In this guide-

+ Background on publishing companies
+ Features and services to look for in publishing companies
+ How to find the best publishing company for you

Background on publishing companies
If you are an author or an aspiring author interested in publishing your work, there are several types of publishing companies that might fit your needs. This site was designed to help you understand your options and help you find the best publishing company for you.

Commercial/traditional publishing companies are the largest publishing companies, and they work by investing their capital into the development and production and promotion of certain authors. Since they front the costs and expect a return on their investment, traditional publishing companies are particular about the projects they take on. Traditional publishing companies also exert editorial influence over the work in their attempt to increase the sales potential of the work. Some traditional publishers reject thousands of proposals for every manuscript they eventually publish. This is the most difficult type of publishing to procure if you are a new or unknown author, as you generally need a literary agent to help 'sell' your book to the major publishing companies.

Another option for getting your work published is through subsidy publishing. In contrast to a commercial/traditional publisher, a subsidy publisher does not invest its own money in the publication of authors' works. A subsidy publisher works by charging the author a fee to edit, typeset, proofread, and manufacture a specific number of books from the author's manuscript. Many subsidy publishing companies will also provide a limited and specified promotional program with a defined budget, warehousing, and other administrative services included- for an additional fee above and beyond the cost of the publishing.

A fast-growing method for getting your work published is known as publishing on demand. This is typically more economical than subsidy publishing and without the hardship and challenge of getting published traditionally. In it's most basic form, publishing on demand starts with the author submitting a digital manuscript to the publishing company, who then sets the text pages of the book as well as the title and copyright pages, designs an original cover, then (upon approval by the author) submits a copyright application to the Library of Congress and puts the book up for sale, typically in an online store. The work is then usually available for purchase in paperback or e-book form, and the publishing company will process the sale, arrange