If you are thinking about getting your book published without going through agents and publishers, then you may be looking at self publishing an Ebook or Print on Demand (POD).
I used five different sites to publish my book, System Error, and I can take your book through the process if you would rather spend your time writing or marketing the end product. Here are my charges:
Ebook:
Amazon Kindle and Draft2Digital, £29 each or £39 for both.
Paperback (POD):
FeedARead, £59. Add £88 to get worldwide distribution.
CreateSpace, £59.
IngramSpark, £159
Cover design:
it is recommended you employ a professional cover designer for your book or I can provide a basic design for £39 (I am NOT a professional designer but I did do the cover for System Error so judge for yourself!)
Further information.
Client fills in acceptance form (which includes all the details necessary to process the book and payments) and provides a cover design.
I will set up a user account for the client. Do the file formatting, provide an ISBN number, upload, get an electronic proof in the form of a PDF file and send to author for checking. When approved, I will publish and hand the account over to the client.
Please see my article regarding the different services listed above, but as a summary:
Kindle will be on the Amazon website, Draft2Digital is available on multiple other sites (eg. Barnes & Noble, Kobi, ITunes etc.)
POD (books are printed only when ordered) paperbacks can be published through CreateSpace, which is also owned by Amazon and is available on Amazon or through extended distribution including Ingram. However using CreateSpace highlights a self publisher and retailers tend to overlook them. Or you can use IngramSpark which is a division of Ingram, the worlds biggest wholesaler/distributor, and is probably your best chance of getting into physical bookshops. They offer a wide range of trim sizes in paper or hardback Your publisher will be listed as Sustain Books. This does entail quite a bit more work which includes the distribution of free library copies (legal requirement in UK).
Whichever route you choose, there's still a lot of work for you to do, marketing and actually selling your book. If you would like me to help, please get in touch using the form on the contact page.