10 Best Self-Publishing Companies

You put a lot of time and effort into finishing your manuscript. You've got a fantastic cover ready for it, and you can't wait to see it in print. Right now, you're advancing toward self-publishing.

Self-publishing has become extremely popular because authors are increasingly aware of its benefits. There are advantages to traditional publishing, particularly the level of assistance provided for packaging and making your work marketable. However, authors feel more in charge of their time, material, and promotion when they self-publish, something that a traditional publisher might not be able to offer.

What is a Self-Publishing Company?

Each approach has a unique publication procedure. There are numerous businesses that offer a self-publishing platform to writers in the contemporary digital era to position them for a potential future. They introduce the author to a large audience, and the author makes money from royalties generated by book sales.

Your initial assumption when considering hiring a self-publishing company for your book may be that you will be dealing with the sales of e-books, but in reality, some of them also provide a print-on-demand service.

Even though over one in every four books sold in the US today are e-books, consumers still long for the tactile experience of holding a book in their hands and the aroma of freshly-turned pages.

Self-publishing businesses have made the work of authors considerably easier. Previously, self-publishing implied that you were in charge of everything from book printing to marketing. Every business is unique, and everyone has advantages and disadvantages.

These are the top 10 self-publishing businesses for 2021 so you can decide what's ideal for your self-publishing path.

1. Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) on Amazon

Without question, Amazon is the best book shop in the entire globe. With 310 million active customers worldwide, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program enables authors to freely publish their books on the company's platform.

As of April 2021, there were more than 6 million e-books available on Amazon, many of which were independently produced. Multilingual content and metadata are supported by KDP.

Additionally, it provides print-on-demand (POD) services for your books, providing you the choice to have your e-book turned into a paperback print book (provided that you have an ISBN for it).

They also let authors sign up for two highly beneficial benefits that aren't provided by others, namely KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited. You may conduct promotions for your book and even make it available for free for a limited time using KDP Select. You can sign up for Kindle Unlimited to read an unlimited number of books each month.

But there is a catch to all these KDP benefits.

You are only permitted to sell your book on Amazon if you enlist in KDP Select. You can upload your book for free, and if it sells for between $2.99 and $9.99, you can earn a 70% royalty on each copy that is purchased.

This also makes Amazon KDP unquestionably the best self-publishing company in the world, given the juggernaut that Amazon is already.

Other market participants?

Before you simply consider Amazon for your self-publishing career, you should be aware that there are other market participants who are significantly raising their game. Even while Amazon might be sufficient for certain authors, it's strongly advised to keep the other players in mind if you want to increase the size of your portfolio.

2. Kobo:

Kobo is a division of the Japanese e-commerce behemoth Rakuten and a Canadian self-publishing company. Nearly 25% of all Canadian ebook sales come from Kobo alone.

Your manuscript can be uploaded using their Kobo Writing Life (KWL) self-publishing service, and it will be included in the Kobo catalog within 72 hours. It has received accolades for being user-friendly, and some people have even claimed that it's the simplest method for self-publishing an e-book.

If you're not supplying to aggregators, Kobo offers benefits and incentives to its self-publishing authors, much like KDP does. Kobo had a delivery capacity of more than 150 countries and more than 38 million users as of 2019. Its partnership with the biggest booksellers in the otherworld has made this feasible. The French distribution partner FNAC for their print-on-demand capability was one of the more significant ones.

A worthy opponent?

Kobo has the fifth-largest market share in the US as of March 2021. Kobo has been viewed as a formidable rival to Amazon in particular regions, despite the fact that Amazon has a greater global reach.

If you intend to self-publish your book, Kobo should be at the top of your list of best self-publishing companies because it supports more than 5 million titles in numerous languages and offers the chance to earn a 70% royalty on books costing $3 or more.

3. Apple Books:

Apple is renowned for offering its consumers e-books in addition to its Mac and iOS operating systems. More than 400 million books were said to have been downloaded on the Apple Books platform by the year 2012.

In 2010, Apple introduced its self-publishing division for Apple Books. Although Kobo's direct marketing to iPhone and Mac users has a much larger client base than Amazon KDP or Kobo, it is not as simple to monetize your book there.

The standard royalty rate for books is a flat 70%. There are a few warnings to keep in mind. It costs nothing to upload to Apple Books, but you must be a Mac user. Additionally, you must utilize the epub format, which is currently not universally compatible but is growing in popularity.

A fun fact:

Together, Apple and Kobo sold 15 million ebooks, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all Canadian ebook buyers. Given that Apple products sell in the millions each year, Apple Books is unquestionably a self-publishing business to keep an eye out for.

4. Barnes and Noble Press:

Barnes and Noble Press, formerly known as Nook Press, successfully incorporates print-on-demand into a single platform. It is simple to use and easy to self-publish.

In contrast to other brick-and-mortar stores, the American book retailer has a history of attempting to compete with Amazon and having a high barrier to entry when attempting to obtain print books on its physical shelves. But that doesn't change the fact that it's a useful platform for authors who self-publish.

Due to the fact that Barnes and Noble Press only sells books through their physical and online bookstores, getting a book ready for POD may not be a wise long-term decision. However, they do offer their authors useful materials. In order to provide the ability to construct marketing campaigns for their books, they established an advertisement platform in 2021.

