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There are two main sorts of self-publishing company and they can be easily differentiated by the level of automation used in the transformation of the author's work into a professional-looking book. While that sounds like it might be an easy discrimination to make with those that just more-or-less run your book's file through a computer program charging considerably less than those who do it piece-by-piece using 'only' human eye and brain - old-school style, it doesn't work out that way. You'll find many a highly-automated self-publishing company offering a completely automated service yet charging sky-high prices. That's why it's essential to take care when selecting the self-publishing company which will be handling your book. Here's a list of some of the principle services which are offered by a standard old-school self-publishing company: Advertising - after you've finished your book, you want somewhere to advertise it. Make sure that you're advertising to potential readers and book buyers and not just to other authors. Author interviews - with so many millions of titles flooding the market, the best way to sell books is to have people seek out your name. Interviews are an excellent way of doing this and something your self-publishing company should be capable of providing. Autograph photo hosting - another way of getting known is to have your autographed photo hosted. Sending out signed photographs has been a standard marketing ploy for the last century so don't knock it. Signed autograph hosting is a cheap way of getting your face in front of your buyers. Brainstorming help - confused, bemused or bewildered by something? Ask your friendly self-publishing company for advice and assistance in filling in those plot holes and fleshing out your characters. Book reviews – official reviews have become choked with those of shills, sock puppets and trolls. Surprisingly, people do still value reviews as long as they actually say something and are authoritative about your book. Book tours - hit the virtual road. get interviewed and then featured on a series of blogs. Your self-publishing company needs to make sure these stops are relevant as there are dozens of shark companies who'll dump you on irrelevant and/or traffic-less sites. Book trailers - a good video is essential and this is something which your self-publishing company should be able to arrange for you. Cover design - your cover might be all that a lot of potential buyers see that's why it's essential that it is striking. Unfortunately with e-book format, the image needs to be intriguing in both full and thumbnail size. Distribution - you've produced your book but now you need to sell it. That's where your self-publishing company and its contacts comes in. Don't waste time creating accounts of your own (you may not be able to) - be guided by those who know the market. Editing - every book benefits from a bit of editing with some needing more than others. Unfortunately the automated services will only be offering a rudimentary editing which will often miss out on the niceties of spelling and grammar. Formatting - buyers grumble like mad when they have books whose navigation system doesn't work, which have characters missing, and which end up with text all over the place. These errors are typical of overly-automated services. Ghostwriting help - need someone to write your book for you? Trouble is, it’s easy to find people whose writing is so bad that you’ll end up writing the whole book yourself. ISBN provision - ISBN's, provided free by some major distributors, save authors money but they also render a book non-portable meaning different ISBNs are required for each distributor. ISBN's are expensive unless bought in batches and that's where the self-publishing company comes in. Press release writing - you've made the grade and now it's time to tell the world. You want someone who knows you and your book to spread the word. Social Media - the new world of social media is governed by reputation and it takes time to build that up. Use the contacts and experience of your self-publishing company to put the word out on Facebook, Twitter and the other principal sites. You don't always get what you pay for so it’s worth investigating these additional services as they speak volumes about what you're actually getting with your chosen self-publishing company. Atul is author of countless articles on a myriad of different topics. He represents Any Subject Books, a book publishing company that offers authors the full range of modern publication, promotion and other ancillary services.
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