BUILD YOUR TEAM

 Resources for Self Publishing Authors

As a seasoned veteran in the book design and printing industry, I’ve built a community of talented professionals in the self publishing and book design space. These trusted partners can be a great asset to your team!

Editors

Every author needs an editor and proofreader during the process of writing their book. Investing in these services ensures your manuscript will be polished, professional, and ready for design and typesetting.

These are editors and proofreaders that have been hired by my clients or with whom I have a professional relationship. Find the one that suits you and your book the best.

CHRISSY DAS

Chrissy is a proofeader and copy editor with over a decade of experience editing nonfiction manuscripts. She provices detailed feedback and suggests changes that will eleate the quality of your writing

ADINA EDELMAN

Adina is an editor for authors of memoir and fiction. She believes in candid feedback and making the edit a conversation, bringing you into the process to unearth the gold in your story.

JEANETTE SMITH

Jeanette is a copyeditor, self-editing instructor, fiction writer, and mermaid based in Texas, USA. Jeanette accepts all genres for copyediting except horror and poetry.

DENISE WILLSON

Denise specializes in manuscript evaluations, traditional developmental editing, copy/line editing, and the proofreading of fiction and nonfiction manuscripts.

Ghostwriters

How do you fit writing a book into your busy life? If you have a strong story and message, a ghostwriter can help by working with you collaboratively or doing the heavy lifting and completing the entire book writing project. The people who most commonly hire a ghostwriter are cultural and business leaders, industry experts, and executives. These talented ghostwriters are in my professional community.

ERIN DONLEY

Erin is a ghostwriter and a book development coach who specializes in personal growth, professional development, and memoir. She guides each project from first draft, to finished manuscript, through design and publication.

JENNIFER LOCKE

Jennifer helps business owners, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs write books that showcase their brilliance and leave a legacy. She’ll bring out your best book, via nonfiction ghostwriting or book coaching.

DANIELLE PERLIN-GOOD

Danielle is The Soul-Aligned Ghostwriter and a best-selling author. She empowers C-suite executives and transformational leaders to amplify their legacies through impactful non-fiction books that build credibility and trust with their audiences.

JONATHAN JORDAN

Jonathan is an award-winning ghostwriter, book coach, and developmental editor, primarily for business nonfiction. He thrives on helping CEOs and entrepreneurs turn their stories into results.

CAROL TICE

Carol is an award-winning journalist and bylined print author who ghostwrites transformative business books for thought leaders and entrepreneurs (like her). Her authors’ self-published books have sold thousands of copies.

Printers

Most of the authors I work with choose the POD route (where each book is printed-on-demand after the buyer purchases it online) or ask me to find the best printer for their project. If you’re motivated to self-manage the printing of your book, this information is for you.

Digital printing is the most cost effective for runs under 1,000 and produces very high-quality books. For print runs over 1,000, you should work with an offset printing company. Offset book printers have a wider choice of interior papers and finishing options. Always base your decision on budget, your self publishing goals, and a marketing plan.

Digital

BLITZPRINT

Blitzprint in Alberta, Canada has been working with self published authors for over 30 years. They specialize in short-runs and offer add-on services such as distribution, fulfillment, and marketing. Their website has lots of resources for self publishers.

BAKER & TAYLORS PUBLISHER SERVICES

Baker & Taylors Publisher Services in Ashland, OH offers offset, short-run digital, and print-on-demand plus a variety of services including storage and fulfillment, marketing, and an online bookstore.

BOOKMOBILE

Bookmobile of Minneapolis, MN does print runs from a minimum of 25 to a maximum of 3,000 per order. They print trade paperbacks, hardcover books, full-color illustrated books and, also provide a wide range of flexible trim sizes and special treatments.

EDITION ONE BOOKS

Edition One Books works with art and design professionals to manufacture beautifully crafted short-run books at their Richmond, CA facility. Their selection of cover materials and special options such as foil stamping will make your book stand out. They offer personal service and will print a run as low as five copies.

