JC PUBLISHERS: Vanity Publisher Warning Signs

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Updated July 26, 2010

It's Your Book...

       Dont' Let A Publisher
              Rush You!

   Disreputable vanity publishers want to hook
you before you change your mind. Beware,
therefore, if a publisher tells you its offer is for
a “limited time only,” or circumstances require
you to “act immediately.” This is just
another marketing ploy. (WriterBeware.org)

Vanity Publisher Warning Signs

Warning Signs (Information from WriterBeware.com)

Always approach vanity publishers with caution.

If you encounter any of the following, be suspicious:

•A vanity publisher that poses as a non-vanity publisher. Some vanity publishers don’t reveal the fact that you’re expected to pay until well on into the submission process, or try to pretend they’re not vanity publishers by shifting their fees to something other than printing and binding (such as editing or cover design—editing is always an extra charge). A publisher that doesn’t present itself honestly at the outset is probably not a publisher that will treat you honestly in the long run.

Note: One publisher I just discovered, acts like a traditional publisher by paying publishing costs, then requiring the author to buy a mininum of 2000 books at an "author discount" when the book is printed. (This is fast becoming the new vanity approach—you still pay through the nose.) If your book sells for twelve dollars, you can buy your own book for six dollars each (50% author discount) times 2000 which equals $12,000. They will print the book (offset) for less than $1.50 each (without ever telling you the actual cost) and pocket the difference. You can self-publish that same book and get 2000 copies delivered to your door for about $4,500. $12,000 minus $4,500 equals $7,500 you gave them for nothing (unless they make it clear they will use that money to pitch your book to Barnes & Noble and other bookstore chains). I know two well-known personalities who published through them and they will tell you their profit on books sold through bookstores was minimal. At best, only 25% of your sales will come through bookstores (unless it's a New York times bestseller-dream on).

*Check out Traditional vs Self-publishing to get an idea of how the numbers work if your books appears on bookshelves.

By the way, you don't need 2000 books to start with. 500 is plenty. You can always print more when you need them.

NOTE: The above-mentioned publisher can get your book on the shelf in brick and mortar stores. Another company, I just learned, operates the same way, and also requires authors to purchase a minimum number of books. They also can get your book on bookshelves. I just wish they were more transparent about the way they work by explaining the extra money goes to publicizing your book and pitching it to bookstore chains. That is a good thing. (I just want to be able to buy my own book at a minimum of a 70% discount.)

More vanity publisher warning signs:

•Terms like “subsidy”, “co-op”, “joint venture”, or “partner”. As noted in the “Definitions” section, real subsidy publishers are rare. Publishers that claim to be subsidy or partner publishers often do so in order to dodge the vanity label.

•A referral from a literary agency or freelance editor. Reputable literary agents and freelance editors don’t work with vanity publishers. Period. Those who do are either receiving a kickback from the publisher, own the publishing company themselves (possibly under another name), or are too incompetent to understand why vanity publishing is not a good career move. Whatever the reason, it’s bad news for you.

•A promise (stated or implied) of a profit. Some vanity publishers provide nicely-formatted “Sample Sales Projection” sheets showing how you can make thousands of dollars if your first printing sells out. Others assure you that books in your genre are popular, and with proper production and marketing your book should do well. In fact, for the reasons outlined above, it’s extremely difficult even to break even on a vanity published book. An ethical vanity publisher won’t promise profits; in fact, it will warn you at the outset that vanity-published books rarely recoup authors’ investments.

•Obfuscation or refusal of reasonable requests for information. You’re paying for the service, so you have the right to have all your questions answered fully, honestly, and promptly. If a vanity publisher refuses to provide you with references, or hedges about details such as contract arrangements, production schedules, marketing, and so on, be suspicious.

•Refusal to provide a firm price. The exact cost of publication should be stated at the outset (and included in the contract), along with any additional fees such as expenses for warehousing and distribution. Don’t deal with a publisher that is vague about money–for instance, a publisher that tells you that the final price can’t be quoted until the books are printed (in which case you might wind up paying a substantial “differential”), or that warehousing will be charged “at the publisher’s discretion” (in which case you could be hit with enormous additional fees).

•Verbal promises that aren’t duplicated in the contract. Some dishonest vanity publishers try to soothe nervous writers by promising various perks, such as a full or partial reimbursement of their costs if the book doesn’t sell out within a specified period of time. However, if such promises aren’t included in the contract, you’ll have little recourse if they aren’t fulfilled (which is exactly why unethical vanity publishers don’t write them down). If the publisher is willing to promise something, it should also be willing to add it to the contract.

•Extravagant praise and/or promises. Extravagant praise is a sales ploy: a vanity publisher has little reason to care whether your work is good or bad, since you’re paying them to publish it. And if a vanity publisher says it can get you on national talk shows, or tells you its publicity department will organize a 30-city speaking tour or a national booksigning campaign, be extremely skeptical. Even big advance-and-royalty-paying publishers don’t provide these perks for most of their authors.

•A double standard. Dishonest vanity publishers sometimes entice writers by saying that they can’t risk a regular contract for someone who hasn’t yet published anything, but would be willing to split the costs and profits of the book. Or they may tell you that they’ve used up all their advance money for the year, but would be glad to work on a “co-op” basis. Or they may promise to publish your second book without charge if the first book does well. In all these cases, the implication is that the publisher is primarily a commercial publisher, and is offering the vanity contract as a special circumstance. But though there are a few vanity publishers that have a non-vanity branch, most don’t, and imply its existence solely for the purpose of acquiring customers.

•Pressure. A disreputable vanity publisher wants to hook you quick, before you change your mind. Beware, therefore, if a publisher tells you that its offer is “limited time only,” or that (unexplained) circumstances require you to “act immediately.” Like the permanent going-out-of-business sale, this is just another marketing ploy.

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Updated May 17, 2010

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