A Warning!

There are people out there who want to take as much money from authors as possible and offer little in exchange.

Let me explain more. There are four types of publishers:

1. 1. Traditional publishers. This is where the author (or more likely the author's agent) approaches a publishing house and offers them a manuscript. If the publisher likes it and feels they can make money producing the book then they will sign a contract with the author and pay an advance on future royalties. A traditional publisher will see that the book is edited properly, get a professionally designed cover for the book, print the book and distribute it to booksellers. The author will get a 10-15% royalty for a hardcover, 8-10% for a paperback, and 25% royalty for an ebook once the book has made sufficient sales to cover the advance. The publisher will promote the book and encourage the author to help with this. The author pays nothing but traditional publishers are very selective. OK
2. 2. Hybrid publishers. This is where the author contributes towards publishing costs. This lowers the risk to the publisher. In return the publisher will distribute the book to retailers and offer the author higher royalties on each sale - up to 50%. The author won't be offered an advance though. A good hybrid publisher will also be selective. But is hybrid publishing good value? If you are going to cover editing, cover design and printing costs then you may as well self-publish and get even higher royalties. ?
3. 3. Vanity publishers. This is where the author pays all publishing costs but must distribute the books themselves. The vanity publisher takes no risk since they make their money from the author rather than from book sales. Vanity publishing can be an expensive option, typically costing thousands and often leaving the author with hundreds of books they can't sell. To make matters worse, authors are often persuaded to attend author conferences at high cost. Vanity publishers are not selective at all. I have yet to come across a successful author who is happy with a vanity publishing experience. No!
4. 4. Self-Publishing. In this option the author does all the work of publishing without outlaying a fortune in costs. Paper books are produced as required using a print-on-demand service; ebooks are produced directly by the author and published at e-retailers such as Amazon. Royalties are much higher, typically 60% to 85%. The author must arrange for the book to be edited, formatted, a cover to be created and must cover all book promotion costs. OK

You would be wise to walk away from any publisher (or agent) who asks you to pay them money.

Whatever publishing route you take, books won't sell if the public is not aware they exist. You must promote them and again, you may be at risk of being scammed here. More details at the many promotion scams.