After looking at several publishers, I decided to go with 360 Digital. Here are the pros and cons for them.
PROs:
-The Cover. The ability to have a matte finish for my cover, rather than the glossy laminate, was the main reason I went with 360 initially. I believe the matte finish gives a more professional look.
-Customer Service. 360's customer service was phenomenal. If I emailed them with a question, I had a response the same day. Simpler questions were answered every faster. They guided me through the process of setting everything up.
CONs:
-No Distribution. One of the issues with 360, is that they don't have distribution. That means they can't ship copies of your book to stores or to Amazon. They do have some partners that distribute, but I didn't bother trying to figure all that out. That also means that you have to deal with sending Amazon copies of your book, which is a huge hassle. (You can read all about that in here.)
-25 Or More. 360 is not Print on Demand. You have to actually buy your books outright from them, and you have to buy 25, or more, at a time. That's great if you're going to give some away, or are doing a book signing or something. For regular orders, though, it's not the best solution. You could easily end up with a stack of books that you can't sell.
-Set Up Fee. Unlike Create Space, there is a set up fee to use 360. You have to pay them to add your book to their collection. It's a one time payment, but it's around $150. To be fair, almost every company (other than Create Space) is going to charge you a similar fee.
I got my initial 25 copies of The Check Out from 360 Digital. I sold 10 to my local bookstore, sold a couple to friends, and gave the others away as promo copies. I was happy with the quality of the book itself, but the lack of distribution was the deal breaker. I ended up going with another company, which I believe I will stick with from now on.
We'll talk about them next time. Until then, keep writing!
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