An ad from this "hybrid" publishing company appeared on one of my frequently-visited sites (which is unrelated to writing) this morning. I decided to check them out, because their ad said they welcome submissions from new authors. I did a bit of reading, both on their own website and then on some review sites. They appear, despite their own professional-looking hype, as if they are a company to avoid. This link discusses the issue from several points of view. The Twitter war blow-by-blow account is especially unpleasant, and indicative of how the company behaves, when challenged. I wouldn't bother posting this, except the ad I received this morning for their product is making the rounds at the moment ...so the issue is current. https://accrispin.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/questions-for-vanity-publisher-austin.html Here is a quote from the article that makes the most sense to me, about being wary of any 'pay to play' publisher, hybrid or not.
Yeah, my jaw dropped when I saw what some people were being asked to pay. YIKES. Even if they were totally legitimate and your book would, indeed, be designed and professionally edited and put in good bookstores, you would still be damn lucky to earn in sales what they ask you to pay up front.
Curious. Are there any pay-to-play publishing companies out there which ARE worth the fees? I wonder.... I haven't heard of any.
I found a nice, small publisher accepting submissions - Valley Press - a bit evil asking you to buy a book in exchange for reading, but not so evil really... ... Was going to contact them in a month. British.
The number 1 rule: Money flows TO the author, not away. Any publisher charging its authors, whether it's reading fees or editing fees or whatever, isn't making enough money from READERS to support their business. Why would you want to publish with such a company?
Yeah, that was the gist of the quote I added in to my OP. If a company makes its money and profit from wannabe authors who pay them for producing and printing their book, why would they bother investing in what other real publishing companies do ...competent editing, design and marketing? I suppose it IS possible, if they really do produce wonderful goods and services to a very high standard (and all the happy authors vouch for them, and have good sales of their books as a result of their investment) ...but that doesn't seem to be the usual run of things. I think there are better options out there. If an author wants to pay a competent, professional editor to help them edit their book, or pay a reputable book designer to help them produce one, then those are legitimate expenses—especially if you intend to self-publish. But these good 'helpers' usually advertise what they do honestly, and can be checked out beforehand. It's the ones that sound too good to be true, and sneak in their overhead charges that worry me. You'd think people would be savvy enough to smell out this kind of venture, but apparently some people are either so gullible or so desperate that they fall for it.
I don't know of any such company, and I've spent far too long procrastinating researching publishers. It's really, really hard to run a successful publishing company. It's pretty damn easy to make money from naive writers with a dream. If you're unscrupulous enough to do the latter, there's no reason to put in the huge amount of effort required to do the latter.
V Press Our range of hot titles hitting the shelves this Springtime: Lonely Mist - Fred Garbage, celebrated North Yorks lighthouse-keeper whose shanties & anecdotes shall 'Light Our Way,' [Hansard] Dark Nightingale - Nurse Samantha Jones is trapped in the ward with the psychotic Sister Angela Bovitt, or is she? Pies and Puddings - touching autobiography of local baker Charlotte Patsy, every page resonates with, and to her crumbles of despair [recommended] Jolly Pricjk - Introducing Polish humourist Wojek Kandinsky. ['Laugh out loud, I pissed on my computer.'] ... Thinking on, mm
I submitted my first book to Austin Macauley, a long time ago - being a relatively new and naive writer at the time, I hadn't even HEARD of a vanity publisher. Things were looking good - after my first sample, they wanted to see the whole thing and were very "optimistic". Of course, there was NO MENTION AT ALL of any fees on my part until the contract came through and suddenly, I was informed that if I wanted to be published with them, it would cost me £2300. That was a very quick no from me.
I've often thought we should block their ads from the forum ... but i'd guess that that's another part of the backroom that only @Daniel can access
Ironically there's one on this page (that's google intelligence for you) @Wreybies - any chance of these being blocked ? or am I rght that its a @Daniel only thing ?
As an aside, an easy way to tell if a publisher is a vanity press or a real publisher: Is their website aimed at writers or readers? Legitimate publishers have books on their front page with other pages devoted to promoting and selling their books and authors to readers. They will have one page, or one small link, for submission guidelines for authors. This is because readers are their main customers. Vanity presses usually have a blurb on the front page about how good they are for authors, usually offering a "revolutionary" or "innovative" type of publishing (i.e. where the author pays instead of gets paid. So revolutionary!) This is because their customers are writers. Good publishers don't have to sell themselves to authors. Also note that simply not being a vanity press doesn't mean a publisher is good, where good is defined as "a company that will get your books into the hands of readers." There are plenty of bad publishers who don't charge authors a dime and are run by lovely people but who won't get you sales above what you would do self-publishing. Most bad publishers shut down within three years, but new ones are being started up all the time.
It's good we got an insider showing us the proper literature way. How many years was you a Vanity, @TE? What about your victims? I know we should stay nice about it but you Vanities make me itching for all those grandmas you exploited. Anyway, at least we know the proper way now. I'm going to save up and get a publisher, I suggest you do the same thing.
My first book came out with Tate in 1992. I was only three, but my parents sold their house to pay for it, bless 'em.
I like how a publisher misrepresents the term 'hybrid' which is used by successful self/traditional published authors in a totally different manner or context. So, if a writer new to the profession comes across the term on a subsidy press's website, it sounds more legitimate, as in: Didn't I hear 'hybrid' is legit, and supported by successful authors, etc. Subsidy presses have to catch new folks (which there is always a new wave ready to wash on shore every week) before they learn enough about the business to ask the right questions, or even to know were to ask questions.
What is a real 'hybrid,' in this context? Is it an author who mixes self-publishing with traditional publishing ...or what?
