Vanity press

{{short description|Publishing house in which authors pay to have their books published}}

A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher,{{Cite book|last=Bernstein|first=Leonard S.|url=http://archive.org/details/gettingpublished00bern|title=Getting published : the writer in the combat zone|date=1986|publisher=New York : W. Morrow|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-688-06423-5}} is a book printer that is paid by authors to self-publish their books.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-28 |title=Self-publishing, Hybrid & Vanity Presses: A Simple Guide |url=https://janeyburton.com/self-publishing-hybrid-vanity-a-simple-guide/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |language=en-GB}} A vanity press charges fees in advance and does not contribute to the development of the book.{{Cite book |last=Biel |first=Joe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxrtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT22 |title=People's Guide to Publishing: Building a Successful, Sustainable, Meaningful Book Business From the Ground Up |date=2018-12-05 |publisher=Microcosm Publishing |isbn=978-1-62106-313-1 |pages=21–23 |language=en}} It has been described as a scam. However, as the book does get printed, it does not necessarily meet the definition of actual fraud.{{Cite book |last=Walsh |first=Pat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNcvKKOqaAoC&pg=PA38-IA1 |title=78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might |date=2005-06-07 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-101-12683-7 |language=en |quote=Is a vanity press a scam? Kind of. But it is not necessarily fraud. Clients generally get what they pay for, but what you are paying for is not much despite how it is packaged. You pay to produce copies of your book and share any profits with the printer.}} The term vanity press is derogatory, so it is not used by the printers. Some self-publishing businesses prefer to market themselves as an independent press, and some authors who are self-publishing through CreateSpace and Amazon Kindle prefer to market themselves as indie authors instead of as self-publishing authors.

It is not to be confused with hybrid publishing, where the publisher and author collaborate and share costs and risks, or with assisted self-publishing, where the authors, sometimes styling themselves as authorpreneurs,{{Cite book |last=Biel |first=Joe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxrtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT22 |title=People's Guide to Publishing: Building a Successful, Sustainable, Meaningful Book Business From the Ground Up |date=2018-12-05 |publisher=Microcosm Publishing |isbn=978-1-62106-313-1 |pages=21–22 |language=en}} pay various contractors and publishing services to assist them with self-publishing their own book, and retain all rights.

Vanity publishing vs mainstream publishing

Mainstream publishers never charge authors to publish their books; the publisher bears all the risks of publication and pays all the costs. Because of that financial risk, mainstream publishers are extremely selective in what they will publish, and reject most manuscripts submitted to them. The high level of rejection is why some authors publish with vanity presses. James D. Macdonald says, "Money should always flow towards the author",{{cite web| last= Lundin|first=Leigh |title=Crossfire of the Vanities |url=http://www.criminalbrief.com/?p=6990 |work=Self-Publishing |publisher=Criminal Brief |location=New York |date=2009-05-03 |quote=Vanity publishing is like T-ball: Everyone gets a chance at bat, gets a hit, and takes home a trophy. But don’t expect anyone other than your mom to applaud.}} a concept sometimes called Yog's Law.

Mainstream publishers also provide services. Ordinary author services, such as editing, book cover design, and publicity, are provided by mainstream publishers for free, whereas a vanity press charges fees for these services.

Vanity publishing vs hybrid publishing

Hybrid publishing is the source of debate in the publishing industry, with some viewing hybrid publishers as vanity presses in disguise.{{cite web |title=HYBRID PUBLISHER OR VANITY PRESS IN DISGUISE? |url=https://writingcooperative.com/hybrid-publisher-or-vanity-press-in-disguise-75039644b804 |website=Medium |date=21 December 2018 |publisher=The Writing Cooperative}}{{dead|date=February 2025}} However, a true hybrid publisher is selective in what they publish and will share the costs (and therefore the risks) with the author, whereas with a vanity press, the author pays the full cost of production and therefore carries all the risk. A vanity press has absolutely no interest in whether the book is saleable or suitable for publication.{{cite web |title=Vanity/Subsidy Publishers |url=https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/vanity/ |website=SFWA}}

