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A Distinction
Mar. 6th, 2013 11:23 pmTraditional publishing:
The publishing house pays the author up front for their writing work, and pays other parties (employees or other professional service providers) for their work (including, but not limited to: editing, proofreading, cover art, the actual physical printing of the book); assuming the book sells enough to make a profit, the author will then start to get more money coming in. If the book does not pay for itself, the author was still paid up front. (The author may or may not get further offers from the publisher if the book is a flop.) The author may or may not feel like self-promoting in person or online; the publisher may or may not have requested that the author do these things as part of the contract. An agent may or may not be involved to do some of the tedious work for the author; the agent gets paid as part of the sale of the book.
Self-publishing:
The author writes the book and then either Does It Themselves or pays for various services in the process of publishing: editing and such if they're into that, maybe some cover art, printing if it's going to be printed, electronic distribution if that's a thing (and Amazon gets their cut if they're the distribution method). The author (and whatever friends and family the author has roped into helping out) promotes the book.
Vanity publishing:
The author writes the book and then pays a "publisher" to do many of the tasks associated with the process of publishing; the "publisher" takes the author's money with both hands, while blowing smoke up the author's ass. The author is responsible for the bulk of promotion and distribution, or the "publisher" may "help" with that for an additional fee. The author is promised that they will get the money from the sale of the books, but meanwhile the author must pay. (A "publisher" that "loans" the author the money to cover publication costs but then expects it to be paid back if the book flops is a wolf in mutton's clothing dressed as lamb, or some such other horribly mixed metaphor conveying backstabbing and trickery.)
How does vanity publishing differ from self-publishing?
The self-published author is generally aware of the expected cash flow of traditional publishing (from publisher to author), and values the access (anyone can do it!) and control (all of the power, all of the responsibility) of self-publishing. The author gets paid themselves (if ever) after the author pays all the other bills.
A vanity-published author is generally not aware of the expected cash flow of traditional publishing, or is actually into paying a stiff surcharge for the convenience of having other people deal with the details (except the details of promotion and distribution, which typically still get dumped on the author). The author gets paid after all the other bills get paid (if ever).
The publishing house pays the author up front for their writing work, and pays other parties (employees or other professional service providers) for their work (including, but not limited to: editing, proofreading, cover art, the actual physical printing of the book); assuming the book sells enough to make a profit, the author will then start to get more money coming in. If the book does not pay for itself, the author was still paid up front. (The author may or may not get further offers from the publisher if the book is a flop.) The author may or may not feel like self-promoting in person or online; the publisher may or may not have requested that the author do these things as part of the contract. An agent may or may not be involved to do some of the tedious work for the author; the agent gets paid as part of the sale of the book.
Self-publishing:
The author writes the book and then either Does It Themselves or pays for various services in the process of publishing: editing and such if they're into that, maybe some cover art, printing if it's going to be printed, electronic distribution if that's a thing (and Amazon gets their cut if they're the distribution method). The author (and whatever friends and family the author has roped into helping out) promotes the book.
Vanity publishing:
The author writes the book and then pays a "publisher" to do many of the tasks associated with the process of publishing; the "publisher" takes the author's money with both hands, while blowing smoke up the author's ass. The author is responsible for the bulk of promotion and distribution, or the "publisher" may "help" with that for an additional fee. The author is promised that they will get the money from the sale of the books, but meanwhile the author must pay. (A "publisher" that "loans" the author the money to cover publication costs but then expects it to be paid back if the book flops is a wolf in mutton's clothing dressed as lamb, or some such other horribly mixed metaphor conveying backstabbing and trickery.)
How does vanity publishing differ from self-publishing?
The self-published author is generally aware of the expected cash flow of traditional publishing (from publisher to author), and values the access (anyone can do it!) and control (all of the power, all of the responsibility) of self-publishing. The author gets paid themselves (if ever) after the author pays all the other bills.
A vanity-published author is generally not aware of the expected cash flow of traditional publishing, or is actually into paying a stiff surcharge for the convenience of having other people deal with the details (except the details of promotion and distribution, which typically still get dumped on the author). The author gets paid after all the other bills get paid (if ever).
