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Vanity press

December 15, 2023

A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher,[1] is a publishing house where the author pays to have the book published, and signs a restrictive contract which involves surrendering significant rights.[2] It is not to be confused with hybrid publishing, (where the publisher and author collaborate and share costs and risks) or assisted self-publishing (where the author pays for publishing services to assist with self-publishing their own book, and retains all rights).

Vanity publishing vs mainstream publishing edit

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 turn to vanity presses to get their work published. James D. Macdonald says, "Money should always flow towards the author"[3] (sometimes called Yog's Law).

Vanity publishing vs hybrid publishing edit

Hybrid publishing is the source of debate in the publishing industry, with some viewing hybrid publishers as vanity presses in disguise.[4] 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. The vanity press has absolutely no interest in whether the book is suitable for publication or good enough to sell.[5]

Given the bad reputation of vanity publishing, many vanity presses are rebranding 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. The trade unions, who together represent 14,800 authors, have jointly published a report[6] 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 edit

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.[7]

In a variant of Yog's law for self-publishing, author John Scalzi has proposed this alternate, to distinguish self-publishing from vanity publishing, "While in the process of self-publishing, money and rights are controlled by the writer."[8]

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 edit

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.[9]

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 their work, they are 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.[10] Such a scam is a plot point in Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum.

Vanity publishing in other media edit

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".[11]

Vanity academic journals also exist, often called predatory journals, which will publish with little or no editorial oversight (although they may claim to be peer reviewed). One such predatory journal (International Journal of Advanced Computer Technology) accepted for publication a paper called Get me off Your Fucking Mailing List [12] consisting of the sentence "Get me off your fucking mailing list." repeated many times.[13]

Vanity photography magazines often have little or no physical circulation, relying instead on the submitting photographers buying the magazine after publication.[14] 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.[15]

History edit

The term vanity press appeared in mainstream U.S. publications as early as 1941.[16] That was the year that 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.[17]

By 1956, the three leading American vanity presses (Vantage Press, Exposition Press, and Pageant Press) were each publishing more than 100 titles per year.[17]

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 edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Bernstein, Leonard S. (1986). Getting published : the writer in the combat zone. Internet Archive. New York : W. Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-06423-5.
  2. ^ "Self-publishing, Hybrid & Vanity Presses: A Simple Guide". 28 August 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  3. ^ Lundin, Leigh (3 May 2009). "Crossfire of the Vanities". Self-Publishing. New York: Criminal Brief. 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.
  4. ^ "HYBRID PUBLISHER OR VANITY PRESS IN DISGUISE?". Medium. The Writing Cooperative. 21 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Vanity/Subsidy Publishers". SFWA.
  6. ^ "Is it a steal? An investigation into 'hybrid' / paid-forpublishing services" (PDF). Society of Authors. April 2022.
  7. ^ "Self-publishing vs vanity publishing". 27 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Yog's Law and Self-Publishing – Whatever". 20 June 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  10. ^ "When a Vanity Publisher...Pretends to be Traditional". Writers' Weekly. 11 January 2017.
  11. ^ Hundley, Jessica (30 March 2011). "Patrice Wilson of Ark Music: 'Friday' is on his mind". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  12. ^ Mazieres, David; Kohler, Eddie (2005). "Get me off Your Fucking Mailing List" (PDF).
  13. ^ . Scholarly Open Access. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  14. ^ York, Nicole (30 August 2017). "Why You Shouldn't Submit Your Photographs to Magazines". Fstoppers.
  15. ^ York, Nicole (26 September 2017). "Should You Get Published? An Interview With the Editors of Lucy's and Jute Magazines". Fstoppers.
  16. ^ . TIME.com. 22 December 1941. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  17. ^ Paying for Prestige – the Cost of Recognition 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "THUMBS DOWN PUBLISHERS LIST". SFWA. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  19. ^ a b Span, Paula (23 January 2005). "Making Books". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  20. ^ Bad Art – A verse-case scenario (Boston Phoenix)
  21. ^ Margo Stever, The Contester: Poetry.com Struggles for Legitimacy. Poets and Writers Magazine
  22. ^ Comeau, Tina. "Newbia sequel: Dartmouth author with Digby County ties looking forward to launch of 2nd dream-inspired novel". www.saltwire.com. Saltwire. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  23. ^ D. T. Max (16 July 2000). "No More Rejections". New York Times.

External links edit

 
Look up vanity press or vanity publisher in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Writer Beware on Vanity Presses
  • Vanity Publishing Information Advice and Warning
  • Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab


