Self publishing with Epigraph Publishing Service-compare and save

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Compare how Epigraph’s Basic publishing package delivers more value and greater savings than Xlibris, I-Universe, AuthorHouse, SelfPublishing.com and BookSurge Always remember to calculate print costs when setting your publishing budget. The average self publishing author will purchase 100 copies of their book in the first year and printing costs can vary widely from company to company. Cost and features comparison is based on Epigraph research of competitors websites and maybe be subject to error. Also remember to calculate earnings (royalties) based on distributed sales through self publishing company.
Quick Cost Analysis for comparable packages based on a 200 page book and 100 books Epigraph: $1485 Xlibris: $2582 I-Universe: $1776 AuthorHouse: $1866 Self-publishing.com: $1618 BookSurge: $2354
	Epigraph Basic	Xlibris Professional
Cost for package	$895	$899
Available Formats	Paperback and/or Hardcover	Paperback and/or Hardcover
Cover	Custom designed	Choice of templates
Interior design	Custom designed	Choice of template
Consultation with a designer	Included	Available as add-on for $225
Graphics allowance in interior	Unlimited	20 graphics plus 5 tables
Proofs	Electronic PDF and Paper proof	Electronic PDF, Paper proof available for $60
Library of Congress Control Number	Included	Available for $99
Distribution	Ingram Distribution	Ingram Distribution
Printing Cost for 200 page book (Based on 15 copies ordered)	$5.90	$12.99
Ability to set own retail price	Yes	No, a 200 pg book will be assigned a retail price of $19.99
Ability to set own wholesale discount	Yes, anywhere between 20% and 55%	No, Xlibris sets wholesale discount at 40% for resellers
Royalties or Net Sale Profits on wholesale sales, (e.g. Amazon) (based on $19.95 retail)	Net Sales Profit: $6.57	Royalty: $5.00
Summary: Epigraph Basic includes an additional $384 worth of pre-publication services—designer consultation, Library of Congress control number and a paper proof—and offers printing costs that are less than half. Adding in the cost of 100 books (the average number of copies an author purchases in the first year of publication, the comparable Xlibris Professional Package will cost the author $1299 in books, $384 in add-ons, plus the initial $899 fee for a total of $2582. Compare Epigraph cost for same package: $1485, a savings of more than $1,000 with Epigraph.
	Epigraph Basic	I-Universe Select
Cost for package	$895	$599
Available Formats	Paperback and/or Hardcover	Paperback only
Cover	Custom designed	Custom designed
Interior design	Custom designed	Template page layouts
Consultation with a designer	Included	Included
Graphics allowance in interior	Unlimited	None: $5 per graphic
Proofs	Electronic PDF and Paper proof	Electronic proof only
Library of Congress Control Number	Included	Not included: avail for $75
Distribution	Ingram Distribution	Ingram Distribution
Printing Cost for 200 page book (Based on 15 copies ordered)	$5.90	$11.02
Ability to set own retail price	Yes	No
Ability to set own wholesale discount	Yes, anywhere between 20% and 55%	No
Royalties or Net Sale Profits on wholesale sales, (e.g. Amazon) (based on $16.95 retail)	Net Sales Profit: $5.27	Royalty: $2.99
Summary: Basic offers custom designed interior, paper proofs, and Library of Congress control number while Select does not. You can add on a Library of Congress control number (LCCN) for $75, but custom design and paper proofs are not offered at this level of service at I-Universe. If you add on the LCCN Select still will save you $225 but you’ve given up a lot when it comes to design and control. With I-Universe, you do not own the design. When it comes to printing, you will save $5.12 per book with Epigraph and earn an additional $2.28 per copy sold through wholesale channels. If you purchase 100 copies in the course of the first year, total cost for Select equals $1102 for books and $599 for package or $1701. Epigraph Basic service with 100 books comes to $1485