The royalty rate is 65% for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99, which isn't awful at all. They don't impose any limitations on the platform's exclusivity for self-published books, unlike its rivals. If you choose not to work with any third parties, they'll even give you a discount on printing services.

Not-so-worldwide:

Because B&N Press' author services are only accessible in the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, it may be difficult for independent authors to use them anywhere else.

5. Lulu:

When you utilize Lulu, you can be sure that you will definitely see your book published because it offers a variety of author services as well as its own retail store for your books. Lulu had published around two million books by the year 2014, and by 2016, they had more than 900,000 e-books.

On Lulu, self-publishing is quite easy. By just uploading the book, you may later use their services to have it disseminated to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and other retail locations in addition to seeing it on their website. Through each step of the self-publishing process, they will support you.

The content on Lulu is not all free

Additionally lucrative, their royalty rate ranges from 80% for print books to up to 90% for e-books. While cover design, formatting, and marketing are not free self-publishing services, self-publishing itself is.

6. PublishDrive:

They contend that you ought to concentrate on creating content and hand the rest over to them. Self-published authors can easily access their works internationally thanks to the relatively new startup PublishDrive.

Your book can be published and distributed to more than 400 international retailers, including KDP, Kobo, Apple Books, Scribd, Bookmate, and Google Play Books, as it is an Apple- and Google-approved company.

The subscriber agreement:

However, their pricing is a little unusual. You can receive 100% of all sales if you agree to pay $100 each month. Both best-selling authors and seasoned writers will benefit from this. However, PublishDrive will charge 10% on all sales if you disagree with the monthly subscription plan, as you would with other self-publishing businesses.

7. Draft2Digital:

Draft2Digital, another aggregator on this list, offers the same features and accessibility as the major competitors in the ebook market. For its user-friendly UI and client service, they have received numerous recommendations.

In contrast to many other publishing companies or even established publishers, they offer free ebook formatting and uploading yet collect a 10% royalty on all sales. You do, however, have the choice to freely submit your book.

They can be found on Amazon, Scribd, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Bibliotheca, and other online stores. They are also one of the aggregators that Reedsy, British author services, and self-publishing services provider, has endorsed.

What distinguishes them?

They offer Universal Book Links to authors that self-publish (UBLs). Customers can use only one link to access all of the author's books at their preferred retailer.

8. StreetLib:

The market and self-publishing businesses in Europe and Latin America are given a special focus by this Italian aggregator, which offers a highly robust global supply chain. After focusing on Egypt in 2019, it has even managed to reach some of Africa's largest markets and retailers.

Rapid expansion for StreetLib:

They quickly expanded into Europe, Latin America, and Africa, and did so while maintaining contact with other online distributors and retailers like Amazon, Kobo, Indigo, Tolino, Apple Books, Google Play, Scribd, and others. This rapid growth is attributed to their rapid expansion into these regions. StreetLib will support you if you want the United States and the United Kingdom on your distribution list.

They offer a multilingual website and a level 10% royalty on each sale. Therefore, keep an eye out for StreetLib if you want to sell your self-published books internationally.

9. XinXii:

Even though you might imagine that this company could offer better distribution in China, it is actually a German self-publishing business with strong distribution connections in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

German consumers:

For books costing more than $2.49, they charge 30% of net sales, however, the user interface and customer service could use some work. However, you might not find a better match than XinXii if you need book marketing in German-speaking regions.

The publishing firm for your needs may be XinXii if you have a book that you can publish.

10. Self-publishing School:

Self-publishing School, developed by self-published best-seller Chandler Bolt, offers you the best educational resources to launch your self-publishing business in just 90 days. Perhaps you find it intimidating to go through the entire publishing procedure. The Self Publishing School is here for you.

Is the top self-publishing program available?

There are more than 5,000 authors who have released many books thanks to the self-publishing program. The courses offered here assist learners and aspiring authors in getting a handle on the self-publishing options available and the tricks of the trade.

This school offers excellent courses, one-on-one consultations, and coaching to help aspiring self-publishing authors get a good start.

Others:

Other POD services exist in addition to the self-publishing businesses we previously discussed, but they have a higher entrance hurdle in terms of cost than the ones we previously named. This choice is available for those who feel that their work is best suited for a print book—possibly it's that not all self-publishers will wish to attempt it.

Publish-on-demand companies:

BookBaby, Blurb, and IngramSpark are three of the most well-known print-on-demand publishing companies. You can check individual websites for pricing information, but you can be confident that major retailers like Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Apple Books, and Kobo will carry your books. They also offer additional services, including formatting, editing, and book cover design.

Your book will probably also be available in the POD service's own bookstore. If you do intend to take them into consideration, you must understand what distinguishes their print-on-demand services from conventional publishing.

POD may not be appropriate for all self-publishing authors, but it is perfect for those who have had some success with the proof of sales from prior editions of their books. This is primarily due to the discoverability that POD services provide for them.

Conclusion

Companies that self-publish provide their own services in their own unique ways. Each has distinct advantages and comes with a unique set of restrictions and limitations. It goes a little beyond just marketing and personal choice.

What matters most when selecting a self-publishing business is how you want to organize your trip. To cut costs, you might want to start out by avoiding pricey or print-on-demand services. You'll also need to figure out which distribution method works best for you and, based on that, which markets you want to reach first with your self-published book.