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One way for an author to see their book in
print is to self-publish, but since that became
more acceptable some vanity publishers try to
pass themselves off as self-publishers.
For
a book to be genuinely self-published, a name
designated by the author as his publishing
house must appear on the copyright page of the
book as ‘Publisher’ and the book’s
ISBN number must be registered by the ISBN Agency
to that author as publisher.
All
the copies of a self-published book are the
property of the author to dispose of as he
wishes. If an author does not wish to be involved
with the sale and distribution of his book that
can very easily be accounted for - when details
of a book are sent to the ISBN Agency before
publication there is a section on the form for “Distributor
(if different from Publisher)”.
On
the title page of every book there is a paragraph
which, in essence, states “All
rights are reserved. No part of this book can
be stored on a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by whatever means without the
prior permission in writing from the publisher.” I
repeat, without the prior permission of The Publisher.
Not ‘the author’ who is supposed
to have ‘self-published’.
Any company which publishes books under its
own name or imprint cannot, by definition, claim
to help authors to self-publish.
If
the name of the company, not the author, appears
in the book as
that of the publisher, not only can the author
not claim to have
self-published his book, but he has lost all
control over it. If after the
initial publication, someone should wish to
produce large
type copies (for
the poorly-sighted), or take up film or television
rights, or reprint it
under
their own imprint, or wishes to publish a copy
in translation, there
are (in some cases very lucrative) fees to be
discussed
and paid. But it is
legally 'to The Publisher' that such application
must
be made and it is
legally 'The Publisher' not the author - although
he
has been led to
believe that he has self-published his work
- who will benefit.
True self-publishing gives authors much greater
control over the production and dissemination
of their books.
“But what does it matter?” I hear
some of you ask. Where the honest publisher is
concerned, not a great deal perhaps. But there
have always been so many ‘out there’ whose
intention is to relieve the unwary of their money,
aided in their intent by being able to refer
to themselves in terms that are misleading.
I
have been asked time after time “How can
you tell the honest from the dishonest?”
The Good, The Bad And The Downright Dishonest
I have come to the conclusion after over 13
years of investigating such companies that the
only way to tell is in the intent of the publisher.
Most vanity publishers make very similar claims
and of the 100+ files on such companies that
I have, only a small proportion have complaints
presently laid against them. In the past I was
receiving anything up to 30 complaints a day
relating to some dozen companies and when in
1996 Telegraph Newspapers ran details of my campaign
to clean up vanity publishing in several articles
I received over 700 complaints in under a week
- most of them relating to just one company.
Fortunately, without exception, those companies
no longer exist.
If over a period of time a publisher has been
found to be honest in his claims and a man of
his word who carries out what he claims he will,
there is no problem. However he chooses to refer
to himself his reputation is in his work not
in any label.
It is those whose claim to be self-publishers
is simply a ruse to attract the unwary author
and to mask their dishonest intentions who make
it necessary to police the way all vanity publishers
refer to themselves. In all walks of life, the
suspect have always spoilt things for the genuine.
In
a climate where there are those determinedly
intent on fleecing the unwary author it is impossible
to tell simply from their promotional material
whether a publisher is genuine or not, other
than through a long-term monitoring of each company’s
performance.
It is only after at least one full publishing
cycle has been completed by the company will
it become apparent whether the services claimed
to be offered, are genuine or a misrepresentation.
(For
details of how to go about self-publishing
see a copy of my Advice Pack)
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