DIY or assisted? Go wide, or stay exclusive to Amazon? Createspace or Ingram Spark for print? Who can I get to help? How do I recognise a good or a rogue service?

This guide, compiled by the Watchdog team at The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), tells you all you need to know in order to choose the self-publishing pathway that’s right for you. Drawing on recommendations from ALLi members, warnings from our Watchdog Services, other community word-of-mouth and in-depth research, the book compares the most significant self-publishing services, from single service suppliers to package providers; from large big brand names to smaller sole traders; from off-the shelf providers to bespoke services. We evaluate these players, compare one to the other, tell you what they do and don’t do, what they charge and for what. Offerings are categorised, prices examined, royalty structures broken down, terms and conditions trawled, small print scrutinised, and claims checked against the experience of real-life authors who have actually used these services.

Using these twenty examples, we show you how to do such a comparison yourself: the good and bad signs to look for, the questions to ask. The aim is to demonstrate all the options you are likely to encounter and show which services are doing a good job — and why you might avoid others. Most importantly, in a landscape where things change rapidly, the Guide provides the criteria by which you can evaluate any author service.

This book:

• Defines the questions you need to ask, whether you plan to go direct, use trade publishing as a service, or hire an full-package assisted service.
• Tells you the good and bad signs to look for Rates the most significant services, Amazon, Apple, IngramSpark, Kobo, Nook and other providers.
• Offers ALLi’s Code of Standards against which all services are rated.
• Evaluates some of the emerging pathways to publication, including author co-operatives, crowdsourcing, agent assisted self-publishing, digital imprints and “hybrid” publishing models.

This organic guide to a volatile industry is updated annually by ALLi’s Watchdog team, so all the information is bang up-to-date. It provides everything you need to know to harness the creative power and potential of self-publishing.

Co-author Jim Giammatteo
Published by The Alliance of Independent Authors / Font Publications