Given the bad reputation of vanity publishing, many vanity presses brand themselves as hybrids, leading to exploitation of writers. The Society of Authors (SoA) and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) have called for reform of the hybrid/paid-for publishing sector. Trade unions representing 14,800 authors jointly published a report{{Cite web |date=April 2022 |title=Is it a steal? An investigation into 'hybrid' / paid-forpublishing services |url=https://societyofauthors.org/SOA/MediaLibrary/SOAWebsite/Documents-for-download/_REPORT-Is-it-a-steal.pdf |website=Society of Authors}} to expose widespread bad practices among companies that charge writers to publish their work while taking away their rights.

Vanity publishing vs assisted self-publishing

It is often stated that many famous authors, such as Mark Twain and Jane Austen, have used vanity publishers. This is incorrect and confuses self-publishing with vanity publishing.{{Cite web |date=27 July 2012 |title=Self-publishing vs vanity publishing.|url=https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/advice/self-publishing-vs-vanity-publishing-confused}}

In a variant of Yog's law for self-publishing, author John Scalzi has proposed an alternate definition to distinguish self-publishing from vanity publishing: "While in the process of self-publishing, money and rights are controlled by the writer."{{cite web|url=http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/06/20/yogs-law-and-self-publishing/|title=Yog's Law and Self-Publishing – Whatever|access-date=22 May 2016|date=20 June 2014}}

Self-publishing is distinguished from vanity publishing by the writer maintaining control of copyright as well as the editorial and publishing process, including marketing and distribution.

Vanity publishing scams

Vanity presses often engage in deceptive practices or offer costly, poor-quality services with limited recourse available to the writer. In the US, these practices have been cited by the Better Business Bureau as unfavorable reports by consumers.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/publishers-book/america-star-books-in-frederick-md-32010985|title=America Star Books, LLLP|access-date=22 May 2016|archive-date=23 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623224500/http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/publishers-book/america-star-books-in-frederick-md-32010985|url-status=dead}}

One common scam is when a vanity press pretends to operate a traditional publishing arm, where the publishing house bears the full cost. However, when an author submits his work, he is told it does not quite meet the standards required for traditional publishing, but that the company will still publish it if the author pays for something—engaging their professional editor, committing to buying a large number of copies of the book, or another similar excuse. In reality, the exorbitant fee charged for these services will fully cover the vanity publisher's costs for producing the book.{{cite web|url=https://writersweekly.com/ask-the-expert/vanity-publisher|title=When a Vanity Publisher...Pretends to be Traditional|date=11 January 2017|website=Writers' Weekly}} Such a scam is a plot point in Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum.

Vanity publishing in other media

The vanity press model exists for other media such as videos, music and photography. A notable example is ARK Music Factory, which, for a fee, produced and released Rebecca Black's 2011 viral video "Friday".{{cite news | first = Jessica | last = Hundley | title = Patrice Wilson of Ark Music: 'Friday' is on his mind | date = 30 March 2011 | url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/03/patrice-wilson-of-ark-music-friday-is-on-his-mind.html | work = Los Angeles Times | access-date = 2011-03-30}}

Vanity academic journals also exist, often called predatory journals, which publish with little or no editorial oversight, although they may claim to be peer reviewed. One such predatory journal, the International Journal of Advanced Computer Technology, accepted for publication a paper called Get me off Your Fucking Mailing List{{hsp}}{{Cite web|author=Mazieres |first1=David |last2=Kohler |first2=Eddie |date=2005 |title=Get me off Your Fucking Mailing List |url=http://www.scs.stanford.edu/~dm/home/papers/remove.pdf |journal=}} consisting of the sentence "Get me off your fucking mailing list." repeated many times.{{cite web|url=http://scholarlyoa.com/2014/11/20/bogus-journal-accepts-profanity-laced-anti-spam-paper/|title=Bogus Journal Accepts Profanity-Laced Anti-Spam Paper|work=Scholarly Open Access|access-date=22 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141122164005/http://scholarlyoa.com/2014/11/20/bogus-journal-accepts-profanity-laced-anti-spam-paper/|archive-date=22 November 2014}}

