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Vanity Publishing
Know What Your Getting Into
Vanity publishing
is when you pay to get your book published. Many people confuse
self-publishing with vanity publishing and subsidiary. There is a
distinction between to the three.
With vanity
publishers you are serving as your own publisher. In turn, your name
appears in the book as the publisher. In addition, the ISBN number
is yours, and doesn't belong to a commercial or self-publisher.
These services run into the thousands because you are required to
buy a number of books upfront. You don't receive royalties because
you are the publisher and you own all the rights.
On the other hand,
when you publish your book through a self-publisher, that publishers
name appears inside the book. Usually these books on print on demand (pod), which
means the book is printed when a customer makes an order.
Self-publishing services are usually less expensive, the services
run into the hundreds, because you are not required to make a bulk
purchase. If a self-publisher requires thousands of dollars, move on
to another company. There are plenty of self-publishing services
that are affordable. When you go the self-publishing route,
royalties is part of the deal.
To confuse matters,
there is something called subsidiary publishers where the publisher
requires the writer to pay for publication (or a portion) and they
may provide editing, proofing, book design, and varies other
services. The books are the property of the subsidiary publisher,
even though you paid for getting your book published. In addition,
the publisher's name appears in the book, and the writer does
receive royalties.
These types of
publishers will not market your book because to the house, you are
the customer. They already received money from you and it's up to
you to attract readers. Getting people to buy your book isn't an
easy feat. You have to put a lot of effort into marketing. Most
self-published books via vanity, self-publisher, and subsidiary sell
only a few hundred copies. As such, don't expect to make your money
back.
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