Self Publishing vs Vanity Publishing

Thanks to the tremendous advanced in technology over the past 10 years, we now live in a world where it is becoming increasingly easy for an author to self publish. There are many reasons one may wish to do this:

1) Because they have had no luck find an agent / publisher for their work
2) Because they want to give it a go, just for fun.
3) Their only real goal with their book was to see it in print (tick that box and the like)
4) Their work is so niche that they would never get a publisher anyway

It surprises me then that, with Print on Demand gaining in popularity with each passing month and the cost of self publishing and e-publishing cheaper than they ever were, people are still willing to turn over thousands of pounds to the vanity presses.

If you're not sure about whether you're using a vanity press, instead of a self publisher, then there is a simple test you can apply: a vanity press will demand money up front, do all the dirty work, and return the result (however bad) back to you. A self publisher will demand no such fees, with the possible exception of purchasing an ISBN, which would always cost you money any way.

Additionally, a self publishing firm will allow you to control near every single aspect of the process along the way - the cover, the type setting, the layout, the binding, etc. without charging you a penny.

Comparing two popular publishers,

Lulu charges nothing to create an account or upload a file to them. The only time you will ever part with money with Lulu is when you order a copy of your book, at which point you will be charged the printing fee and postage and packaging.

Xlibris, by comparison, offers a number of publishing "packages" for their customers to choose from, and charges a whopping £1,599 for a service that still doesn't quite meet the flexibility of Lulu's complete DIY solution. Okay, so Xilbris also sends you 10 paperback and 5 hardback copies, as well as a load of postcards, posters, etc. However, for the money one would spend here, they could hire a good editor and designer of their own, and still have cash left to spend down the pub.

So, just keep in mind that self publishing means self; you. You're the one in charge, you're the one doing everything.

If you want to see the results of a self published book, where the author has done near everything themselves, then check out HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS.