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Last updated on Feb 07, 2023

The 17 BEST Self-Publishing Companies of 2023

Deciding to self-publish your book is both exciting and nerve-wracking. Once your book has been edited , designed , and you have a marketing plan in place, you still have to figure out how you'll publish and distribute your work — the number of options available is so large that it can be a bit overwhelming.

There are a lot of companies out there advertising their services to self-publishing authors. Some of them are reputable but many of them are vanity presses looking to take advantage of aspiring authors . 

In this article, we’ll guide you through the 17 best self-publishing companies in the industry to see which ones you might want to work with — depending on the book you’ve written. And don't forget to grab a free book launch checklist while you're at it to make sure that you're checking off all  of the boxes before the big day!

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Ebook Distributors

The beauty of ebook publishing is that any author can upload and launch their books without any outside help. Broadly speaking you can take two approaches to this process:

• Sell directly through book retailers , such as Amazon and B&N Press. These are online bookstores where your book can be discovered and sold. Big book retailers generally provide a branded ebook publishing platform for you to individually upload your book.
• Use an aggregator , such as Draft2Digital and Smashwords, to distribute to a bunch of book retailers all at once . This will probably save you time and energy, though you’ll need to pay an extra fee for their services.

When you’re publishing an ebook, regardless of the approach, you’ll get to keep the lion’s share of the profits. Most retailers and aggregators will only take a cut of the royalties once a copy of your book is sold.

But what’s best for your book will depend on your personal situation. So, first, we recommend taking this quick 1-minute quiz that will help point you towards the best self-publishing company for you.

Which self-publishing company is right for you?

Find out here! Takes one minute.

That said, if you want to get an overview of the ebook publishing landscape then read on! 

Let's start with the four most prominent book retailers . Book retailers are the stores through which you’ll actually sell your book to the public — which means that they’re pretty important as far as your self-publishing ambitions are concerned! Like we mentioned before, each retailer offers its own ebook publishing platform for authors to upload their books. Where they differ is in the cut that they take of your royalties and their exclusivity programs.

1. Amazon KDP

💰 Pricing: Free to upload 💸 Royalties: 70% on ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 OR 35% if priced below $2.99

Amazon is the titan of online bookstores — accounting for 74% of U.S. ebook sales in 2015 — it is the world's biggest seller of digital volumes. It's no wonder Amazon is often the first retailer authors consider to sell their titles.

Kindle Direct Publishing ( KDP ) is Amazon’s self-publishing platform (not to be confused with " Amazon Publishing " — their division that operates like a traditional publisher). Any author can self-publish using KDP, though you’ll need to do it manually yourself.

Note that Amazon KDP is not the same as Amazon KDP Select. KDP Select is Amazon’s exclusivity program — meaning that, if you choose to enroll in it, you can only sell your book on Amazon. In exchange for this, Amazon will give you:

• Access to Kindle Countdown Deals and free promotions. You can discount your book — and even set it to free on the Kindle store — for a certain period every 90 days. Learn more about the power of discounting (and the smart way to go about it) in this Reedsy Live .
• Enrollment in Kindle Unlimited . KU is Amazon’s subscription service for readers, which allows members to read as much as they want. It’s very popular and a good portion of Amazon customers only read titles from KU these days.

If you’ve researched these perks and decided that KDP Select is the route for you, then there’s no need to read the rest of this post, as you’ve essentially agreed not to use any other self-publishing company 🙂 Instead, you can familiarize yourself with the KDP Select program with these resources:

• KDP Select vs. “Going Wide” — Which Option is Right For You?
• How to Self-Publish with Amazon
• The Complete Guide to Ebook Distribution

2. Apple Books

💰 Pricing: Free to upload 💸 Royalties: 70% on most books

Another big name that everyone should know, Apple founded its self-publishing arm in 2010. In 2012, Apple announced that 400 million books were downloaded on Apple Books (though it’s important to note that the number of downloads differs from the number of books sold , as The Digital Reader clarifies in this post ). Though Amazon has far eclipsed it as the foremost ebook reading platform since then, Apple Books still gets a fair amount of eyes.

While figuring out ways to monetize a book on Apple Books might be a challenge, it’s much easier to actually publish one. Using iBooks Author, self-publishing authors can quite easily upload their titles onto Apple Books, all without having to pay a fee!

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3. Barnes & Noble Press

💰 Pricing: Free to upload 💸 Royalties: 70% on ebooks priced above $0.99

As you might expect, Barnes & Noble Press (formerly known as NOOK Press) is the self-publishing platform belonging to the big box bookseller. It has pretty infamously struggled for market share against Amazon. However, as far as interfaces are concerned, B&N Press is easy to use — and, similar to the other big retailers, it’s free to upload your book. Exclusivity is not required to publish with B&N Press.

It’s important to note that you can set your book for free on this platform. What’s more, Barnes & Noble is still working on innovating and adding new features for self-published writers. In January 2021, B&N Press introduced an ad portal to help new authors to create marketing campaigns on the Barnes & Noble website for their books. Check out this page for more information on self-publishing on B&N Press.

4. Rakuten Kobo

💰 Pricing: Free to upload 💸 Royalties: 70% on ebooks priced more than $2.99 in the U.S. OR 45% for books priced below $2.99

Rakuten Kobo is the last big retailer that you should know. It’s a Canadian company (that’s a subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten) — as such, it’s got a strong reach in the international ebook market. Kobo is only the #5 store in terms of market share in the U.S., though it’s growing year by year.

If you're hoping to reach readers outside of the U.S., Kobo is a strong candidate. Kobo's self-publishing arm, Kobo Writing Life, is simple and free to use. It also comes with several perks, including exclusive promotion opportunities, if you choose to distribute through Kobo and not an aggregator.

Speaking of aggregators… if you’re getting a migraine just thinking about uploading your book onto all of these different book retailers by yourself, then perhaps aggregators are what you’re looking for.

Aggregators collect and manage all of these markets: pushing your book to each retailer and centralizing it all into one sales report. With a single upload to, say, Draft2Digital, your book would be on sale on Amazon, B&N Press, Apple Books, Kobo — and even smaller retailers.

Then you’ll be able to track your sales across all of these retailers through the aggregator’s interface, receiving monthly royalty checks. In exchange for this service, an aggregator will take an additional cut of your royalties — which means that this route is for anyone who wants to quickly save on time and doesn’t mind paying extra.

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5. Draft2Digital

💰 Pricing: 10% of the book’s retail price per copy sold 📇 Distributes to: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play Books , Kobo, Playster, Tolino, OverDrive, Scribd, Bibliotheca — more info here

If you decide to use an aggregator, Draft2Digital is the one that we recommend at Reedsy. Why’s that? Lots of factors, including excellent customer support, a user-friendly dashboard, and a sleek website design. Not to mention the extra perks that D2D packs into the deal: they do the formatting for you . D2D also:

• Gives authors Universal Book Links (UBL) . As its name suggests, these UBLs make books discoverable by allowing authors to generate a link to each of their books, which goes straight to the customer’s preferred book retailer.
• Touts an “automated back matter” tool. This nifty service automatically adds your newly published ebook to the “Also by this author” section of any other book you’ve distributed via D2D.

Add the fact that it distributes to all of the major ebook stores, and you’ve pretty much got the whole package in Draft2Digital.

6. Smashwords

💰 Pricing: 15% of the retail price on Smashwords and 10% on other platforms per copy sold 📇 Distributes to: Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Kobo, Blio, the Smashwords store — more info here

The original aggregator, Smashwords was the undisputed king in town until Draft2Digial entered the picture. However, Smashwords is still very popular today.

On a simple side-by-side comparison, Smashwords and Draft2Digital offer similar pricing structures and royalties. Where Smashwords falls short is in terms of its user experience — you need to do the formatting yourself on Smashwords, which definitely isn’t a piece of cake. Smashwords also does not distribute books to Amazon . That said, outside of Amazon, it’s got a slightly more extensive distribution network than Draft2Digital, so if you want to sell your book to smaller retailers, this might work. Kindlepreneur's Dave Chesson wrote an in-depth take on the differences between Smashwords and Draft2Digital, which you can read here .

7. PublishDrive

💰 Pricing: 10% of the retail price per copy sold OR subscription pricing 📇 Distributes to: Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, OverDrive, Playster, Odilo, Bookmate — more info here

PublishDrive might be the new kid on the block, but it’s definitely made the most of its time. Founded in 2015, it works with over 4,500 publishers and can now connect you to over 400 stores. It’s got all the workings of the other aggregators: a modern interface and regular sales reports to keep you up-to-date on your profits. What sets PublishDrive apart from the pack are:

• PublishDrive’s subscription pricing options. If you just agree to pay $100 per month, you can keep all of your royalties, which might be a good fit for established authors.
• Its distribution options. Along with all of the major Western retailers, PublishDrive also specializes in international distribution, giving indie authors access to foreign markets that were previously out of reach.

8. StreetLib

💰 Pricing: 10% of the retail price per copy sold 📇 Distributes to: Amazon, Google Play, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, OverDrive, Indigo, Baker & Taylor — more info here

Another international distributor, StreetLib gives you even more options if you’re aiming to reach an international audience. It’s got a strong presence in Latin America and Europe, to the extent that its dashboard can be configured in English, Italian, Spanish, Hindi — and more! One other case in point for its international strength: in January 2019, it began offering its services for authors in Egypt.

Originally founded in Europe, StreetLib is certainly great for international distribution, but if your plan is to include the U.S. and U.K. as well, it's also got your back. As of April 2019, it distributes books to all major Western stores.

💰 Pricing: 30% of net sales for books priced more than $2.49 OR 60% for works between below $2.48 📇 Distributes to: Amazon, Hugendubel, Angus & Robertson, Thalia, Buecher, Whitcoulls, Indigo, Kobo, Livraria Cultura, Kobo, Scribd — more info here

XinXii isn’t actually Chinese — it’s based in Berlin. (Surprise!) As such, it offers authors foreign distribution channels that might not be readily available elsewhere. Note that it’s got a particularly strong presence in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. However, its customer support could be found wanting, and its user interface is a bit on the clunky side: trade-offs that the author will need to make to conduct business with XinXii.

Author Services for Self-Publishing Authors

Now, if you haven’t gotten as far in the publishing process as the actual publishing bit, and you’re still concerned with the editing, design, and formatting of your book, then perhaps the companies above don’t quite match what you’re looking for. Thankfully, there’s one place where you can access world-class talent to take care of all three — and you’re already there 😉.

💰 Pricing: Average costs here 🖋️Services: Editing, interior design, cover design, illustrations, and more.

A marketplace for freelance publishing professionals, Reedsy is where authors can connect with editors and designers with years of relevant experience in traditional publishing. Each professional sets their own rate — you can get quotes from up to five of them a time and find the ones that best suit your needs and budget. 

In addition to the marketplace, Reedsy has a book formatting tool that allows any author to quickly create a professional-grade ebook and print book file — at no cost whatsoever. 

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Print-on-Demand Services for Self-Publishing Authors

While most self-publishing authors will rely on the ebook market for most of their sales, that doesn’t mean they should overlook the printed book. After all, there’s nothing quite like holding a beautifully designed paperback in your hand! And with print-on-demand technology that allows for copies to be produced only when they’re purchased, almost any indie author can put a paperback up for sale — without breaking the bank.

If that sounds good to you, then here’s a quick look at some of the major players in POD.

11. KDP Print

💰 Pricing: Learn more here 📇 Distributes to: Amazon (naturally), others through Expanded Distribution .

Formerly known as CreateSpace , Amazon’s own print-on-demand service has the benefit of sharing Kindle Direct Publishing’s platform. Authors already selling ebooks on KDP can easily launch a print edition by uploading a formatted PDF and cover design with a spine and a back. With KDP’s Expanded Distribution option, authors can sell to shops and libraries across the globe — though it’s important to note many booksellers are inclined to order through Amazon.

12. IngramSpark

💰 Pricing: Learn more here 📇 Distributes to: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Follett, EBSCO, Booktopia, Kobo, Zola Books, 24Symbols, Bookmate

IngramSpark, owned by Ingram, the biggest book wholesaler in the world. If your focus is on getting your book into brick-and-mortar stores, it’s worth setting your book up with this company (perhaps in addition to KDP Print, which you can use to sell your book on Amazon). For more info, read our IngramSpark review .

Book Marketing 101

Learn seven tried-and-true strategies for boosting book sales.

💰 Pricing: Learn more here

📇 Distributes to: Amazon, Apple Books, the Blurb bookstore

Blurb is one of the most well-known and trusted print-on-demand services out there. We particularly recommend it for visual works — such as magazines and photo books. For an in-depth evaluation of its user-friendliness and pictures of the quality of its printed books, go to this review .

14. BookBaby

💰 Pricing: Learn more here 📇 Distributes to: Amazon, Google Play, Vearsa, Apple Books, Kobo, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, Books-A-Million

Boasting an easy-to-use interface and reliable customer service, BookBaby is an option for many first-time self-publishing authors. To learn more about BookBaby, go to this review .

Marketing Services for Self-Publishing Authors

Getting your book published is only half the battle, of course. You’ve created a wonderful book and launched it on the world’s biggest retailer platforms — but you still need to find a way to make people buy it. To help your book reach its potential, there are few companies you can turn to for assistance.

15. Reedsy Discovery

💰 Pricing: $50

Reedsy Discovery helps thousands of self-publishing authors get the boost they need every month. When you submit your book, you get an editorial review in time for your launch date — as well as a chance to be featured in our weekly newsletter, sent out to over 200,000 eager readers.

In addition to reviews, Reedsy’s marketplace has dozens of experienced book marketers who can help you optimize your book’s product page, plan an ad campaign, and perfect your email marketing strategy.

16. BookBub

💰 Pricing: Varies among genres

Perhaps the single biggest promotional platform in publishing, BookBub offers self-publishing authors a powerful way to publicize their discount deals. Through BookBub’s Featured Deals and self-serve ads , an author can tap into their subscriber-base and access devoted fans of almost any genre.

However, these days, it’s incredibly hard for self-publishing authors to secure one of their featured deals. Thankfully, BookBub has more than a little competition.

17. Written Word Media

💰 Pricing: Varies between platforms

With a range of platforms catering to free and discounted books (the most prominent of which is their newsletters), Written Word Media provides authors with another way to connect with thousands of readers. Together with FreeBooksy and BargainBooksy (which promote free and bargain books, naturally), WMM has other sites devoted to steamy romances, new releases, and even audiobooks .

And if that isn’t enough, you can find more services over on Reedsy’s directory of book promotion sites .

Whichever options you choose, understand that it may take a bit of trial and error until you realize your perfect self-publishing system. There's no right or wrong way to go about it — which is all a part of learning how to self-publish a book in the first place.

Continue reading

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18 Top eBook Publishing Platforms

By Katrina Kwan

If you want to publish your book in the traditional fashion, these 15 ebook publishers are accepting submissions . One of these might be the perfect publishing house for your digital book.

On the other hand, if you want to self-publish, below you’ll find 18 top ebook publishing platforms.

Continue reading to learn about the platforms and what you need to do to get started with them.

1. Kindle Direct Publishing (CreateSpace)

CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing (both owned by Amazon) have recently combined their services. They now operate under Kindle Direct Publishing, one of the most popular eBook publishers amongst independent authors today. The great thing about having their services combined is that KDP can not only publish your book in e-form, but as physical paperback copies, as well.

With KDP, publishing your book can take up to five minutes, and can be available on Kindle worldwide within 24-48 hours. Through this particular platform, you can earn up to 70% royalty on your ebook sales (a significant amount when compared to traditionally published authors). As a bonus, there are no fees associated with publishing your book. It’s just that simple!

Kindle Direct Publishing has been known to have excellent 24/7 customer service and support. Whether it’s a question about the publishing process itself, formatting, questions about earnings and royalty, their knowledgeable staff is more than capable of guiding you and lending a helping hand.

2. IngramSpark

You can easily publish, distribute, promote and manage your work through this platform. IngramSpark is an ebook publishing platform that has often been said to rival those services of Kindle Direct Publishing.

The platform has been designed to help independent authors succeed, offering both ebook, paperback, and hardcover printed copies of your work. IngramSpark has the capability of reaching nearly forty thousand retailers, libraries, and online retailers around the world to increase your books visibility in the market.

Unlike KDP, publishing your ebook through this particular channel is not free. Rather, there are flat rates to publish with IngramSpark, but it does come with a wide variety of support services like 24/7 customer support, affordable conversion services, accessibility to retailers like Amazon, Kobo, Nook, and iBooks, and advertising opportunities.

It costs $25 to publish an ebook, $49 if you want to publish in print, but IngramSpark also has a deal where you can bundle both ebook and print publishing together for just $49. For more information, visit their website . Their support center is more than happy to help should you have any questions.

3. iBooks Author

Supported by Apple, iBooks Author provides a simple way to publish your ebooks and reaches all Apple users through the platform, whether they’re on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. When it comes to this platform, it was designed specifically with educators in mind.

You’ll be able to include a variety of texts, fonts, colors, images, interactive widgets and even charts! If you’re more of a writer than a formatter, iBooks offers a wide selection of templates to choose from to help get you started.

4. Nook Press by Barnes & Noble

Fortune 500 company and renowned bookseller, Barnes & Noble, has its very own ebook publishing platform for aspiring independent writers to use called Nook Press. In a day and age where almost everybody has a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer, self-publishing is a great way to get your book out into the world without having to go through the tedious and long process of traditional publishing.

You can easily upload your book in as few as 20 minutes through Nook Press, potentially reach millions of readers, have the option to print hardcover and paperback copies, all while making money while doing so! Through Nook Press, independent ebook authors can earn up to 60% royalty on sales.

5. Kobo Writing Life

With over a million Kobo readers, Kobo Writing Life offers an excellent and easy-to-use platform for first-time ebook authors. It’s as easy as signing up from an author account, uploading your manuscript and hitting submit! You should see your book available in the Kobo store within 72 hours. You get to set the price of your book, run your own promotions, and have detailed reports available to let you know how your book is selling.

The great thing about Kobo Writing Life is that they do not own exclusive rights over your published ebook. You’re more than welcome to publish your manuscript on other platforms as well to widen your potential readership.

6. Smashwords

For those independent writers in search of a free ebook publishing platform, considering using Smashwords. Smashwords is actually the world’s largest distributor of indie ebooks. They provide authors with free tools to market, distribute, and manage their content. Any independent author looking to publish their book with Smashwords will definitely feel supported throughout their publishing journey.

Founded in 2008 by Mark Coker, Smashwords has successfully published over 135,000 authors since its inception. The platform is able to distribute to readers using their iPhones, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, as well as other e-reading devices.

7. Draft2Digital

Independent writers who are looking for support through their publishing journey should consider checking out Draft2Digital. They will help you format your ebook, publish in both ebook and print form, and distribute on your behalf.

You get to choose the listing price and manage your sales through detailed reports and analyses. The service is completely free to use, and Draft2Digital only charges 10% of the retail prices (a really great deal in comparison to a lot of other ebook publishers).

Lulu is an online publisher that can easily turn your books into print or ebook form. It’s free to publish on this platform, and you control the details of your project from start to finish. With global distribution capabilities, easily reach readers worldwide!

In comparison to publishing platforms like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Press, and IngramSpark, you can actually earn a lot more in terms of royalty. Lulu has a great forum for authors to support other authors, and even offer professional publishing services like cover design and illustration, editing, and marketing services at an additional cost.

