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Vanity
Publishing explored by The acknowledged
expert, Johnathon Clifford:
In
1959/60 when two American companies were advertising
widely throughout the UK offering to publish
individual poems in anthologies at £9
and £12
each respectively, I coined the phrase "vanity
publishing". Since 1991 I have campaigned
unceasingly
for truth and honesty in the vanity publishing
world and have become recognised as the authority
on the subject.
See
my feature article in the Writers' & Artists'
Year Book |
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My
work has been featured in both national and
regional
radio and tv programmes which have exposed
the business practices of various vanity publishers
and by many responsible newspapers and magazines
(many of whom now refuse to take 'publishing'
advertisements). In 1999 I was invited to
the
House of Lords to speak to members from both
houses
about the need to change the law to stop the "rogue
traders" in the publishing world. However,
it wasn't until 2008 that the law was changed,
enabling the authorities to better curb the
excesses of rogue vanity publishers."
My advice pack for authors seeking a publisher,
or seeking to self-publish, or who have experienced
problems with a publisher, is available as a
download from this website - see FREE
ADVICE PACK to the left of this page.
Should you need further assistance you may
email me at info@vanitypublishing.info.
Many
unwary authors are encouraged by a vanity publisher's
initial promotional material which usually praises
the work submitted - whatever its quality. Such
publishers often misleadingly refer to themselves
as 'partnership', 'self-', 'joint venture', or
'subsidy' publishers. But however they may refer
to themselves and however much they may deny that
they are - if they charge you to publish your
book - they are a vanity publisher.
A
dishonest vanity publisher makes money not by
selling copies of a book, but by charging clients
as much as possible to print an unspecified number
of copies of that book. Some vanity publishers
will print as few copies as they feel they can
get away with. Most will claim to market their
publications. However, major bookbuyers have gone
on record recently stating that they "do
not buy copies of books centrally from vanity
publishers," but only "as a result of
the effort of the author in that author's local
area." Which speaks for itself.
It
does not follow that all vanity publishers are
underhand, and those who tell you there is never
a need for an author to pay to have a book published
or that all vanity publishers are 'bad', simply
display a lack of knowledge and understanding
of the publishing world.
So
how do you tell the difference? See "A Good
Vanity Publisher . . ."
I
cannot stress too strongly . . .
If
you cannot find a mainstream publisher to publish
your work at their expense, you must look on the
whole process of publishing not as money invested
to make you a return, but as money spent on a
pleasurable hobby which you have enjoyed and which
has provided you with well-manufactured copies
of your book. If you do also manage to make a
small profit, then that should be looked upon
as an unforeseen and unexpected bonus!
Examples
of authors seeing a return of more than an extremely
small part of their outlay through a vanity publisher
are extremely rare.
My
advice is that you do not answer advertisements
in newspapers or magazines which offer to publish
books. Mainstream publishers NEVER advertise for
authors - they have no need to do so.
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