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7 Questions You Should Ask Before Selecting a Book Printing Service

Congratulations! You’ve written your book and decided to self-publish it. Now you need to find an excellent book printing service to publish the book for you. But what do you look for? Here are seven questions that every author should ask before selecting a book printing service:

1 – How Long Does It Take?

A high-quality book printing service has clearly stated ranges of time (in business days) of how long it will take to print your book once they have received the final manuscript from you. These will likely be estimates based on the type of binding for your book, the number of copies requested, and other services provided by the publisher.

Books printed from a high-quality book printing services provider.

2 – What is Included in the Book Printing Package?

The book printing service should have clearly stated information about what is included and not included in a book printing package. What size book does the price get you? What type of book cover does it include? Does the price include a proof copy of the book? Get an exact description of what you do and don’t get for the price.

3 – What Extra Book Self-Publishing Services are Offered?

For example, most book printing services do not proofread the books submitted to them unless you pay extra for those services. Look carefully to see what services are available and might be helpful along your publishing journey.

4 – What Book Binding Options Are Available?

There are many different book binding options available for books these days. If you are looking for your book to fold flat so it is easier to take notes in it, a plastic comb, plastic wire, or even a 3-ring binding might be best. If you are targeting the mass market trade paperback market, then a perfect bound paperback binding is your best bet. An excellent book printing service provides many options for you to choose from, everything from 3-hole punched paper to leather-bound hardcover books.

5 – Do They Purchase ISBN Numbers for Your Self-Published Book?

An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a 13-digit number that is essential to identify the publisher and the book title for book publishers, distributors, and booksellers in order to track inventory. If you do not plan to sell your book in book stores or via a major online site such as Amazon, you don’t need one. Most publishers do charge for this service as a separate service.

6 – Will They Accept Your Camera-Ready Manuscript?

If you are a good do-it-yourselfer when it comes to book layout and design, it might be good to see if the book printer accepts camera-ready manuscripts, or if it requires the manuscript to be formatted using one of their pre-defined templates. Most book printing services accept manuscripts that are pre-formatted as long as they fit into one of their standard book sizes.

7 – What is the Book Printing Service’s Price Per Book?

The best way to determine the price that you will be able to sell your book for at book stores and online book shopping sites is the printing price per book from your book printing service. Some of the factors that impact this price include:

  • Size of the book
  • Binding
  • Black & White or Full Color
  • Number of copies to be printed (the larger the number of copies in the print run, the cheaper the cost per book will be)
  • Extra services purchased for the book

InstantPublisher is Your Premier Book Printing Services Provider

If you have any questions at all, please give us a call at 1-800-259-2592, fill out our online contact form, or send an email to questions@instantpublisher.com.

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