Self Publishing, Mainstream Publishing, Vanity Publishing
There are only really 3 publishing models but lots of different names for vanity publishing…
- Paid For Publishing aka “Vanity Publishing”: If you pay someone else to publish your book it could be called collaborative publishing, cooperative publishing, subsidy publishing or (most misleadingly of all) self publishing but it’s really just vanity publishing with a more acceptable title. Some big-sounding New York and London publishers are offering “deals” to new authors with a high cost attached. These “deals” are really nothing more than an attempt to cash in on their name and sell an overpriced vanity package.
- Self Publishing: No matter what the vanity press says – it’s not self publishing unless you’re doing it all yourself. Obviously you may employ people to provide certain skills but you are still the publisher and the buck (or should that be book) stops with the author and only the author. This is further split into two main approaches:
- Print-On-Demand Self Publishing – Low Risk with Good Distribution Built In (providers include LightningSource, Lulu, CreateSpace and BookSurge)
- Print-Then-Sell Self Publishing – High Risk with No Distribution Built In (there’s no longer a good reason to publish this way unless you only plan to sell books direct)
- Mainstream Publishing: These organisations pay you for your book. There’s a lot of competition from authors here so fewer and fewer publishers are offering big (or any) advances anymore and many still insist you apply via an agent. However – they won’t expect you to pay them a penny for your book and they will expect to be sending you royalties. Mainstream publishers really fall into 3 main categories:
- Big Publishing Houses – New York Publishers, London Publishers etc. – most aspiring authors dream of getting a huge advance from these companies. First timers should expect tiny royalties and dwindling advances.
- Independent Publishers – usually smaller publishers that only publish a few titles per year. These companies are often specialist in nature and can provide a good start for many authors. However, they’re still crippled by the old print-then-sell rules and aggressive terms from bookshops so don’t expect to earn a big royalty,
- Publishing 2.0 Publishers – again, usually smaller publishers that have embraced new technology for both production, distribution and sales. Good publishers embracing the new rules of the publishing game are able to pay much higher royalties because they no longer rely on bricks-and-mortar bookstores for their sales.
Here’s a quick matrix from Publishing Academy that plots some of the main differences…
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This is great information.
I too warn to be clients about many of the so called Print on Demand (POD) publishshers who take big money and cause the author to charge too much for the book, then get low sales from that and other low-marketing appeal short paragraphs on the book instead of a strong book sales letter on the author’s website as well as Other book-selling sites.
I recommend digital printers like deharts.com where the author still has all the control over the book, but gets professional print copies.
If in doubt, write an eBook first to get the kinks out of your book before big printing costs. Most authors cringe at some of their mistakes when their book has already been printed. And most emerging authors print too many books before they set up their marketing plan and actions. Why fill a storage space?
If a speaker and you give 5 or so talks a month, print more, but a rule of thumb is to print as many as you will sell in 3-4 months at a time for POD.
If emerging authors would check out the advice of a book coach first, they would save so much money. -
Hi Judy
I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a real shame that the excellent technological advancement Print On Demand (POD) has been confused and tainted by the vanity press market. The POD industry is truly excellent for all small publishers and self publishers as it allows them to quickly, cheaply and easily test the market with a print book. The POD industry is also used by larger publishers to keep back catalogs in print, ensuring a very long long-tail of books for all interests.
To clear up confusion – Vanity Presses (or whatever they choose to call themselves) charge you for their services and then charge you exorbitant fees for books. Whereas Print On Demand just means that you only print books as they are needed – it is just a technology – like a photocopier is just a technology.
Debs
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Thanks for your information and the grid. Here’s a brief addendum. In self-publishing you CAN produce a book that rivals the majors. With a good graphic artist you can format beautifully, create a terrific looking original cover and include cataloging data (US), bar code and the like.
I’ve had two books through major houses and self-published five. Our five books are more aesthetic than my two major house published books and they had fewer mistakes per the first run. We consider ourselves a small independent press.
It’s also pretty easy to put your book on Amazon. Just wanted to add this for anyone considering self-publishing. I can be done right, with high quality.
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Hi Leslie
I agree, our first book was self-published and we think it looks great too! Here’s a link to Leslie’s books so you can see what she’s talking about http://www.lesliecharles.com/store/.Also, if you use Print On Demand through someone like Lightningsource.com it’s incredibly easy to get your books on amazon – they do it for you as part of the distribution. And if you do self-publish the old way (print-then-sell as we call it) then you can always use Amazon Advantage (though you do lose more money, but gain a distribution channel).
Debs
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Great article! It’s nice to see the options laid out in an easy-to-understand form. Self-publishing is often getting confused with vanity publishing, so the distinction here is right-on.
And with the layoffs in the traditional industry, traditional books are suffering bad editing and not-so-great design. So a self-published author who hires a professional editor (Chicago Manual of Style) and professional book designer will compete in the realm of traditional books. Nowadays, it can be very difficult for people to tell the difference between a traditional or self-published book – if self-published books are done right. I get asked all the time who my publisher is, and that is the question any self-published authors should strive to have!
I’ve developed a series of short videos explaining vanity, subsidy, and true self-publishing at YouTube channel imaginestudios7. And look for more great exclusive content on the new Publishing Academy site soon!
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This is the best summary I’ve ever read on this topic. Thank goodness SOMEONE is telling new authors the truth!
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Thanks Debs. Yes, Print on Demand is a huge subject and often confusing.
It’s a technology, but is often refered to as a publishing option (maybe in some words, vanity). My clients don’t do vanity-they are serious business people who want the share their expertise with their particular audience to brand their business. Yet, I’m going to try out Amazon’s Create Space with a new book on book marketing. (any good or bad reports?)
And I’m sure you’ll all agree that it takes a lot of marketing and promotion to get your books noticed, no matter the publisher.
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