire to do the promotion and marketing necessary to sell the book to the public, the “self-publishing companies” are perfect for you.

Publishing with these “self-publishing companies” is easy and inexpensive. Authors do not have to learn about publishing or self-publishing, they do not have to invest in ISBNs, hire cover artists and designers, select a printer, or many of the other tasks performed by publishers. For as little as $300, you can have a professionally designed and printed book.

However, do not expect that the book will be stocked by book stores or that readers will buy it just because it is published. The author is still responsible for creating a demand for the book, a task complicated by the fact that the retail price is typically higher than other books because of the print on demand (POD) production method. This means that books are not printed until they are ordered. If necessary, one copy at a time. That makes printing and binding the book much more expensive than books that are printed by the thousands.

The companies listed below are among the best “self-publishing companies.”

Lulu

AuthorHouse