Avoid Vanity Publishers

Vanity publishers do nothing but rip you off.

Avoid them at all costs – or it will cost you dearly.

For those of my readers who may be looking desperately for a publisher for their writing, but have never heard of “Vanity Publishers”, here is a quick introduction. There are plenty of genuine publishers, some which still accept manuscripts from total newbies. They may take ages to respond but once your manuscript is accepted for publication, they pay you a percentage of the proceeds of the sales (known as royalties).

Vanity Publishers operate in a quite different manner. They rarely edit your book, nor do they promote sales in any way. You are expected to make payments up front, then you are expected to buy a minimum number of copies of your book. Many who go this way end up unable to sell more than a handful of copies – if any – and finish with a shed full of books they cannot sell. Meanwhile, the author is left several thousand dollars poorer.

Fortunately I have never ventured down this slippery slope. I was warned early on in my writing career to avoid such scams.

For an in-depth discussion on this topic have a read of this article: How to identify a Vanity Press  Publisher and avoid being ripped off.