A royalty house buys the rights to your manuscript and then edits, designs, prints and distributes the book. The author makes no financial contribution to the creation of the book other than the expenses associated with producing the manuscript. The publisher makes all the financial investments and receives no monies from the author. The publisher pays the author money called royalties based on the number of sales, less expenses. Some publishers pay advances against these royalties, which means you pay back the advance with your book sales before you receive regular royalties. Royalty houses are very selective about which books they publish because they have an eye on the bottom line and they want to make a good return on their investment. They consider not only the quality of the manuscript but the sales and marketing skills of the author.

A subsidy house charges an author for all the work needed to publish a book. The author selects which services they want such as editing, proofreading, cover design and the like. The author should shop for a subsidy house that will work closely with them to provide the specific services they require. Some subsidy houses have a “one-size fits all” approach that may or may not fit an author’s needs. A subsidy house should allow the author input on cover and page design. The author retains the rights to their book and sets the retail price. Better subsidy houses have distribution through major distributors.

Self-publishing is a process where the author sub-contracts each phase of the publishing process including printing, cover design, page design, registration with Bowker for ISBN number and application with the Library of Congress for an LOC number. The author is responsible for getting distribution into stores.

For more information on publishing option contact Mindy Reed, The Authors’ Assistant at mindyred@aol.com