December 21, 2009

When my first book was published in 1983 by Atheneum Books for Children in New York, things were black and white. You were either published by a reputable publisher (usually in New York) or you used a (gasp!) vanity press.

There was only one real distinction: real publishers paid you, and vanity presses (self-publishers) required you to pay them for services rendered. It’s still the definition I go by. I can’t make a living by paying someone else to publish me.

Blurred Outlines

Today, new writers are confused. I can tell by the large number of email queries I get, questions from my students, and email “blasts” announcing someone’s “just published” new book by XXXX vanity publisher of some kind.

I hate to see my students and other new writers get suckered into this. If you look at your options and still choose to self-publish, that’s one thing. But I find it alarming how often I hear that writers are plunking down HUGE amounts of money to some vanity press, thinking that that’s the way it’s done.

Take Time to Study

Today I found a terrific discussion (and at the end of the article, read the definition of terms) that it would be wise for every writer to read. It’s at the Writer Beware blog and called “Blurred Distinctions: Vanity Publishing vs. Self-Publishing.” 

This would be a great blog to subscribe to, by the way. Knowledge is power, but you need to take time to be informed.