• As a rule, I think a good copyediting service would cost anywhere from $600–1,000 for a 100,000 word novel. Non-fiction is typically more as it requires additional fact checking, though it depends on the specific work.
• There should never be a charge for storage of books. Almost all books in the self-publishing industry are POD (print on demand) so there is no need for storage. If you are having your books printed through another vendor, and it’s not POD, then ignore the previous statement—a reasonable charge is not out of the question.
• Social media charges are out of the question (at least as far as I’m concerned). Even if you don’t know a thing about Facebook, or Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or any of the others, dig in and learn. You need to anyway. Pay or not, you don’t want to rely on someone else to handle this part of your business. You need to come across as real and the best way to do that is to become comfortable with using the various services.
• Look at the company’s star authors. Check their rankings on Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc. If there aren’t any authors who have achieved at least some success—in terms of sales—be suspicious.
• Ask if you can talk to some of their authors. If the company won’t let you, track the authors down. Use Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Amazon, or any means you can think of. You might be surprised by what you find.
• Don’t fall for the promise of press releases, or public relations, or of the ‘assisted publisher’ writing marketing copy. These are jobs you can do yourself with a little learning, and some help. And if you intend to write more than one book, you’re going to need it.
• If the company tries charging for things like ‘Amazon’s Look Inside’ feature, at that point you need to tell them where to shove it. That’s a free service, and if the company is not going to do it for you, they should at least provide you a link to an article that shows you how to do it yourself.
• Book cover design.
  I’m sure there are good graphic designers who work for, or with, the assisted-publishing companies. But I haven’t found one yet. You’re far better off getting a recommendation from a friend, or finding a cover that impresses you, then researching who the artist who designed it was. In fact, that’s a good way to find editors also, and formatters, and about anyone else.
• Above all else, remember that the company should be motivated by your success. Think of companies like Smashwords and Draft2Digital. They don’t make a penny unless you do. They only make money when you sell books. That is what you want in a publishing partner.

I mentioned my editor, book cover designer, and formatter earlier. If you’re interested, here is their information. They’re fantastic to work with. If you have the willpower, my advice is to forget assisted publishing and do it yourself.

Book cover: Natasha Brown (fantastic!)
Editing: Eschler Editing
Formatting: Polgarus Studio

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Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes non-fiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar and publishing. See the complete list here.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with 45 loving “friends.