Upon embarking on the search for the best publishers, one of the first comparisons that an aspiring author comes across is that of big traditional publishing companies and new author-based platforms. One of the biggest and most established publishing houses worldwide is HarperCollins, famous for its extremely strict selection process, enormous marketing budgets, and worldwide reach, although it usually works with a small number of authors annually, and literary agents are required to be able to submit a manuscript to HarperCollins. As for new platforms, their main advantage lies in the ease and speed of publishing for ordinary writers without going through years of submitting manuscripts. For the purposes of comparison, when choosing the best publisher, a HarperCollins book publishing service will mean tradition, and a platform like Book Publisher Canada will mean modernity.