Imagine you’ve sent your manuscript out to hundreds of agents and publishers. You’ve received rejection after rejection and suddenly, there it is:
The glowing email offering to publish your manuscript and telling you how wonderful you are.
Of course you want to believe it – I mean you are wonderful aren’t you and of course your manuscript rocks.
Now is the time to take a step back and review exactly what’s on offer before you sign on the dotted line and tell everyone and anyone that you’re going to be the next JK Rowling.
Of course, it might be that you’ve hit the jackpot and a small but reputable company want to publish you because they believe in you. If that’s the case perfect, you do officially rock.
If however, the company wants money from you – run.
You have just been scammed by a vanity press.
A vanity press masquerades as a reputable publisher when in reality, they are nothing more than scammers. A reputable publisher will NOT ask for money from you – it is so hard to get published because the company has to believe they can sell your book and invest their own money in it.
A vanity publisher will take literally any manuscript it is offered – they don’t need to worry about selling books – they make their money from you.
They will do what they say to the extent that they will print your book – often in such a terrible quality its unusable and without any approval from you. With some, that’s it. With others, they now hound you to buy your book at cut price rates (which is often in excess of £10 per copy so good luck making a profit on those).
They may tell you they have distribution channels – most reputable book sellers won’t touch them. They may stick it on Kindle for you, but when you are being charged in excess of £1000, that’s not much considering you could have done that yourself for free.
And ultimately, you’re not published you’re conned. You’re out of pocket and no further forward. And the icing on the cake is that a lot of reputable publishers and agents will now avoid you like the plague.
To be clear, vanity publishers are not to be confused with self publishing companies or printing companies. There are many reputable self publishing companies and printing companies out there who do a very good job.
I used a printing company myself for my novel. They were brilliant, fast and effective and did exactly what they said. Of course they charged me, but they didn’t have my eyes out and they didn’t claim to be anything other than what they are.
A good self publishing company will liase with you every step of the way. They may offer designers, editors etc, but they will make it clear what the fees are for each one, and how your money is being spent. They won’t claim to be a traditional publisher, they will be honest about what they do (and some of these companies actually do have wholesalers who purchase from them).
To be really clear, a traditional publisher who takes your book from a manuscript and turns it into a book and does all the distribution and marketing DOES NOT charge you a fee. Generally, they pay you an advance, although you might
find some smaller publishers can’t afford to do that. They still won’t ask you for money.
That all sounds pretty obvious doesn’t it? Except when it doesn’t.
These companies will have fabulous testimonials from “real” clients just like you. They will have professional looking websites and a seemingly real submissions process. The really clever ones will offer you a hybrid deal – you pay only a small percentage (often still around £800). It sounds tempting – why wouldn’t you bet on yourself?
I’m not suggesting for a second you shouldn’t bet on yourself – if you want to invest money in your book then good on you. Just be wary and make sure you are investing in the right people – either a printing firm, or a genuine self publishing company.
Resources:
If you’re not sure if an offer is genuine or not, always err on the side of caution, but before you rule it out completely, take a look at this site:
Writers Beware offers posts on the latest scams and has a continually updated list of blacklisted publishers and agents. You can also email them the name of any publisher who makes you an offer for more in depth information.
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A writer came to my writers group a while back. He had gotten an “offer” from a vanity publisher. We explained that this wasn’t the best route for him. He never returned to our group, so I have no idea what happened after.
Oh no, I really hope he took the advice!
“To be clear, vanity publishers are not to be confused with self publishing companies or printing companies.” A very important distinction. Another informative post. Love it.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
When I first looked into publishing, I ran across a few vanity publishers. I didn’t know at the time, but the prices were too high for me to afford, so I passed on them. Looking back, I really dodged a bullet!
You sure did! I almost got suckered into the “hybrid” thing myself. At the last moment, something told me it felt wrong so I looked into it. I think we both had narrow escapes!
I guess I’m book publishing and all walks of life, there will always be a scammer! Really good informative post, thanks!
