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Hi, Rachel,

Thanks for posting and for being a fan as well as a fellow-writer.

I should start off by explaining that I know nothing about self-publishing, and have never done it. My first book, THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL, was sent to Scholastic Canada, which was the only publisher I knew. They bought the rights from me, published it, and paid me, apart from an advance,  a percentage of the sales price  of the books. That’s how my career has gone and still goes. So I know nothing about finding editors, illustrators,or publishers and marketers. At the time, Scholastic provided the works. So affordability never entered into it. My expense was zero.  (Ditto for Hyperion, Harper-Collins,and McMillan.)

Also, I have always written fiction, and even though I understand the basics of researching a topic (like STEM), I choose to continue with fiction.

My advice would be to research vanity presses in general, and contact writers’ groups for advice on self-publishing. There is TWUC (The Writers’Union of Canada) and  Writers’ Guild of America in the USA. Or you might want to get a book on Writers’ Markets and try to sell your manuscript to one of the publishers listed there. It’s a treasure trove of info on who is publishing what, and how to submit your work.

Good luck to you. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.                                         —–Gordon Korman—–