The Vanity Publisher Scam

Sheena and Tamara chat about the difference between vanity publishers, traditional publishers and self publishing and The Vanity Publishing Scam, in this episode of The Write Stuff

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What is a Vanity Publisher?

A vanity publisher, also known as a vanity press, or subsidy publisher is different from a traditional publisher in that authors pay to have their books published.

Vanity publishers also don’t have selection criteria, they will publish anyone who can afford to pay their fees. Additionally, you will often find that authors need to buy a certain number of printed books from them and often the quantities are 500 or up. This is their main source of income.

Traditional publishers, on the other hand, make their money by selling books that they publish. Authors are not expected to pay the publishers anything, instead they share the profits of the book sales with the publisher.

You can find the term vanity publishing appearing in publication in the United States as far back as 1941.

Find out:

• Why we don’t recommend vanity publishers
• Why most of them are considered a scam
• Why you would use a traditional publisher
• When you would want to self publish