This post is to present some charts that might (Or NOT) help unsnarl the bewildering arena of self-publishing...or at least be a step towards the individual understanding writers need before making critical decisions on what to do with their work.
This chart is like Step 1, a quickie attempt to clarify the spectrum of publishing options available. So many people think you either get picked up by Doubleday or slouch off to "vanity presses" (and that POD is a synomym for said). I've tried to show various approaches a writer can take, and hopefully there is something there for everybody. I welcome any additions, corrections, or criticisms of this chart.
Range of Publishing Options
Okay, so what if you think you're best served by a POD "publishing service" like lulu or iUniverse or.... like I said, bewildering thicket of choices. This is a rapidly changing landscape and no guide will be complete, but the two here should be a big help in sorting things out, at least to make a start.
List from POD.net
This is a much more comprehensive chart, though necessarily somewhat incomplete and outdated. But perhaps the best one available on the net. A really big, hard-won layout.
Books And Tales POD Chart
Books and Tales also has a great forum on POD presses: you can see posts from users of each press, and comments by the press owners (in a seperate thread) a HUGE help to POD shoppers.
Books And Tales POD Forum