Is It Better to Self-Publish or Get a Traditional Publisher?

This is the big question. Is it better to self-publish your own book or go through the traditional publishing process? The short answer: it depends. Here are some questions you should ask yourself to find out.

How Soon Do You Want to Have a Copy in Your Hands?

If you are impatient and want to have a copy of your book in your hands shortly after finishing it, then the answer is a no-brainer; you need to self-publish it. You can get copies of your book printed weeks or even days after submitting the final manuscript to the self-publishing company.

books from a self-publishing book company

Traditional publishing has many roadblocks which slow the publishing process down. First, you have to convince a publisher that they should publish your book, and they get thousands of new manuscripts a week. Second, some publishers require you to have an agent before you even think of submitting it to them. And even if you smash through these barriers and a publisher agrees to publish your book, the entire process can take anywhere from a year to 18-months or even longer. Traditional publishing is a very slow process with a lot of waiting involved.

Do You Want to See It on the Shelf of Your Local Bookstore?

If you want to see your book in Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, or other big retail chain, you are probably out of luck. Most of the national chains do not sell self-published books at their stores. So if you want to see your book in the big stores you need to go the traditional route. But you might be able to convince your local independent bookstore owner to sell your book. Some of these stores feature sections dedicated to books from local authors.

Do You Want to Design or Have Influence Over Your Book Cover Design?

If you have a specific vision in your head about what you want your book cover to look like, you need to use a self-publishing book company. Traditional publishers do not allow authors to have any say in the design process of the book at all. They have their own design departments and don’t care what you want for your book.

Do You Want to Earn Maximum Profit from Each Book Sale?

In traditional publishing you will earn around 10% of the cover price for each book you sell.  Plus you need to pay your agent 10 to 15% of your 10% as commission. In self-publishing you have complete control over pricing the book and anything beyond the cost of printing your book is your profit.

InstantPublisher Provides High-Quality Self-Publishing Services at a Reasonable Price

InstantPublisher provides a full array of book printing options and publishing support services such as book cover designs, illustration services, and much more. We are a full-service book printing and binding company that has served self-published authors since 2004. We are an affordable option for self-published authors everywhere. To learn more, contact us at 1-800-259-2592, fill out our online contact form, or send an email to questions@instantpublisher.com to get more information about our book publishing services.

What to Look for in a High-Quality Cookbook Publishing Company

Publishing your own cookbooks is very popular right now. Many organizations such as churches, parent-teacher organizations, and many other small organizations publish cookbooks to use as fundraisers. They also make great gifts for families and friends who like good food and sharing recipes. But to produce a cookbook that is good enough to resell or give away, it is essential to find a high-quality cookbook printing company. But how do you find one? What are some of the qualities of an excellent cookbook company?

Clearly Defined Recipe Collection & Formatting Process

When gathering recipes for a cookbook, the last thing you want to worry about is formatting them so they look uniform and easy to read. An excellent cookbook publishing company will have pre-made recipe formats available for you to plug in the ingredients and instructions easily. This allows you to focus on collecting the recipes for your cookbook.

Cookbook from cookbook publishing companies

Multiple Publication Format Options

Cookbooks come in many different formats. Just take a look at the food section of any library or bookstore. An excellent cookbook publishing company offers numerous bindings such as plastic comb binders, three-ring-binders, plastic coil binders, and several other options.

The publishing company will also provide numerous options for book covers, including many pre-made cover designs or custom cover designs. In addition, they will provide different cover options such as lamination (to protect the cookbook from spills and splatters while you are using them) and even foil stamping.

High-Quality Printing and Formatting Options

A high-quality cookbook publishing company provides many different fonts, colors, and designs for both the interior and covers of the book. This includes clip-art, as well as your own images and photos.

Clearly Defined Pricing Structure

The printing cost of the cookbook you wish to print shouldn’t be a big mystery, especially if you are planning on selling them as a fundraiser. A good cookbook printing company provides the cost per book upfront so you can price the book for the fundraiser appropriately. Some book printing companies even offer an online book price calculator on the site. So there should never be any confusion about what you do and don’t get for the printing cost.

Friendly and Responsive Customer Service

When putting together your cookbook, you will have some questions, possibly many questions about the process, the available options, pricing, etc. So, you need to be able to ask them and get answers promptly. An excellent cookbook printer will have people available to answer questions over the phone or online through email or a chat feature on the website. They respond promptly and in a friendly manner.

InstantPublisher Provides High-Quality Cookbook Publishing Services at a Reasonable Price

InstantPublisher provides a full array of cookbook printing options and publishing support services such as book cover designs, much more. We are a full-service book printing and binding company for both cookbooks and other self-published books. Our parent company, Fundcraft Publishing, has been publishing cookbooks for fundraising since the early 1940s, so rest assured that the professionals at InstantPublisher can help with your book printing needs, no matter what they are. To learn more, contact us at 1-800-259-2592, fill out our online contact form, or send an email to questions@instantpublisher.com to get more information about our book publishing services.