Authors and Subsidy Publishers
The Disadvantages of Publishing with a Vanity Press
Authors seeking to publish their manuscript should understand why to avoid companies that sell book services to authors, rather than selling books to the trade.
Authors beware!
Publishing hucksters, or vanity and subsidy publishers, will be eager to take your money. But before you sign on the dotted line, consider all your options, or risk giving your book the kiss of death.
As an author you have four options to publish your book.
Traditional Commercial Publisher
The most preferred method is to use a commercial publisher who buys the rights to publish your work. The author is usually paid a royalty advance, and the publisher pays for all aspects of production, marketing and distribution.
Vanity Publisher
A vanity publisher charge you for the entire cost of publishing your book (usually at significant expense), and most authors end up with a garage full of books.
Subsidy Publisher
A subsidy press often pretends to be a commercial press. However, they’re goal is to sell editing, design and marketing services. They may offer limited distribution services, but usually they use print-on-demand companies like Lightning Source or Booksurge, where books are sold only through Amazon.com. Generally so few books are sold that the author never sees a royalty payment.
Self Publishing
Self-publishers outsource the various elements of production, marketing, and distribution of their book. Usually the cost-per-book is far lower than at a vanity or subsidy press. The author owns the book and obviously has the most at risk, but also stands to reap the greatest return. Keep in mind, you must have an entrepreneurial mindset, and successful self-publishers need a few years to learn the secrets of the publishing industry. More about that later.
Highly Inflated Costs
Vanity or subsidy publishers consider authors as their primary market. Book sales account for a small portion of their income. As their aim is to sell you book products and services, their costs are usually highly inflated. Consequently, authors are forced to set a high retail price for their book, which is typically not competitive. On average, authors who use a vanity or subsidy press sell fewer than 100 books.
Books produced by vanity or subsidy publishers are readily identified as cheap imitations by trade professionals, regardless of the book’s content. Once a book is labeled as vanity or subsidy published, it will not be reviewed by a trade publication, and 99% of bookstores will refuse to stock it.
Books that meet the minimum professional standard of quality are much more likely to be commercially successful. Just as governments use veiled means of identifying the authenticity of its money (by use of watermarks, micro-printing etc.,) so too, does the book industry have concealed means of identifying books published by a vanity or subsidy press. Until we see a drastic change in the industry, books published by a vanity or subsidy press will always be seen as sub-standard.
Keep Submitting Your Manuscript
If you believe in your book, don’t doom it to commercial failure by settling with a vanity or subsidy press. Be diligent and keep submitting your title to a legitimate publisher. If your manuscript is rejected, learn the reasons why, make the necessary changes and resubmit it again and again. Each rejection will teach you valuable lessons for improving your book.
If you still have no luck getting your book accepted by a traditional publisher, and you’re convinced your book has commercial potential, then consider self-publishing it. But remember, self-publishers who attempt to take short cuts (like having your cousin design your book cover) will inevitably be exposed to the trade, and your book will be equally shunned like books from a vanity or subsidy press.
