Dog Ear Publishing -- cannegardner

“DogEar boasts a more transparent and responsive process. DogEar claims to be the only self publisher “offering a financially viable model for self published authors. While it admits to higher up-front costs, it says that this is balanced out by lower printing costs and higher profit margins. One unusual aspect of its business plan that might prove attractive to authors is that DogEar does not pay royalties; instead, it only charges for printing, allowing authors to keep the profits from their work.”

I took a look at their site and the Compare the Competition Page is quite nice and refreshing. The specs are pretty typical of the books produced in the trade category at any of the self publishing companies. Self publishing costs are derived from the web sites and companies listed.They admit to higher costs than say a Lulu but tout that their costs are on average $ 300 less than most subsidiary/self-publishing firms. This information is directly from their website. With their quoted package you get:

• 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


• 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.

Let’s start with the numbers… more in-depth comparisons will follow below. Here’s how the major self-publishing companies stacked up as of January 2008.

Self publishing companies – Dog Ear Publishing:
Every publishing service outlined above is included in this package – no hidden fees or chargesDog Ear Publishing is based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. All Dog Ear operations are based in the United States. Dog Ear Publishing allows authors the complete freedom to set their retail price and profit at any level. Dog Ear has the lowest per unit costs of any publishing company. With Dog Ear, you receive 100% of your Net Sale (no other major self- publishing house offers that level of profit for authors.)Basic Publishing Package – $ 1099 (hardcover or paperback)Printing Services – $ 4.28 / unit (any number of copies) x 100 units = $ 428Total Expenditure: $ 1,527

On Royalties:
“Book Royalties”
We don’t call them that, because we let you set your OWN profit margin – the only money we receive from sales of your book is the printing cost (and some handling & freight fees). You may price your books at any price you wish and make as much or as little profit as you like. That is NOT the case with ANY of the other self publishing companies.

More info and a nice Compare Publishers menu can be found here. As always, any author should price and compare the services before selecting a POD company. We should always get the best value for the buck and that means not getting screwed out of your hard earned money in the process. –cannegardner