Top 10 Self-Publishing Book Publisher

We evaluated more than 50 academic book publishers on eight dimensions (assigned different weights), including academic prestige (assigned highest weight), output of publications, academic influence, specialization by field, amount of royalties paid to authors, global presence, service to authors, and editorial quality (Baverstock & Steinitz, 2013; Carolan & Evain, 2013; Dilevko & Dali, 2006; Hviid et al., 2019). Search strategy We searched for sources which were Scopus indexed, Web of Science indexed, indexed in JSTOR, Google Scholar, WorldCat, Library of Congress catalogs, university reading / resource lists, and academic prizes (PROSE Awards). In each of the categories, the publisher has been ranked in a range between 1 and 10, with academic quality (among other factors such as citations, inclusion in university syllabuses and reputation in the research community) being the most significant of the given measures (Laquintano, 2016; Ross & Collier, 2010). Our judgement was strengthened by expert reviews, conducted by people from other fields. The top 10 pubs highest on 5 aspects of scholarly publishing.

The Top 10 Self-Publishing Publishers for Scholarly and Academic Authors

The following self-publishing publishers give their rating based on this extensive multi-factor analysis (according to 8 publishing standards) for the convenience of academic researchers. In the endnote method academic prestige, editorial quality, dissemination power in addition to influence in citations, academic record was taken into consideration. The following are the 10 best secure sites to self-publish for researchers, educators and academic writers.

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)

Amazon KDP is regarded as the top one for its remarkable reach, discoverability and cost-effective distribution features. Academic authors will gain access to Amazon's wide readership on ScholarOne by accessing the customer community, receive integration with Amazon Author Central, allowing them to claim and update their author pages, and have access to tools to track citations, reviews, and metadata. Despite the lack of the traditional form of peer-review, KDP's relative low cost, speed, and ease-of-use helps explain why it has become the predominant form of publishing books on-line, both in the academic essay and reference work camps and in textbooks. Authors get 70 per cent of digital sales, and retain all rights and have high royalties.

IngramSpark

If libraries, institutional setup and bookstore distribution are your requirements, then IngramSpark is the next best thing. Being a part of part of the Ingram Content Group is a breeze to add your titles to WorldCat, Library of Congress, university libraries and the roster of all the bestsellers in library-independent bookstores around the world. The only thing where IngramSpark really excels is in dealing with the academic metadata, print-on-demand, and maintaining our own ISBN. It's good on the back-end side in terms of academic distribution channels and is suitable for academics who want to reach academic and commercial audiences.

BookBaby

BookBaby is recognized for supplying full-service services such as editing, formatting, indexing, as well as cover layout for as high as academic-level editing. Authors are free to publish under their own imprint and still get access to ebook and book distribution. Quote-friendly formatting is available through BookBaby, and the company has transparent royalty rates. BookBaby has proven itself as a partner for all kinds of scholars, with with easy-to-use U.S. based printing and direct-to-library distribution services.

Blurb

Blurb excels in terms of design and is good for research that uses visual data (e.g., graphs or images). It’s the perfect tool for academics turning out design-heavy monographs, academic catalogs or qualitative research with ample visual material. Through distribution arrangements with Ingram and Amazon, Blurb's books can be distributed both in the academic and retail marketplace. Blub's most successful attribute is that it integrates the software with Adobe InDesign, creating it attractive to academics who have sophisticated publishing needs.

Lulu

Lulu is a well-known academic-friendly platform which provides press on demand, open access publication and academic fortification. Academic publishes easily either a dissertation or conference papers or a book. Lulu offers authors the choice of using Creative Commons to distribute their books. It's distributed via libraries and academic bookstores because of multiple pricing, copyright and organization of metadata.

Xlibris

Xlibris offers custom publishers expert editing, formatting citations and indexes for academic authors. While it is slightly higher priced than other platforms (in exchange for paywalled articles, copy-editing, and promotion), the price-crunch, nonetheless, helps promote academic rigor. There is academic market-specific publishing featured on the platform, too (legal, theological, educational, and so on).

Archway Publishing (from Simon & Schuster)

Archway is a traditional credibility with the flexibility of self-publishing, supported by Simon & Schuster. It provides a range of editorial levels to choose from. The company provides three levels of services (with peer review), and employs expert academic editors. The Archway also proves to be useful for the promotion to libraries and educational institutions.

iUniverse

iUniverse has a solid editorial foundation as well as a novel recognition-based publishing system. The novelists earning an ‘Editor's Choice' or ‘Rising Star' designation also receive additional credibility and marketing. In this space, faculty and professional writers engage in the display of their own scholarly memoir, in writing in an interdisciplinary manner, and in writing in a hybrid academic/non-academic style.

Balboa Press

Hay House's own Balboa Press division is focused on the humanities and social sciences. It is suitable for work which is qualitative, conceptually oriented or narrative and in areas like, for instance, psychology, education and wellness studies, to name a few. White-glove editorial shaping for It's About Voice authors, plus Amazon or Ingram distribution, an author-friendly way to make the trade-off between access and impact work.

Newgen Publishing Studio

Working closely with academic presses and international academics, Newgen is an emerging global academic self-publishing studio. It offers services which include XML tagging, subject area indexing, peer-review support and multilingual publication. Newgen is an international, interdisciplinary publishing platform based in Asia, Europe and North America.

 

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References:

Baverstock, A., & Steinitz, J. (2013). Who are the self‐publishers?. Learned publishing, 26(3), 211-223.

Carolan, S., & Evain, C. (2013). Self-publishing: Opportunities and threats in a new age of mass culture. Publishing Research Quarterly, 29(4), 285-300.

Dilevko, J., & Dali, K. (2006). The self-publishing phenomenon and libraries. Library & Information Science Research, 28(2), 208-234.

Hviid, M., Izquierdo-Sanchez, S., & Jacques, S. (2019). From publishers to self-publishing: Disruptive effects in the book industry. International Journal of the Economics of Business, 26(3), 355-381.

Laquintano, T. (2016). Mass authorship and the rise of self-publishing. University of Iowa Press.

Ross, M., & Collier, S. (2010). The complete guide to self-publishing: Everything you need to know to write, publish, promote and sell your own book. Penguin.

Ross, M., & Collier, S. (2010). The complete guide to self-publishing: Everything you need to know to write, publish, promote and sell your own book. Penguin.