About book publishers - print and e-books.

Whichever type of book you envision, printed or electronically published (downloaded from the internet), you must first have a packaged manuscript that includes cover, title page, content, and usually an index. The manuscript is then produced in whichever (or both) formats you desire: print and e-book. E-books sell for less, so the bad news is that you make less per copy; the good news is that you don't have to have a warehouse full of unsold books to worry about. Most publishers today and do either or both. Whichever way you go though, you must have a packaged product, and that's where the "publisher" comes in.

Desktop Publishing. You buy software, figure out how it works, write your book in it. If you want a decent product, you purchase outsourced services, such as professional copy editing. (Cousin Edie or Uncle Clem ain't gonna cut it. If you want a good book, you need a good editor who understands publishing.) Then you contact a packager or publisher, often shopping online for somebody who offers a "good" deal, and buy some more software to package the book or put it into templates. Then you figure out how to use the templates to get your version to work with their production requirements. Bottom line, you spend a lot of money before you ever see the book.

Vanity or "For-fee" Publisher. Similar to self publishing, except you purchase a service that includes "templates" which you use to get your manuscript into a format that is easier for the publisher to print. Sometimes some editing and other services are included along with suggestions on format. You pay to have the book published, and the vanity or for-fee publisher may or may not help you sell some copies. This is the most expensive type of publishing for the author.

Self publishing. You are author, editor, graphic designer, book packager, cover artist. You do all the work and send it to someone to print as received - with a result that pretty much guarantees an unhappy author.  Although this is the cheapest (and quickest) way to get your book published, it won't sell well - the final product doesn't look near as good as you thought it would.

Small Independent Publisher. Good choice - or we certainly think so! You do the best you can to polish your manuscript, then submit it directly to the selected independent publisher which best fits your project - usually someone local you can work with directly. If you strike a deal, the publisher provides editing, cover and book design, and printing, and in some cases, help with distribution (sales). If the title has sufficient sales appeal, the publisher may "buy" the title from you, i.e., "own" the book and pay you a royalty based on the sale price or a flat rate per copy. If the book has limited sales appeal, the publisher will complete all the steps to a final printed product and may help with distribution through their own sources, but you pay to have them publish it for you. If the publisher is an honest one - like we are - theyll tell you up front what you can expect in sales and help you set up a cost flow and sales program. Small publishers with local connections can also help you with marketing, such as book signings and public events. For a new author or one with local or specific-interest appeal, this is probably the best publishing choice.

Large/major book house publisher. You need luck, serendipity, and unless you've got a really hot topic (like a political sex scandel or "tell all"), you need a very well written manuscript. Generally you'll also need an agent as well, one who presents your manuscript to selected "publishers" which, if they accept it, will then provide editing, cover art, and general hand-holding from start to finish. The publisher "owns" the title and you get a royalty, generally about 10 percent of the sales price. The "big books" or 'hardbacks" you see on library and bookstore shelves generally fit this category.

Print on Demand.Book is produced when someone buys it. The per book cost is higher, since only a few books, or even one book, are produced and shipped at any one time. However, the  end product is equal to that of a publishing house.

Book Formats

Hard Back or hard cover, usually with a "dust Jacket."  Bound book, with a hard cover, usually enclosed in a colorful "dust jacket." On a big book from a publishing house, the first press run is usually hardback, then the book comes out again as a paperback.

Soft Cover. Also known as a "paperback." What you see on shelves in supermarkets, big box stores, bookstores and used bookstores. Firt run on many small publishing houses or projects. Can come in a variety of sizes, from a small paperback to a large "coffee table" book.

Self Cover.

Spiral Bound.

E-book. Very popular today, as it combines all the positives of self or independent publishing with POD and downloadable books for hand-held devices like the Kindle.

FYI - Within the book publishing industry, the publisher of record for a book is the entity in whose name the book's ISBN is registered.