9. BookBaby

BookBaby works closely with Amazon to help distribute your ebook to a wide readership. One of the best things about this particular platform is the fact that they don’t take any commission. You get to keep 100% of your net sales. You also get paid every week upon hitting a set threshold that you choose. BookBaby provides a great deal of support by offering expert ebook file conversion, fast and affordable editing services, and professionally designed ebook covers,

10. Inkshares

As seen in the Wall Street Journal, Jamie & Adam Tested, Wired, and the New York Times, Inkshares is an online publisher that helps independent authors from start to finish. They offer editing and proofing services, are able to produce your ebook and give you full control over internal layout design, cover design and printing, as well as distribute to hundreds of independent bookstores and online retailers like Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble. You can even set pre-orders for your book!

Create beautiful and captivating ebooks with Blurb. Compatible with Apple iPhone, iPad and Amazon Kindle, easily reach your readers through Blurb’s online publishing platform. Blurb even offers a free desktop tool called BookWrite that will help you format your ebook and make it ready for publication.

There is a one-time $9.99 (USD) fee to publish, but any sales made after aren’t subject to any royalty charges from Blurb. They offer distribution through their own bookstore, through Amazon, IngramSpark and Apple iBooks.

12. eBookIt

eBookIt was created in 2010 and offers ebook publishing services to its others, including creation, formatting, distribution, author and book promotion, print on demand services and even online courses to assist independent authors on their publishing journey all for a flat fee of $99 (USD). They only take 15% of net payments earned, and are able to distribute to retailers like Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, Kobo, Google Play, Baker and Taylor, Scribd and their own ebook store.

13. PublishDrive

Trusted by major brands like Forbes, Apple and Google, PublishDrive is an excellent ebook publishing platform for any independent author hoping to get their work out to the world. There are no upfront costs to publish, and their platform is intuitively designed to help authors get published.

Simply upload your book in the form of a word document or ebook file, watch your book get published and distributed through retailers like Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Kindle, Scribd, Barnes and Nobles and nearly 240k libraries worldwide. Easily track your ebooks sales through their analytic display screen and watch as you earn royalties.

14. Hummingbird Digital Media

While smaller than some other ebook publishing platforms, Hummingbird can help those looking to publish their ebooks or audiobooks. It only takes a few minutes to register your account as a merchant, and you can start selling your ebook right away. Earnings will be directly deposited to your account, so there’s no need to wait for your royalty cheques in the mail! You’ll earn roughly 12-23% of your retail price for each ebook sold.

15. Streetlib

With Streetlib, there are no up-front costs, no subscription fees, and you even get a free ISBN for your ebook. Streetlib only charges 10% of the list price for each copy of your ebook that you sell. Your ebooks will be compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones, as well as any desktop computer, meaning that you’ll be able to reach a wide and eager audience.

Partnered with Amazon Kindle, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and over 150 other retailers, distribution of your ebook is a simple process! Streetlib even offers writing forums to help you connect with other ebook and indie authors to discuss reading, writing, publishing and every other related question you may have.

16. FastPencil

With FastPencil, you can choose to publish ebooks, and print books in paperback or even hardcover. The platform offers an in-browser workspace where you can write, edit and format your manuscript before deciding to publish your work. FastPencil is partnered with some major retailer names like Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Nobel and more.

There’s no need to worry about buying your own inventory and worrying about distribution. You can easily track and manage your book’s promotion, sales and calculate your earnings with FastPencil’s in-browser analyses page. And what’s more, signing up to use their services is completely free!

17. Outskirts Press

Self-publishing an ebook can be an intimidating process, and the staff at Outskirts Press understand that we all need a little guidance sometimes. Their ebook publishing services can be tailored to meet your distribution needs.

They offer four packages: ebooks for Apple iPad/iPhone, Barnes & Noble Nook ebooks, Amazon Kindle ebooks, and their 3-in-1 Elite ebook bundle that is designed to be distributed across all three aforementioned platforms. Their 3-in-1 service is normally listed at $1097 (USD). While on the higher end of publishing fees, Outskirts Press helps with professional formatting, editing, promotion and distribution to really make your ebook standout from the competition.

18. Slicebooks

For as little as $9 (USD) a month, Slicebooks can help independent writers get their ebooks published and distributed to a wide range of retailers and public libraries. With a few simple clicks and an intuitive website design, you can publish ebooks.

Founded in 2013, Slicebooks has often been referred to as “the iTunes for ebooks.” Based out of Aurora, Colorado, this ebook publisher represents authors from the US, Europe, Asia and even Latin America. Easily repackage your content and redistribute your ebook to your own preferred channels with Slicebooks!

What did you think of our list of 18 top ebook publishing platforms? Are there any others you know of? Please tell us about them in the comments box below!

K. Z. Kwan is a freelance writer based out of Halifax, Canada.

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Self Publishing Company MINDSTIR MEDIA

Best Self-Publishing Platforms for Books in 2023 and Beyond

In order to choose the best self-publishing platform for your book, you should first learn about the two major types of platforms

Tom arnold is a believer in self-publishing with mindstir media, 2.) barnes & noble press (formerly nook press), 3.) rakuten kobo aka kobo writing life, 4.) seacoast press, 5.) smashwords, 6.) ingramspark, 9.) apple books (formerly ibooks), 10.) google play books partner center, faq about using self-publishing platforms.

• Do-it-yourself self-publishing platform: This type of platform is exactly what it sounds like. In our opinion, DIY options are severely limiting for authors. You’ll need to handle all the pre-production stages yourself (or hire freelancers to help), including book cover design, editing, interior layout, marketing and more.
• One-stop shop self-publishing platform: This platform will cover all your self-publishing needs under one company’s roof. This option is especially suitable for folks who either don’t have the time or inclination to do all the work themselves but still want to enjoy the benefits of self-publishing such as retaining their copyright and publishing rights and keeping creative control.

Now that you know the major types of self-publishing platforms, it’s important to also know that there is no right or “best” self-publishing platform for everyone. Each author and book are different, so individual research needs to take place before deciding on the best self-publishing company for you and your book.

Do you prefer to do everything on your own? If so, the do-it-yourself platforms are most likely ideal for you. Do you prefer to defer to professionals? If the answer is yes, the one-stop shop platforms are probably a perfect fit.

Here is a list of 10 best self-publishing platforms (companies that help with the self-publishing process):

1.) mindstir media.

Features and accolades:

• Ranked as the #1 self-publishing company website and platform according to Penny Matters , BestTechie and iTech Post .
• Won numerous awards and, for over a decade, MindStir’s self-publishing services and consultations have helped thousands of authors.
• Authors enjoy access to top-notch services: book design; editorial; distribution to around 30,000 booksellers, retailers and wholesalers in over 100 countries (through Ingram); marketing and publicity.
• Authors receive mentoring from a bestselling author.
• This is a one-stop shop platform for self-publishing paperback, hardcover and ebook formats.
• Offers financing options.
• Partnered with Shark Tank’s Kevin Harrington and Mariel Hemingway.
• Up to 100% royalties paid to authors.

MindStir Media Review

Fox Business Network’s Elizabeth MacDonald

I had a great experience with J.J. Hebert and his team at MindStir Media. Thoughtful, attentive, responsive, I couldn’t be happier. J.J. and his team went above and beyond, top-notch. Really terrific.

Limitations:

• Might be outside your budget.
• MindStir doesn’t accept all projects.
• Projects sometimes take longer than 90 days.
• A redesigned, user-friendly online platform.
• As a leader among self-publishing companies, Barnes & Noble Press helps authors self-publish Nook eBooks, paperback and hardcover formats.
• This is a do-it-yourself platform.
• Fast self-publishing turnaround times.
• They recently updated their royalty rates to 70%.
• Distribution is limited to BN.com and Nook devices.
• They do not provide services such as editorial, book design, marketing or publicity.
• Some reported issues with royalty payouts.
• A renowned platform that helps authors self-publish in the ebook format only.
• eBook distribution around the world in online bookstores in over 190 countries.
• This is a do-it-yourself platform with software built in to help you self-publish.
• Quick publishing.
• They seemingly do not offer any sort of services like book design, editorial, marketing or publicity.
• A low royalty rate of 20% is paid out to authors.
• No print options offered.
• An award-winning self-publishing platform that specializes in helping authors become bestsellers.
• Comprehensive distribution through Ingram makes the book available to thousands of retailers.
• Robust marketing and publicity campaigns built-in to its Best Seller package.
• Authors keep 100% royalties.
• This is a one-stop shop platform that provides services for all aspects of self-publishing.
• Unlike the other self-publishing platforms, there’s a stringent vetting process involved in taking on new clients.
• Publishing can take around 3 months.
• Mainly a distributor of eBooks. Their distribution makes eBooks available to major retailers and thousands of libraries.
• Clients get their own “Author Pages” where they can promote their work.
• Since this is a do-it-yourself platform, there’s no hand-holding whatsoever.
• Very fast publishing.
• No print formats offered.
• eBooks must be uploaded according to their Style Guide.
• You must bring your own cover design to the platform and your book will need to be edited elsewhere. Also, the marketing and promotion is on the author.
• Software is difficult to use for many.
• An online platform for small self-publishers.
• Assists authors in self-publishing paperback, hardcover and eBook formats.
• Distribution is powered by Ingram.
• This is a do-it-yourself option.
• Files must be uploaded according to their in-depth File Creation Guide.
• Authors should come prepared with their own book designs. Also don’t expect self-publishing companies like IngramSpark to help with marketing or publicity.
• Customer support is lacking according to many sources.
• Online tools can help authors create template-based book designs.
• Ideal for small self-publishing projects or photo books.
• Plenty of different trim sizes and paper types offered, including glossy interior pages.
• This is a do-it-yourself platform with built in software to help you design and publish your book.
• Distribution through Ingram.
• They don’t appear to offer in-house editing, marketing or publicity services.
• Their printing prices are higher than most.
• Not a great fit for full-length books; mostly geared toward color books.
• One of the oldest self-publishing companies and providers of print-on-demand books.
• Publishing in paperback, hardcover and eBook.
• Distribution through Amazon, B&N and Ingram.
• They offer a do-it-yourself model as well as a one-stop shop option. On one hand, authors can provide their own edited files and designs and Lulu will print books based on those files. Alternatively, Lulu offers additional a la carte services such as cover design, editing, marketing.
• Printing costs are higher than most other options on this list.
• Their ebook publishing platform is lacking. They mainly specialize in printing books.
• eBooks available through Apple Books app.
• 70% royalties paid to the author.
• Includes an array of marketing tools.
• Must have a Mac computer to self-publish through Apple Books.
• No print publishing options available.
• Distribution limited to the Apple Store.
• eBook distribution to Android users in over 50 countries.
• Books published through Google Play can be previewed through Google Books.
• Quick publishing option if you are tech-savvy.
• Very limited distribution on Google Books only.
• No printing options.
• You must supply your own ready files. No design, editing or marketing support offered.

How much should I pay to publish my book through a self-publishing platform?

The answer depends on your goals and budget. If your aim is to be commercially successful, you should make sure your book is top-notch, which means you should not hesitate to pay a professional to design your cover, edit your manuscript, and layout the interior. Competition in self-publishing is fierce, so your book needs to stand out. You should also allocate a marketing and advertising budget. Expect to pay somewhere around $5,000 – $25,000, including book design, editing, publishing, distribution, marketing and publicity. If you’re only looking to see your book in print, you could design your own book and self-edit and go with a DIY platform option as outlined in the top 10 list.

Will I keep my rights?

Self-publishing companies and platforms should always allow you to retain ownership of your publishing rights and copyright. They’ll ask only for non-exclusive rights to publish and potentially promote your book. The exclusive rights should remain yours.

How long does it take to self-publish?

If there’s no quality control taken into account, you could theoretically self-publish within a few days. But an author that wants to be taken seriously should always focus on quality over speed. With that being said, it takes time to produce quality book designs, editing, and to properly launch a book tied to a robust marketing program. If you want to self-publish the right way, you should assume that the project will take about 1-4 months to complete.

Should I self-publish my book as an ebook or print book or both?

Consumers love options. It’s recommended that you self-publish your book in as many formats as possible. Example: Paperback, hardcover and ebook. Each format will carry a different price point. Hardcover is usually the most expensive format and appeals to a crowd that wants a durable and prestigious format. Paperback is normally the next in line in terms of price, usually about $10 less than the hardcover for a trade book. Ebook is the least expensive format and interests consumers that want to download and read the book immediately while enjoying a low price. The ebook format is all about price and instant gratification. An audiobook should be a consideration too, as there’s a segment of readers that enjoy listening to books while on the go.

How many book sales should I anticipate?

This depends on many factors including the marketability of your book, book format, price, distribution, and the level of marketing/advertising/PR you’ve deployed. You can’t expect to see a stream of sales if your book centers on a niche topic that few people find interesting. Likewise, you shouldn’t anticipate many sales if you decide to forgo book promo. The indie books that sell hundreds or thousands of copies are aggressively marketed to a large group of interested consumers/buyers.

How do royalties work with most self-publishing platforms?

All of the self-publishing platforms offer to pay you a percentage of each sale. The percentages differ. Barnes & Noble Press, for instance, pays about 70% of each sale to the author, while other platforms like Seacoast Press provide 100% of the profits of each sale. Royalty payouts vary between each platform, but generally speaking they all pay royalties monthly or quarterly and they all provide sales reporting so you can see how many sales you’ve attracted during a particular period.

How long will my book be available?

MindStir Media keeps your book available indefinitely, until you cancel your contract with them. Others will keep your book live for an annual fee and/or for a set period of time. Make sure you read the fine print for each platform to determine the length of time your book will be distributed.

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Best Book Publishing Companies [2023 Update]

POSTED ON Nov 6, 2023

Written by Scott Allan

Know the best publishing companies of 2023 to stay ahead of the curve as an aspiring author.

No two companies are the same, so don't rely on trial and error when it comes to working with publishing companies as an author.

In a world of scammy vanity companies eager to take an author's money, you have every reason to be cautious.

It's more important to do your research and understand which traditional and self-publishing companies can actually help you publish a book that's high quality (without running your investment dry and selling you empty promises).

You’ve worked hard learning how to write your book . You want to make sure you choose wisely when it comes to setting up your book for publication.

So, at this stage, you’re asking, “What are the best self-publishing companies?”

Whether you want to publish a nonfiction book , fiction novel , or even if you're writing children's books , the path to becoming an author lies in researching which publishing companies are worth focusing on in your journey.

Want to skip the article and go straight to the assessment that will show you which self-publishing company is right for you?

Take The Self Publishing Companies Quiz!

This Blog on the Top Publishing Companies Will Cover:

In today’s publishing marketplace, self-published authors are leading the pack. Now, as an authorpreneur , you have total control over the cover design, content, and distribution of your book. You get to choose when to publish and who to publish with.

You probably have lots of questions regarding self-publishing companies, such as…

• What are the pros and cons of each publishing company?
• Who is the easiest to work with when it comes to book formatting, distribution, royalty payments, or tech support?
• Do you just go with the biggest platform, like Amazon KDP , and call it a day?
• Is it worth it to publish with several other very reputable retailers and distributors to maximize your reach?

In this article, we'll introduce you to the best self-publishing companies for author, as well as the top traditional publishing companies if you choose to go that route.

By the time you are done, you will be clear on the direction your book needs to take and have greater confidence in yourself as an author , knowing your book is in the best marketplace for maximum results.

What do publishing companies do?

In the book industry, book publishing companies serve a wide variety of purposes, all related to the book's production process. Depending on the publishing route, a book publishing company's purpose can vary as well.

In a traditional publishing company , the author is given a book contract that basically sells their rights to the book to the publisher, who then oversees the production process.

In publishing companies that cater primarily to self-published authors , the purposes can vary as well, according to the company type. Learning how to self-publish can be daunting when you're first starting out, and each company has something slightly different to offer. We'll cover the main types of self-publishing companies in the next section.

What are self-publishing companies?

Self-publishing companies offer book publishing and production services to independent authors.

These companies work differently depending on the type of service provided, but ultimately each operates within the space of producing and publishing a book .

Here are the main types of self-publishing companies you can work with.

Types of Self-Publishing Companies:

Aggregator – Self-publishing company aggregators are platforms that distribute your book to several online retailers . With aggregators, the bonus here is it saves you time, energy, and money. You upload your book and aggregators distribute it to 30+ retail channels such as Apple Books or Google Play Books. An aggregator is your first step to publishing internationally.

Retailer – A self-publishing retailer company is a retailer platform that sells books exclusively through its own retail store. This includes Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo. Authors can upload books to these platforms and make book sales through these platforms. Retailers pay authors directly and some offer exclusive programs such as Amazon’s KDP Select program .

Publishing Educator – These companies provide author education programs, such as through self-publishing courses and coaching. Their mission is to help authors navigate the self-publishing process and build an author career. Some are free, but most are paid. Instead of paying college tuition, you're paying for an online course to teach you how to publish and market a book. An example of a publishing educator would be Self-Publishing School .

Author Services – These are self-publishing companies that are mainly in the business to provide self-publishing services to authors such as ghostwriting, book editing, formatting, cover design, illustration, and more. There are some reputable companies to work with, of which, we are one.

Self-Publishing Companies vs Traditional Publishing Companies

Self-publishing companies are different from traditional publishing companies, although both typically work by transforming an author's written manuscript into an actual book.

The difference lies in the publishing model that distinguishes self-publishing vs traditional publishing .

Traditional publishing companies are more concerned with choosing which books to publish, buying the rights to the book, handling book production, and keeping some of the author's book royalties . In traditional publishing, the publishing company is listed as the publisher of the author's book.

Self-publishing companies help the author oversee the entire book production and publishing process, and aren't selective in the type of book being published. These companies usually charge a one-time fee rather than continuous book royalties. In self-publishing, it depends on which company you use whether they are listed as the publisher, or whether you are as the author.

What are the best options for self-publishing?

If you've decided to self-publish, there are now hundreds of publishing companies, from mega-retailers such as Amazon that sell everything, to smaller private publishers focused on specific genres.

In terms of knowing which is the best option for self-published authors, you'll need to consider what type of self-publishing company can best meet the needs of your specific book and the services you need to get it published in the market you want.

For example, we know that Amazon has over 80% of the book market share. But if you set up your book for wide distribution through an aggregator, you can tap into a huge international market. This could lead to other publishing opportunities such as having your book sold to foreign publishers.

Other companies sell and distribute books directly through their website. They have a long reach for international distribution so your book gets pushed into the pipeline for maximum selling power.

It isn’t a question anymore of “Will I get published?” But these days the big question is, “Who do I publish with first?”

This is a very good problem to have.

Our best advice : Do your research before publishing anything, and please, don’t sign that dotted line until after you’ve read this post!

There are plenty of scammy companies that are simply vanity publishers , meaning they like to call themselves publishing companies, but they do not deliver quality services and overcharge the authors who work with them.

Avoid them.

Criteria for the Best Self-Publishing Companies

There are lots of companies out there to offer their services for publishing your book. Not all these companies are playing on the same level.

To make this list I have put together six points. Just because a self-publishing company didn’t make it here isn’t an indication you should avoid it.

Here's the criteria we used to rate the best self-publishing companies:

Book Publishing Volume: The amount of book sales volume this company has shipped is huge. They have proven themselves in the marketplace with high shipping volume and a business model you can trust.

Reputation and Trustworthiness: These companies are legit and come recommended. Cross-check with this detailed list put together by the Alliance of Independent Authors . These companies are NOT on the blacklist of publishing companies that have been red-flagged as dangerous.

Customer Reliability: A proven track record with authors as easy to work with and trustworthy staff and communication.

Helpful Resources: These self-publishing companies have a plethora of publishing resources for authors to get the job done. Some of these services and materials are free and some are not. But what matters is they are offering what you need to get published.