PRINTORIUM BOOKWORKS

Printorium Bookworks is located in Victoria, BC. It’s a one-stop shop to print books and the marketing materials a self publisher needs for their marketing campaign. Printorium prints quality soft cover books in quantities starting at 10.

Offset

FRIESENS

Friesens specializes in full-color hardcover and softcover books and offers many types of binding options. Centrally located in Altona, MB, Canada, Friesens offers competitive quotes for printing and shipping books to the US.

HEMLOCK

Hemlock uses the latest printing technology for any size or type of book. Located in Vancouver, Canada, their high-quality work is reflected in the prices they charge.

Print-on-Demand

KINDLE DIRECT PUBLISHING

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is part of the Amazon world-wide machine. It offers printing, distribution, and marketing for e-books, softcover and hardcover books along with online author services. KDP is considered better for online sales because of its connection to Amazon.

INGRAMSPARK

IngramSpark offers printing, distribution, and marketing for e-books, softcover and hardcover books along with online author services. Ingram is better for your bookstore and library sales because they are a trusted, major book distributor.

Illustrators

The use of icons, photographs, technical drawings or custom illustrations in non-fiction books can improve reader understanding and make your content more engaging. When stock images just won’t do, hiring an illustrator whose style suits your book is a great option. I will work directly with any illustrator you choose to hire. I also recommend these artists from my professional community.

ALINE MONJARDIM

Aline Monjardim creates bespoke illustrations, visual concepts, and layouts for print and digital media. Her illustrations will inspire and invite your readers to engage more deeply with your content.

DARYN ROWLEY

Daryn Rowley is a graphic designer and illustrator with a marketing background. She specializes in illustration for children’s books and editorial illustration.

Stock Images

There are two categories of stock images. Royalty-free have a fixed price and can be used multiple times on anything. The downside is that other authors may end up using the same image. My suggestion is to dig deep — don’t use anything on the first 10 pages of your search result. For rights-managed images, you purchase the right to use the image for a specific purpose (front cover), for a specific circulation (5,000 copies), and for a specific geographical area (North America). Rights-managed images are pricey but if exclusivity is important to you, this could be a good solution.

iSTOCK BY GETTY IMAGES

iStock by Getty Images is one of my favourite stock image sites for their extensive selection but be prepared to pay well for what you want.

CANSTOCK

CanStock carries a dizzying selection of digital images. They have over 117,000 contributors from around the world and add over 24,000 new files each day.

FIRST LIGHT

First Light is a Canadian company offering rights-managed and royalty-free stock images by its own 200+ photographers. First Light has the most extensive collection of Canadian visual content available in the world.

FOTOSEARCH

FotoSearch provides royalty-free and rights-managed stock photography, illustrations, maps, video, and audio. The products on FotoSearch can be licensed and easily downloaded.

GOGRAPH

GoGraph offers stock photography, vectors, and clip art. With over 1 million images their collection is a less expensive alternative to high-priced Royalty Free images.

IMAGEZOO

ImageZoo has an impressive collection of distinctive images created by some of the world’s most talented illustrators. If you’re planning on doing a series of books that require the same illustration style, this might be the place to find your ‘perfect fit’.

MASTERFILE

Masterfile is a Canadian company with a world-wide reach. They feature millions of premium rights-managed and royalty-free photos and illustrations covering a wide range of subjects.

RGBSTOCK

RGBStock has a huge number of high-quality free stock photos and free graphics for magazines, books, brochures, flyers and, text books. All images are free for personal and commercial use.

PEXELS

Pexels is a stock photo and video website that helps you look for visuals to find great photos and videos that can be downloaded and used for free.

UNSPLASH

Unsplash offers beautiful, free images and photos that you can download and use for any project.

VECTEEZY

Vecteezy has an extensive selection of vectors, photos and, videos. You can find lots of free images with some of the best reserved for subscription holders only.