Are Vanity Publishers Bad?

For a long time there has been a bad rap for vanity publishers. What are they exactly, and why do they get this bad reputation? Let's examine.

A vanity publisher is a print on demand publisher. Meaning, you give them your book and instead of placing it through an editor who may or may not like your work, they print it without question. Now, most of these services also have artists or stock art for book covers (or you can supply your own) and have editors who, instead of selecting which manuscripts will be published, actually edit.

Some also provide you with a free ISBN number (a number you need to sell the book online or in any store, usually an extra fee is attached though), and choices between hard cover, soft, or both.

However, that is all they do. They do not advertise (except a few, and it is quite rare, especially without an extra fee) and they do not sell your book. All they do is print them, and send them to you to print. Or, they are printed when ordered (such as on Amazon) and you are billed accordingly.

Many of these publishers get you an alright amount of profit, around 25%, and give you the key to your own success. While that may sound like a great statement, what I really mean is that they print, you sell. You will have to lug the books around to book stores (while Borders and Barnes and Nobels sometimes takes on book like this, you will probably have more luck with independent book sellers) and convince the store to buy them. You can also try going to conventions that fit the niche of your story to sell them as well. If you are not a good salesman than you will do poorly with vanity publishers.

The profit, a before mentioned estimate of 25%, is regular for most authors. While the percentage tends to be lower at publishing houses, you have to remember they are advertising your book and selling it. Not to mention that all this work can easily distract you from future writing, and makes the art of writing more into a selling tactic.

Despite the bad rap, you can make a decent amount if you have a solid book and can be a good sales person. Pitch your book like a product, give them reason to read and sell it, and you can make money. However, if you are just interested in the writing and have little technique when it comes to selling, I would say stick with the normal route of publishing houses.