Affordable: You can publish your book within your budget. While there are expenses to self-publishing , it won’t break the bank.

Subscribers List: These companies have large email lists of thousands of subscribers to their newsletters or services.

You are about to embark on an incredible journey into self-publishing. You are your own boss, you make all the creative decisions, and how fast you get your book out there into the world is really up to you and how much time you can invest in your book project.

Still feeling it? Good! Let’s move ahead.

The 11 best self-publishing companies for authors

1. Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

When people think about self-publishing a book, Amazon is one of the first companies they consider. Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is a self-publishing platform where authors can publish their print and eBooks.

In the United States alone, Amazon makes up 40% of self-published digital books. So as an author, you can’t afford to ignore the power of Amazon in the book publishing space.

What makes Amazon so critical in the publishing arena? First, Amazon has a widespread reach that puts books in front of millions of browsers per day. They also offer competitive royalty rates.

For eBooks: 35% for books priced under $2.99, or 70%, for all books priced between $2.99 and $9.99.

For paperbacks and hardcovers: 60% royalties from the list price.

KDP Select Exclusivity

KDP has an exclusive program that sets it apart from the other retailers: the KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited programs for authors. There are perks to each one of these programs, such as special promotion programs, and Kindle Owners Lending Library enrollment.

The downside to joining KDP Select is that you are enrolled for 90 days in an exclusive partnership with KDP. This means you are tied to Amazon exclusively and cannot make your books available on other platforms.

So the big question is, will Amazon meet all of your self-publishing needs if you choose to do business with them exclusively?

The answer: It depends on your publishing goals.

Amazon has a big slice of the pie, but it doesn’t have the whole thing. For example, Joanna Penn mentions in this post that her book sales on the German platforms almost match Amazon sales.

As we will see in the rest of this post, there are other publishing companies that focus on pushing your book into a wider market and that means increased sales and subscribers to your platform.

Now, having said that, we know KDP is a “big deal” in the self-publishing business. But, publishing exclusively on Amazon and ignoring the other self-publishing companies could put you at certain risk as well.

What happens when Amazon decides to change something, and you suddenly lose half your income overnight?

As a first-time author, you might consider staying with Kindle Select for at least the first 90 days to build momentum for your eBook . But if you push forward and write a series of books, go wide and expand your global reach.

That is why the rest of this post introduces you to the other self-publishing companies.

2. Barnes & Noble Press

Barnes & Noble Press [Nook Press] is, according to their website, “a free, fast, and easy-to-use self-publishing service that enables you to publish and sell directly to our millions of readers.” Barnes and Noble has been a leader in the book industry for many years.

The name implies the brick-and-mortar retailer for books, but in the age of digital publication,  B&N now has a premium eBook platform that can compete with the rest of the growing eBook market.

While getting your book onto the physical shelves of Barnes & Noble proves to be a challenging task, you can set up your eBook and print book through Barnes & Noble Press.

Important things to consider with Barnes & Noble Press:

• Books published with Barnes & Noble Press retail only at their online and physical bookstores.
• Royalty rates range from 55% to 70%, depending on the price of the book.
• Resources. Barnes and Noble has many resources for authors to help with the publishing process, and they have strong affiliations with some of the best service providers in the industry.
• Partnered programs. Barnes & Noble Press has partnered with Reedsy for editorial, 99 designs for cover design, Inkubate for marketing solutions, and Girl Friday Productions for publishing resources.
• Free to upload. You can take advantage of the cheaper printing costs with Barnes & Noble when you publish directly to their site instead of going through 3rd party.

To get started with Barnes & Noble Press, simply set up a free NOOK account, register as a vendor, and work through the steps to create your book for publication on NOOK. Your book will then be live within 72 hours of hitting publish.

Note: The B&N Press platform is available for use by authors and publishers only in the following countries: United States, U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, and Belgium.

I have a confession to make: I am Canadian.

I publish primarily in the U.S. store and, if it weren’t for Kobo, I would have very few sales in the Canadian store. Why?

Founded in 2009, Kobo is a Canadian-based company out of Toronto and a subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten, the world’s 14th largest Internet company.

Kobo is an open platform that supports the most popular formats, including EPUB, EPUB3, and PDF, and allows readers to buy and read digital content from various sources.

Kobo’s marketing power makes up an estimated 25% of all eBook sales in Canada. That’s huge!

Important things to consider with Kobo:

• Cost. It's free to upload your book to Kobo.
• The royalty rate is 70% on books priced more than $2.99 in the U.S. OR 45% for books priced below $2.99.
• International power. As an international book retailer and one of the largest eBook stores, Kobo should definitely be on your list for publishing. It operates in 16 countries outside the U.S. and has over 5 million titles available in 77 languages.
• Kobo Writing Life . A great feature of Kobo is the self-publishing platform called Kobo Writing Life [KWL]. This site features an easy-to-publish platform for your books, as well as a detailed sales analytics tool to allow authors to track sales in real-time.

For more information on getting started with Kobo, check out the Kobo FAQs here.

4. Apple Books

Apple launched its self-publishing platform in 2010. The self-publishing platform for authors is Books and is relatively easy to upload your book.

Publishing on iBooks Authors is free and the royalty is a flat 70%.

Although Amazon has the longest arm of retail sales, Apple fares very well with its direct marketing approach to Mac users, making it the 2nd largest online retailer of eBooks. Why? It targets Mac users, and according to Apple Insider, there are now 100 million Mac users worldwide, making up a significant slice of the 1.8 billion active Apple devices in 2023 .

Important things to consider with Apple Books:

• You have to be a Mac user to publish directly to the Apple Store. If not, use an aggregator such as Smashwords or PublishDrive
• Free to upload and publish your book.
• The royalty rate is 70% for most books sold through Apple only.
• No browser reading . With Kindle you can read the books in the browser. Not with Mac.
• Format. iBooks authors use the ePub format that is not compatible with most other platforms.
• Availability. iBooks Authors is available in select countries only.
• Contracts. Authors can discount books for free at anytime, and there are no exclusive distribution contracts to weave through.

You can visit Apple Support here to get the steps for formatting and uploading your book to Apple Author. But one unique feature is that you can publish your book using Pages.

I would recommend you visit the Apple Books Publisher User Guide and download the checklist to make the publishing process as easy as possible.

5. selfpublishing.com (Yes, that's us!)

When it comes to online learning for self-publishing, we have a whole gamut of resources available for you. Our CEO, Chandler Bolt , a seven-time bestselling author, has made it his mission to change the publishing industry and tilt the tables in favor of the author. Our site provides tools, author education, author services, and coaching that help you navigate the entire self-publishing process. In our online curriculum, we also offer templates, checklists, and guides, as well as open office hours and group coaching sessions every day of the week so you get questions answered fast.

Since late 2014, our company has helped over 7,000 authors become published.

For more advanced authors who have already published and are looking to scale up book revenue, we have other programs on advanced book marketing and building an online course from your book.

Reedsy is a company that provides authors with a number of self-publishing services. It has a powerful outsourcing platform that connects authors with editors, proofreaders, formatters, cover designers , marketing strategists, and ghostwriters.

Authors need lots of help getting a book ready for publication, and Reedsy makes this process simple with one-stop outsourcing. You can get an editorial assessment of your work, or a query letter review for authors looking to publish the traditional route.

The freelancers outsourced through Reedsy have profiles easily visible and this builds instant trust with authors.

Reedsy is not an aggregator or book retailer but focuses on providing educational materials and services for authors.

They do this by hosting a platform that provides reliable resources for authors to write better and prepare a book for publication.

This saves a lot of time and banging your head against the wall because you just hired another outsourcer that totally messed up your book formatting.

Lulu has been around for a very long time, and is one of the oldest publishing platforms, when they began publishing and distributing eBooks in 2009. By 2014, the publishing giant had produced 2 million books.

The process for working with Lulu is relatively straightforward. As an author, you upload your book to Lulu, and authors can purchase their own books through Lulu.

By acquiring an ISBN, your books can be distributed to online retail outlets such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Apple’s Bookstore.

Important things to consider with Lulu:

• Royalties . The author receives an 80% royalty for print books and a 90% royalty for eBooks after sale.
• Cost . Lulu’s eBook conversion, publishing, and distribution services are free, but they sell a variety of author services including editing, cover design, formatting, promotional services, and book marketing.
• Resources. Lulu has a plethora of education and information and houses a large platform to help authors with every step of the publishing process. Lulu has its own bookstore to sell and distribute books.

Lulu is a one-stop-shop for everything and, with the services they have, you can feel confident you’ll get your book published after using their services.

8. IngramSpark

When it comes to wide distribution for print-on-demand, this is where IngramSpark comes sliding into home base.

Before Createspace was acquired completely by Amazon , it was the main storefront for authors setting up print books. But now, KDP and IngramSpark work closely together to print and distribute hard copies through print-on-demand.

IngramSpark has made huge strides in the last couple of years. As part of the Ingram Group, they boast to be the industry’s largest global book distribution network to over 39,000 libraries, bookstores, online retailers, and schools and universities. Ingram also distributes to the top online retailers: Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, and Nook.

Important things to consider with IngramSpark:

• Formats and Quality Print . Ingram “prints everything” from novels and graphic novels to children’s books and business textbooks. Ingram offers hardcovers as well as paperbacks and high-quality print jobs, an option that KDP doesn’t have.
• Pricing. $49 for print & eBook together. Or, $49 for each if you do it separately.
• Royalties. For distribution orders, Ingram Book Company takes 15-25% from the wholesale discount, and the rest goes to the retailer. You receive a 40% royalty when selling through IngramSpark only. But, opt out of Amazon, and you will receive a 45% royalty of the list price.
• ISBN required. Learn how to get an ISBN for your book if you plan to publish with IngramSpark.

Should I go with IngramSpark or KDP?

Suggestion: Both KDP and IngramSpark are recommended. Here are 3 reasons why…

• KDP charges less for print books and it is free to upload and publish.
• KDP has expanded distribution but it is through Ingramspark . The distribution services of Ingram are definitely above and beyond the rest.
• IngramSpark has far better quality and offers superior book bindings and hardcover printing.  

9. PublishDrive

A relatively new company, PublishDrive is making big strides as a core aggregator. Created by Kinga Jentetics when she was looking for a way to publish her master's thesis, PublishDrive was created to help other authors launch their dreams. Kinga Jentetics was named by Forbes magazine as one of the top female entrepreneurs under 30 and one of the top 100 female founders.

“ With PublishDrive you can focus on the most important job: creating beautiful content, meanwhile the rest of the operational work is handled by PublishDrive.”

PublishDrive is an Apple-approved aggregator and Google partner, making it a powerhouse for global distribution.

Important things to consider with PublishDrive :

• Cost. Most retailers or distributors charge a royalty rate for sales. PublishDrive charges a monthly subscription rate and you keep 100% of sales. If you choose not to go with the monthly subscription PublishDrive charges a flat rate of 10% on all sales.
• Distribution Power. It has over 400 stores worldwide with direct distribution to Apple Books, Kobo, Amazon KDP, Barnes & Noble Press, and Google Books.
• Support Team. PublishDrive has a core team of specialists with 24/7 support.

For more information about PublishDrive, check out the PublishDrive FAQs .

10. Draft2Digital

Draft2Digital (D2D) is a self-publishing aggregator company.

The website states: “As a writer, you want to write. So when it comes to publishing, you could use a little support. We make it easy. Keep writing. Keep your rights. We'll help with the rest.”

D2D provides a very easy method to upload your book within minutes and have it live on the site within 24 hours.

When it comes to aggregators, whereas Smashwords was once the King of the Hill, D2D has since acquired Smashwords and taken over the top spot. Draft2Digital is the preferred platform for many self-publishers now.

Important things to consider with Draft2Digital :

• Cost. On Draft2Digital, there are no fees for using their service.
• Royalties. As an author, you keep approximately 60% of royalties. D2D keeps 10% of all sales and the stores keep 30%.
• Formatting. D2D handles the formatting for free and that makes this a huge selling point when compared to Smashwords.
• Distribution. D2D distributes to Amazon, whereas Smashwords doesn't. If being published on Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, is important to you this feature is huge.
• Universal Book Links. One major feature of Draft2Digital is they provide authors with access to International Book Links . This can be a major advantage for readers not shopping on Amazon for their favorite books. As an author, instead of having to create links for all the sites, D2D provides you with one link for the book.

For more information on Draft2Digital check out the FAQ page.

11. StreetLib

StreetLib is an Italian-based distributor with a strong presence in Europe, mainly Latin America and Europe.

With its expanding international reach, in February 2019 StreetLib launched digital portals for authors and publishers in 20 countries across 6 continents, with 5 in Africa.

Similar to the other aggregators on this list, StreetLib is aiming to distribute books wide to all international markets but the site does have a unique feature: The dashboard is configured for multiple languages such as Italian, Hindi, English, and Spanish , and they are adding more as they grow.

In my opinion, this is a site to watch because it is showing exponential growth as Streetlib now moves into the African continent and is building out a distribution channel across all of Europe as well as the Western countries.

StreetLib distributes to all of the major retailers: Amazon, Google Play, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, OverDrive, Indigo, Kobo, Tolino, and Google Play Books.

You can check out the StreetLib pricing here but basically, they take 10% of each eBook sale and you get 60%.

If you are looking to break into the European market [and beyond] StreetLib is definitely worth investing in.

Other Book Publishing Companies

While this article covers the best self-publishing companies to work with, it can be helpful to know what other publishing companies are out there, so that you can know the book publishing industry well.

Top Audiobook Publishing Companies

The two primary places to publish audiobooks are ACX (which publishes audiobooks to Amazon's Audible platform) and Findaway Voices (publishing audiobooks wide to multiple platforms).

There are also up-and-coming audio companies like Soundwise and Lantern Audio , which allow you to make audiobooks for their platform.

Authors Republic also allows you to fully and independently publish your audiobook so you can decide where you want to distribute it.

As audiobooks become more popular with each passing year, it is important to give these companies a look. As always, you'll want to make sure you retain the rights, earn as high of royalties as possible, and have control over pricing and such.

Top Traditional Publishing Companies

The traditional publishing space is dominated by five publishing companies , which hold the majority of the market share, commonly known as The Big 5 . These companies hold a lot of power and prestige in the traditional book industry, but they are also extremely difficult to land a book deal with. These companies typically only publish authors who already have a strong social brand and following.

• Penguin Random House . This American publishing company was merged in 2013 from Random House and Penguin Group (part of Pearson). It has published over 15,000 titles annually under its 250 different divisions and trade names.
• Harper Collins . This publishing company is part of NewsCorp, and is headquartered in New York. It has many other trade names, or imprints.
• Simon & Schuster . This American publishing company is part of the CBS Corporation, and was founded in 1924. This company publishes over 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints.
• Hachette . This traditional publishing company is owned by the largest publishing company in France, which is Hachette Livre. It is also the 3rd largest publishing company for trade and educational books.
• MacMillan . This global publishing company has offices in 41 countries worldwide, and operates in 30 others. It is widely known for its education textbook publishing, but it has various divisions and imprints.

How to Best Leverage Book Publishing Companies

Publishing wide means getting your book out into as many stores, platforms, and online retail shops as you can.

And the most effective way to publish wide and scale up your book's success means leveraging different self-publishing companies for different purposes.

That's why we recommend using a combination of self-publishing companies to scale up and maximize your book sales and success.

Here's an example of how to use the best self-publishing companies:

• Enroll in an author education program to work with a proven plan that walks you through the steps to launching a bestseller.
• Sign up for our program, get the author services you need , and work with a personal coach to walk you through the steps to launching a bestseller.
• For first-time authors, enroll in KDP Select for the first 90 days to gain traction on your book. But then, building out your platform, look at setting your book up for long-term success in deeper international markets.
• On IngramSpark , reaching a global audience with Ingram’s wide distribution network.
• On Kobo , you are tapped into the Canadian market and taking advantage of big book sales there.
• PublishDrive is distributing your book to Amazon, Apple Books, Google, Barnes & Noble, and local distributors.
• With StreetLib you are branching out further into the European markets and the African continent.

Ready to Start Your Self-Publishing Journey Today?

I know this looks like a lot of work, and you could expend tons of effort without seeing much result at first. But I promise it will be worth it if you put in the work and follow a proven process.

Now that you have a solid list of the best self-publishing companies there are today, what is holding you back?

The decision to publish and make a living as a bestselling international author is now up to you. If you're ready to take the next step with your book, click the button below.

What are the best self-publishing companies you've found?

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Self-publishing vs traditional publishing: which is best in 2023.

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• P5: Proof of Amazon Bestselling Book Status
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Book Publishing Platforms [Top 10 List]

Team December 22, 2022 Blog [read me!] , Book Writing , Copywriting

If you’ve been thinking about writing a book (or maybe you’ve made a good amount of progress already!), you’re bound to wonder about the best Book Publishing Platforms for getting your book out into the world.

The short answer is: it depends on your goals with the book. But, to try to be more helpful than that general statement, we’ve compiled—and listed clearly below—the Top 10 best Book Publishing Platforms for your book, including a short description, a link to learn more, and any pricing information (if relevant).

Why care about Book Publishing Platforms in 2023?

Writing your own book is not only a great way to express yourself, but it can help you advertise your business, services, and experience. The Internet has made it possible to create eBooks that you can share online, as well as produce and circulate your own printed books all over the world!

Book publishing used to be an intensive, expensive, and exclusive business—requiring lots of cash and manpower to set type and produce even a single volume. Luckily, times have changed, and now it’s easier than ever to share your own work with a wide audience and at little to no cost for you.

The number of self-published books in the US increased from 85,000 in 2008 to 1,677,000 in 2018. So, there’s no doubt that self-publishing is a growing industry. Not only are there more books, but there are more book publishers to choose from.

Okay, let’s get into it!…

#10: BookBaby

BookBaby Quick Overview:

BookBaby is a one-stop provider for all of your publishing needs, including editing, designing, printing, and distribution. They have guaranteed turnaround for edits (8-10 days for a full line edit, 6-8 days for a proofread), ensuring that you won’t be stuck in the dark waiting to hear back about your manuscript. In addition, their packages cover most of the major distributors. BookBaby is pricier than some other options, with fewer templates and formatting options, but its editing services and streamlined interface stand out.

BookBaby Pricing:

The Express Package, for authors who already have read-to-print files, offers 25 softcover books and eBook distribution for $990. Authors who want cover design and interior formatting options can get the Complete Package for $1,990. Editing starts at $10 a page.

Learn More:

#9: SmashWords

SmashWords Quick Overview:

SmashWords is one of the original online publishing services and remains a popular aggregator service to help you sell your book through as many distributors as possible. This platform can help others find your book on Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor, Apple Books, Scribd, and much more without breaking the bank. However, SmashWords does not distribute through Amazon and is exclusively an eBook service, so be aware of those limitations before you’re already formatting your book on their website.

SmashWords Pricing:

You get to set your own price with any materials published through SmashWords, you can even make your book free! Authors receive 85% of the net sales of their work sold on the SmashWords website and 60% of the list price from retail distribution partners.

#8: IngramSpark

IngramSpark Quick Overview:

Ingram Group has a legitimate claim to being the largest book distribution network in the world, which tells you that their print-on-demand service IngramSpark has some serious distribution perks. As a formidable Book Publishing Platform, IngramSpark can publish hardcopy, paperback, and eBook titles, and their print copies are of professional quality with sturdy binding.

You can easily sell your titles through online retailers like Amazon, Kobo, and Nook, while also making your title available to indie and local bookstores, libraries, and universities through the Ingram network.

