The Downside of Vanity Publishers

Some vanity or subsidy publishers are unethical publishers who expect authors to incur all production expenses of publishing, and more often than not fail to satisfy their end of the deal, which includes effective marketing or sales.

Some publishers may still send copies of the titles to reviewers and bookstores but it is unlikely that in the absence of an aggressive marketing strategy any sales will occur. Under most circumstances reviewers and bookstores are familiar with the tactics of vanity presses and will avoid these scammers at all costs.

Several subsidy publishers, sometimes called ‘POD Publishers,’ often offer low-cost publishing and tantalize authors with promises of ‘royalties,’ but fail to deliver on these promises.

Some vanity and subsidy presses, unlike traditional publishers, will often threaten authors after the contract period with destroying the books have not garnered sufficient sales. Unless the author buys them, that is.

Sometimes the author may have assigned the copyright to the publisher and in these cases is forced to ‘buy back’ the rights. Thus there are really very subtle but important differences between ethical and traditional publishers and unethical subsidy or vanity publishers.

It is important to fully research the credentials of a prospective publisher before signing a contract or rendering deposits and upfront payments. Undue assurances of great services and frequent insistence for immediate action on the part of the author are some tactics employed by scammers. Anybody looking to self publish or co-publish must therefore be fully equipped with information before entering into a binding arrangement.