Publishing Service Index | October 2014

publishingindex2014
This is the PUBLISHING SERVICE INDEX for October 2014. This update reflects some review updates and author feedback over the past four weeks. There is no great change in the top positions, but Lulu strengthens its position in the top ten with a move to eight.

Bowker in the USA has just released a report on allocated ISBNs between 2008 and 2013 which includes e and print books. In the coming days TIPM will be crunching that data and presenting a post about the data.

TIPM continues to receive regular feedback on services through comments under our reviews, via our TIPM Facebook page, and directly to us. Your comments are always welcome and every comment and experience of a publishing service—positive or negative—is always reflected in every new index published through TIPM.

OCT POS SEP POS COMPANY/SERVICE PROVIDER PRIMARY COMPANY BASEMARKET SERVICE CLASS OCT INDEX VALUE INDEX POS MOVE
1 2 Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) GLOBAL DIY 602.74 UP
2 1 CreateSpace USA DIY/ASP 587.63 DOWN
3 3 IngramSpark GLOBAL PRT/FUL 574.2 SAME
4 4 Lightning Source (Direct) GLOBAL PRT/FUL 518.44 SAME
5 5 Smashwords USA DIY 502.9 SAME
6 6 Matador UK ASP 452.51 SAME
7 7 Mill City Press USA PUB/ASP 433.02 SAME
8 10 Lulu GLOBAL DIY/ASP 395.05 UP
9 8 SilverWood Books USA ASP 391.86 DOWN
10 9 Blurb GLOBAL DIY 384.79 DOWN
11 11 BookLocker USA ASP 367.27 SAME
12 13 Authors On Line UK ASP 354.76 UP
13 14 Bookbaby USA DIY/ASP 341.2 UP
14 12 Selfpublishing.com USA PRT/FUL 334.04 DOWN
15 16 Kobo Writing Life GLOBAL DIY 331.3 UP
16 15 Publish Green GLOBAL ASP 327.35 DOWN
17 17 Dog Ear Publishing USA ASP 325.39 SAME
18 18 York Publishing Services UK PRT/FULL 320.05 SAME
19 19 John Hunt Publishing GLOBAL PUB/ASP 320.05 SAME
20 20 Wingspan USA ASP 302 SAME
21 23 CPI UK Antony Rowe EUROPE PRT 299.68 UP
22 21 Aventine USA ASP 297.87 DOWN
23 22 Thomson-Shore USA PRT/ASP 296.04 DOWN
24 25 Mijn Bestseller EUROPE DIY 293.45 UP
25 24 Checkpoint Press IRELAND PUB/ASP 291.34 DOWN
26 26 Book Country GLOBAL ASP 290.92 SAME
27 27 VirtualBookVorm USA ASP 290.88 SAME
28 29 SelfPublishBooks/Lettertec IRELAND ASP 287.42 UP
29 28 Acorn Independent Press UK ASP 285.72 DOWN
30 30 Grosvenor House Publishing UK ASP 285.19 SAME
31 34 Infinity Publishing USA ASP 285.01 UP
32 31 Apex Publishing UK PUB/ASP 284.38 DOWN
33 32 iUniverse USA ASP 284.25 DOWN
34 33 Wasteland Press USA ASP 283.22 DOWN
35 36 Outskirts Press USA ASP 282.06 UP
36 35 Cold River Studio USA ASP 280.63 DOWN
37 37 The Choir Press UK/USA ASP 279.23 SAME
38 39 Xulon Press USA ASP 277.89 UP
39 38 FastPencil USA DIY 277.24 DOWN
40 40 Tate Publishing USA PUB/ASP 276.47 SAME
41 41 Americas Press USA PRT 276.01 SAME
42 42 Pumbo EUROPE DIY 274.66 SAME
43 44 PubliBook EUROPE DIY 271.12 UP
44 43 AuthorHouse GLOBAL ASS 271.04 DOWN
45 45 Janus Publishing UK ASP 269.32 SAME
46 47 Diadem Books UK/USA ASP 267.94 UP
47 46 Abbott Press USA PUB/ASP 267.49 DOWN
48 51 Llumina Press USA PUB/ASP 266.64 UP
49 48 Open Book Editions USA ASP 265.98 DOWN
50 49 Direct POD UK PRT 265.42 DOWN
51 50 Book Guild Publishing UK ASP 264.99 DOWN
52 52 A.H. Stockwell UK ASP 264.02 SAME
53 53 Original Writing IRELAND ASP 263.59 SAME
54 54 Eprint Ireland IRELAND PRT 263.22 SAME
55 55 Austin MacAuley UK ASP 263.1 SAME
56 56 True Directions USA PUB/ASP 261.25 SAME
57 58 The Book Producers IRELAND ASP 260.45 UP
58 59 Pomegranate Press UK/USA ASP 260.24 UP
59 60 Xlibris GLOBAL ASP 259.15 UP
60 57 UKUnpublished UK ASP 258.6 DOWN
61 61 Better Book Company UK ASP 256.15 SAME
62 62 Turning Stone Press USA ASP 253.73 SAME
63 63 Archway Publishing GLOBAL PUB/ASP 253.42 SAME
64 64 Balboa Press GLOBAL PUB/ASP 251.74 SAME
65 68 WestBow Press USA PUB/ASP 249.03 UP
66 65 Arima UK ASP 248.41 DOWN
67 67 Trafford Publishing USA ASP 247.79 SAME
68 66 Gemini International IRELAND PRT 246.22 DOWN
69 69 Epic Press UK ASP 242.2 SAME
70 70 Chandler Book Design UK PRT 241.92 SAME
71 71 Choice Publishing IRELAND ASP 240.75 SAME
72 72 Dolman Scott/Oak Press UK ASP 238.66 SAME
73 73 DellArte Press USA PUB/ASP 238.52 SAME
74 74 ShopMyBook (Unibook) GLOBAL PRT 228.22 SAME
75 75 Spiderwize UK ASP 221.42 SAME
76 76 Olympia Publishers UK PUB/ASP 210.97 SAME
77 77 Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie UK PUB/ASP 210 SAME
78 79 PublishAmerica/America Star Books USA ASP 208.05 UP
79 78 Melrose Books UK ASP 206.68 DOWN
80 80 Dom Tom Publishing UK/USA ASP 204.02 SAME
81 81 Raider International Pub./Green Shore GLOBAL ASP 111.7 SAME
(KEY)

