Spines vs Reedsy: which self-publishing platform should you choose?
Self-publishing your book can be a fulfilling experience, but it can also be a stressful and frustrating one if you try and go it alone. As a writer, you’ll probably wonder if you should try a self-publishing service, or if you should consider going the traditional route instead.
After all, a publishing company will ensure you have a high-quality book that’s distributed to the right places and marketed appropriately. While you can self-publish your books for less money, but with more control, you may end up with a book that looks and feels sub-par. What’s more, likely, you don’t have enough experience on how to distribute it properly.
Spines and Reedsy are among the many self-publishing platforms out there that help writers get the job done. This article gives you the rundown on who they are, what they offer, and if they might be the right choice for you.
Reedsy
Reedsy is a service marketplace that provides tools to authors and publishers in the self-publishing industry. You can hire ghostwriters, editors, cover designers, and more with the platform. One of the key things that differentiates Reedsy from its competition is their ability to vet the freelancers’ work experience and track record on their platform. Reedsy also makes collaboration more manageable through writing tools, automated contracts, and secure payments.
What the Reedsy Platform Offers
In addition to connecting authors and publishers to talented professionals, Reedsy offers a wide range of tools that help authors and publishers regardless of where they are in their journey. Here are some of the services that they offer:
Reedsy Book Editor
The online book editor is a word processor specifically designed for authors, making it easier to export manuscripts to Mobi, ePub, or PDF.
Reedsy Plot Generator
This plot generator allows the writer to choose a genre, and it will generate ideas for the plot, plot twist, protagonist, and secondary character.
Reedsy Discovery
Discovery uses a format similar to Goodreads, where self-published books can get discovered by reviewers before authors formally launch them. Reviewers are paid on a tip basis from readers of the reviews, and authors gain credibility from the review.
Reedsy Marketplace
The Reedsy Marketplace is where publishers and authors can browse through expert editors, cover designers, web designers, and ghostwriters, among others, to help them publish their books. Reedsy takes a 10% cut from the freelancer and another 10% from the author for this service.
Educational Content
Reedsy also provides free educational courses to writers no matter what stage they are at in their journey. You’ll find series on topics like self-publishing, Facebook ads, book marketing, and even Amazon algorithms.
Spines
Spines gives authors a way to publish their works in a convenient and cost-efficient manner. As a veteran AI-powered publishing platform, Spines has publishing connections worldwide, making it easy to distribute books easily. The company works with new authors, established authors, and self-publishers, with manuscripts on hand and ready to be published.
Because Spines uses AI technology for manuscript proofreading and formatting, the company can cut processing time to just 8-12 days, unlike traditional publishers that take months to finish the job.
Spines Tools and Services
Spines provides all of the services that authors need during the publishing process, from manuscript proofreading, cover design, formatting, and distribution. Specifically, Spines offers the following:
Spines Manuscript Proofreading
Spines’ state-of-the-art AI proofreading tools perform a thorough analysis of the manuscript. If you’ve purchased their basic plan (under $1000 from manuscript to book-in-hand) AI suggestions are sent straight to the author for final approval. If you’ve purchased Spines’ standard or premium plans, you get “hybrid” proofreading; essentially two passes, one done by AI, and a second revision by a Spines staff proofreader. In either case, the author is sent highlighted changes once proofreading is completed, giving the writer complete creative control of what to do next.
Spines Cover Design
Spines has expert in-house cover designers with a rich image database to help authors select the best image for their book. If the author already has an existing cover, production managers will review it and give their suggestions, if desired.
Spines Formatting
The book’s formatting and design is a collaboration between the author and Spines – with the author having the final say in how their book is presented. AI is used to design the book, but humans still manually check and confirm edits to the end product.
Spines Distribution
The published book can reach a global audience in a matter of days, distributing your work across 100+ channels including BAM, Books Express, Baker & Taylor, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Spines also handles distribution through a monthly subscription service, giving you plenty of options to suit your price point. Instead of having to pay total distribution costs upfront, Spines has worldwide distribution packages lasting anywhere from 1-5 years, at only $20-39/month. This will ensure your book will be available long term, at an affordable rate – and the longer you want your book on shelves, the cheaper the monthly subscription cost.
Spines Print on Demand & eBook
Since it’s not always an author’s desire to release their book for physical distribution, Spines offers print on demand and eBook as their default on all package tiers. This prevents unwanted costs of printing for smaller publishing projects and allows authors to manage each publishing project according to their distribution needs.
Spines vs Reedsy: Which Should You Choose?
Choosing between Reedsy and Spines depends on your needs, as well as your general comfort level and experience with the publishing process.
With great power comes great responsibility – If you are looking for more creative control (down to hiring your proofreader, designer, and any other specialists necessary to complete your publishing), then Reedsy may be a good choice for you. In addition to the amount you’ll spend for each publishing professional you hire from the Reedsy marketplace, you’ll also have to pay 10% to Reedsy for every sale of your book.
On the other hand, Spines is an all-in-one AI-powered publishing company that helps authors get their works published in print-on-demand and eBook formats within 8-12 days. If you are looking for someone with the expertise to take you from start to finish of the publishing process, Spines may be for you. The company can take your book to completion (including a year of distribution) for under $1000 with their basic plan.
Currently, it costs $2,500 to $5,000 to publish your book independently with competitors, but you might end up shelling out a lot more when hiring independent professionals. Because Spines has a production manager that oversees the entire process and walks you through the necessary steps, you don’t have to worry about going any part of the process alone.
Learn more here if you think Spines might be right for you: How does Spines work
