We have seen in How to Publish a Book that the new ePublishing houses come in many shapes and forms. While some are very good and are a perfectly valid option to get a book published, other are simply looking to take advantage of unwary writers. When looking to place our book, we need to aim for the right ePublishing houses, which means those who are interested in the relevant genres and who are providing a good service, otherwise, we definitely are better off self-publishing.

Checking them individually takes an inordinate amount of time, which is why, on this site, we are creating a list that grades ePublishing houses according to objective factors.

Wherever possible, we will collect information on the following aspects of the ePublishing houses.

A. Genres:

What genres are they interested in

B. Service offered

1. Editing: Do they edit the book before publishing it
2. Book cover: Do they provide a book cover
3. Formatting: Do they provide the book formatting
4. ISBN: Do they provide ISBN Number
5. Marketing: Do they market the books the accept
6. Affiliates: Do they have an affiliate program
7. Distribution: Do they distribute the book in other outlets

C. Terms and Conditions

1. Advances: Do they pay advance on royalties
2. Royalties: What royalties are paid to the author
3. Copyrights granted: What copyrights does the author sign off
4. Length of Contract: How long does the writer sign the copyrights above for

D. Credibility

1. Age: How long have they been on the market
2. Catalog: Do they have a well furnished catalog
3. Alexa Rating: Gives an idea of the popularity of their website, hence of their on-line popularity

E. Social Media

1. Forum: Is there an on-line forum for writers/readers on their site
2. Blog: Do they have a blog
3. Book Club: Is there a book club on their page or is their page linked to any other on-line book club
4. Twitter: How many followers do they have on Twitter, if applicable
5. FaceBook: Idem for their FaceBook page, when applicable

Each ePublishing house evaluated will have a page with details for each point and subpoint.

They will all be listed here with only their name, the date they have been evaluated, the genres they are interested in and a global rating for topics B, C, D and E. A result of 1 to 5 stars will be given for each topic together with an overall grading of Fail – Poor – Fair – Good – Excellent.

We currently have a list of 130 ePublishing house that will be evaluated and added to the list in the coming weeks and months according to alphabetical order.

We welcome suggestions for other publishing houses.

Comments regarding specific publishing houses are welcome on the page dedicated to the relevant publishing house. Please, keep comments on this page for more general topics and suggestions. All comments are moderated.