 

DIY – Do-it-yourself bespoke services
ASP – Author Solutions Services (Packages) – May also include Partnership publishing programs
PUB – Also offers Mainstream Contracts or is a service imprint of a traditional publishing house
PRT – Printer (primarily a printer with some additional but limited services)
FULL – Fulfilment Services provided for distribution logistics, warehousing of stock (including supply to wholesaler and retailers) 

The most asked question we get at The Independent Publishing Magazine is often along the lines of; ‘What self-publishing service should I go with?‘; ‘Is so and so a good service to go with?‘; or ‘Is so and so a scam?‘

In some cases, that is an easy question to answer, cut and dry, but in other circumstances, the answer is entirely arbitrary. We are not here to review and run down a company’s name, nor are we here to endorse a company’s services. If we were only to review companies according to every point on an ideal dream list of what an author wants/should get, we would have very few reviews to share with you. In truth, no company has ever attained a 10/10, and only a few have recorded more than 08/10.
The reality is that some companies offering publishing services begin in a blaze of glory and we might rate them favourably at the time; others, frankly, are just poor, and they improve (sometimes in response to our reviews) to offer reasonable or better services. We are constantly updating our reviews, but this takes considerable time, and so do the initial reviews.
We get a vast amount of information from authors and the companies selling author solutions services every day – good and bad. We get a great deal of information from monitoring services week by week against the experiences of what authors report back to us. Simply put, and truthfully, we cannot reflect all of this information through the reviews. That is why the comments section under each company we review is so important. It is your recording and dealings with that specific company, and a positive or negative flag to subsequent authors considering using the same company.
So, how do we reflect the changing ups and downs with services?
We believe the PUBLISHING SERVICE INDEX will help to guide authors to services on the up, and those, gradually on the down. If you like, what we present is a kind of stock exchange for companies supplying publisher services..
The PUBLISHING SERVICE INDEX was first launched in June 2010.

Mick Rooney – Publishing Consultant

If you found this review or article helpful, but you’re still looking for a suitable self-publishing provider to fit your needs as an author, then I’m sure I can help. As a publishing consultant and editor of this magazine, I’ve reviewed and examined in detail more than 150 providers throughout the world like the one above. As a self-published and traditionally published author of nine books, I understand your needs on the path to publication and beyond. So, before you spend hundreds or thousands, and a great deal of your time, why not book one of my personally tailored and affordable consultation sessions today?
Click here for more details.

Authors

8 Comments

  1. Clara Bush said:

    Hi Mick—Always so informative. I love your website.

    I use VOOK https://vook.com to distribute my eBooks and am very pleased with their services. They are fairly new to the industry. Do you or any of your followers have any information on them? Thank you for keeping us abreast of all the happenings in the world of self-publishing.

    Reply
  3. Clara Bush said:

    Thank you, Mick. I will look forward to the review. You do an amazing and professional job with your website. You are a true asset to the writing community. Thanks, again.

    Reply
  5. Roda Grubb said:

    I’ve watched some of BookLogix’s webinars and found them excellent. Have actually talked to one of the staff and found it refreshing to be able to have an actual conversation with a publisher. I will need to do a reprint soon of a book and wondered if you are familiar with them. I have not seen them on your list.

    Reply
  6. Dianne said:

    Useful information on the website Mick. Was wondering if you had any info on a company called Authorright in the UK? I don’t see them on your list, is this good or bad?? Also, had rotten experience with author house a personal thing with the person I spoke with. Surprised but not surprised. Surprised because it is part of Penguin and not for the same reason.

    Good site BTW

    Reply
    • Mick Rooney said:

      Thanks for the support and comment, Dianne.

      I haven’t reviewed Authoright yet but one is due early in 2015. So it would be unfair to comment on the value of its publicity and marketing services. Authoright has played a big role in hosting the author hub at the London Book Fair over the past couple of years and it operates offices in the UK and USA.

      I think you have hit on the biggest concern about Penguin’s use of Author Solutions (the company which owns AuthorHouse and many other paid-service imprints) since it was bought and integrated into the Penguin Book Group. While authors new to publishing might immediately associate Author Solutions’ imprints with the Penguin brand, the reality is that the nuts and bolts process of publishing has nothing to do with Penguin staff.

      If you do a search on the TIPM for Author Solutions, you will find many more articles where I discuss this in great detail.

      Reply

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