Over the next several posts I will be discussing impartial, unbiased sources where an author can go to investigate self publishing options. As reliable sources go, this beats relying upon the comments of competitors or individuals who have either never published before or have some obvious vested interests.
Of course, we feel the best way to learn about our services is by listening to our authors. Outskirts Press receives a lot of comments from the people we care about pleasing the most — our published writers. We publish many of their comments on our website every month, but the fact is, we receive more kudos than we have time to publish, so I will include another one at the bottom of this post.
Last time I discussed the Self Publishing Review blog/website. Now I turn to a book, titled Top Self Publishing Firms by Stacie Vander Pol.
Top Self Publishing Firms is the only book on the market that dares to evaluate self publishing companies based upon the sales results of their books. In other words, statistically speaking, how successful are the authors who publish at the companies you are looking at? For instance, did you know that among the top 10 performing authors at Amazon’s publisher you will find authors like Jane Austen and Sun Tzu? That’s because Amazon’s publisher’s best performing books are found in the public domain — famous books like The Art of War and Pride or Prejudice, by famous authors who are also dead.
Not exactly apples to apples, is it?
How about comparing the sales results of books by authors who are actually, you know, alive? That’s what Ms. Vander Pol does in her book. Top Self Publishing Firms analyzes the self publishing companies based upon sales results, Amazon royalties, bookstore royalties, distribution, and other factors. Ms. Vander Pol then divides the companies into two categories: those in the “Large and Medium Sized” category and those in the “Small Firms” category.
The companies in the “Large and Medium Sized” category feature all the heavy-hitters, including Outskirts Press, and among these companies, Outskirts Press is ranked #1 with “Excellent” rankings in:
- Sales Results
- Amazon Royalties
- Distribution
- Overall Value
We received an “Above Average” for Bookstore Royalties, although no company in the Large to Medium category had an “Excellent” rating, so I’m not sure what type of analysis was used. Nevertheless, the book summarizes Outskirts Press with the following praise: “Outskirts Press does everything well. They receive an overall value of excellent because they exceed expectations in every measurable category. You can’t go wrong here.”
Thank you, Stacie. Thank you, also, Bobbie Jo Thompson, published Outskirts Press author, who has this to say:
“I would like to thank you for all of your support and help that you have given me. My experience with Outskirts Press has been wonderful. I am glad that I chose Outskirts to publish my first book. I am currently working on my second book and hope for it to be out in the spring. I will be using Outskirts for all of my publishing needs. Michele has been wonderful as well as everyone else who has helped me. I would like to thank them all for the wonderful work they have done.”
President of Outskirts Press 