Self publishing usually is referenced as the author taking on all the necessary steps to get his/her book published, i.e., in addition to writing the manuscript, getting it edited, proofread, typeset, cover designed, ISBN# purchased, finding a printer and having it printed (this step can be traditional offset publishing or print on demand), getting the book online at places like amazon, etc. In this scenario, the author farms out all the work to independent contractors, collects the final materials and presents them to a printer to print.

Publishers like Harmon Press are author assisted publishers. We charge a small up front fee (this can vary with author assisted publishers for a fee that is very low to one that can run several thousand dollars) to do all the work of prepping and getting the book into print including placing the book on online retailers like Amazon.com). In this scenario, the author give the original manuscript to the author assisted publisher and all the work is then done by the publisher for the author.

If this answer does not clarify your question, them please ask again.

Thank you,

Ann Huberman