What’s the difference between self-publishing and a vanity press?
Last week we looked at what is a vanity press – so let’s take a look at the differences between a vanity press and self-publishing your book.
Vanity Press Recap:
- You pay them to publish your book
- They use an ISBN number that belongs to them
- The vanity press takes a percentage of the cover price
- Strict rules your book must adhere to
- You’ll probably be charged for changes
- You will have to buy (and sell) copies of your book
- They may or may not own the rights to your book
When you self-publish your book, all the rights are yours and so are all the profits. You completely own the work – and have all the business decisions like title, cover design, internal layout, sales price, and marketing.
In an article from Dave Bricker, he says:
Self-publishing is difficult. The writer is tasked with finding qualified editing and design resources, handling administrative chores like ISBN and copyright registration, managing the production of the book, choosing print and distribution partners, and marketing the finished product. However, this path offers control over both creative aspects of the work and business strategy.