IngramSpark Pricing:

IngramSpark has a $49 set up fee for each title you want to publish ($25 if you want to only sell your title as an eBook) has no fees to publish (as of 2023!). You earn 40% of each sale when your title is bought through IngramSpark and up to a quarter of your title price when sold through other retailers.

IngramSpark

Blurb Quick Overview:

Another veteran of the online self-publishing scene, Blurb is a trusted resource for self-publishing book authors and is especially well regarded for its visual prints. If you’re hoping to feature high-quality photographs in your book, or want to produce a magazine, Blurb is one of the best options to turn to. In addition, it offers publishing options for paperbacks, hardcovers, and eBooks with a decent selection of formatting options.

Blurb Pricing:

Blurb sets a minimum base price depending on your book’s length, dimensions, and paper quality (for example: $3.99 for a 6×9 inch 24-page paperback with economy color printing). Selling at the minimum price is at-cost, but you can choose to set a higher price to receive a share of the sale.

#6: Draft2Digital

Draft2Digital Quick Overview:

While SmashWords used to be the most popular aggregate book distributor, Draft2Digital has recently taken the lead. D2D has a streamlined book upload, which lets you get your book onto their website as quickly as possible with the formatting done for you.

It can also share your book with Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, and more. D2D provides Universal Book Links (UBLs) which can display all of the available retailers for readers to choose from! The only limitation is that D2D is eBook-only, so you’ll have to look elsewhere to sell print editions.

Draft2Digital Pricing:

As an eBook-only retailer, there are no fees for using D2D. If you put a price on your title, then D2D takes a flat 10% of all sales.

Draft2Digital

Lulu Quick Overview:

Another experienced book publishing platform, Lulu has been assisting self-publishing authors since 2009 and is still going strong. Lulu offers a wide range of print dimensions for paperback and hardcover books, and a variety of paper options for text and image printing.

Lulu also stands out for its wide variety of resources and services, including author support, tutorials, editing packages, and a formidable cover customizer.

Lulu Pricing:

Much like Blurb, Lulu’s pricing depends on your book’s length, format, binding, and page quality: a 100-page trade paperback in standard black-and white comes down to $3.25, for instance. You get to adjust the selling price at any level above the printing cost to determine how much you hope to make on each copy sold via the Lulu Bookstore and other Retailers.

#4: Apple Books

Apple Books Quick Overview:

The well-known creator of the iPhone and Macintosh branched into self-publishing services in 2010 and is still a popular distributor for digital books. The main limitation of using Apple Books is that it is really only available to Mac users, but if you have the right OS, it’s affordable, viewable from one of the largest eBook marketplaces, and offers one of the most streamlined uploading services.

Apple Books Pricing:

It’s completely free to use Apple Books, and it has a flat 70% royalty on any titles sold, regardless of length or price.

Apple Books

#3: Kobo Writing Life

Kobo Writing Life Quick Overview:

A Toronto-based publisher, Kobo makes up an estimated 25% of all eBook sales in Canada, which says a lot about their marketing capabilities! As an international retailer operating in 16 countries outside of the U.S., Kobo offers an expansive market for your eBook.

Kobo’s self-publishing platform, Kobo Writing Life, lets you upload your book, set your price, and start selling on their website within 72 hours. Kobo also offers some of the best analytics tools to help you track your book sales and revenue.

Kobo Writing Life Pricing:

It costs nothing to upload a title to Kobo Writing Life. The platform takes 70% in royalties on titles sold above $2.99, or 45% royalties for books priced below $2.99.

Kobo Writing Life

#2: Barnes & Noble Press

Barnes & Noble Quick Overview:

Barnes & Noble is one of the most well-known bookstore chains around, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that they offer one of the best self-publishing and distribution services for independent authors.

B&P Press is easy to use for print and eBook titles, is non-exclusive (you can distribute through other platforms as well), and comes with marketing tools so you can create advertisements on the B&N website!

Barnes & Noble Pricing:

It costs nothing to upload a title to B&N Press, though it does take a distributor’s royalty that depends on the price of your book: 65% for books between $2.99 and $9.99, or 40% on books below $2.99.

Barnes & Noble Press

#1: Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

KDP Quick Overview:

Who else could it be here at the end of our list of top Book Publishing Platforms? Amazon is pretty much the #1 online distributor for, well, everything, and books are certainly no exception. Amazon started out shipping books after all!

Amazon’s website is the first stop for millions of shoppers every day, and it offers some of the most competitive rates for a major retailer (especially in the United States). What’s more, any eBooks you create will be available for download on the Amazon Kindle Store. Authors can also take advantage of programs through KDP Select, Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon Ads to create promotions and get wider distribution.

KDP Pricing:

It’s free to set up and publish with Amazon. Then, as you make sales, KDP pays out a 35% royalty on titles priced under $2.99 and a 70% royalty on titles priced between $2.99 and $9.99.

You can also publish paperback books and hardback books through KDP for sale on Amazon. To calculate print royalties, first calculate 60% of the retail price and then subtract the print costs (which depend on the paper type, color mode, trim size, and page count of your project).

For example, a $15.55 retail paperback book for children with 46 full color 8.5″x8.5″ pages on white paper costs $4.60 to print (search Duck Buddies: The Secret Clubhouse on Amazon after Sept. 20, 2023).

So, $15.55 * 60% = $9.33. Then $9.33 – $4.60 = $4.73.

You make: $4.73 Printing costs: $4.60 Amazon makes: $6.22

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

Choosing the Right Book Publishing Platform

Finding the platform to publish your book comes down to the details and making sure that the platform’s unique features give you exactly what your book needs. Here are the two mai concerns you should pay attention to when choosing a publishing platform:

1. Royalties/Costs:

eBook publishing is always cheaper than print publishing, but there can still be a big difference in eBook royalties depending on which publisher you choose. It can take time to build a steady revenue stream through self-publishing, so make sure that you feel comfortable with the total profit that you will actually be making after print costs, distribution costs, and royalties are all subtracted from the sale.

2. Distribution:

When you publish with Amazon, you know you’ll have your book on the biggest web retailer and on the Kindle store, but your book won’t be on any other website.

On the other hand, if you publish with an aggregator like Draft2Digital, you can distribute your book through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books, but you’ll have fewer marketing resources (i.e. you can’t participate in KDP Select) and may have higher distribution costs taking a cut of your sales.

Consider who your audience is, whether you are hoping to emphasize eBook or print distribution, and if you want to reach an international audience when choosing your publisher.

Need more book help?

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Have a great book-writin’ day!

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16 Best Self-Publishing Companies For Your Writing Business [Updated 2023]

You’ve spent weeks writing, rewriting, and polishing your manuscript.

Now, you have it in book form — thoroughly edited, artfully formatted, and wrapped in a gorgeous cover. 

Because you’ve chosen to self-publish.

And while thousands of self-published authors sell 300 or fewer copies of their books, you know hundreds sell them in the thousands, because they’ve learned how to market them.

You intend to be one of those authors, and you’re doing your homework. 

Because we’re all about successful self-publishing , we’ve created this detailed list of the 19 best self-publishing companies. Read on to learn what you need to know — including why you should self-publish in the first place.

8. Upgrade Your CV without Relying on Gatekeepers

16. aia publishing, caveat: vanity publishers, the eight best reasons you should self-publish, 1. you control your time..

The last thing any writer needs is pumping out what seems like an endless flow of query letters to snag an agent.

The agent will look for a publisher and suddenly you’re on a time clock. You took the bait. Those suits are going to reel you in and expect stuff from you on a time schedule that you may or may not like.

2. You’re In The Driver’s Seat.

You choose the cover and the price. And you don’t have to change stuff like that title that you came up with while you were dreaming of that old high school flame.

You have complete control. You can continue to write your book when you want.

3. The Royalties Are Bigger!

You’ll get money for each book that leaves the distribution center or when Amazon lets you know your eBook is selling, and you get all the profit. Traditional publishing companies can take up to 85 percent.

You might have enough left to pay the rent, but Forbes won’t be calling to put you on their richest people in the world list.

4. Now’s The Time to Become a Self-Published Author

The stigma and the stench of self-publishing are in the wind now. Thanks to the brave writers who wrote great books and self-published, and thanks to the Internet, all writers can self-publish with the click of a mouse.

5. You Can Market The Book, Dude!

Sure. Becoming a book marketer may not be that sexy. But with all the useful online tools available a six-year-old writer could do it. But you have to give it your best shot, by doing the research and by spending some of that grade school lunch money you hide under your bed.

6. This Is The Age Of Self-Empowerment And Enlightenment

Guess what? 50 Shades of Grey is self-published, and if that work can hit the writer’s jackpot, so can you.

7. No Need to Collect Rejection Letters

There’s nothing wrong with saving rejection letters as proof you’re getting your work out there. But if you’d rather skip that headache and go right to the editing process, self-publishing gives you a way to do just that. 

Which would you rather see — a growing stack of rejection letters or a growing collection of carefully edited self-published books on your bookshelf? 

Level up your portfolio with self-published books that you market yourself. Each one can serve as a testimonial to your writing skills, to the knowledge and experience behind each title, and to your marketing ability.  

Why let a traditional publisher slow down the growth of your CV and potentially hold you back from opportunities this book could lead to? 

16 of the Best Self-Publishing Companies For Your Writing Business

1. kindle direct publishing (retailer).

Amazon’s Kindle store makes it easy for authors looking to find new readers by self-publishing on the Kindle platform. You can upload and submit your book to Amazon for review in under 10 minutes and can be live on the world’s largest online marketplace within 24-48 hours. It’s free to publish your book with KDP and you can earn up to 70% on your book royalties.

2. Smashwords ( Aggregator)

If you think of yourself as an “Indie Author,” this site is for you. Smashwords is not a traditional book publishing company. Non-conformity is the flavor of the day at this well-designed self-publishing business. Smashwords will support and distribute your eBook using all the right channels.

Smashwords may look like a quirky self-publishing resource, but there’s a method to their madness. And that madness is all about selling books. Smashwords is not afraid to take risks, and if you have a touch of risk-taking in your DNA, then this site might be your next best friend.

3. Lulu (Full Service)

Lulu has a high profile as one of the best self-publishing companies in the market. One of the reasons Lulu is so popular is, the company pays attention to details. Lulu publishes over a 1,000 new titles every day so the company has expert status when it comes to formatting, packaging, and pushing books.

The variety that Lulu offers makes this site the only game in town for some writers, especially if you want to add proofreading , editorial help, and promotion to your self-publishing mix. Lulu has it all in terms of getting your book out there in an appealing and professional way.

The clear, sharp and clean interface of Blurb inspires confidence in the writers who choose to throw their writing hats in the ring with this UK company. Blurb’s design and marketing skills are top-notch. The variety they offer in terms of blog books, magazines, leaflets, and planners, as well as eBooks and paperbacks, put this site in rare company.

Blurb is a multi-faceted self-publisher with a respectable amount of traffic, and an affiliate program where writers can earn a commission every time another writer publishes a book.

Here’s a novel idea. Authors and independent publishers have the right to maintain ownership of their files after conversion. If you pay for a self-publishing service like a conversion, then the files should belong to you.

Not all self-publishing houses offer that important feature but Kobo does, and that makes this one of the best self-publishing companies that is popular with writers.

Kobo Writing Life lets writers keep their downloaded ePub file after conversion, and that’s a big plus because family and friends are able to share in the good fortune without coughing up money they would rather spend for something that has more personal worth to them. Kobo likes to offer perks that keep writers happy, and the company does a decent job in that regard.

6. NotionPress

If you are a newbie writer in India, NotionPress may be the site for you. NotionPress offers a plethora of professional tools that give writers a chance to take their work to the next level. This site helps writers print, publish, and distribute their book.

New authors get expert promotion guidance. And with a decent network of distributors and readers around the world, this self-publishing company makes it a little easier for new authors to get the recognition they deserve for sticking with the self-publishing process.

7. BookBaby

Book Baby likes to greet potential clients with the phrase, “Ready, Set, Publish,” when writers log onto the site. Book Baby is all about making the self-publishing thing easy. And according to writers who swear by them, Book Baby packages are a real value.

If you need a no-frills $99 package, then Book Baby is for you. But the site offers other packages with more bells and whistles for writers who want to cover all the self-publishing bases. And the good news is, Book Baby doesn’t take a commission on your sales. That’s a deal maker, according to the writers who want to keep the money they worked hard to get.

8. IngramSpark

Ingram Book Company is the largest distributors of books and one of the best self-publishing companies in the United States. And Ingram is the largest book wholesaler in the country.

Ingram is a 44-year-old publishing company, so it’s no surprise that IngramSpark will follow in the footsteps of big brother Lightning Source. Lightning Source is a fulfillment company with locations around the world, and IngramSpark has access to those distribution locations.

In 2013, Ingram wanted to add an easy-to-use publishing platform for writers who want to publish a book, but have limited resources. So IngramSpark came on the self-publishing scene with all the tools that Lightning Source has in its self-publishing tool shed.

The writers who want to get their book in the marketplace fast, but don’t want to deal with the complexities of mass distribution should take a look at IngramSpark.

IngramSpark has the tech know-how and the manufacturing, logistics, and distribution tools of Ingram in their publishing genes, and that makes a world of difference to some writers.

9. Grammar Factory

Based in Canada, Grammar Factory is a full-service publishing company for business leaders. Focusing exclusively on nonfiction books, they work with executives, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to establish them as authorities in their fields. 

Their experts work with clients around the world to guide them through the book-writing process and turn their knowledge and experience into bestselling books. 

Their “Ultimate Guide to Writing Your Best Book” includes a variety of free booklets, interviews, webinars, and more to help you avoid common mistakes and write an authoritative and engaging page-turner for your industry.  

You pay only for the services you choose. Grammar Factory leaves 100% of your book’s royalties to you. 

10. Barnes & Noble / Nook Press (Retailer)

Pay less in retail and distribution costs and earn more in royalties when you publish directly with Barnes & Noble. 

While it can be challenging to get your paperback book onto a Barnes & Noble bookstore shelf, publishing your eBook and paperback with them is a simple, straightforward process. And the end result is seeing your published book available for sale through BN.com, all Nook reading devices, and reading apps for Android and iOS devices.

Their print-on-demand (POD) option provides a suite of user-friendly tools and even gives you the choice of either paperback or hardcover for your book. 

Barnes & Noble offers a 70% royalty rate for ebooks at any price point and 30% royalties for print editions (retail and distribution). 

11. Apple Books (Retailer)

Considering there are 100 million brand-loyal Mac users worldwide, it makes sense to ensure your title is available to them. As the second-largest online book retailer, Apple Books should definitely be a part of your book marketing plan. 

Good thing they make the process simple for Mac users, who can use Pages to prepare their manuscript for publication as an EPUB file. If you don’t own a Mac, you can still reach iOS users by publishing through an aggregator or distributor like Draft2Digital. 

Publishing with Apple Books is free, and the royalty rate is a flat 70%.

12. Draft2Digital (Aggregator)  

As the original self-publishing aggregator, Smashwords made it easier for indie authors to get more exposure for their books when they decide to go beyond Amazon’s KDP. 

Draft2Digital (D2D) is poised to take the #1 aggregator spot by distributing to Amazon, along with a slew of other retailers, including Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. D2D also sets itself apart by formatting your book for you — at no cost. 

You can ensure your book is available to all the major book retailers worldwide. And you can even check one book preparation task off your list (as long as your book doesn’t require complicated formatting or next-level interior book design). 

Draft2Digital takes a 15% cut of your sales regardless of its price. 

13. PublishDrive (Aggregator) 

As an Apple-approved aggregator and a Google partner, PublishDrive (PD) has grown quickly since its founding in 2015 and now operates in 75 countries in 75 different languages. 

With over 400 stores worldwide, PublishDrive offers direct distribution to Apple Books, Kobo, Amazon KDP, Barnes & Noble Press, and Google Press. Indie authors can choose from two different payment options: 

• Pay $100 a month and keep 100% of your royalties from book sales, or
• Let PD collect 10% of every sale and keep 90% of your net sales. 

While their website is light on content (and minimalist in design), they do provide a library of helpful resources for new authors. 

14. StreetLib (Aggregator) 

StreetLib is an Italian-based distributor with a strong presence in Latin America and Europe. 

Their dashboard is configured for multiple languages, including Hindi, Italian, English, and Spanish (adding more as they grow), and they’re making inroads in the African market. 

They distribute to all major retailers, including Amazon, Google Play, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Overdrive, Indigo, and Tolino. 

StreetLib takes 10% of all eBook sales and 20% of all audiobook sales. For print books, they charge an up-front activation cost of 49 Euros and take 10% of each sale.

15. Reedsy (Author Services) 

Reedsy offers assistance to authors at every stage of their book-writing and self-publishing journey. With their community of professional editors, cover designers, formatters, etc., they can help you create a book you’ll be proud to publish and share.

Check out their free apps and tools — including their courses on book publishing — to learn more about the process. You can even use the ReedsyBookEditor (instead of Microsoft Word) to write your book, make it available to one of their editors, and easily format it for ePUB or PDF. They even have marketers on their team to help you maximize your reach.

Reedsy doesn’t charge anything upfront. You decide whether to pay one of their editors, designers, or marketers to help you with your book. 

Based in Australia, AIA Publishing and its imprint, Escarpment Publishing, together provide a full suite of author services including editing, book cover, and interior design, and assistance with the publishing and marketing of your book. 

Both companies identify as “hybrid” publishers; they’re selective like a traditional publisher, but their goal is to help each client self-publish their books and make them as widely available as possible. 

AIA Publishing focuses on fiction and narrative memoirs, while Escarpment Publishing accepts submissions for other genres, including children’s books and general nonfiction. 

Authors who work with AIA and Escarpment retain 90 to 100% of their book royalties. You pay only for the services you choose for your book. 

Four Types of Self-Publishing Companies 

To help you get a better handle on the self-publishing company you should choose, here’s some useful information on the various types:

Book Retailers

The most popular examples of book retailers are Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Each has its own marketplace for books, and while Amazon is the largest in the U.S., (with 85% of the U.S. book market share), it’s not the only one worth considering. 

Apple, for example, markets its books directly to Mac/iOS users, which is an important subset of the global market. And Kobo has a 25% share of the Canadian book market. 

Book Aggregators

The most popular examples of book aggregators are Smashwords, Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, and BookBaby — the last of which provides valuable author services including editing, formatting, and book cover design. 

The main advantage of aggregators is the time they save you by distributing your book to multiple retailers on your behalf. So, unless you’re content with an exclusive Amazon presence, an aggregator will save you time and headaches by giving you one place to monitor your book’s presence in multiple markets. 

Self-Publishing Educators

If you’re an Authority Pub Academy member, you already know how a self-publishing educator can help you go from an idea to a published book. That’s the main purpose of these companies, though each has its own way of doing things. 

The best of these update their content on a regular basis to help members stay on top of self-publishing trends and the most effective book marketing practices. 

Self-Publishing Author Services

These outfits offer the services your book might need to prepare it for publication: ghostwriting, editing, formatting, illustrating, cover design , and even book marketing (pre- and post-launch). 

Some specialize in specific services (like 100Covers.com for cover design) while others (like Archangel Ink)  provide all the services you might need. 

Unless they also distribute your book to reputable retailers, they’re not considered “publishing companies.” But the best of these can help you give your book its best chance on the market. 

Beware of vanity publishers that offer the same services and charge for your book’s publication. It shouldn’t cost you to put your book on the market. You can publish it for free to any of the abovementioned retailers and aggregators. 

Unfortunately, there are plenty of shady outfits promising you all the perks of traditional publication, while doing substandard work on the services they provide and overcharging authors for them. 

