The over arching question that every author should ask is this;
"Are all self-publishing companies the same?"
Self-publishing companies - including Xlibris - all use almost
the exact same technologies to print books, and in most cases
the similarities end at that point. Ever self-publishing company
offers a different approach to publishing a book, and has their
own 'flavor.'
To see what I believe is important in choosing a company to self-publish
your book, click here.
On to our coverage and discussion of Xlibris.
We'll be using a very common book spec for titles produced in
the trade category by all self publishing companies. Information
and self publishing costs are retrieved from the Xlibris
web site and contract.
- 6X9 trim size, 150 pages, one color interior, 4 color cover,
5 interior images
- Paperback or hardcover
- ISBN and bar code included, Library of Congress Control number
- Custom cover and interior - not just choices
from existing templates
- PDF or laser proofs delivered to author,
- 100 additional paperback units purchased
- Available at Amazon and most major online retailers
- Available through major distributors like Ingram and Baker and
Taylor
- Available for order at over 25,000 retail bookstores.
(click here
to see the Dog Ear breakdown - our total cost for this package
and options is $1,327, our per unit book printing
price is $4.28, and you get 10 free author copies
of your book.)
Xlibris
Xlibris has modified their site quite a bit
- so we've updated our comparison by deleting older information.
The smallest of the 'big 3' of self publishing companies,though
they are now owned by AuthorHouse. Xlibris offers
self publishing packages that have an incredible range - all the
way from $299 to $12,999 (!).
For $299 though, you get an ISBN but no distribution (which means
your book cannot be on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.)
You can have a only 5.5X8.5 book, choice of 3 cover designs (in
a variety of colors) and 2 interior designs per cover type (no
custom work).
Options of course increase as you spend more money ($499, $899,
$1,599, $2,999, $5,999 and a whopping $12,999). I feel that the
$899 package offers the highest 'feature-to-cost' ratio for Xlibris
authors. It is also the most similar in features and services
(though you still need to choose a cover from their template library)
to the other packages offered in the industry and by Dog Ear Publishing.
Xlibris has a very fascinating profit calculator
-Xlibris allows you to choose the price you will
charge for your book... but ONLY if you pay Xlibris
$249!! Even then, the profit gets cut by a huge margin - I don't
understand this approach... The $899 publishing package only offers
a choice from 18 cover templates - and 9 interior templates. Customization
isn't an option. Xlibris offers all of the standard
trim sizes available.
Standard Paperback Publishing - $899
Set-Your-Own-Price - $249 (to set your own retail price... wow...)
Add a cover image - $0
Custom Cover - $225
Custom Interior - it's $20 per page -so we won't even
add this...
Library of Congress Control Number - $99
Proofs - $60 if you want hardcopy, digital proofs are free)
Printing Services - $13.99 / unit X 100 units = $1,399 (printing
this book at Dog Ear is only $4.28 per unit)
Total Expenditure- Xlibris: $2,871
($1,544 MORE EXPENSIVE
THAN DOG EAR)
One item we have NOT addressed that you DO GET with Xlibris and
not Dog Ear at this level - 50 bookmarks, 50 business cards and
5 posters. These are all valid and valuable - to purchase these
items from Dog Ear would be an additional $300 - still leaving
you $1,244 less expensive than Xlibris.
BOOK DESIGN and PRODUCTION- Comparison
Dog Ear produces a unique design for both the cover and interior
for every book. The design is custom (literally from the ground
up) for each and every book - no 'templates' are ever used. Dog
Ear provides a Design Sample using your manuscript and allows
you complete freedom to revise what our team has built. No other
publishing services company provides this service FREE
OF CHARGE - only Dog Ear. Every one
of our books are designed and built by professionals with long
histories and lots of experience - from the traditional publishing
industry. Your book is being built the same staff that creates
books for Harper Collins, Prentice Hall, Simon & Schuster,
Wiley, Penguin and many other of the worlds most successful publishers.
AUTHOR PROFIT - Comparison
Author profit is a tremendous additional weakness
of the Xlibris programs - at Dog Ear
Publishing, when you purchase your own books,
they are over $9 LESS EXPENSIVE per unit, with
that money going straight to your pocket. At Xlibris, you
have to pay them $249 to set your own retail price - at Dog
Ear you have total control over your pricing, wholesale discount
and profit... without having to pay anything.
Your author profit when selling to distribution partners
(Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, etc)
- - your per unit author profit from each
sale is over $3 MORE with Dog Ear.
Imagine what these numbers do to your profit over the life of
your book.
An interesting note - why does Xlibris force
authors to pay a fee to set a retail price? It doesn't cost them
(Xlibris) any more on a per book basis (see their Set Your Own
Price page and Xlibris Book Calculator)... You, the author, took
the risk to publish - you should be in full control - without
paying unusual costs.
Xlibris CONTRACT - Comparison
The Xlibris contract is very strong - apparently
revised to reflect a more author-friendly position than the previous
edition. I only see a single item or two that gives pause:
1) You DON'T OWN the output files until you've cancelled your
contract - We believe that you hire a self-publishing firm as
a contractor...we perform services for you, and you have paid
us and should have full rights to everything we produce (you wouldn't
let your plumber tell you you don't own the sink he installed,
right?) - but - that's NOT the case with many self-publishing
companies, including Xlibris...
2) Another note of concern - again from the Xlibris
contract - is who decides on what your book looks like.
Conclusion - if you don't intend to sell anything other than
just a few copies of your book (and not through distribution or
retail stores) then Xlibris has the best plan
available on the market. There are other competitors who offer
options at the $199 level, but none that will give you the speed
and flexibility that Xlibris offers. If your
book is something that you think you may sell at least 100 copies
of, and you want available in both Retail and Wholesale accounts
- then make sure you take in to account the items listed above.
Other Items to Watch For from Self-Publishing
Companies
(another reprint from our main comparison page)
Corrections Charges
You've got to watch corrections... Remember that it costs money
each time your publisher has to go back into your file and change
something - that's standard for every self-publishing outfit around.
But - you should be able to resubmit your manuscript to them just
before it goes into "layout". Also make sure that you don't get
charged for making corrections that were THE PUBLISHER'S FAULT
in the first place (called Production Errors). This is unfortunately
a common practice amongst less trustworthy self-publishing outfits.
Advertising Gimmicks or "Don't New York
Times Ads Work?"
Only targeted marketing sells books... Expensive
ads work for Grisham and Clancy - but the rest of us have to think
"Targeted".
REVIEWS sell books, not ads - unless your last name happens
to be Grisham or Clancy... Bookstores buy based upon marketing
dollars thrown at them. Keep targeted! Work book-signings and
readings!
Targeted Search Marketing sells books.
Book signings sell books.
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