How to Choose a Self- Publishing House in India
“Life is about choices. Some we regret, some we’re proud of. Some will haunt us forever. The message: we are what we chose to be.” — Graham Brown
Choosing a self-publishing house for your book is definitely an important one. A decision you can’t afford to go wrong with, but if you do, that’s okay too. It is not the end of the world for you, just for your book. All you want for your book is the publisher who wants the best for your book, just like you do. While there are a lot of lists, rankings, and reviews available for the self-publishing in other countries, India doesn’t have much on that front.
So, here’s a checklist that will help you choose wisely. Before you start, just know how much you are willing to spend on publishing.
1. Publishing Time: Publishing time depends on how ready your script is. Editing, cover designing, getting the ISBN, typesetting, and everything else takes time. If you have already finalized all the components, it should take 2 weeks to get your book from the printing press and list it on online channels. Some publishers mention the publishing time in the contract. If it is not mentioned, ask them. You are the captain of the flight here. Make sure to clear out all your doubts before you sign.
In this regard, Notion Press is the fastest.
2. Royalty: Royalty is the profit your book earns after subtracting all the costs. Let’s day the MRP of your book is Rs.250. The production cost is Rs. 100 per book. Rs.50 is the shipping and handling charges. Rs 100 becomes the profit after sales. Some publishers only offer 10% of the profit. Make sure you know the break down of charges. Most small and new publishers offer 100% royalty.
3. Production Cost: Production varies depending upon the size, number of pages and the quality of pages. There are also different typesetting formats. Also, there are two processes of printing. Digital printing gives you the option of choosing the number of copies you want to print. While Offset printing prints at least 1000 copies at once. Offset printing is cheap but not a safe option for debut authors. Make sure to check out the other books printed by the publisher to set a standard for your book.
Paper Towns India Publishers believe that a debut author should spend more on marketing and adequately on printing.
4. Distribution Option and Marketing: Mostly all the self-publishing houses list your book on Amazon and Flipkart. You should make your book available on Amazon Prime as high delivery charge often acts a discouragement. Some houses promise you offline distribution. But there is no way you can confirm the fact that your book is available in 50+ stores all over the country. Don’t fall for the trick unless you can verify.
Marketing is very important for a self-published author. You will have to get Amazon reviews; Goodreads reviews and top Indian bloggers should be talking about your book. If your book appears on the Instagram feed of a reader at least 3–4 times in a day, it’s being marketed well.
The Bookoholics- the biggest readers community in India, has a tie-up with Paper Towns Publishing.
5. Copyright and Artistic Freedom: The easiest way to understand this is to know you are the King here. It’s your book, you are putting in the money and publishers are just helping you. Before signing the contract make sure you have the rights for your work. When it comes to cover designing and fonts, you should be able to make the final decision. The publishing house should provide you with the best options and cater to your opinions and ideas.
The best thing you can do is talk to the authors that have published with the houses you have shortlisted. Real-time feedback will help you with your decision.
