Tags
#AuthorToolboxBlogHop, author services, guest post, Iola Goulton, Publishing, publishing tips, self-publishing, vanity publishers, writing
My obsession with learning everything there is to know about publishing continues! Last month I looked at Freelancers — which raised a lot of questions about vanity publishers. So, I found someone who knows a lot about the subject to clear it all up for us.
*This post has moved to a new home: http://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/understanding-vanity-publishing-and-author-services/
Ronel the Mythmaker 
Thanks. You cleared up a lot of misconceptions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂 Misconceptions about author services, vanity publishers and self-publishing is rife — it is important that we know the truth before plunging into the depths.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m pleased to help!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great info. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLike
I hope you find it useful … and don’t get caught out.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for the info, Iola. Very helpful. We need to keep ourselves safe. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! After I posted this, I received an email that mentioned a local author’s book published through a vanity press. The novel is YA Dystopian, but the cover … isn’t. It looks like a non-fiction history book. No teen is going to pick it up, let alone read it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great post, Iola. I’m new to AuthorToolbox and finding the posts very informative. I had a friend recently go with a “vanity” publisher. All you say is very true. Hope he sells enough books to cover his expenses!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welcome to the blog hop 🙂 It’s scary when you realise that there are so many people out there trying to make money out of authors instead of book sales.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welcome to the blog hop!
I doubt your friend will sell enough books to cover expenses – it’s unlikely unless he already has a significant platform of people willing to buy because they like him. Most vanity press books are overpriced, and a lot of the publishers emphasise print sales, because that’s where they make money. But that’s a big up-front cost for the author, especially when publishing on Kindle and CreateSpace is almost free.
LikeLiked by 2 people
There’s so much to know about self-publishing. No wonder people turn to anyone for help. Thanks for the reminder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂 That’s what the Author Toolbox Blog Hop is for 😉
LikeLike
Yes, there is a lot to learn. But there is also a lot of information available, if you know where to look. Like Ronel says, the #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop is a great place to start!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ve definitely had heated conversations with well meaning friends who urge me to just “go get it published yourself,” and I have to explain that “getting published” isn’t the goal. It’s “getting published in the right way”. It’s regrettable that so many try to take advantage of dreamers. But at a certain point everyone has to do their research.
Recently I attended a writer’s workshop where the author in charge discussed something similar with agents. She cited how “any agent that’s at an event soliciting writers is raising some serious flags for me.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes we have to lock the dreamer side of ourselves up and listen to savvy business side of our brains: we have instincts (and life experience) for a reason.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mmm. Or at least guard/protect it. And there’s that way in which “quick work is rarely good work”. Granted, opportunities must be taken, when they are true, but we also have to “do the inner work” to prepare ourselves for the “new worlds” those opportunities may lead to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lots of writers conferences have agents and editors attend, offering one-on-one appointments – the opportunity to meet relevant agents and editors. But the good agents make clear that while they’re always on the lookout for a great book, they’re not actively soliciting authors. I’d certainly be wary of any agent who was.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tell it like it is, Iola! 🙂 So funny, I just finished reading Iola’s hop post on her own blog. It’s all about Iola today. 🙂 Great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, beating around the bush isn’t one of my strong points.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I appreciate all this clarification. Thank you Iola and thank you Ronel 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Erika!
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is SUCH an important post, and I like to hear authors spreading the word about this. Vanity publishers are still alive and thriving and taking authors for TONS of money each and every year. Even the ones who manage to get shut down just pop up under another name. It’s so important to educate writers about this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely 🙂
LikeLike
I’m so pleased you agree. It disappoints me not only how many of these companies there are, but how many authors fall victim to their slick sales pitches.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Having just begun dabbling in the world of publishing with serious consideration to self-publish, this post is a real eye-opener for me. The breakdown of the range of services available for self-publishing authors is also very helpful towards developing my own checklist of things to do. Writing a good story is truly just the tip of the iceberg of the work that goes into becoming a professional author.
Thanks, Ronel, for arranging this guest post and thank you, Iola, for some really sound advice! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m thrilled you found it useful!
Yes, there is a lot to do. But there are some great (reputable) service providers out there. The best way to find the good designers and editors is to network with other writers in your genre, read their books, and if you’re impressed, find out who they use.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for the advice! 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like that you explained the difference between self-publishing and vanity publishers. I think many people fall into the vanity publishing trap because they think it’s like self-publishing but with more help…you’re not alone. That’s how they get ya.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Which is exactly why I asked Iola to explain it to us: I’m usually very aware of people trying to pull a fast one, but not everyone’s radar is so in tune.
LikeLike
And there are other vanity publishers who sell themselves as traditional royalty-paying publishers … but they’re not. It’s a wonder more don’t get sued. I think it’s because the victims are afraid to come forward.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve heard a lot about vanity publishers recently (mostly in writing groups). Thanks for the clarification between the two!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you found it useful!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very interesting overview. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great information on deciphering the difference between vanity presses and author services. Thanks, Ronel and Iola!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLike
Unfortunately, it can be a fine line between vanity publishing and author services.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post. Thank you, Ronel and Iola! I’ve heard the term vanity press before, but I’m glad to know for sure what it all means. The differences between vanity publishing and self-publishing are also really important to know. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLike
A lot of vanity presses call themselves self-publishers or indie publishers, so we need to understand the difference. The key: follow the money.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So appreciated this clear-sighted view of vanity publishing versus self-publishing — a friend who used a vanity publisher (dubbed as indie) is blazing furious with the expense and boxes of books in her garage.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can imagine. In this digital age with print on demand so readily available, author services and those professing to help authors should really help us: not create nests for rats.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! The woman I cited is a school teacher with decades of experience who had a fistful of rejections from traditional publishers before she took the fatal plunge. Is still spouting fury over it…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel sorry for those people, but at least I know an angry woman isn’t going to recommend anyone else follow her path. The writers who frustrate me are those who are singing the praises of their vanity publisher because they don’t yet understand no one is going to buy those boxes of books.
LikeLiked by 2 people
…and those boxes will sit in the garage, inciting fury every time you can’t fit in a shovel or sled or something you care about….
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is an awesome post, Iola. Clear definitions and explanations make it easier to understand this process. And I whole-heartedly agree that no one can edit their own work. We’re too close to it. We can’t see what’s missing.
Thanks so much, Ronel, for having Iola guest post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Theme Reveal for the 2018 #AtoZChallenge and a Writing Update #writerslife | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Author Toolbox Blog Hop: A Year in Review – E.M.A. Timar
Pingback: Knowledge and Where to Find it #AtoZChallenge | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Making a Living as a Writer #AtoZChallenge | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: A Collection of Helpful Posts #AuthorToolboxBlogHop | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Running Your Author Empire #AuthorToolboxBlogHop | Ronel the Mythmaker