You and your book deserve better. If you’re not sure whether a self-described publishing company is legitimate, you can ask around on social media author groups, do a Google search for reviews on the company.

How to Choose the Best Self-Publishing Company

Keep the following criteria in mind when checking out your options and choosing the best self-publishing company for your book:

How to Get the Best Results from Self-Publishing Companies

The first step for most authors is to learn all they can about how to write a marketable book and how to navigate the world of self-publishing. 

This is where a self-publishing educator (like Authority Pub Academy) comes in. 

The other steps you take will depend on whether you want to work directly with retailers (to maximize your royalty income) or optimize your reach with an aggregator or two. With that in mind, consider the following steps: 

• Sign up with a Self-Publishing Educator and learn all you can about writing and polishing your book, publishing it, and getting your readers’ attention.
• Take advantage of KDP Select services for the first 90 days to maximize your visibility on Amazon and use the free promotional periods to attract new readers.
• Publish with Ingram Spark to get maximum exposure and top quality for your print edition. 
• Publish with Draft2Digital, Smashwords, or PublishDrive to reach other eBook markets after those first 90 days. 
• Ensure your book is published on Kobo , which makes up about 25% of eBook sales in Canada. 
• Publish with Apple Books to reach the millions of Mac, iPod, and iPhone users worldwide. 
• Publish with StreetLib to take advantage of growing network in Latin America, Europe, and Africa. 

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What are the best self-publishing companies for your goals?

The best self-publishing company for you depends on your priorities as the author. Only you know exactly how you want your self-publishing experience to go. But until you’ve gone through it, you might not know, yet, what to focus on. And that’s okay. 

The more books you write and publish and the more you learn about book marketing, the more you’ll know which services and other features matter most to you. And that’ll make it easier to spot the companies that will deliver exactly what you’re looking for. 

In the meantime, learn from more experienced self-publishing authors, look over each company and make lists of the features of each that stand out for you. Then ask yourself which one you’d like to try first. If two of them are tied, ask around or go with your gut. 

Just know you can’t go wrong with any of the self-publishing companies listed above. 

11 Best Publishing Platforms for Authors

The best feeling for a writer, you ask? It is indeed finishing writing a book. The satisfaction of having your book completed is unmatched. But hold on! That is not it.

The task of getting your finished book published is as significant. The good news is, gone are the days when authors had to approach the doors of several publishers and wait patiently till one of them found it worth publishing.

With digital publishing taking the internet by storm, authors no more have to go around physically with their manuscripts to publishers.

eBook publishing platforms have simplified the job by leaps and bounds. Self-publishing has revolutionized the entire process of book publishing.

Writers can easily publish their books on an online publishing platform . However, a few things to bear in mind are the exposure, royalties, and the publishing process.

Dive in to know the 10 best free publishing platforms for authors:

1. Google Play Books

The OG of online eBook publishing platforms needs no introduction. Google Play undeniably is a large platform, with its reach in 75 countries and more than 300 billion users worldwide. Its Play Books service enables authors to publish their books online to this wide audience. 

Once you get your book on Google Play Books, you make it available to the search algorithm of Google increasing your visibility manifold.

Google does not require exclusivity, which means that authors are free to have their books published on other platforms simultaneously. Play Books ensures a 70% royalty to its authors, supporting only PDF and EPUB formats. 

KITABOO is a great online publishing platform that enables authors to publish their books online. It allows authors to leverage the multiple avenues of eBook publishing by creating feature-rich eBooks. It is accessible on Windows, IOS, and Android devices.

KITABOO provides an effortless experience to its authors, who can optimize their eBooks for publication using its top-notch user analytics .

Authors can also enhance their eBooks using an AR (Augmented Reality) feature. Offline accessibility of books is also available to readers once they download a particular eBook. KITABOO accepts the EPUB format and allows you to convert eBooks to this format.

3. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

A leading name among many aspiring writers is Amazon KDP. This eBook publishing platform gives you full rights to your book and aids your book’s availability globally.

The unmatched exposure is best for budding writers. About 40% of the best-sellers on Amazon are self-published.

Amazon supports doc, Docx, Kindle Package Format (KPF), EPUB, and MOBI formats. Authors receive royalties ranging from 35% to 70%, determined by the price of the book.

4. Kobo Writing Life

One of the best online platforms to get your book on is Kobo Writing Life. It is a Canada-based company serving as one of the largest eBook stores. It gives you the liberty of setting your prices and going about with your promotions.

Kobo Writing Life allows you to publish simultaneously on platforms besides its own, allowing you to reap multiple benefits for your book.

Kobo gives enough exposure to your book, with its publications reaching more than 16 countries. It supports formats like doc, Docx, ODT, EPUB, and MOBI.

Another free online publishing platform where authors can self-publish their books is Bookrix. Like most eBook publishing platforms , Bookrix also does not require exclusivity. It allows its authors 70% royalty paid monthly.

Prior to publishing, the platform formats and optimizes your work. The platform also assigns your book an ISBN (Internation Standard Book Number).

6. Barnes & Noble Press

Barnes & Noble Press is a quick and easy eBook publishing platform of the Barnes & Noble enterprise. It enables authors to publish their books in less than twenty minutes, putting them up for sale within three days.

The platform also allows you to publish your book on other platforms simultaneously. The authors are entitled to a royalty of 70% on each sale.

It also provides editorial, designing, and marketing services with applicable charges. B&N accepts formats like doc, Docx, txt, HTML, and EPUB.

7. Apple Books

Running close behind Google Play Books is Apple Books. It is the second-largest online retailer of eBooks. Over 100 million MAC users have direct access to Apple Books which makes this online publishing platform a cut above the rest.

Apple books promise its authors 70% of the royalties of their publishing, irrespective of the book’s price. It allows its users to publish under a DBA or pen name. It supports formats like EPUB and multi-touch books created in Apple Pages.

Another platform providing eBook publishing services is Lulu. It is the home of several self-publishing authors. It provides guidance and assistance to its users throughout the publishing process.

It also dispenses distribution services for a fee to ensure that your book reaches a large audience, along with formatting, editing, and designing services.

Lulu shares 90% of the net profits with its authors. Like Google, it only supports formats like EPUB and PDF.

Unlike the other mentions here, Wattpad is typically for short stories and novels published episodically. The majority of stories here are free for readers except a selected few.

You must be wondering why you would opt for a free site. The logic is simple. Wattpad has 90 million readers, enabling you to create a community of readers that looks forward to your work and then search for you on other platforms. 

10. Smashwords

The answer to every self-publishing writer’s prayers is Smashwords. It works both as an eBook publisher and an aggregator allowing you to sell your book to major retailers and their bookstores.

Blurb is an ideal platform for authors interested in creating visually stunning print and eBooks. It offers a wide range of book customization options, making it perfect for photographers, artists, and creators of visual content.

It supports the EPUB and MOBI formats and provides 80% royalty to authors. It is a speedy publishing platform, giving your book worldwide exposure. 

In conclusion, self-publishing has revolutionized the entire process of book publishing, and eBook publishing platforms have simplified the job by leaps and bounds. With the 10 best free publishing platforms for authors listed above, publishing your book has become easier than ever before. Each platform has its unique features, benefits, and limitations.

Authors can choose the platform that best suits their needs and preferences to ensure maximum exposure and the highest possible royalties. The journey of getting your book published is no longer a daunting task but has become an exciting adventure with endless possibilities. So, if you have a book waiting to be published, dive in and take advantage of the amazing opportunities presented by these 10 publishing platforms.

Here is a pro tip: if you are a newbie, start slowly and choose a platform that provides thorough assistance to ensure that you are on the right track. So go out there and publish your eBook right away!

Discover How An Ebook Conversion, Publishing & Distribution Platform Can Help You

Kitaboo is a cloud-based content platform to create-publish & securely distribute interactive mobile-ready ebooks.

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Mike Harman

Mike is the SVP Business Development at HurixDigital. He has over 30 years experience in achieving consistent top-line revenue growth and building mutually beneficial relationships

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The 11 Best Self Publishing Companies of 2023

Kbook publishing.

• March 17, 2022

Even if you are not an aspiring author, writing a book and getting it published can be a great source of second income for you. The idea is simple, the more books you sell, the more you earn. While previously authors needed to befriend traditional publishing networks, things have drastically changed over the past few years.

Today, we have 400+ self-publishing platforms that can remove many hurdles to help you connect with the right audience and start making your earnings. Plus writing a book itself is by its very nature an extremely introspective and thoughtful activity. However, no two self-publishing companies are the same and this is where you need to know the ins and outs of each available option.

Fundamental Types of Self-Publishing Companies

Before we jump into the various self-publishing companies on today’s list, I think we should establish first the core and different types of self-publishing companies that are out there. This will help you understand how each self-publishing company differs from the rest thus assisting you to make an informed decision. So without any further adue, here are the key categories of self-publishing companies you can opt for:

Aggregators

These are publishing platforms that distribute your work to several online retailers. Working with an aggregator enables you to save energy, money, and time. All you need to do is upload your book and aggregators will distribute it to over thirty-plus channels.

Aggregators are often considered the first step when it comes to publishing with a self-publishing company. Moreover, aggregators can help you place your book in wider channels to cater to a larger audience.

Author Services

Also known as self-published author services, they mainly provide authors with self-publishing services. Services can include book editing , cover designing , formatting , ghostwriting , providing illustrations , and much more.

While they are considered reputable but not many of them are broadly reflected upon as publishing companies. However, some scammy companies are simply vanity publishers that not only overcharge authors but also do not deliver quality services.

Publishing Educators

These are the type of self-publishing companies that provide educational programs for authors through self-publishing courses as well as coaching. Through them, authors can get help understanding the overall self-publishing process and build a nice career. However, it is important to know that these sites generally don’t indulge in selling out books through their platform. You can use them to learn a proven process for self-publishing.

When we talk about a self-publishing retailer, it means a platform exclusively selling books through its retail store. All you need to do is upload your books to these platforms and start selling. Retailers pay writers directly and some even offer exclusive programs. Plus, retailers can help you make more book sales by publicizing your book directly onto their marketplace. You can use them when you need a platform to sell your book.

The Best Self-Publishing Companies You Need to Know About

With a range of opportunities available, every self-publishing company comes with features that make them different from the rest. To ease your pain points here is a quick list of the finest self-publishing companies you can reach out to in 2023:

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

Apple books, barnes and noble press, draft2digital, publishdrive.

Considerably one of the best book retailers in the world and also topping our list for the best self-publishing companies out there, Amazon is a force to be reckoned with, no doubt whatsoever. Perhaps the first thing you need to know is that it offers a free book upload service. Next in comes the royalties. For every e-book charged with a price range of $2.99 to $9.99 , you can earn around 70% as royalties or 35% if the price tag is below $2.99 .

Undisputed King

With a huge customer base of around 310 million active users worldwide, Kindle Direct Publishing makes up for more than 6 million e-books , with most self-published books. But there is more here than what meets the eye. As one of the best self-publishing companies, it offers enrolment for two beneficial incentives: the KDP Select and the Kindle Unlimited.

KDP Select vs. Kindle Unlimited

The KDP Select enables you to run advertising campaigns for your book by even setting it up for free for a limited period. On the other hand, Kindle Unlimited can help users subscribe to read unlimited books per month. It is however important to note that KDP Select is Amazon’s exclusivity program, which means that you can only sell your book on Amazon .

Next on our list of the best self-publishing companies is Apple Books. Launched as a self-publishing platform in 2010, it is fairly easy to upload your book, which is free. Royalties on most books are 70%, and by 2012, Apple announced that over 400 million books were downloaded through their platform. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the number of books sold equals the number of books downloaded.

Built for Apple Product Users

Nevertheless, Apple Books still get a fair amount of eyes. Plus with the help of iBooks Author, self-publishing authors can easily upload their titles onto Apple Books without having to pay a fee. While monetizing your books isn’t easy on Apple Books, you can connect with a huge customer base with direct marketing to iPhones and Mac users.

Limitations

There are however some limitations, and that is you have to be a Mac user in order to publish directly to the apple store , plus, with Mac, you cannot read books in the browser. Moreover, iBook authors use the ePub format which isn’t compatible with most other platforms and is available in only select countries. The upside is that there are no exclusive contracts to weave through and you can discount your books for free anytime.

Formerly known as NOOK Press , Barnes & Noble Press is an American bookseller and a Fortune 1000 company with over 614 retail stores across 50 US states . The company is headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in New York City and by 2010 it launched its electronic book store, overseeing the introduction of its electronic book reader the Nook.

Royalties & Other Benefits

The company offers both publishing and self-publishing services. While it has struggled for market share against Amazon, it offers a fairly easy-to-use interface and free uploading of your book with no exclusivity requirements. Royalties include 70% on e-books priced above $0.99 and for books priced from $2.99 to $9.99 the royalty rate is 65% which is still commendable.

Helpful Resources

Furthermore, as one of the best self-publishing companies, they offer helpful resources to authors including an advertisement portal in 2023 to create marketing campaigns for their books. Plus they have strong affiliations with some of the best service providers in the industry. All you need to do is set up a free Nook account and register as a vendor. Your book will be live within 72 hours of hitting publish.

Moving on with our list of self-publishing companies is Draft2Digital, an aggregator that provides easy access to some of the biggest e-book marketplaces in the world. Recommended for their user-friendly interface and customer service, they provide both e-book formatting and uploading for free. However, they charge 10% royalties on all sales but you also get the option to upload your book for free as well.

Why is D2D Recommended?

There are a lot of factors why D2D is recommended by other stores as well including a sleek website design and a user-friendly dashboard. Other perks include UBL (Universal Book Links) which makes your books discoverable by enabling authors to generate a link to each of their books. This link goes straight to the customer’s preferred books retailer.

Additional Perk

Another perk that makes it amongst the best self-publishing companies is the “automated back matter tool”. This attractive and well-designed service spontaneously adds your afresh and published an e-book to the “Also by this author” section of any other book you might have distributed through D2D. You can upload your book within minutes and have it live on the site within 24 hours.

Still hot on the trail for the self-publishing companies that you can reach out to is our next entrant, who is none other than KBook Publishing. Offering online services for authors, KBook is what you need on your self-publishing journey to touch the state of nirvana. Considered the top self-publishing company, KBook offers an outlet for authors and publishing freelancers in the self-publishing industry.

Software Support

KBook Publishing offers the support of an online software tool to help writers convert their manuscripts to files suitable for publishing purposes. Once the writer has completed their manuscript, the editor software is then able to format it for publishing including ePub, Mobi, or PDF. Furthermore, the software documents cooperation at every step of the inscription process.

Online Community & Resources

Plus KBook Publishing also helps you assemble a team of professionals to help you through their online community of editors , writers, publicists , designers, and much more. They have a powerful outsourcing platform to help you connect with the right resources and through them, you get your book ready for publication as well as gain an editorial assessment of your work.

Continuing with our list of self-publishing companies is Kobo. Operating as a Canadian self-publishing company, it is a subsidiary of a Japanese e-commerce giant, Rakuten. Kobo is a renowned self-publishing company that accounts for nearly 25% of all Canadian e-book sales. It is free to upload your book and royalties include 70% on e-books priced over $2.99. The royalties are 45% for books priced below $2.99.

Kobo Writing Life

As a self-publishing company, it offers a strong reach in the international e-book marketplace. With their KWL (Kobo Writing Life) self-publishing service you can upload your manuscript and have it added to their catalogue within 72 hours. Kobo as a self-publishing company has been praised for its user-friendliness and many proclaim that it is the easiest way to self-publish an e-book.

Extensive Distribution Channel

Like KDP, Kobo is a self-publishing company offering perks and promotions to its authors. Back in 2019, it had a capacity of covering more than 150 countries and over 38 million users making it a worthy self-publishing company that you should keep on your list of options. Kobo as a self-publishing company offers support for over 5 million titles in several languages and exclusive promotion opportunities.

The next self-publishing company that we have on our list is PublishDrive, which is relatively new to other publishing companies on this list. As a publishing company, they claim you focus on producing content and leave the rest to them. Pricing for this publishing company is 10% of the retail price per copy sold or subscription pricing. Operations and distribution of this publishing company include Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Bookmate, Google Play, Odilo, OverDrive, Playster, Scribd, and more.

Unique Qualities

Found in 2015 this publishing company works with over 4,500 publishers and can help you connect with over 400 stores . It has all the qualities of other publishing companies that operate as aggregators including a modern and easy-to-use interface, regular updates, and sales reports to keep you in the know at all times. For only $100 per month , it offers established authors to keep all of their royalties, known as their subscription pricing option.

Foreign Access & International Reach

On the other hand, the distribution option for this publishing company gives you access to major Western retailers as well as specializing in international distribution. As one of the major self-publishing companies, it can give indie authors access to foreign markets that were previously out of their reach. Publish Drive was created by Kinga Jentetics to help other authors launch their dreams Forbes magazine named her one of the top female entrepreneurs under 30 and 100 female founders.

Self-publishing has never been made as easy when it comes to Smashwords. It offers a self-publishing platform that can help to get your book into the bigger marketplaces by maximizing distribution. Pricing for this self-publishing platform is 15% on the retail price and 10% on other platforms per copy sold. Distribution for this self-publishing facility includes Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Blio, Kobo, Scribd, SmashwordsStore, and more.

Regarded as the original and undisputed king of self-publishing aggregators until D2D entered the market, it is still quite popular in the current arena. This self-publishing facility offers similar pricing structures and royalties as D2D. As a self-publishing harbour, the only place it falls short is in terms of user experience since you must complete the book’s formatting all by yourself. Plus it is important to know that as a self-publishing avenue, it doesn’t distribute your books to Amazon.

Sunny-Side Up

However, on the brighter side of things, this self-publishing podium has a slightly more extensive distribution network than D2D. Hence, if you’re looking for a self-publishing stage to sell your books to smaller retailers, this self-publishing lectern might be the right choice. This self-publishing stand’s cost includes monthly payments and a penny payment threshold with PayPal. Royalties include earning up to 80% of your book if it is listed on the Smashwords Store.

Making the publishing process even easier is StreetLib, which is a self-publishing podium that can help you to distribute a lot more than e-books. They can also help in the distribution of audiobooks, comics, magazines, online literature, and podcasts globally and in any language, making it one of the finest self-publishing companies out there. It offers an international self-publishing facility with the opportunity to reach international audiences.

Exceptional Merits

The pricing for this self-publishing facility is 10% of the retail price per copy sold. As one of the top self-publishing companies, it distributes to Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor, Google Play, Kobo, Indigo, OverDrive, Scribd, and more. Moreover, its self-publishing facility is well-known in Latin America and Europe. It is one of the few self-publishing companies out there whose dashboard can be configured in English, Hindi, Italian, Spanish and other languages.

What Makes StreetLib Different?

StreetLib is perhaps the only Italian aggregator on our list of self-publishing companies and provides a strong international supply chain. Hence if you are a self-published author targeting worldwide sales, StreetLib should be on your watch list. Furthermore, if you want one of those self-publishing companies that can have your back with both the USA and the UK in your distribution list then StreetLibis is perhaps one of the finest choices on our list.

Advertising themselves as an online self-publishing book and e-book company, Lulu can print, publish, and sell your books globally with their Print-On-Demand network. All this is done while eliminating the risk and hassle of inventory and fulfilment. They also provide free resources and tools to get you started with the process of becoming a self-published author.

Formidable Presence

Through Lulu, you can sell books directly to your audience via their free e-commerce apps and APIs. From journal calendars to textbooks and colouring books, users can shop on their exclusive indie bookstore. Lulu also provides author services and its retail store for your books. By 2016, over 2 million titles and over 900,000 e-books were available on the Lulu store .

