Everyday, the self-publishing world gets bigger and better. But what does it mean exactly to “self-publish a book?” With options ranging from print-on-demand to subsidy publishing to single-print publishing, many authors can get confused by all of the publishing processes.

When most writers start off, they think that they can run their manuscript to Kinkos and print off a hardbound book. Not so fast. While office supply stores have many options for authors who wish to print brochures, pamphlets and flyers, most office stores do not offer book binding services. For book publishing services, writers must go to book publishing service providers, who have the tools necessary to print hardback- and paper-bound books.

Here, we define the options (and pitfalls) available to authors who wish to publish their own work.

The Self-Publishing Industry

Subsidy Publishing

Subsidy book publishers accept and review book manuscript submissions from writers and choose which books they will publish. Similar to mainstream traditional publishers, subsidy publishers can be very selective about the books they publish. But unlike big-name publishers, authors who go with subsidy publishers must “subsidize” the publishing of their book by paying in advance for a minimum print run and related services (such as book design, ISBN registration, editing, etc.).

Oftentimes, writers who go this route must sign over some publication rights as part of the contract with subsidy publishers. Additionally, writers who elect to work with subsidy publishers must manage the distribution and selling of their own books themselves.

Pay on Demand? Yes, this type of publishing offers print on demand, which means that the publisher prints individual copies of books on demand each time an order of the book is received. This service allows publishers to take a share of the book’s cover price and pay authors the remaining profit amount.

Subsidy publishers include: Vantage Press, Dorrance Publishing, Author Solutions, Inc. (AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris and Trafford), Outskirts Press, Inc., Bookstand Publishing, Instantpublisher, Morris Publishing

Vanity Publishing

In this publishing process, writers pay a publisher to design, layout, print and bind a fixed number of books. In this scenario, the publisher will produce any book as long as the author is willing to pay the upfront fees (which is typically the cost to print 200 copies of their book). On average, authors will pay $6-10 per copy for trade paperback copies of their books and $12-16 for hardback versions. Like subsidy publishers, authors who opt for vanity publishing must manage the distribution and selling of their own books.

One of the biggest downfalls of vanity publishing is the low social standing of the process: Vanity publishers are famous for publishing all of the manuscripts that come their way without any vetting. Consequently, many physical bookstores will not carry books from vanity publishers. Finally, many vanity publishers are operating by using contracts that can be unfair to writers. As part of many vanity contracts, authors are required to sign contracts giving rights to the publisher.

For example, many contracts state that writers cannot publish the same book in different formats for a set number of years, which practically guarantees that the publishing contract will have to be bought out should the book become a bestseller or get the attention of a mainstream publisher.

Pay on Demand? Yes, this type of publishing offers print on demand.

Vanity publishers include: AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Ivy House, Tate Publishing & Enterprises, Vantage Press

Print Service Providers

Print service providers publish all manuscripts submitted to them for a set fee and allow writers to chose whether they want to order a minimum print run or have their book printed on demand as book orders are requested by customers. Many print providers do not charge a setup fee, unlike subsidy and vanity publishers. These publishers do not usually work on contracts that take rights from the author, and they make it clear that the writers own their own work.

And print service providers, often have partnerships with larger online retailers that vanity and subsidy publishers don’t have: many providers work with booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to sell books on their websites. Remember, if the company requires the production of a minimum number of books, the publisher is a subsidy publisher, not a print services provider.

Pay on Demand? Yes, this type of publishing offers print on demand.

Recommended: Lulu is by far the best print service provider in the market. The business offers excellent customer service services for first-time publishers. Others in the industry include Amazon CreateSpace, Lightning Source (though for this service, writers must establish their own publishing company).

Writer Beware (A Few Crooked Publishers)

As found by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, many vanity and subsidy publishers have engaged unethical practices, including misrepresenting themselves as commercial publishers, grossly overcharging for their services, reneging on contract obligations, producing shoddy books, failing to print the number of books contracted for, and providing kickbacks to agents who refer manuscripts. Here are a few fraudulent cases:

• Commonwealth Publications, a Canadian vanity publisher, closed its doors in 1999. Angry authors sued, claiming they didn’t receive the books they paid to have published, were given marketing promises that weren’t fulfilled, and failed to receive royalties from books sold.
• Northwest Publishing, a vanity publisher located in Utah, cheated authors out of millions of dollars, which its principals gambled away in Reno and Las Vegas. Its assets were seized and the owner, James Van Treese, was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
• Sovereign Publications, a vanity publishing firm owned by the fee-charging Deering Literary Agency, took hundreds of thousands of dollars from authors, most of whom never received the books they paid for. The Deerings were convicted of fraud, and sentenced to time in federal prison.
• Press-Tige Publishing, a vanity publisher owned by Martha Ivery (who also operated under an alias as a fee-charging literary agent), took nearly three-quarters of a million dollars from over 200 authors. Delays were common; promised print runs weren’t delivered, books weren’t distributed or marketed. In the last few years of its existence, Press-Tige published no books at all, though it continued to offer contracts and take money from authors. Ivery was ultimately sentenced to five years in federal prison.

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