X-presso Books is a self-publishing service offered by X-communication of Duluth, Minnesota, a publisher of fine books about the Western Lake Superior region. We offer a variety of services, including publishing consultation, book interior and cover design, editorial work, and marketing and publicity solutions.

Why Use X-Presso?
With today’s desktop publishing software, you should be able to do it all yourself, right? Or perhaps find a friend who’s handy with the computer to help you out? Well, maybe. You should think long and hard and look at all the options before deciding how to self publish your book. For help deciding if X-Presso Books is the best solution for your publishing needs, please read our “Self-Publishing FAQ's.”

Can I see some samples?
You can see all the books we’ve helped folks self published at our X-presso Books Online Bookstore.

Is X-presso Books a P.O.D. publisher?
No. While we offer the option of using digital printing (the same technology used by P.O.D. publishers) in the manufacture of your book, we are not a P.O.D. publisher. Unlike the majority of P.O.D. publishers, we do not restrict any of our author’s rights (you retain them all), we make an honest assessment of each book’s potential (we won’t just publish anything someone wants in print), and we take pride in our interior and cover designs, so your book won’t look like it was produced by a P.O.D. publisher). What’s a P.O.D. publisher? Find out by reading our “Self-Publishing FAQ's.”

Is X-presso Books a traditional publisher?
No. “Traditional” publishers—known in the trade as “commercial” or “trade” publishers—buy the rights to a book from its author in exchange for royalties based on sales of the book. These publishers pay for the book’s production and manufacturing, handle sales and distribution, and market and publicize the book. The author helps out with the publicity. X-presso Books is a service that helps you self-publish the book, so you keep all the rights. If you are looking for a traditional publisher, try our parent company, X-communication.

Is X-presso Books a vanity publisher?
Not really. “Vanity” publishers (sometimes called “fee-based P.O.D.s”) also help people self publish, but they also control your book’s distribution and marketing and take a share of the profits. With X-presso, while you indeed pay fees for our services, you retain control of production, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and marketing—and you keep all the money you make selling your book.

For an eye-opening discussion about P.O.D.s and vanity or fee-based publishing, please visit the Science Fiction Writer’s of America’s Web page and read Print on Demand. (You can also download a .pdf version of the article here.)