	Epigraph Basic	AuthorHouse Essential
Cost for package	$895	$598
Available Formats	Paperback and/or Hardcover	Paperback only
Cover	Custom designed	Custom Designed but with limits. If you want to add an author photo or graphic to back cover, there is an additional fee of $119
Interior design	Custom designed	Custom Designed
Consultation with a designer	Included	Included
Graphics allowance in interior	Unlimited	10
Proofs	Electronic PDF and Paper proof	Electronic proof only
Library of Congress Control Number	Included	Add-on: $75
Distribution	Ingram Distribution	Ingram Distribution
Printing Cost for 200 page book (Based on 15 copies ordered)	$5.90	$10.72
Ability to set own retail price	Yes	Within set range provided by AuthorHouse
Ability to set own wholesale discount	Yes, anywhere between 20% and 55%	No
Royalties or Net Sale Profits on wholesale sales, (e.g. Amazon) (based on $16.95 retail)	Net Sales Profit: $5.27	Royalty: $1.70
Summary: AuthorHouse Essential package costs $300 less, but does not include a Library of Congress Control number or paper proof. Adding the cost for 100 books, the total publishing cost comes to $1670, compared to Epigraph at $1485. Most notable is the difference between Epigraph’s Net Sale Profits of $5.27 per book and AuthorHouse’s royalty of only $1.70. Not only does Epigraph’s program allow for more flexibility in book design, pricing and discounts, it earns nearly $5 more per book from wholesale sales.

	Epigraph Basic	Self-Publishing.com
Cost for package	$895	Ala carte services: $999
Available Formats	Paperback and/or Hardcover	Paperback only
Cover	Custom designed	Standard design: $250
Interior design	Custom designed	Standard text layout: $350
Consultation with a designer	Included	Included
Graphics allowance in interior	Unlimited	10
Proofs	Electronic PDF and Paper proof	Electronic proof only
Library of Congress Control Number	Included	Not available
ISBN, Bar Code,	Included	$150
Printing Cost for 200 page book (Based on 100 copies ordered—that is the minimum order required by Self-Publishing.com)	$4.90	$6.19
Ability to set own retail price	Yes	Yes
Ability to set own wholesale discount	Yes, anywhere between 20% and 55%	No, set at a fixed 50%
Royalties or Net Sale Profits on wholesale sales, (e.g. Amazon) (based on $14.95 retail)	Net Sales Profit: $4.07	Net Sales Profit : $3.25
Distribution	Ingram Distribution included	Thor Distribution: $249 plus 100 copies minimum order
Epigraph saves you $100 plus inclusion of Library of Congress control number and paper proof. Self–publishing.com also requires a minimum purchase of 100 books to get distribution, which would increase author’s initial out-of-pocket expenses by an additional $619.

Cost for package	$895	Total Design Freedom: $799
	Epigraph Basic	BookSurge
Available Formats	Paperback and/or Hardcover	Paperback and Hardcover
Cover	Custom designed	Template designs: Custom design: add $500
Interior design	Custom designed	Template designs
Consultation with a designer	Included	Limited
Graphics allowance in interior	Unlimited	10, $15 each thereafter
Proofs	Electronic PDF and Paper proof	Electronic proof only
Library of Congress Control Number	Included	$75
ISBN, Bar Code,	Included	Included
Printing Cost for 200 page book (Based on 15 copies)	$4.90	$4.80
Ability to set own retail price	Yes	Yes
Ability to set own wholesale discount	Yes, anywhere between 20% and 55%	No
Royalties or Net Sale Profits on wholesale sales, (e.g. Amazon) (based on $14.95 retail)	Net Sales Profit: $4.47 on 40% At 20% Net Sales Profit: $8.46	Net Sales Profit : $5.23 on Amazon sales, $1.50 on others
Distribution	Ingram Distribution	Amazon distribution
Though BookSurge advertises custom design services, in their basic package BookSurge selects the image for your cover, and a look at the sample covers on their website is a tip off that they are in fact using templates, which are then customized. To get something closer to the Epigraph service, you can purchase an upgrade in design service for an additional $500. An LCCN will also cost an additional $75, and a paper proof is not available. A roughly comparable suite of publishing services (to Epigraph’s Basic) at BookSurge will cost you: $1374, $475 more than Epigraph, and you will not own your design rights.

Compare how Epigraph’s Basic publishing package delivers more value and greater savings than Xlibris, I-Universe, AuthorHouse, SelfPublishing.com and BookSurge