Yeah I agree – there’s always someone who will look for a way to exploit others! Thank you 🙂
I had no idea this existed! Unsurprising though. Really interesting post #bloggerclubuk
Thank you 🙂 I think a lot of people don’t know about it, and its so easy to fall for it when you’re new to it all
First time to hear about this… but thanks for the informative post, very interesting. #BloggerClubUK
Thank you 🙂
goodness what an enlightening read! #bloggerclubUK
Thank you 🙂
Oh this is horrible! I had no idea about this sort of thing! There are some mean people in this world! It’s great that you’re raising awareness though. #BloggerClubUK
There’s always someone will try to use people to make a quick profit! Thank you 🙂
Oh this is an area I know nothing about but this is a very interesting read and one I will hold in mind as you never know #bloggerclubuk
Thank you 🙂 And yes, you never know!
How awful but I guess that there are cons in all walks of life. I had a message on instagram the other day from My Trending Stories scything they ‘strong admire your content on kid’. I am assuming that this is very much like the vanity publishers that you have described but for the blogging world? #BloggerClubUK
Yes, for every possible area, there’s a scam! It sounds like it yes. Generally if it feels wrong, it probably is!
This is very useful advice. I work for a small academic publisher and we would never ask authors to pay. It hurts my eyes to see the poorly edited books that vanity publishers put out there, and then do nothing to help sell. #BloggerClubUK
Thank you 🙂 It makes me cringe too, especially when I think how easy it is to fall into their traps!
It is one of my big hairy audacious goals to write a book and I must pin this to look back on when the time comes. thank you for the advice ❤️ #BloggerClubUK
Good luck with it 🙂 If you’re in any doubt, check them company before you sign anything!
I can’t believe this happening to people and it actually exists. How cruel are people? I hope people check these sites before signing up x
I know! It bothers me how there’s always someone who will scam others. I hope so too x
Interesting to know. Many people probably wouldn’t think it was a scam. Terrible. Great that you have shared it to let others know though. #bloggerclubUK
Thank you 🙂 It was more luck than anything that I found out in time. They are very good at looking and sounding genuine!
again I really appreciate this advice, so good to know before I start the process of getting my book out there #bloggerclubUK
You’re welcome, it’s such an easy trap to fall into! Good luck with your book 🙂
V interesting to know all this. One day, when I finally write more than a blog post, I’ll need to stay clear of the charlatans x
#bloggerclubuk
Thank you 🙂 Yes, stay well clear of them! x
Good advice and some nice resources. It’s so sad that people will prey upon the dreams of others. But I guess when emotions are involved it’s easier to con people. #BloggerClubUK
Thank you 🙂 It is, it’s awful, but you’re right about the emotions – its an easy trap to fall into and they know it!
Very good advice. They’re the publishing equivalent of the ‘modelling agencies’ that charge people for doing portfolios. #BloggerClubUK
Yes, I totally agree – the ones where you’re “guaranteed” work and after spending £2000 on your portfolio you get a £50 job then it’s goodbye!
This morning my letterbox groaned under the stress of accepting two large publishing contract from Austin Macauley, and Novum.
Austin Macauley have obviously read through my story: well the synopsis at least, and it has passed the slush pile. They reviewed my story as an unusual gripping read. A cleverly constructed opening which is suspenseful, leaving the reader hooked. The remaining text carefully uses the supernatural to create a poignant yet questioning narrative.
( It was a pleasure to read your work. The merit of the idea and writing has been thoroughly reviewed and we consider there to be strong potential for the intended target audience and indeed other readers. The Editorial Board judged your submission to be of a high quality and consider it worthy of publication.)
Wasn’t that nice of them to consider that my £3,300 was worth them risking it. That is the cost of me signing the contract.
Novum wanted, £3,501. But they have guaranteed to refund the complete publishing cost as soon as the book sales reach 750pcs. That could mean that they will spend as little of my £3,501 as possible and make sure that the 750 target is reached. Thus making a profit without doing much. If they con 100 authors a year that is £350.000. Who can we trust?
It really sickens me that this stuff goes on! Obvious you saw it for what it was, but so many new authors will just see the compliments and go for it against their better judgement! There are so many good ways to invest in yourself and £3,501 would sell way more than 750 copies if used well.
Doh! I meant to say that they will make sure that the target is never reached.