In this blog post, we will be looking at what assisted publishing and the DIY method of self-publishing are and some of the differences between them, in particular, the advantages of assisted publishing. We will then look at the disadvantages of this, as well as the pros and cons of the DIY method, in later blogs.
What method you decide to use to publish your book is entirely up to you and will depend on your situation, experience and what time and money you have available. The aim of these blogs is to inform you of the upsides and downsides of each method so that you are better placed to choose between the two.
Firstly, what are the two methods we will be looking at? We will consider assisted publishing first, which is where you pay a company to take care of production work on your book. Exactly what this service covers will depend on the company and package you have paid for, but in general this should include elements such as formatting and cover design (if you choose).
Essentially, assisted publishing companies are service providers, places where you can get all of the production work done at once, without you needing to do each part individually or have much experience. They may also offer various resources and support to authors using their services, which can help with things like marketing your book once it is published.
The other method is the DIY way. This requires you to take charge of all aspects of book production, from editing to the final cover design. This doesn’t mean that you literally need to do all of this yourself! Rather, it requires you to organise all of this yourself, whether that means learning how to format your book or hiring a professional to do it for you.
It is certainly advisable to work with professionals at least on the proofreading and copy-editing side, as this isn’t really something you can do to your own writing. Likewise, if your book needs an index, you probably need to pay for an indexer. Nevertheless, you will be responsible for ensuring that everything is going to plan and will not have the advice and support that you might get if you choose to work with an assisted publishing company.
Finished Product
So, what are some advantages of assisted publishing? Firstly, they should have excellent final products – they should be printed on good quality paper, have great cover design and very few errors, such as punctuation, grammar and spelling, in the writing itself. They should also be well formatted inside and clear and easy to read. If they create the blurbs or review them with authors, these should also be well written.
The layout should be done in a simple way which makes sense and is easy to follow, especially if your book is a non-fiction one with an index, for example. Likewise, any additional features such as indexing should be to a high standard and done by a professional, as this requires very specific skills.
You can check this before you work with an assisted publishing company by asking to see samples of their books and checking that yours will be created to a similar standard. If you plan to have an ebook instead (or as well), make sure you download some of these to check that the formatting remains good and no new errors have been introduced in the conversion process, which is quite common.
There is a Company to Suit Your Genre
Another advantage of assisted publishing is that you should be able to find a publishing company that just works in your particular niche or genre, such as fantasy or science-fiction. Using an assisted publisher that specialises in your area means that they will have a wealth of experience, all of which is tailor-made to your book’s genre.
For example, a sci-fi proofreader should be familiar with some basic concepts and be accustomed to keeping track of unusual names and places, whereas a medical one would have knowledge of all the specialised terminology. Similarly, if you plan to publish a memoir with photographs or other images, you would expect your chosen publishing company to know how to display these on the page for the best effect. A company may also be able to advise some genre-specific marketing and selling techniques, although this can be an additional service and cost.
Community
Furthermore, using an assisted publisher brings a sense of community. They may offer forums for their customers to discuss publishing, which helps to support you with advice and encouragement. Alternatively, you may have a particular contact at the company who deals with all of your questions and requests, which can again foster a feeling of community. Sometimes, just knowing you’re not alone with your book can be enough to motivate you.
Learning
This brings us to another advantage of using an assisted publisher, which is learning. If you have never published before, it can be very daunting, so you may just use an assisted publisher to gain experience. It is a perfect introduction to the publishing world, allowing you to choose whether you want to do it all yourself next time or stick to assisted publishing.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this has helped you to decide what sort of publishing method you want to use. Next time, we will be considering some of the disadvantages of assisted publishing, so do come back in two weeks for that. Good luck with your book, however you decide to publish it!
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