If you’ve been following the Step by Step Guide to Self Publishing series I’ve been running (it begins here), you’ll have learned that choosing a self-publishing mode and service provider can be not only very confusing and time consuming, but also that your hard-won knowledge can have a distressingly short shelf life, due to how quickly the self-publishing landscape can change. Hopefully, that job just got a bit easier – at least for a while.
The reason is that The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), which describes itself as “the professional association for self-publishing writers,” announced today that they it has released a book that does a side-by-side comparison of what they believe to be 20 of the leading self-publishing services. You can find their press release here, and the book can be purchased in Kindle form here. Inexplicably, while the book is titled Choosing A Self Publishing Service 2014, the book’s Amazon page shows a publication date of April 11, 2013, and the first review was posted on April 24, 2013. Go figure. And also therefore be forewarned that the information in the book isn’t as fresh as the press release and book title suggest.
Here’s how the press release describes the book:
The guidebook, compiled by ALLi’s watchdog team – including Victoria Strauss, Mick Rooney and Giacomo Giammatteo – is a comparison of twenty of the key self-publishing service players. Featuring case studies, service analysis and the experiences of author-publishers and ALLi members, the guide is a timely and indispensable source of knowledge for anyone considering self-publishing as an option. The guidebook also shows author-publishers how they can make informed and empowered decisions about their publishing future, offering insight and impartial advice on key comparison points and criteria for selecting a service.
A look at the table of contents shows that in addition to the reviews of the self-publishers themselves, there are five chapters that walk you through the process from “Should I Self-Publish?” (Chapter 1) through understanding the different types of publishers and their strengths and weaknesses, to how to pick a self-publisher (in Chapter 5).
You can read 17 reviews at Amazon (13 5 stars, 3 four stars, and 1 three star), 12 of which are verified purchases, and four of which are apparently pre-release reviews collected by the authors and then posted in connection with the release (these reviews comprise 4 of the 13 five star reviews).
I haven’t read the guide yet myself (although I intend to0), but if the authors have done a good job of what they say they have set out to do, the $4.84 cost should repay you for your investment many times over in saved time and mistakes avoided.
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