Vanity photography magazines often have little or no physical circulation, relying instead on the submitting photographers buying the magazine after publication.{{cite web |last1=York |first1=Nicole |title=Why You Shouldn't Submit Your Photographs to Magazines |url=https://fstoppers.com/originals/why-you-shouldnt-submit-your-photographs-magazines-193976 |website=Fstoppers|date=30 August 2017 }} Some also charge a submission fee. Magazines such as Lucy's, Jute, and Pump – all managed by parent publisher Kavyar – often accept photograph submissions for free, or for a minimal fee to be featured on a magazine cover.{{cite web |last1=York |first1=Nicole |title=Should You Get Published? An Interview With the Editors of Lucy's and Jute Magazines |date=26 September 2017 |url=https://fstoppers.com/editorial/should-you-get-published-interview-editors-lucys-and-jute-magazines-197428#comment-thread |publisher=Fstoppers}}

History

The term vanity press appeared in mainstream U.S. publications as early as 1941.{{cite magazine |date=22 December 1941 |title=Books: Literary Rotolactor |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932017,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609234923/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932017,00.html |archive-date=9 June 2008 |access-date=22 May 2016}} In that year, C. M. Flumiani was sentenced to 18 months in a US prison for mail fraud, arising from his scheme that promised book promotion (a line in a catalog), expert editing (they accepted all books), and acting as agent bringing books to his own publishing houses.

By 1956, the three leading American vanity presses (Vantage Press, Exposition Press, and Pageant Press) were each publishing more than 100 titles per year.{{cite journal |last1=Sullivan |first1=Howard A. |title=Vanity Press Publishing |journal=Library Trends |date=1958 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=105–111 |url=https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/5811/librarytrendsv7i1l_opt.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=September 17, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210809024808/https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/5811/librarytrendsv7i1l_opt.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |archive-date= Aug 9, 2021 }}

Ernest Vincent Wright, author of the 1939 novel Gadsby, written entirely in lipogram, was unable to find a publisher for his work and ultimately chose to publish it through a vanity press.

Examples

American Biographical Institute{{Cite web |last=Harger III |first=Stover E. |title=Paying for prestige: the cost of recognition |url=http://media.www.dailyvanguard.com/media/storage/paper941/news/2007/02/14/News/Paying.For.Prestige.The.Cost.Of.Recognition-2718460.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927090018/http://media.www.dailyvanguard.com/media/storage/paper941/news/2007/02/14/News/Paying.For.Prestige.The.Cost.Of.Recognition-2718460.shtml |archive-date=Sep 27, 2007 |website=Daily Vanguard}}
Austin Macauley Publishers (previously Austin & Macauley){{Cite web |url=http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/thumbs-down-publishers/ |title=Thumbs down publishers list |publisher=SFWA |access-date=2019-08-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190909001626/http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/thumbs-down-publishers/ |archive-date= Sep 9, 2019 }}
Dorrance Publishing

{{cite news

| first=Paula

| last=Span

| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25187-2005Jan20.html

| title=Making Books

| newspaper=The Washington Post

| date=23 January 2005

| access-date=2013-08-22}}

Famous Poets Society[http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents/01701729.htm Bad Art – A verse-case scenario (Boston Phoenix)]
Poetry.com, The International Library of PoetryMargo Stever, The Contester: Poetry.com Struggles for Legitimacy. Poets and Writers Magazine
Tate Publishing & Enterprises (there are at least three companies called Tate Publishing; the others include a reputable art publisher and a defunct software book publisher)
Vantage Press{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/00/07/16/bookend/bookend.html|title=No More Rejections|author=D. T. Max|newspaper=New York Times|date=16 July 2000}}

Notes

External links

[http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/ Writer Beware on Vanity Presses]
[http://www.vanitypublishing.info/index.html Vanity Publishing Information Advice and Warning]
[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/books/28selfpub.html?hp Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab]

Category:Publishing