Royalties and Charges

Regarding royalties, authors receive 80% for print books and 90% for e-books after a sale. Plus, the e-book conversion, distribution, and publishing services are free when it comes to cost. However, if you need cover designing, editing, formatting, and marketing for your e-books, they offer promotional services with a price tag.

Proclaiming themselves as Europe’s leading indie e-book self-publishing and distribution platform is XinXii, which is a German self-publishing company. While initially, people might think it can provide better links in China, XinXii has an effective presence and distribution links in Austria and Switzerland apart from Germany. It offers foreign distribution channels that might not be readily available elsewhere.

Cost and Charges

The pricing for XinXii’s services includes 30% of net sales for books priced more than $2.49 or 60% for books priced below $2.48 . Distribution channels include Amazon, Angus & Robertson, Buecher, Hugendubel, Indigo, Kobo, LivrariaCultura, Scribd, Thalia, Whitcoulls, and more. While customer service may need improvement, XinXii is great if you need book marketing in German-speaking areas.

Helping Authors Along The Way

XinXii is also able to help authors in numerous ways. For instance, if you have an idea and want to write a book but have no clue how to start, then they can help you organize your thoughts. Furthermore, if you already have your book well underway but hit writer’s block, they can help you overcome it. They can also help you educate how to sell your book including their site and many other stores.

Reasons Why You Should Write a Book?

Apart from knowing the best self-publishing companies, you should know that writing a book is an inward journey that helps you gain perspective about what matters to you. A lot can be learned by writing a book; apart from monetary benefits, you can gain more from writing a book than simply improving your financial status. Here is a quick rundown of what writing a book can mean to you:

Self-Discovery

When the writing process itself is considered, then it’s clear that the practice will force you to turn your thoughts inward and this can help you determine what matters to you. Plus, committing to a writing project will teach you the novel value of your willpower. Furthermore, it can also prove to be a powerful means to connect with your life motivations and deeper thoughts.

Reignite Your Passion

As writing proves to be a journey of self-discovery, it can also help to rekindle your long-lost passion. That is to say the deeper you contemplate your thoughts, the more you need to scratch the surface of your being. And in those thoughts, you are able to renew what might have been considered lost or nowhere to be found during your busy daily schedules.

Practice Will Make You Perfect

No one can deny the beauty of human ingenuity and the more you delve into the subject, the more you will find reasons to ascertain that we get better with things the more we practice them. The same rule applies to writing as well where the more you write, the better you become with time. If you start writing now you will only get better at it the more you write.

Nourish Problem-Solving Skills

Writing a book by no means is an easy task. It takes a considerable amount of time as well as effort on your part. Plus planning and laying out the structure of your book makes it one of the most enduring cognitive tasks you will ever encounter. It is a downright challenging undertaking, which will help boost your brainpower and take the bull by the horns.

Improve Your Knowledge

If you think that works like Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter series were made with zero research then you can’t be further away from the truth. Writing a book takes a considerable amount of study and this means you have to perform substantial investigation beforehand which naturally leads to an increase in your pool of knowledge.

Benefits of Self-Publishing Your Book

So if you have a book ready and you are an indie writer what’s next? Do you pursue your luck with traditional publishing houses or reach out to a self-publishing platform? To answer this question how about we look at the benefits that self-publishing has to offer you which can help you make up your mind once and for all:

Better Financial Rewards

We all are in it when monetizing our work so would any writer not worry about missing out on an opportunity to earn better with their finished product? Plus it is your work and therefore why should you share your earnings for your hard work? It simply doesn’t make sense. Self-publishing makes it possible for you to earn every dollar on the book you sell and return to you.

Creative Control

Perhaps the first thing a writer gets to have with self-publishing platforms is that they retain creative control over their work, which many traditional publishing networks don’t offer. This means that throughout the stages of writing, designing, editing, and publishing, you can choose whether or not you would like to employ professional services. Plus it also means that you don’t have to answer to anybody else.

Pricing Control

Since it is your work, you should decide on how much it should cost and sell for right? Self-publishing allows you to set the price tag on your work according to your whims and wishes. Selling a masterpiece for a lower price can make it impossible to break even, but it will help you gain more readership. So the choice is yours and no traditional publisher would offer you that much freedom.

To sum it up, I guess the best way to put it is to say that you should never carry all the eggs into one basket. There is a range of opportunities out there that are available right within your palms. So, do your research and measure each option. Not every opportunity works out well so you have to weigh them accordingly and see which works best for you.

I hope this post was able to offer you the insights you need to make an informed decision. However, you should still perform your individual research to find out more about self-publishing so that you are always in the know which prospect you should consider and which one you should just let slide by.

If you think I missed out on any of your favourite self-publishing platforms, please let us know by leaving a mention in the comment section below. Till then, happy reading and all the best for your future endeavours! CIAO!

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17 Best Free Self-Publishing Companies For New Authors

If you are a new author, you have plenty of choices of free self-publishing companies to publish your book. Some popular options include Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Draft2Digital, and Apple Books.

You can also find a lot of free book publishing software . These tools make it easy to write, edit, format, create a book cover, and publish an ebook today and make it available to the world.

Another great option is to publish a paperback version of your book using print-on-demand services to make it available for readers on retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

With so many free resources and tools available, there’s nothing to stop you from publishing your new book today. And yes, you can do it for free.

17 Free self-publishing companies you can choose

Self-publishing is not only Amazon today.

There are so many more self-publishing services and choices for new authors.

However, you need to be aware that there are not many truly free book publishing companies.

There are many vanity press publishers that charge a lot of money to publish your book.

You need to beware of offers that seem too good to be true.

On top of that, there are also self-publishing services that charge a fee to help you publish your book.

These can sometimes become very expensive, especially if you have to pay a monthly subscription.

For new authors, the best advice is to use reliable and reputable free publishing companies that offer self-publishing with no strings attached.

In my list below, you will find the best choices for publishing ebooks as well as print-on-demand paperback books.

You can then choose the right option for you and your new book.

The best choices for ebooks

If you want to know how to publish a book for free, the following companies offer free self-publishing for ebooks.

It is the easiest way for new authors to publish their first book.

There is no cost to publish your ebook with these services, and you will be paid royalties for every copy you sell.

The best self-publishing companies also offer you a lot of assistance with publishing guides and how-to help pages.

If you have reasonable computer skills, it’s very easy to self-publish your first ebook.

1. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

Without a doubt, Amazon KDP is the first choice for most new authors.

KDP offers totally free self-publishing for ebooks, and it is very easy to use.

You only need to upload your manuscript file in Word docx and your ebook cover.

When your ebook goes on sale, you will earn 70% royalties for ebooks priced over $2.99.

But for books under that price, you will only earn 35%.

Because Amazon has the largest market share for book sales, it will almost always be your first choice.

2. Apple Books

Coming in at number two is Apple Books .

It used to be called iBooks, but the name change has made no difference.

Apple still ranks second for ebook market share.

Again, it’s easy to publish your ebook. If you are a Mac user, you can upload directly from Apple Pages .

Apple offers a few advantages over Amazon KDP.

Firstly, you will earn 70% royalties on all your ebooks regardless of the price.

You can also offer your ebook for free. This is not possible on Amazon.

Another benefit is for ebooks with lots of images. Unlike KDP, Apple does not charge a file download delivery fee .

3. Barnes & Noble Press

Barnes & Noble Press is the new name for Nook Press.

It offers similar free ebook publishing conditions to Apple. You will earn 70% on your ebook sales.

If you used Nook Press in the past, you will notice a lot of improvements in the new platform.

It’s now much easier to use.

4. Kobo Writing Life

You have probably heard of Kobo Books. It is a popular ebook retailer, especially in markets outside the US and UK.

The big advantage of publishing with Kobo is that it says it distributes its ebook catalog to online retailers in 190 countries.

Kobo Writing Life is the self-publishing arm of Kobo Books.

It is free to self-publish your ebook, and the conditions are very similar to Apple and Barnes & Noble.

However, like Amazon, you will get reduced royalties for ebooks priced under $2.99.

5. StreetLib

StreetLib uses a slightly different pricing model.

You can self-publish your ebook for free, but StreetLib will charge 10% of the cover price for each sale.

But you will need to do your calculations to see if this is viable for you.

It might sound Asian, but Xinxii is a German self-publishing service.

Its royalty tiers are 70% for ebooks over $2.95 and 40% for lower prices.

One big advantage for some authors is that you don’t need a tax ID number to get paid .

You can also publish under various pen names and in different languages.

7. PublishDrive

I have to mention PublishDrive, even though it offers mostly paid publishing packages.

But it does offer a free service called Abacus . With it, you can publish your first ebook for free.

Any additional titles will cost you $2.99 per month.

Ebook aggregators

If you want to avoid all the hassles of publishing on different retailer platforms, an ebook aggregator is the best solution.

You only need to publish once, and you can make your ebook available on many ebook retailers and libraries.

Generally, you will receive a slightly lower royalty rate of around 60% for the convenience of one-stop publishing.

8. Draft2Digital

If you want an easy way to self-publish your ebook, Draft2Digital will be for you.

You can read my full review to find out why. You can distribute your ebook to a long list of online ebook retailers.

One feature I love is that you can use templates to style your ebooks beautifully.

9. Smashwords

As one of the pioneers of ebooks, Smashwords is a favorite of many self-publishing authors.

One advantage is that it has its own online bookstore that is popular with many readers.

But with its premium catalog, you can distribute your ebook to a long list of ebook retailers and libraries.

Free social self-publishing

Social publishing is an option for new authors who want a simple way to self-publish.

If you want to find readers for your stories, it’s a faster route to take than setting up accounts with self-publishing services or aggregators.

It’s not for all authors. But if you want a quick, easy, and free way to publish your book online, it could be for you.

Inkitt is a community platform for authors and calls itself a reader-powered book publisher.

With around 75,000 authors, 230,000 stories, and 7 million readers, it’s a social publishing platform that might be worth considering.

When authors self-publish their manuscripts with this service, readers can read the stories for free.

Authors with high-performing books have the chance of a publishing deal with iInkitt’s sister publishing arm, Galatea.

It also offers new authors the chance to enter regular contests with prizes of a publishing contract.

If you are new to self-publishing, it could be an option for you.

11. Wattpad

Wattpad is a popular social publishing platform with a membership of around 90 million readers and writers.

That certainly is a lot of people. For new authors, it’s an alternative way to self-publish your writing.

Wattpad offers a lot of options to find readers, so you are sure to find one or two that might suit your aspirations.

You can publish any genre of stories, such as an essay, romance, teen fiction, fantasy, mystery, science fiction, or literary fiction.

Wattpad also partners with major publishers and studios. You never know; you might get lucky.

With so many readers, it’s not a bad choice to start self-publishing your stories.

Free paperback self-publishing

I must start by saying there will be some costs because a paperback book is a physical product.

With the following self-publishing companies, it’s free to publish, but you will have to pay for physical author and proof copies .

You can refer to the FAQs for each service to find the cost of producing and shipping copies.

But you will have to pay or be charged the production costs each time you sell a book.

12. Amazon KDP

For many years, Createspace was the service to use for free paperback self-publishing.

However, Amazon closed it down and now offers print-on-demand paperback self-publishing from its KDP platform.

But the significant advantage is that if you want to avoid any costs, you can view an online proof of your book.

You can then approve it for sale without incurring costs for physical proof copies.

You can create both paperback and hardcover versions of your book with Blurb .

Once your book is ready, you can make it available on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

While it’s free to create your book, you will have to pay for the copies you want to sell.

14. IngramSpark

Ingram is one of the biggest book distributors in the world.

IngramSpark is part of this group, so it makes sense to consider using it to self-publish your book.

There are lots of choices for book sizes, quality, and styles.

15. BookBaby

BookBaby has been around for a long while.

Whatever type of book you want to publish, it’s a great service.

You can publish children’s books, cookbooks, fiction, and nonfiction.

Lulu is one of the original print-on-demand services.

It offers similar services to Bookbaby, but you might want to compare.

17. Barnes & Noble Press

Following the change from Nook Press, Barnes & Noble Press now offer print-on-demand self-publishing .

If you have a US readership, it might be a good choice.

If you only want to publish an ebook, you have plenty of choices of free publishing companies offering self-publishing at no charge.

For paperbacks and hardcover books , you can certainly publish for free. But you will always have production and shipping costs per copy.

With so many free book publishing companies to choose from, you are sure to find a solution that works for you.

But for most new authors, you will undoubtedly choose Amazon KDP to publish your ebook because it offers totally free book publishing.

You can make it available on the Kindle Store and perhaps on Kindle Unlimited by enrolling in KDP Select.

If you would like your ebook to be available on other retailers such as Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble, it’s easier to use an aggregator.

Amazon is probably the best free option for paperback books if you choose to accept an online proof of your book before publishing.

But if you want to go wider and have your book available in as many stores as possible, IngramSpark is the best solution.

One final word of advice for new authors.

Be very careful if you receive an unsolicited offer from a publisher you don’t know.

There are a lot of publishing scams and sharks out there today.

You have no shortage of reliable choices for free self-publishing from the publishers I have listed above.

Related reading: There Are Book Publishers To Avoid And Nasty New Author Scams

About The Author

Derek Haines

More articles.

Self-Publishing For The First Time – A Short Guide For New Authors

How Well Does Your Cover Work When Viewed In Book Thumbnail Size?

How To Select The Best Amazon Book Categories For Your Book

47 thoughts on “17 best free self-publishing companies for new authors”.

I wrote three novellas which I had printed and bound as one Trilogy, and I pay occasionally for one or two more copies as needed. Those who have read it say it could well be published, but they also confirm how immensely difficult that is to organise, not to mention, eventually expensive. I am a technophobe who could only produce to a publisher an already printed and bound copy, rather than giving it on email or via other technology. Also, I have zero finances beyond what I occasionally spend when ordering another one or two copies. In today’s setting when thousands upon thousands of new books are constantly being published or processed, it seems one must surmount a mountain to get one’s book into the shop outlets. People say I should, but I will not even try – it’s too daunting and financially impossible.

I just paroled from prison after over 15 years for a bad decision and since 2014 I have worked with at risk youth and I have several children’s books I would love to get published but I’m also in limbo. Have any advice for me? I have a novel and an at risk youth pamphlet of sorts for juvenile halls and your authorities.

You can find plenty of publishing advice in our articles, Daniel.

But the three most important points are that you carefully edit and proofread your manuscripts, get professional book covers, and be prepared to invest time in promoting your books.

Dear Derek Haines, i have a question, i have released a dozen coloring pages on amazon kdp with their free iSBN number. After about a year, Amazon deleted my account assuming I had a secondary account that I didn’t have. And now my question: Can I publish the same books as a second edition, or an enhanced / revised edition with my own ISBN using another aggregator, eg Draft2Digital, and will this be legal? Lucas

I can’t give legal advice, Lucas.

Perhaps you could contact Draft2Digital for help with this.

Your article recommends Ingram Spark but there are some huge negatives attached to the company. I quote an author called mike: ‘ Book returns are a huge problem for small authors, and in my opinion, returns are the dirty little secret known only by IngramSpark and their largest accounts. I have perhaps a dozen books published through IngramSpark, which accounts for about 10% of my sales. Initially, since I was chasing distribution within a large national bookseller chain, I checked the box that allowed that bookseller chain and other book stores to return my books, since it only seemed fair at the time. However, what I then learned over the course of two Christmas seasons is that book sellers large and small, knowing they can return the books, will order in heavily during the holidays so as to give customers an “impressive” selection of books in their stores, but then dump ALL of those books back to the author through IngramSpark’s return process at the end of the year. As a result, the booksellers generate revenue by ordering and displaying more books than they need during the holiday season, and then they, as well as IngramSpark, generate EVEN MORE revenue when they return the over-ordered books at a cost of $4.00 each to the author. In this scenario, you as the author are taking on the risk of your business, AS WELL AS that of a large national bookseller. In my case, for two Januarys in a row, a handful of boxes would suddenly show up on my doorstep with 300 books in them, and then IngramSpark would ding my credit card for $1,200 for the returns PLUS the royalties I had made on the initial sale of the books. That’s not the worst part however. The unethical slap in the face is that the booksellers would then turn around and reorder the same books within the next month or so. Meanwhile, I’m out $1,200 plus my royalties, I now have 300 books that have been manhandled at retail and in distribution, and IngramSpark’s attitude…while holding my money… is one of complete indifference. I no longer publish new titles via IngramSpark because of this, and I unchecked the “Returns Allowed” box on my existing titles on their site, so my “sales” are down considerably, but at least I’m no longer a victim of this unethical behavior. The good news is that the booksellers recognized that my books do sell, so they now overlook that they aren’t returnable. Either that, or I’m only receiving bookseller orders now from those who have a conscience. I want to like IngramSpark, but they make it nearly impossible to do so.’

I have a children’s book that I wrote. It is already illustrated and edited. i need advice for Ingram spark. how better is a book with hardcover?

Mr. Haines..I am a comedy writer and have put together 305 animal pictures plus memes directly on the pictures, I have completed the book and tried sending it to Amazon Direct Publishing. They have rejected it five times in five days. They must be freaked out about so many images to begin with…I got all of my images from Pixabay which is a no attribution site. I saved them in my one drive but first put captions directly on the pictures from a site called IMGFlip. They all turned out great even though the pixel sizes are not all the same for all 305 animal pictures. Companies don’t want to deal with formatting for an ebok at all. I’ve gotten all kinds of excuses. I am really stuck here and in limbo. Honestly I don’t know where to turn. The story is longer but this is all for now.

Trying to publish a book full of free stock images is a recipe for disaster, Kerry. 305 images!! No wonder you’ve had problems. Even if you’ve added captions, they are still stock images that Amazon KDP can recognize very easily. You can’t expect to succeed by publishing freely available content like this.

Dear Kerry, I have just completed a book about one of the Pope’s top ten exorcist priests. He passed away in the meantime because it took me over five years to transcribe hundreds of digital recordings, put the book together, research certain experiences about exorcism and edit. One problem I encountered was I needed seven images of Satanic symbols and demons to make the book a bit more lively, so to speak. What I chose were black and white images so that the book would be in black and white, not in colour as colour printing costs a fortune.

I tried buying extended licenses for these images because it’s the only way you will not get in trouble, but some were asking for a lot of money only for the licence. My choices now aren’t many because other image sellers do not even have the same definition for an extended licence, so you might get into trouble on copyright anyway by buying the licence. Some of these sellers care only about making money and do not give a hoot about the author and what happens when the authors of the image or images sue him for copyright infringements.

So, I will either have to hire a designer to make the images himself and pay him or allow the publisher to do that for me himself. Trust me, don’t even think of publishing a pictorial book using 300 images because you will regret having published it. Although most publishers will refuse to do so as soon as they realize the images are stock and they risk a lot of problems if they publish.And no acknowledging the author or a website is not enough!

I have a children’s book that I wrote. It is already illustrated and edited. When I chatted with Amazon publishing, they want $545 plus 30%. How is that free?

All self-publishing services have add-on paid services.

If you do the preparation work yourself, it’s always free.

However, if you ask to have the work done for you, you can’t expect that service for free.

It’s free self-publishing, not free editing, free formatting, or free file preparation.

