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A simple Google search of "self-publishing companies" results in more than 10 million results. Even if you did have the time to sift through a couple pages worth, you still wouldn't have any idea which ones really knew their stuff. Getting solid, clear answers in language that you can easily understand helps ensure that you will be able to proudly show your new book to people - even outside your immediate family.

Your old college buddy is standing there, shaking her head in disbelief.

"This YOUR book? You published a book that looks THIS good?," she says. "It looks GREAT! Must have cost a fortune."

And you know what? She's right. It DOES look good, you knew that all along. And it didn't cost a fortune.

"Didn't you publish something, too?" you ask.

"Yeah, but let's not talk about that. Pretty embarrassing effort, compared to THIS," she says as she holds your book out in front of her.

"What did you do with yours that I didn't do with mine?" she asks.

Through research and talking with other colleagues who have published, you came up with a list of 10 questions. Those questions definitely helped you determine which publishing companies were the best fit to work with on your first book - and who would help you ensure it looked as good as it does.

Top Ten Questions to Ask Your Self Publisher:

1) Has the self-publishing company previously published books like yours, directed at the same market or reader?

2) Will this company complete all of the work in-house, or does it subcontract it out? (Local subcontractors? Overseas?)

3) Will you own all the rights to your book when working with this particular company? You had heard horror stories about self-published authors who found out (too late) that they had lost some of the rights to their work, allowing the less-than-ethical company they chose to work with to receive a percentage of every book sold.

4) Are there any minimum orders? What if you want just 100 books to start with?

5) Does the publisher offer packages or does it work under an a la carte system? Sometimes a package with everything from ISBN to printed books to marketing make sense. Some authors don't need all of that, so why pay for it?

6) Will you have a single point of contact within the company at all times during the publishing process?

7) Does the company have any unusual requirements for preparing your files for publishing?

8) If this is a local publishing company, ask to see various samples of its work. When you see those samples, are you comfortable with the look and feel of them? And if you're reviewing published work online, be sure to take advantage of features like Amazon's "Look Inside."

9) Who will handle the layout of the inside of the book? Of the cover? Do you need to do that yourself, or do they do that for you? You know that some publishers offer templates to use, so that you can cut down your costs upfront.

10) Will the publisher edit your book for you? Or do you have to hire your own? You know that despite thinking you're a decent writer, that having a professionally edited book can have a huge impact on the sales of the book. After all, who recommends a poorly written book to a friend?

If you don't feel completely comfortable that the company you're going to work with knows its stuff, and has the experience and knowledge to help you through the process, then you need to find yourself another company to work with.

Don't be like your college buddy with a self-published book that you would rather not talk about (aka, "the expensive learning opportunity.") It doesn't have to be that way.

You can successfully publish your own book and have results so spectacular that you can't help but show it off to anyone you meet.

- David Braughler

David Braughler, publishing adviser at Greyden Press, helps authors, coaches, executives and organizations publish their stories and expertise. He served on the EBWW faculty in 2014 and 2012.