You may have heard the expression “you get what you pay for”—but is that always true? In the publishing industry, vanity presses have a reputation for giving authors less than their money’s worth, yet there’s no shortage of new authors emptying their wallets to see their books published.
While there’s nothing wrong with paying for services like editing and design (which you’d have to do as a self-published author anyway), many vanity presses overpromise, underdeliver, and overcharge, leading to disillusioned writers who are frustrated with the publishing process.
To make sure you don’t fall victim to a vanity press scam, we’ll help you to understand what a vanity press is, how it works, and the signs that you might be heading toward a dishonest deal.
What Is a Vanity Press?
A vanity press, also known as a subsidy press, is a company that offers publishing services for a fee (up to thousands of dollars).
Vanity presses are often associated with publishing scams because they essentially do everything an author could do on their own—including hiring an editor, working with a cover designer, and publishing the book directly to Amazon—but charge exorbitant fees.
It’s important for authors to understand that these companies are business, designed to make a profit by selling authors as many services possible at the highest price possible.
The work they do in turn, however, is often outsourced to the freelancers with the lowest prices, resulting in a finished product that is poorly edited, not designed well, and barely marketed. As such, the author’s chance of actually earning a profit on their work is very low.
So why would any work with a vanity press?
Most who do are first-time authors and understand little about the publishing process. They may not know, or do not want to spend the time, self-publishing their book on their own. Vanity publishers prey on that lack of knowledge and upsell services that aren’t necessary and are often low-quality.
Most vanity presses also lack editorial standards; in other words, they’ll publish anything for the right price, and since they make big money up-front, they have little incentive to actually market or promote the author’s book once it’s published.
Signs of a Vanity Press Scam
How can authors tell if a company might be luring them into a vanity press scam? Here are some of the most common signs:
- They charge fees AND royalties: Traditional publishers typically pay authors an advance, but take a large share of their royalties; many vanity presses will charge an upfront fee to publish your book AND ask for royalties, which means you’ll pay to give up the rights to your book.
- They charge reading fees: A legitimate publisher will never make you pay a fee just to have your book read by their team.
- Their site boasts rave reviews, but few examples of quality work: If the company’s website boasts positive “reviews” from authors they’ve supposedly worked with, but can’t provide any examples of books that have been even relatively successful, that’s a red flag. If possible, try to see an actual example of a book to check its quality.
- They use excessive flattery: If you get a call or email from a vanity publisher raving about how amazing your book is and how they’re sure it will sell thousands of copies, think twice. Most legitimate publishers will have trained editors who can surely find something constructive to offer you besides empty praise. If you’re confident your book really is that great, take it to a publisher who won’t charge you hundreds or thousands of dollars to publish it.
- It sounds too good to be true: Again, if you just sent over your manuscript and are already being promised that it will become an instant best-seller, land a Hollywood movie deal, and other things that sound too good to be true… it probably is too good to be true.
What Is the Difference Between a Vanity Press and Self-Publishing?
The biggest and most important differences between a vanity press and self-publishing is that with a vanity press, the author assumes all the risk, gives up the rights to their work, and pays outrageous fees for often low-quality services they could manage or do on their own.
Because when it comes down to it, a vanity press does exactly what you would do on your own as a self-published author: publishes and lists your book for sale on Amazon. And they do it for literally everyone who pays them.
Of course, being a self-published author doesn’t mean that you have to do everything yourself. You can hire qualified freelance editors, cover designers, typesetters, and any other services you may need, and at a price you agree on (which is usually much, much lower than the packages you’ll pay for with a vanity publisher, and you’ll get to request samples of their work to ensure quality).
When it comes to actually publishing your work with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, the process is pretty straightforward. We’ve got a complete Kindle self-publishing checklist (and one for print, too!) that will walk you through each step of the process in detail.
Vanity vs. Hybrid
Just to make things even more confusing, there’s also something called “hybrid publishing,” which is a very broad term used in many different ways.
In general, however, it refers to a publishing model wherein the author pays for all services upfront, but gets a bigger cut of the royalties after book sales (usually upwards of 50%).
Hybrid publishers have editorial standards, meaning they don’t just publish every submission they receive, like a vanity publisher does.
Are Vanity Presses Bad?
In the publishing world, vanity presses are generally accepted as bad for writers. Most of them offer services that are far overpriced, and that any self-published author could coordinate themselves, without paying outrageous fees or giving up more royalties.
Of course, if you find a self-publishing company that offers services at reasonable rates, and not dealing with the self-publishing process is worth it to you, then that could be a good option to consider. Just always be sure to do your research and understand what you’re paying for.
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Complete Guide to Small Press Publishing: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Small Presses for Writers
- What Is Independent Publishing? The Pros and Cons of Indie Publishers
- Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing: Pros, Cons, and Tips for Success
- What is Hybrid Publishing and Why You Should Choose It
As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
