Canadian Self-Publishers? Opinions?

CB said:

Thinking of self-publishing in Canada, where I live, because of the dollar! Any opinions on Canadian self-publishers. Looking at Trafford and others but it seems overwhelming to understand what some do and some don;t and I am woirried I will miss the pit-falls! Thanks.

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Trafford is a subsidy/vanity publisher. There is no such thing as a company that does self-publishing for you. Self-publishing is not the same as subsidy publishing.

See www.umbachconsulting.com/pursuit.pdf for an overview of the different kinds of publishing, and an introduction to the sorts of questions to ask and resources to look into. It is concise and free. Folks seem to find it helpful. Be sure to read at least one of the major books on self-publishing (Dan Poynter's being the best known) if it is really self-publishing you want. Else, figure on spending a lot of time evaluating and comparing what the various subsidy publishers will sell you. (And avoid PublishAmerica at all costs.)

--Ken

CB,

Ken has some good guidance on his site for authors considering self-publishing.

As he says, I suspect you are actually after author solution services. I have reviewed two of companies based in Canada below. Neither of them really let you use their services to 'self publish' as the ISBN is theirs, not yours.

There are further resources on my site which you might also find helpful.

http://mickrooney.blogspot.com/2009/03/amazon.html
http://mickrooney.blogspot.com/2009/03/spire-publishing-reviewed.html

A lot of US based companies have Canadian printers. And ultimately it makes more sense for most authors to think of the larger US market as their primary target.

CB - I am living in Canada - and have just self-published with Authorhouse (it's really not necessary to live in the USA to have a company there publish you. - they're willing to take anyone in North America.) The problem with self-publishing is the distribution/marketing - that you have to get out there. You need to be known - people just don't know who you are.
Anyway, good luck.