I have to say that Silverwood is my own publisher and they are excellent. They have fantastic reviews and are well known to the Romantic Novelists' Association. Many of our authors are with them.
When my first publisher went down the pan, Silverwood Books were recommended to me and they have done an excellent job of keeping my book out there. I receive royalty payments. No, this is not vanity publishing by any means, but a way of ensuring that the book you send out via Amazon is well edited and professionally presented. You never see your own errors. The book covers are great and if you are in any doubt, please send Helen Hart an email via the web site. I self publish because I choose to do it. My third book will be traditionally published, because that's what I choose to do. The stigma of vanity publishing has been given bad vibes. This is quite rightly so, but now you can self publish with a reputable company and have something that works at the end of it.
There are many reasons for self publishing. My second book was also accepted by a traditional publisher but I didn't like their business practices, so it works both ways. I fell ill and moved house at the same time. (not recommended) At the moment I choose not to hang around and wait for a publisher to make up their mind about my novel. It could take another year, I want to get on with my third and fourth book. I have a few novels on the computer, so I chose to self-publish this one. It will help me to catch up whilst at the same time keeping my author status alive.
I think it's worth it to pay someone to help make your novel the best it can be. As I said, you dont see your own mistakes., hard as you try. Each author has different abilities.
Lin