Jean, it’s not and never will be. Today, we live in a materialistic world. Not even a Traditional publisher will publish your book for free. I had found a traditional publisher but to start off with they did not pay me an upfront payment which should have been between Stg 30,000 or 40,000. Second, a clause in the contract told me clearly that I would not see a cent of my royalties until these paid off the production costs!! Most if not all Traditional Publishers today, unless you are a VIP, will do the same. That is why I believe that self-publishing is safer. The traditional publisher allowed the six-month expiry date on the contract to expire and then wanted me to decimate the book by 40%! A self-publishing service will at least charge you a fee and there are some that will let you pay by installments and you are in control from beginning to end. Not cutting out paragraphs unless you accept it. I am not saying you should not allow professional editors to point out where you went wrong, because after all you want a professional book finish but these guys let the contract expire, thinking I was going to let them do what they will with the book. I didn’t and withdrew it!

Can you recommend some author’s publishing assist services companies that are reputable and trustworthy?. There companies using offer editing, formatting help and help with publishing. I guess Book Baby is one of the best know. But I have found some unsavory characters in this business. Thank you .

Yes, you need to be careful, Nikki.

Book Baby has a good reputation.

But you might also check ALLi for vetted and recommended providers: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/best-self-publishing-services/

I want to get my husband’s book printed to give copies to family and friends. It was never published and he has passed.

Can I do this easily through Amazon and inexpensively?

Yes, you can use Amazon to publish a paperback version. But I would also suggest Blurb if you only want to produce a handful of copies.

I published my first children’s book with a publishing company but it was a little pricey so I’m really thinking about self publishing but the one I already published is part of a series I have 3 more books with the same character if I ever choose to redo the first book could I do that and self publish it myself and another thing can I publish with multiple companies or just one

It’s best not to publish with more than one self-publishing service, Lisa. But you can use an aggregator like Draft2Digital to sell your books on different retailers. As for your first book, you need to have the rights to self-publish it. If your original publisher still holds the rights, you can’t publish the book.

Any advice on the best publishers for sports related instructional books, e.g. How To Play Cricket? Would be looking to translate for Indian audience also.

Sorry, I can’t help you with this one, Josh.

The best would be to try to find a local publisher in perhaps either Australia or India.

If you have any books on a similar topic, check the name of the publisher. That might give you some clues to get started.

I self published ‘The Last Circulataur’ many years ago with, Author House and wasn’t terribly happy. I have two more novels ready to go and I’m thinking Amazon(KDP), or Ingram Spark. Thanks for the above advice.

Had a bad experience with Author House as well. Never got paid but my book is still on Amazon.

Author House had the audacity of publishing an autobiography I wrote without proofreading it with all the errors in it. Check it out on Amazon. ” My name is Leiolani and this is my life Journey”. They are not professionals, they hired people from the Philippines to do their poor jobs. It is an embarrassment to any author.

Which self-publishing firm, such as KDP, publishes books in Chinese in the United States? I found mermaid publishers by searching they offer the same services, and need a recommendation

You might try Smashwords, Zoe. If I recall correctly, Smashwords offers the possibility to publish in Chinese or Mandarin.

I have an idea for a book. How do I get advice?

I typed my book but I don’t have a phone and all of these need phone numbers!

I am a new author live at outside of Thailand. Now I have a book to be published in Thailand region as I write in Thai language. I have published it at ebook platform. I have own ISBN and ownership registration for it. I would like to find the physical book publishers in Thailand. Let me know the good publishers in Thailand rather than other countries. Thanks and regards, Moe Kha

I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with this, Moe Kha. You will need to do your own research into local publishers in Thailand.

I have two books published on Amazon but there not doing well because of the lack of promotion, is there any company that would print and market my books and cover the cost and would recover the money from the sales of the book

I am writing children’s’ books based on my experiences as a child.

Hello. Are these some of the sites that you posted on your blog that requires money for their services?

No. All of the services in this article are free.

Which self publish company like KDP publish a book in Chinese language here in the US?

Most self-publishing services provide publishing in different languages now. You will need to check with each one to see if you can publish in Chinese or Mandarin. But I believe Smashwords offers publishing in Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional) and Chinese (writing system unspecified).

IngramSpark and Amazon censor your books for political content they don’t like, and they will hurt you. They will cancel all your books like true cat stories and Cats in Art, if they find out just one of the other books contains a political view they don’t like. You don’t need to publish this, it is just a warning to others.

I write books and articles on World war 2. please advise on free publishing

I am writing a self help book for addicts and their families. It’s made to be interesting and fun.

Getting noticed on Amazon is like finding the holybgrail. Your book just gets lost in amongst thousands and thousands of other self published books. It’s a waste of time.

I want my book published for free and I am not going to give no money unless I have a contract and u make money from me off the perectage u asked for when the book is in stores and u make a proffit.

Good advice. Any links to e-book aggregators?

I’ve listed the best ebook aggregators in the article.

Good morning Mr. Haines, I am an author from way back, but totally new to online publishing. When I was in a publishing summit years ago someone said, “He who has the ISBN owns the royalties”. I just started uploading low content books and will be uploading ebooks soon. Amazon gives you the option for them to create a free ISBN for you, but am I giving away my ownership of the book to them?

No Lara. Amazon does not take any form of ownership over your books. You are perfectly safe using a free ISBN.

Some great advice in this article that clearly shows the benefits of self publishing. As one who has his latest manuscript out seeking a publishing company, if I am not successful then I will most likely go with Amazon KDP. I have some of my books with two publishing companies as well as some with D+D who I have found most helpful.

Derek, This stuff is pure gold, . I have been dreaming of writing “The book” for years. It’s a huge mountain to climb, with synopses to write publishers to find etc. I also have too much stuff for one book, which always seemed a problem. Self publishing in a series of novellas is the answer and you are showing me how. I have made the list of novellas and mapped out the contents. Now I have to write but in a series of short hops rather than an enormous leap of faith. I know you didn’t invent self publishing but you have opened it up and showed it to me.Thank you so much Steve

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Book Marketing for Self-Publishing Authors

Home / Book Publishing / 29 Book Publishing Companies For Authors Without Agents

29 Book Publishing Companies For Authors Without Agents

Ten years ago, you never would have dreamed of getting your book traditionally published without an agent. But these days, the sky's the limit for authors.

The pros and cons of traditional vs. self-publishing have been hashed out a number of times.

So you know even though there are plenty of pros to self-publishing a book , there’s something validating about writing a book that’s so good a publishing company wants to claim and sell it as one of their own. Maybe you’re one of the many writers who'd like to have a book published through the traditional route, or you're looking to branch out and try it alongside independent publishing.

You’re not alone.

If you’ve ever considered seeking publishing companies to take a look at one of your books, you could find a literary agent, or there are plenty of legitimate publishing companies that accept proposals from authors without agents too!

• What the deal is with literary agents and why you might not need one
• 30 of the best book publishing companies we found that accept proposals directly from new authors–no agent needed
• How you can get noticed by publishers and editors
• How to spot “vanity presses” and make smart publishing decisions

Table of contents

Traditional publishing & literary agents–what’s the deal.

• The Cons of Using an Agent
• Publishers To Consider (Even If You're a New Author)
• 28. Graywolf Press
• Follow the Guidelines
• Be Professional and Polite
• Build Connections
• Make It Your Best Work
• Be Open to Feedback
• Build Your Author Platform

Caveat : As you all know, I've never traditionally published.  So I want to be upfront and let you know that the below is purely research-based and does not imply that I have used the below publishers. You can search for publishers and agents on websites like QueryTracker.net ,  WritersMarket.com , or  PublishersArchive.com .

When you think of traditional publishers, the Big 5 might be your first thought:

• Hachette Book Group
• HarperCollins
• Macmillan Publishers
• Penguin Random House
• Simon and Schuster

These are the big dogs — the Holy Grail of publishing accolades and prestige.

These companies are extremely selective and will only accept proposals through an agent. In order for the slightest hope that big publishing houses will show interest, fiction authors must have impressive writing skills and their work must fit the commercial mold of genre fiction, while nonfiction authors must have a compelling hook, a marketable idea, and a substantial author platform.

If you think your work is Big 5 material, you have to find an agent who’s interested in your book. They (if they’re any good) will help you make your book even better, then work their tail off to find you a great deal. They’re a lot like a business manager, and they can contact otherwise unreachable editors and negotiate all the important contract details on your behalf–but it's not all roses.

First, you have to do a ton of research on each agent before you contact them. The internet is full of scammers looking to prey on someone desperate for a book deal, or amateurs who will be a waste of your time (and possibly money) because they call themselves “agents” but don't really know what they're doing.

Then, after you do careful research to find a legitimate agent, the next step is finding one who thinks you have an amazing book. Even then, there's no guarantee of a publishing contract. Just like authors, agents typically get a number of rejections before they find a publisher who shows interest in your book.

If they do get your book accepted by a publisher and get you an advance for your book sales, it comes at a cost–15% of all your earnings.

So if you aren't set on getting published by a company that REQUIRES an agent, a better option might be getting published without an agent. There are tons of reputable medium and small publishing companies out there, and more and more publishers are loosening their grip on the reins to allow un-agented authors to contact them directly–cutting out the middleman. Even big companies dabble with submission periods of bypassing literary agents to find talented writers .

Although small publishing houses don't have the same clout with retailers or the same resources for marketing and publicity , most still have talented  editors , designers, and passionate professionals for publishing great books.

One of the book publishing companies on our list is even an imprint of Penguin Random House, and yes, they accept contacts from authors directly. Plus, here's an example of a brand new author who got a contract with Baen Books, another publisher on our list, and his novel has great reviews on Amazon.

Below is a list of 30 book publishing companies that authors can contact directly. For each publishing house, you'll find:

• A link to their website
• What they publish
• Any significant notes about their publishing history
• A link to their submissions guidelines for authors
• Whether they accept proposals via snail mail, electronically, or both
• The estimated response time (if it was given on their site)
• A link to their catalog of previously published books, and
• Location of the publisher

When you find one that sounds interesting or like it might be a fit for your goals as an author, bookmark it. This could bring you one step closer to becoming a (traditionally) published author.

Note:  Be sure to check each of the publishing companies' websites and submission requirements carefully. You'll make a great first impression by applying only to those publishing houses that carry books like yours.

How to Find Other Publishing Companies

One of the best ways to find successful publishing companies is to analyze the genre for your book and see what other companies are publishing books in that genre.

If you're doing this manually, this can take a very long time, and you'll end up finding a lot of other companies that aren't really great.

Thankfully, there's a tool that makes it easy to see all of the major publishers for the bestsellers of any genre.

That tool is Publisher Rocket .

With Rocket's category analysis tool, you can easily find a list of publishers for any genre by doing the following:

• Finding your desired category/genre through the Category Search
• Clicking on the “Insights” link
• Hover over the “i” icon under the Large Publisher tile
• Find a list of large publishers in that genre

A lot of these publishing companies will be traditional publishers, so you can reach out to them if you want a traditional publishing deal. Or you might find some hidden gems, like lesser known but successful small publishers.

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30 Book Publishing Companies That Accept Proposals Directly From Authors

1. self-publishing school.

• They publish a massive variety of nonfiction, fiction, and children’s books
• They have helped over 7,000 authors in just 7 years, so there’s proof their system works
• They pride themselves on not just helping authors publish, but actually sell their books (and they don’t take a royalty cut from your sales)
• They have additional training, support systems, community, and coaching for authors, which is included if you are accepted
• Submission guidelines – NOTE: YOU MUST SCHEDULE A STRATEGY CALL so they can hear about your book idea and see if you’ll be a good fit with their organization
• They can usually hop on the phone with you within 48 hours of applying
• They will assign a 1-1 coach to you after you’re accepted and give you access to a lot of supplemental course and training materials
• See Successful Students Here.
• See Their Library Here.
• Virtual, based mostly in US
• Publish science fiction and fantasy
• A respected and popular publishing company, and an imprint of Penguin.
• Submission guidelines
• They only accept snail mail submissions and full-length novels of at least 80,000 words . They do not accept short stories or novellas.
• They require submissions to be exclusive to them, however, if they take longer than three months to review your manuscript, then you can submit elsewhere
• New York, New York

3. Chronicle Books

• Children’s books and Adult trade (not adult fiction)
• Their books are everywhere as they even have international retail stores
• Different guidelines if you’re submitting children’s or adult trade, so follow carefully
• Will only respond if interested in publishing
• Browse their books here
• San Francisco, California
• Science fiction and fantasy only
• One of the most respected publishers of Science Fiction and Fantasy books, they are one of the few established publishers that will accept full-length manuscripts from authors without an agent
• Submission guidelines here
• Strongly prefer electronic submission through their submission form
• Take longer than typical to hear back (9-12 months)
• Wake Forest, North Carolina

5. Flashlight Press

• Publish children’s fiction picture books targeted to 4-8-year-olds
• Their books are beautifully illustrated and they only publish 2-4 each year. Their company and individual books have won many awards. They distribute internationally.
• Please follow the guidelines exactly
• Books should be less than 1,000 words with a universal theme dealing with family or social situations and fit within their catalog of books
• If interested, they will contact you within 3 months.
• Brooklyn, New York

6. Skyhorse Publishing

• One of the fastest-growing independent publishers in the U.S. with 15 imprints and a backlist of over 6,000 titles.
• They publish pretty much everything, both fiction and nonfiction, adult, young adult, and children’s books.
• They’ve had 43 titles on the New York Times bestseller list in the 10 years they’ve been publishing.
• You’ll hear from them within 4-6 weeks if they are interested in seeing more of your manuscript.
• You can browse their titles here

7. Free Spirit Publishing

• Publish nonfiction books and learning materials for children, teens, parents, educators, counselors, and others who interact with young people
• They produce 20-25 new titles per year and have a strong distribution through major trade and library distributors, in bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, on Amazon.com, and their widely distributed mail order catalog.
• They are looking for nonfiction proposals in these categories: Teaching Strategies & Professional Development, Early Childhood, Gifted & Special Education, Bullying Prevention & Conflict Resolution, Character Education, Leadership & Service Learning, Educational Games, Posters, & Jars, and Counseling & Social-Emotional Learning (at the time of this writing)
• They only accept proposals through mail.
• Their response time is usually 2-6 months
• Minneapolis, MN

8. Five Star

• Open to Mystery and Western fiction submissions
• Connected to large academic companies Gale and Cengage Learning
• Without an agent or previous book published, will need to query a general editor ( [email protected]) to get full submission guidelines. You should include your name, contact information, and genre. Submissions are accepted electronically only.
• They will respond, but it may take some time
• Their website was more difficult than most for authors seeking publishing companies, but they also have a Facebook page for more information
• Waterville, Maine

9. Kensington Publishing Corp.

• Known as “America’s Independent Publisher,” they have a bunch of imprints
• Publish over 600 fiction and nonfiction titles each year, including a range of popular genres such as romance, women’s fiction, African American, young adult and nonfiction, true-crime, western, and mystery titles
• Published some New York Times bestselling authors
• You should review their editors’ interests and submit to the one you think is the best fit for your book
• They will only respond if they are interested.
• You can browse their book categories and titles here

10. Beacon Press

• Publish serious nonfiction of deep fundamental issues, such as respect for diversity, religious pluralism, anti-racism, justice, equity, and compassion for all humans
• At the time of this writing, they are not accepting self-help, new poetry, or fiction books
• Submissions
• They only accept electronic submissions.
• They will contact you within 3 weeks if interested in seeing a full proposal after considering your query
• Boston, Massachusetts

11. Black Inc.

• Publish a variety of fiction and nonfiction, but not poetry or children’s books
• Open to submissions from Australian writers only and via email only
• If they are interested in your manuscript, they will contact you within 8 weeks.
• Explore their website
• Carlton, Victoria, Australia

12. Persea Books

• Fiction and nonfiction.
• They accept literary novels, creative nonfiction, memoirs, essays, biographies, books on contemporary issues, anthologies, and limited poetry and young adult titles.
• They do not publish genre fiction, self-help, textbooks, or children’s books
• You should submit your submissions package through the mail

13. BelleBooks/Bell Bridge

• BelleBooks originated to publish Southern fiction before creating the substantial imprint Bell Bridge, which publishes a wide variety of genres
• Publish everything from anthology to young adult, including children’s books, fantasy, nonfiction, romance, mystery, and women’s fiction.
• Submission guidelines – CURRENTLY CLOSED TO SUBMISSIONS
• This page includes to-the-point answers to questions like What do editors want? Why was your book rejected? And specific submission instructions, editor to contact, and word count by genre.
• They do not accept simultaneous submissions unless you’re agented.
• Typical response is 3-6 months
• Browse their books
• Memphis, Tennessee

14. Seven Stories Press

• Publish fiction and nonfiction, and the occasional book of poetry
• Books are distributed by Random House
• You should submit the requested materials through mail only.
• Check out their titles . You’ll notice their subjects include feminism, LGBTQ, environmentalism, human rights, and journalism.

15. Jollyfish Press

• Publish a variety of commercial and literary fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thrillers, young adult, humor, romance, and women’s fiction.
• A newer publisher started in 2012, was acquired by North Star Editions, Inc. in October 2016
• Should submit through email only
• Their About Us page tells what their editors are looking for , which can be helpful for authors seeking publication
• Book titles
• Provo, Utah

16. Oneworld Publishing

• Nonfiction and literary fiction. Categories include self-help, biographies, religion, history, business, and more.
• Approximately 100 books per year internationally.
• They have a submission form for authors to download and complete
• Make sure your book fits in with their previously published titles
• London, United Kingdom

17. Black & White Publishing

• Fiction and nonfiction, including women’s fiction (chick lit, saga, and romance), crime and psychological thrillers, contemporary YA and new adult crossovers, children’s fiction … and nonfiction: memoirs, sport (the UK and Ireland especially), humor, food and drink, and activity books
• A leading independent Scottish publisher open to work by authors from UK, Ireland, and beyond
• They prefer you use their online submission form, but they will accept mail
• You should hear back within 3 months if they are interested
• United Kingdom

18. Angry Robot

• A respected adult science fiction and fantasy publisher, who occasionally publishes horror too
• British-based but has great distribution in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Part of Watkins Media Ltd
• They have “open door” periods periodically (like every 18 months or so) when they accept manuscripts from authors without agents. Check their website to find out if it’s currently an open door period
• You can submit to them anytime if you have a literary agent or if you’ve been recommended to them by an author already on their list
• Submissions are only accepted electronically
• They prefer books targeted to adults rather than junior or young adults. You can browse their books here

19. Evernight Publishing

• They seek complete manuscripts between 10,000-100,000 words in sub-genres of romance and erotic romance.
• Your submission should be exclusive to this publishing house
• They will make a decision on your proposal within 12 weeks
• Browse their website to see if yours fits

20. Felony & Mayhem

• A print and digital literary mystery fiction book publisher
• They only accept electronic submissions, preferably in Word docs
• Word count must be at least 80,000 words. 85,000 is preferred.
• They prefer mysteries with plots related to literature, philosophy, religion, academia, history, music, art, politics, food and wine, theatre, magic, anthropology, and settings outside the U.S.
• Their book titles are here

21. Chicago Review Press

• A variety of both fiction and nonfiction. They have several imprints, including an award-winning line of children’s and young adult nonfiction books
• Carefully review submission guidelines relevant for you
• You can even learn more about the acquisition editors you’ll be contacting
• Here are their book titles
• Chicago, Illinois

22. Albert Whitman & Company

• Children’s books from 0-15, from board books to young adult
• Picture books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult fiction each have their own submission details to follow
• You should hear from them within 6 months if they are interested
• Browse their catalog
• Park Ridge, Illinois

23. Charlesbridge

• Publishes primarily books for children , but also adult nonfiction and puzzle books. Their submission guidelines also state they are accepting young-adult novels.
• Submit through mail
• They will respond if they are interested only.
• Here are their children’s books
• Watertown, Massachusetts

24. Peachtree

• Specialize in children’s books, from board books to picture books to young adult fiction and nonfiction. They also maintain a line of adult backlist titles covering consumer references in health, education, and parenting; regional guide books about Southern US; adult fiction, biography, and memoirs with a focus on Southern authors.
• Send through mail
• Their review process typically takes 6-9 months
• Check out their books
• Atlanta, Georgia

25. Turner Publishing

• Little bit of everything – children’s, health & fitness, cookbooks, literary fiction, thriller/suspense, family & relationships/religion, juvenile fiction, history, humor, science, sports, romance, and nonfiction
• Their submissions don’t provide a lot of guidelines except where to email your materials
• They will contact if interested
• Nashville, Tennessee

26. Koehler Books

• Two publishing models : 1) Traditional model for experienced and agented authors with good sales. 2) Hybrid/co-publishing for new and emerging authors who need help and coaching.
• A wide array of genres, including memoirs, military, Business, Fiction, self-help mystery, thriller young adult and women
• They do not accept previously published books
• Fill out their submissions form and expect to hear back within 1-2 weeks
• View their home page
• Virginia Beach, VA

27. TCK Publishing

• They publish a wide range of nonfiction and fiction (but not poetry or children's picture books)
• They only accept digital submissions of completed manuscripts or book proposals on their website or via email
• Different guidelines if you're submitting fiction or nonfiction, so read carefully
• They respond to all submissions with a yes or no within 21 days
• Browse their titles here
• Granger, Indiana
• They publish poetry, memoirs, essays, fiction, and nonfiction
• Submissions are opened and closed at different times
• Publishes only about 30 books annually
• Minneapolis, Minnesota

29. Union Square & Co. (Formerly Sterling Publishing)

• They publish a massive variety of adult, young adult, and children’s books
• They have over 60 years in business and over 5,000 titles in print
• They have several imprints, including one for food, wine, and spirits; another for body, mind & spirit; another for crafting, decorating, and outdoor living; yet another for puzzles and games.
• For children’s books, they publish both fiction and nonfiction. They even have an imprint that publishes workbooks and flashcards for students in preschool through middle school.
• Submission guidelines – NOTE: THIS PUBLISHER NOW REQUIRES AN AGENT FOR SUBMISSION
• They accept submissions from authors through mail.
• It sounds like they respond to all submissions via mail or phone within several months.
• Browse their catalogs here

How To Get Noticed by Publishers

Once you've decided you want one of your books published, it's time to put in the work to get noticed and stay out of the slush pile.

