Conventional Publishing
Conventional publishers publish your work at their expense under an exclusive licence covering a range of rights. They will meet all the costs of production from initial editing to warehousing and distribution. They will pay you royalties and have an incentive to sell copies in order to make a profit. The majority of books are published this way.
Self-Publishing
You retain all your rights. In return for your payment you will receive an agreed number of copies in the paper, format, binding and design you specify. It will be up to you to store, market and distribute them. Beware: marketing and distribution are generally held to be by far the most difficult areas of publishing, especially self-publishing (see also the Society's Quick Guide to Marketing Your Book). The success of the venture will depend on the nature of the book, and your ambitions for it. If you have written a book that is targeted at a specialised field, and you know where and how to sell it, self-publishing could be the answer. If you have written a family memoir, or a volume of highly personal poetry, for instance, and would like a limited number of attractive copies for friends and relations then, again, paying a good local printer to produce copies to your specifications may well be a sensible option. There is a useful article on self-publishing in The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook (published by A & C Black, £12.99).
Vanity Publishing
The expression 'Vanity publishing' arises because some firms send writers excessively flattering reports on their typescripts. As in all areas of industry, there are better and worse vanity publishers. It can be confusing: vanity publishers do not call themselves that, but often talk about subsidy-, self- or cooperative-publishing. As a general rule, if a publisher is advertising for authors, it is probable that it will be seeking a large subvention from the writer. Be clear about what your money is buying, and what your chances are of earning any of it back
If you pay a printer to produce copies of the book (self-publishing), you will end up owning those copies. When you pay a vanity publisher, you are not acquiring the books. They remain the property of the publisher. You will be asked to grant the publishers an exclusive licence to exploit the work. Your fee is for the costs of publication. The contract will probably entitle you to, say, 10 free copies of your work and the chance to buy more in return for (further) payment.
Increasingly, vanity publishers print copies to order, so treat with scepticism arguments about the cost of warehousing and storage. In any case, their production costs - unlike those of a conventional publisher - have already been met (by you). There is inevitably less of an incentive for the publisher to sell the work. Check on the quality of production (often distinctly poor), and the financial credentials of the vanity publisher. You might want to see examples of other books produced by the firm, and a copy of their latest catalogue. And check the fine-print; for example, an undertaking to print 'up to' 1,000 copies actually guarantees nothing.
If conventional publishers have turned the work down, it is most probably on economic grounds and, although there are well-recorded stories of bestsellers collecting rejection slips, one has to accept that an experienced editor may have a better idea of what will sell than you do. Be realistic about who will read your work
Further useful information on the risks associated with Vanity Publishing and how to help choose a reputable production company can be found on Johnathon Clifford’s website, http://www.vanitypublishing.info.
4selfpublishing strongly recommend that you thoroughly investigate any company that you are considering using as a production company before parting with your money!
Useful Links
The Society of Authors
Advice on writing and self publishing:
www.societyofauthors.org
Publishers Association
Provides advice and support for the publishing industry:
www.publishers.org.uk
Johnathon Clifford
Provides detailed advice on publishing and warnings about Vanity Publishing
www.vanitypublishing.info
Patent Office
Offers advice on copyright issues
www.patent.gov.uk
Society for Editors and Proofreaders
Advice on copy editing, editing and proofreading
www.sfep.org.uk
Amazon
Offers opportunities to list your books and sell to the public
www.amazon.co.uk
Independent Publishers Guild
Offers support and advice to small independent publishing companies
www.ipg.co.uk