December 15, 2023
vanity, press, vanity, press, vanity, publisher, sometimes, also, subsidy, publisher, publishing, house, where, author, pays, have, book, published, signs, restrictive, contract, which, involves, surrendering, significant, rights, confused, with, hybrid, publi. A vanity press or vanity publisher sometimes also subsidy publisher 1 is a publishing house where the author pays to have the book published and signs a restrictive contract which involves surrendering significant rights 2 It is not to be confused with hybrid publishing where the publisher and author collaborate and share costs and risks or assisted self publishing where the author pays for publishing services to assist with self publishing their own book and retains all rights Contents 1 Vanity publishing vs mainstream publishing 2 Vanity publishing vs hybrid publishing 3 Vanity publishing vs assisted self publishing 4 Vanity publishing scams 5 Vanity publishing in other media 6 History 7 Examples 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External linksVanity publishing vs mainstream publishing editMainstream 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 turn to vanity presses to get their work published James D Macdonald says Money should always flow towards the author 3 sometimes called Yog s Law Vanity publishing vs hybrid publishing editHybrid publishing is the source of debate in the publishing industry with some viewing hybrid publishers as vanity presses in disguise 4 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 The vanity press has absolutely no interest in whether the book is suitable for publication or good enough to sell 5 Given the bad reputation of vanity publishing many vanity presses are rebranding 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 The trade unions who together represent 14 800 authors have jointly published a report 6 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 editIt 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 7 In a variant of Yog s law for self publishing author John Scalzi has proposed this alternate to distinguish self publishing from vanity publishing While in the process of self publishing money and rights are controlled by the writer 8 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 editVanity 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 9 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 their work they are 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 10 Such a scam is a plot point in Umberto Eco s novel Foucault s Pendulum Vanity publishing in other media editThe 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 11 Vanity academic journals also exist often called predatory journals which will publish with little or no editorial oversight although they may claim to be peer reviewed One such predatory journal International Journal of Advanced Computer Technology accepted for publication a paper called Get me off Your Fucking Mailing List 12 consisting of the sentence Get me off your fucking mailing list repeated many times 13 Vanity photography magazines often have little or no physical circulation relying instead on the submitting photographers buying the magazine after publication 14 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 15 History editThe term vanity press appeared in mainstream U S publications as early as 1941 16 That was the year that 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 17 By 1956 the three leading American vanity presses Vantage Press Exposition Press and Pageant Press were each publishing more than 100 titles per year 17 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 editAmerican Biographical Institute 18 Austin Macauley Publishers previously Austin amp Macauley 19 Dorrance Publishing 20 Famous Poets Society 21 Poetry com The International Library of Poetry 22 Tate Publishing amp Enterprises there are at least three companies called Tate Publishing the others include a reputable art publisher and a defunct software book publisher Tellwell Talent a Canadian based vanity press best known for releasing the book Newbia by Chelee Cromwell 23 Vantage Press 20 24 See also editAccessible publishing Alternative media Article processing charge Atlanta Nights Author mill Custom media Dōjin Dynamic publishing Independent music List of self publishing companies Offset printing Online shopping Predatory open access publishing Print on demand Samizdat Self Publish Be Happy Self publishingCategory Self publishingSmall press Vanity award Vanity gallery Vanity label Variable data printing Web to printNotes edit Bernstein Leonard S 1986 Getting published the writer in the combat zone Internet Archive New York W Morrow ISBN 978 0 688 06423 5 Self publishing Hybrid amp Vanity Presses A Simple Guide 28 August 2022 Retrieved 31 October 2023 Lundin Leigh 3 May 2009 Crossfire of the Vanities Self Publishing New York Criminal Brief 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 HYBRID PUBLISHER OR VANITY PRESS IN DISGUISE Medium The Writing Cooperative 21 December 2018 Vanity Subsidy Publishers SFWA Is it a steal An investigation into hybrid paid forpublishing services PDF Society of Authors April 2022 Self publishing vs vanity publishing 27 July 2012 Yog s Law and Self Publishing Whatever 20 June 2014 Retrieved 22 May 2016 America Star Books LLLP Archived from the original on 23 June 2015 Retrieved 22 May 2016 When a Vanity Publisher Pretends to be Traditional Writers Weekly 11 January 2017 Hundley Jessica 30 March 2011 Patrice Wilson of Ark Music Friday is on his mind Los Angeles Times Retrieved 30 March 2011 Mazieres David Kohler Eddie 2005 Get me off Your Fucking Mailing List PDF Bogus Journal Accepts Profanity Laced Anti Spam Paper Scholarly Open Access Archived from the original on 22 November 2014 Retrieved 22 May 2016 York Nicole 30 August 2017 Why You Shouldn t Submit Your Photographs to Magazines Fstoppers York Nicole 26 September 2017 Should You Get Published An Interview With the Editors of Lucy s and Jute Magazines Fstoppers Books Literary Rotolactor TIME com 22 December 1941 Archived from the original on 9 June 2008 Retrieved 22 May 2016 a b Sullivan Howard A 1958 Vanity Press Publishing PDF Library Trends 7 1 105 111 Retrieved 17 September 2020 Paying for Prestige the Cost of Recognition Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine THUMBS DOWN PUBLISHERS LIST SFWA Retrieved 15 August 2019 a b Span Paula 23 January 2005 Making Books The Washington Post Retrieved 22 August 2013 Bad Art A verse case scenario Boston Phoenix Margo Stever The Contester Poetry com Struggles for Legitimacy Poets and Writers Magazine Comeau Tina Newbia sequel Dartmouth author with Digby County ties looking forward to launch of 2nd dream inspired novel www saltwire com Saltwire Retrieved 16 December 2022 D T Max 16 July 2000 No More Rejections New York Times External links edit nbsp Look up vanity press or vanity publisher in Wiktionary the free dictionary Writer Beware on Vanity Presses Vanity Publishing Information Advice and Warning Self Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vanity press amp oldid 1189081389, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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