Here are the strategies we'll take a look at:

• Follow the guidelines
• Be polite and professional
• Build connections at conferences
• Make it your best work
• Be open to feedback
• Build your author platform

Read and follow the stinkin’ guidelines.

Then read and follow them again.

Provide the publisher with exactly what they request in the method requested. If they say strongly prefer electronic submissions, give yourself a bonus point and submit your materials electronically.

Do not send your full manuscript unless they explicitly ask for it in their submission guidelines, or after they’ve expressed interested in your query letter.

Write an amazing query letter. This is like the cover letter you write when you’re applying for job, hoping for an interview. You need to write your best pitch to sell your book in a one-page letter, hoping the editor or agent picks your book to “interview” further.

Many publishers also request a synopsis or a brief summary of your entire story. Sample chapters are another common request for publishing companies. Most guidelines specify if they want one, two, or your first five. Give them what they ask for.

Nonfiction authors need to write a killer book proposal to show your book idea will sell, and that you have the credibility to give the advice. Among other things, your book proposal will include a detailed analysis of similar books already on the market, how your book is different, who will buy the book (your target audience), and why they need it, your author bio, a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline, and sample chapters. You’ll want to spend a fair amount of time researching and preparing your book proposal, which will probably end up being between 10 and 25 pages long.

Ultimately, send them quality work of what they ask for — nothing more, nothing less.

In all of your interactions as an author, you’ll be noticed for being polite and professional. In your letters, emails, social media, phone calls, and in-person conversations, show courtesy and professionalism and people will be more likely to want to do business with you.

If you come across as rude and unprofessional, people are not going to want to work with you. Editors receive an unbelievable number of submissions every month, so be patient and humble as you’re pursuing a publisher.

Good old fashioned one-on-one networking with people who work at publishing companies is another way to increase your chances of getting your foot in the door.

Publishers are more likely to at least carefully consider queries from someone they recognize, so bust out of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to people at conferences and summits. You never know where a connection may lead.

This is another “should go without saying,” but before you start pitching editors or agents, make sure your work is your best work. This goes for your manuscript as well as all of your submission materials. Read them out loud. Have someone else edit them. This is part of being professional. Don’t waste the publisher's time or yours by submitting sloppy materials.

Another tough one for some authors is being open to feedback. If your editor, your agent, and your beta readers give you feedback, have an open mind to it. Consider their point of view and seek more opinions or information if you’re unsure.

You probably won’t follow every piece of advice given (sometimes they're contradictory), but as authors, we are so blind to our passionate work that we miss the flashing red lights only outsiders can see. Tweak what’s necessary to create a more compelling book.

Finally, and this is especially important for nonfiction authors but doesn’t hurt for fiction authors either, build your author platform.

Design a professional author website that showcases your previous work if you have any and have your social media author accounts ready to go.

Showing the publishing companies that you have established a place in the world as an author by building a big email list will certainly help. This sends the message that you’ll be more like a partner to them in marketing your book — something they’ll love to see.

An Important Note About Vanity Presses

Apart from the 30 publishing companies on this list, not every company out there has your best interests at heart. Much like in the indie world, there are people out there who are more than happy to use you as a means of earning themselves money. Vanity presses are publishing companies that charge you a fee to publish your book, and do nothing to market it or professionally edit it. Be wary of any company that wants you to pay them to publish your story. If this happens, run for the hills.

If you're unsure of the difference between legitimate publishing houses and these ‘vanity presses,' check out this helpful guide that will clear things up for you.

Get After It

If the prestige, validation, greater potential of having your very own book on bookstore shelves, and the potential for literary awards is exciting to you, then researching and contacting publishing houses that seem the best fit for your writing may now be on your to-do list.

If reading about these publishing companies is exciting to you, or you've always known getting a publishing contract would mean the world to you, then why not go after it?

One thing I do know is if you never try, you’ll never know.

Side note: if you're interested, I also have an article to help you find the best self-publishing company here .

And as you’ve learned, you don’t even have to have an agent. You'll probably get a rejection or five, but don't get discouraged. There are plenty of legitimate book publishing companies out there just waiting to find the next talented author.

Why not you?

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

• Traditional Publishing & Literary Agents--What’s The Deal?

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5 thoughts on “ 29 Book Publishing Companies For Authors Without Agents ”

I found your site terribly informative. As a rank amateur, many of my questions were answered. Permit me one dumb question – is it considered improper to submit a work to more than one publisher at a time? Told you i was an amateur.

Glad you’re liking it. As for your question, no, no it isn’t.

What about Bookouture, they accept manuscripts without an agent. They do not pay advances but pay higher royalties

Excellent, informative article. Thanks for sharing.

Glad you liked it.

Comments are closed.

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Amazon KDP has helped first-time authors publish books — and make a fortune. Here's how it works.

• Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing offers a chance for authors to self-publish on its book store.
• The free platform allows writers to publish books in print and digital to earn a royalty rate. 
• Here's a breakdown of how to start publishing on Amazon KDP and how much writers can earn. 

Amazon's self-publishing platform Kindle Direct Publishing, commonly abbreviated to KDP, enables authors to self-publish in both print and digital.

Free at the point of use, Amazon claims on its website that writers can earn up to a 70% royalty rate for eBook sales and up to 60% for print compared to the 5% to 15% rates offered by traditional publishers .

The uptick in royalty rates has meant that many emerging authors have started to embrace the platform. In February, self-published writer Mark Dawson made $1.3 million in a year through the program. 

While authors stand to cash in on higher royalty rates, they're also responsible for marketing, designing, and even editing their books, which the publishing house would typically handle. 

"You have to remember you're in competition with books, which are written by very good writers and published by professional publishing houses," Dawson said. 

Not only do writers have to be prepared to market their books, but it can be tough to predict sales. 

A couple who make up to $17,000 a month selling notebooks on Amazon KDP said sales can be erratic and difficult to predict. They also said that they published ten designs of notebooks before they started making money on the platform. 

Still, their success shows that there isn't one set kind of book that can sell well on the platform. Along with notebooks, novelists and non-fiction writers have succeeded on Amazon KDP . 

How to sell on Amazon KDP

After creating an Amazon KDP account , users can format their manuscript through its Kindle Create tool and then list the product on the Kindle and Amazon bookstores. 

Authors can also publish books through Kindle Select on KDP, which makes books accessible on the Kindle Unlimited subscription service. As it's a $ 9.99-a-month subscription plan, authors get paid for every page a customer reads of their book rather than per sale of the whole book. 

After that, authors are in charge of marketing their books. All the Amazon KDP authors that Insider has previously spoken to emphasize the importance of promotion. Self-publishers typically use a combination of events, email newsletters, and social media to market their books .

Is Amazon KDP worth it? 

Not every author wants to market, design, and edit the book they write, but the ones prepared to do so could stand to benefit. Angelina Stanzione and Chris Rawson said they made $34,000 in three months on Amazon KDP. The couple has even begun to use ChatGPT to write first drafts, which dramatically reduced their costs.

Watch: Prime Day deals aren't the only way Amazon gets you to spend more. Here are 13 of the company's sneaky tricks.

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7 Best Book Publishing Software in 2023

By Eva Williams 14 days ago, Apps and Software

With the best book publishing software, you can create layouts for newspapers, magazines, brochures, flyers, etc. Besides, you can use ready-made templates, create pages from scratch and edit selected pages according to the requirements of your project.

Top 6 Book Publishing Software

• Canva - For covers creating
• ProWritingAid - For grammar checking
• KDP Wizard - Perfect for Kindle
• BookCore - For tracking book sales
• Kindle Create - Self-publishing app from Kindle
• Bookemon - Fast turnaround
• Calibre - Ebook editor

Such software is compatible with drawing or picture editing tools and is frequently used by editorial staff. You can upload your layouts to your website, download or print them out.

1. Canva - Our Choice

• User-friendly
• Has 1000+ premade templates
• Free version remains free forever
• You cannot create unique elements

Verdict : Canva is a robust, cross-platform tool which is highly intuitive for its user interface and easy to use by its users. It is designed to cater to not just e-publishing and print publishing but also to those who are into creating, producing, updating, selling and marketing e-products such as newsletters, brochures and book covers.

You can also do online promotions and advertising using the Canva system. To add to this, you can also develop online websites using Canva designer and host them for free using its easy-to-use hosting facilities.

2. ProWritingAid

• Includes many checks and reports
• Suggestions to improve your writing
• Plagiarism checker
• Contextual thesaurus report
• Need a fast internet connection

Verdict : ProWritingAid platform allows you to quickly create book covers, create book descriptions, attach documents and images, add pages to the book, add formatting such as fonts, borders, tables, and images, and edit and revise your book in real time.

The best part about this entire operation is that it is completely integrated with Amazon's Create Space format library so you don't need to ever leave the application. You can modify your book any time that you want from anywhere in the world.

3. KDP Wizard

• Easy access to all book data
• Works directly in Chrome browser
• Kindle unlimited
• Reduces visibility

Verdict : KDP Wizard is one of the best selling software applications for creating, editing and organizing text in the most popular format - the PDF (Portable Document Format). Many consider it as one of the best book design software available on the market today.

KDP Wizard is very easy to use and comes with outstanding features and unmatched ease of use along with a huge book library of hundreds of templates, covers and images covering almost all aspects of publishing. It is an ideal choice if you are just starting out with eBook creation or have a limited number of books that need to be published.

4. BookCore

• Provides a powerful book sales tracking
• Analytics service to generate reports
• Tracks reviews on multiple marketplaces
• No scrutiny towards individual books

Verdict : Book Core for Mac comes with a variety of features, including customizable covers. By choosing the covers that you want, you can maximize your profits. It's not necessary to choose covers that are the same as the covers of best-selling books made with ebook software . If you make your own covers, you'll be able to customize them to your heart's content and can make covers that are unique because they're your own.

You can also add a variety of other graphics and images, and the best part about it is you can do this all in-house! You'll find that when you have this kind of control over your books, you can really increase your book sales and have better profits come your way.

5. Kindle Create

• Reformatting publications
• Publication organization
• Robust plug-in system
• The UI is ancient

Verdict : Kindle Create is book writing software that Amazon bought for the new generation of eBooks on the market. With the Kindle Create book publishing software, authors can now publish their own books and earn money from them in much the same way as they would with a traditional book on a major publishing house. It's possible to earn a lot more money when you publish your own books on the Kindle, and this is a great reason to get started right away.

6. Bookemon

• No minimum requirements for an order
• Top-notch printing
• Professional binding
• Customizable templates
• Outdated website interface

Verdict : Bookemon  is a perfect option for those who need to create professionally-looking photo books online. You can access it even from your smartphone to design a photo book without paying a dime.

This service is extremely easy to use. You can create a project from scratch or select one of the available layouts. Besides, the service allows you to import designs created with the help of other software. You can use the in-built design tools and libraries to customize your designs with cliparts, backgrounds and frames.

While you can register on the platform and create designs for free, you will need to pay to get printed copies of your photo book. The service will print them in high quality, you just need to indicate the number of copies that you want to get.

• Automatic backups
• It is available for business and personal
• Notifications if backups fail
• Weak functionality

Verdict : Calibre is the number one choice among publishing professionals. This product offers the ability to produce high quality book covers and inside information that will make it easy for customers to purchase your books, whether they are online or in a brick and mortar store.

This book cover creator software will allow you to generate covers with professional images that you can use on any size, type, and format of the book cover that you want. This means that even if your eBooks are being distributed by an online distributor, you will be able to provide your customers with high quality book covers. It also means that you will be able to provide more options for book descriptions, helping your customers find the right book based on their preferences.

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Former Marvel Publisher John Nee Unveils New Multiplatform Publishing Venture

It began with an innocuous announcement: next month, a new publisher is crowdfunding a deluxe edition of artwork featuring Conan the Barbarian , shot from the original artwork drawn by a who’s-who of comics and fantasy illustrators. But it turns out that this project is just the tip of the iceberg for an ambitious new venture launched by former Marvel publisher, longtime DC/Wildstorm executive, and Cryptozoic CEO John Nee, modestly named Pan-Universal Galactic Worldwide Limited Company (PUG Worldwide).

Nee said that PUG Worldwide is looking to publish a wide variety of books, comics, games, and other media designed to delight passionate fans. “We're making a lot of books,” said Nee. “The pillar of our business is making collectables, as evidenced by this Conan book. It is a deluxe book aimed at a specific target, and we're going to be doing a bunch of stuff like that that appeals to genre fans in primarily the comics hobby as a separate line of business.”

The company also sees prose publishing as “a great opportunity for us to develop original characters and stories,” Nee added. (He cowrote a crime novel, The Murder of Mr. Ma , with author S.J. Rosen, which Soho Press will publish next year.) “We have other prose projects in development. We have creator-owned comic book projects in development, and that's going to be rolling out over the next year. The Conan book is the first thing out the door, but people should not take from that that we’re an art book publisher first and foremost.”

In a wide-ranging conversation, Nee laid out his vision for the new company, which has actually been in operation since 2020. (“Partly we were in stealth mode, and partly people didn’t care,” Nee explained.)

“PUG Worldwide is meant for fans who deeply care,” he said, noting that successful brands spend a lot of time, money, and effort getting fans in the door, but keep them engaged by giving them a reason to come back over and over again. “It becomes part of their lifestyle,” he said. “They become part of a community, where you spend a certain amount of time each week engaging with the content and other fans.”

This is a space that Nee knows well. In 1994, he cofounded Wildstorm Studios with Jim Lee, and played an integral role in the disruption of the comics world's “Big Two,” DC and Marvel, that led to an explosion of new independently-published and creator-owned comics over the past three decades. When Wildstorm was acquired by DC in 1998, Nee moved into an executive role, as general manager and senior v-p, until his departure in 2008, when he joined Cryptozoic Entertainment, a popular game and trading card publisher, as co-CEO. He left Cryptozoic for Marvel in 2018, where he served as v-p of publishing for two years, making important changes in the company’s trade book and licensing operations. He returned to Cryptozoic as interim CEO following the death of John Sepenuk in May, and has also done worked as a consultant and in video game publishing.

Despite a busy schedule of overlapping projects, Nee characterized himself as unemployed and at loose ends following the end of his tenure at Marvel. He began hatching plans for the new company, originally centered on an imprint called Erasmus Fox. He said that the venture kicked into high gear when he was able to put together a team including John Barber (former editor-in-chief at IDW Publishing), Lorelei Bunjes (former v-p of technology and information services at IDW Publishing), and Nate Murray (cofounder of Clover Press), who all became available after shakeups at their respective companies .

“I feel like I picked a hundred dollar bill off the ground outside of IDW,” says Nee. “They made some changes and put some astounding talent on the street, who agreed to join my little band.”

Nee, who is the sole owner of PUG Worldwide, says he wanted to form his own company because he was not interested in the compromises and “ Game of Thrones nonsense” that comes with more complicated structures. “The way we’ve constructed things is focused on independence and being able to meet our targets,” he said. “There’s a lof of corporate activity in the comics space because of all the ancillary things, but the core of comics is, in reality, a hard business.”

Nee said that the company is addressing part of that by using the crowdfunding platform Zoop for the Conan book—and, potentially, other projects—not just for its ability to generate revenue, but because it appears to be a hub for the kind of fans and community PUG Worldwide is looking for. He added that the company is still in the process of securing trade book distribution, as well as distribution for its games and other merchandise, for 2024.

So what’s up with the name ? Nee chuckled and said he was going for an ironic take on the generic, grandiose corporate names popular in the 1950s and 60s: “If an alien masquerading as a human started a company, they’d name it something like that.”

This article has been updated for clarity.

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Journal of Materials Chemistry B

Decellularized matrix enriched collagen microscaffold for a 3d liver in-vitro model.

The development of liver scaffolds retaining their three-dimensional (3D) structure and extra-cellular matrix (ECM) composition is essential for the advancement of liver tissue engineering. We report design and validation of an alginate-based platform using combination of decellularized matrices and collagen to preserve functionality of liver cells. The scaffolds were characterized with SEM and fluorescence microscopy technique. The proliferation and functional behaviour of hepatocellular carcinoma, HuH7 cells were observed. It showed that decellularized skin scaffold with collagen were better for maintaining the growth of cells in comparison to other decellularized matrices. In addition, we observed a significant increase in the functional profile once exogenous collagen was added to the liver matrix. Our studies also suggests that a liver cirrhotic model should have different matrix composition as compared to healthy liver model. When primary rat hepatocytes were used for developing a healthy liver model, the proliferation studies with hepatocytes showed skin decellularized matrix as the better option, but the functionality was only maintained in liver decellularized matrix with addition of exogenous collagen. We further checked if these platforms can be used for studying drug induced toxicity observed in the liver by studying the activation of cytochrome P450 upon drug exposure to the cells growing in our model. We observed a significant induction of the CYP1A1 gene on administering the drugs for 6 days. Thus, this platform could be used for drug-toxicity screening studies using primary hepatocytes in a short span of time. Being a microscaffold based system, some advantages this platform offers are smaller volumes of samples, multiple samples simultaneously and minimal amount of decellularized matrix in the matrix composition making it an economical option compared to a complete dECM based platforms.

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S. De, A. Vasudevan, D. M. Tripathi, S. Kaur and N. Singh, J. Mater. Chem. B , 2023, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D3TB01652H

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