On Publishing, The Evils of Vanity Presses

Qualifications

I’m going to start by saying that this is all my opinion. If you disagree, that’s fine, but you’re wrong. I’ll start, since some may see this beyond the small circle of friends that are often subjected to my diatribes, by stating my qualifications. If you already know me, or don’t care, you can scroll down a bit. This isn’t to brag, it’s so you know I’m not someone who writes about writing instead of actually publishing books.

I am a novelist. I have 10 published novels (all over 70,000 words), 1 novel with a publisher awaiting publication, 1 work in progress, nearly done, which will be published, 2 more to write in a trilogy that I know will be published, 5 short stories in anthologies (4 of them requested by the curators, and 1 submitted uninvited, which turned into the centerpiece of the anthology and led to a request for a novel continuing the character). None of those were self-published. Everything I currently have in print was published by Chris Kennedy Publishing. Two of the books co-written with Chris Kennedy. I have had multiple books get the “orange tag” meaning they were a#1 New Bestseller. I also have a trilogy committed with Three Ravens Press.

Aside from those, I have a novella I wrote as a prequel to my Terran Space Project universe, with a very humbling foreword by Charles E. Gannon, where I paid for the editing and cover design myself, and assembled it into an e-book to give away for free to my newsletter subscribers. I guess you could say I “Self-published” it, but, I didn’t have to format it for Amazon or another retailer, so I’m not counting that because I know people who self-publish who would probably, rightly so, snicker at my efforts.

Why This Article?

I think it’s important to explain why I’m writing this. Some time back in my past, I trusted someone in my personal life before I became an author. That con artist (NOT related to publishing) took me for over $40,000, and it wasn’t just cash I had laying around. It took us years to recover. So, I know what it’s like to be taken advantage of. I know what it’s like for someone to work you over, take advantage of your dreams, and use you until there’s nothing left. I take full responsibility for what happened, because I was stupid. Now I’m not.

High Level View

Vanity Presses

Okay, here’s the 10,000 foot view. Vanity and what they’re calling “hybrid” presses, are scammers. Nothing more. They’re pitiful, useless people who take advantage of the dreams of young (to the industry) authors, and prey on their naivete. They sell a bill of goods, by making promises that look good on the surface, but are nothing more than snake oil.

Here’s the summary: No author should ever pay a publisher for a book to be published. The money should flow to the author.

For the examples, I’m going to pick on “Dr. Adair” because she sent me this lovely note through my web site after I pointed out on her Facebook Ad, that vanity presses were scams. Is this the kind of person you’d want representing your book?

This is a screenshot directly from my mailbox:

She claims to be an “International Bestselling Author.” We’ll get to that in a few minutes. As for her questions. Yes, I’ve been a bestseller, and I’m published in multiple languages.

Now, let’s look at what she offers. She claims that for the low-low price of $4,197, her “VIP Coaching program” will take a person who is interested in writing and “Self-publishing”, a published author. Maybe, but what kind of author would that be? All I’m going to say about that, is BULLSHIT.

If you are a writer and want to pay that much money, go to Superstars Writing Seminars. It’s cheaper, and you’ll be learning from people who have PROVED they can walk the walk, like Kevin J. Anderson, Jonathan Maberry, David Weber, James Artimus Owen, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Jim Butcher and others. The mention of Superstars or those creators does NOT indicate they have any relationship to this article, that’s just an example of where you SHOULD spend your money if you feel like you need it.

A less expensive example would be SAGA Conference, run by my friend John Hartness of Falstaff Books.

On her claim of being an International Bestselling Author. Well, I only see her books published in English, and the book she has with the most ratings is 9 ratings. I get more than that on the first day any of my books release, and that book released in 2014. So. Bestseller? I doubt it. International Bestseller? Doubt it. Could I be wrong? Yes. But, the math doesn’t work out. I’d expect to see at least one book with, at minimum, over 100 reviews. And that’s a low bar. Granted, even some of my books haven’t made that mark yet, but that’s because of my own lack of marketing and my not understanding what I needed to do. In other words, all my fault, and I own that. But, I don’t make claims about being an International Bestseller and charge thousands of dollars either.

Now, let’s move past that obvious rip-off, and look purely at her “Publishing” package. Here it is, straight from her web site.

First, notice the price. WOW. And it’s on sale. Let me tell you something. The likelihood of a new author making that much on their first novel is almost zero without the weight of a costly marketing campaign (which you should do, but I am NOT the person to ask about that, because I suck at marketing).

Let’s go through the items one by one:

• Professional editing — This is something any publisher should do. If any publisher requires you to submit an already-edited draft. Run, don’t walk, in the other direction

• Original Book Cover Design — Based on what I see on her covers, I doubt it, but, let’s say she actually hires an artist to do a professional book cover. That’s something any publisher should do.

• Interior Formatting and Design — Again, that’s part of a publisher’s job.

• ISBN and Barcode — They say this like it’s a big deal. It’s not. Again, that’s part of a publisher’s job. If you sign a contract with a publisher, that probably won’t even be listed, because that’s assumed. Kind of like when you send your car in for an oil change, you don’t list “replace the oil pan drain plug” as a line item.

• Paperback and Ebook formats — This is getting old already. That’s what publishing is. Besides, didn’t she already list formatting?

• Copyright Upload and Other Publication and Promotion Fees — What the actual hell does that mean? The costs of publishing are the responsibility of the publisher. Period. End of discussion. I have no idea what this even means, but it’s stupid.

• Publication on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. Platforms — Okay, if a service you are purchasing uses “etc.,” I’ll say it again, run, don’t walk, in the other direction. To me, this means even they have no clue what they’re doing.

• Individual Coaching Sessions — For what? She going to virtually pat you on the back and say “good job”? She going to teach you how to tell other people how great she is so she can scam more people? (Example of that coming soon.)

• 100% Author Ownership — This is the best one!! This is the one they constantly tout to make it seems like they’re being so magnanimous. It’s a scam. Why do they give you 100% ownership? Because they don’t care if it sells! They already have your money. More money than they would have made through royalties, because most of the books they publish will not make that much money, because they’ll be from first-time authors who are still learning their craft. Very few people do well with their first book. I’m an exception, but I co-wrote my first book with Chris Kennedy, so I had his name recognition, and the amazing Four Horsemen Universe fan base. If the publisher has no skin in the game, make no money on sales, they have no reason to care if the book is any good.

Now, I looked at her testimonals, and decided to check it out! I mean, if this person was a #1 Amazon Bestseller (even a new release bestseller) I would expect to see a solid number of positive reviews. Makes sense, right?

For comparison, here’s a novel I released in 2019. It did get the coveted orange tag and hit #1. Yes, my first book, and I have absolutely no illusions that it was my amazing prose. It was because it was a Four Horsemen book, and Chris Kennedy co-wrote it with me.

“With Your Shield” was published April 10, 2019. My first professional work as an author. It is 325 pages of MilSciFi goodness. It has a 4.6 rating with 404 ratings on Amazon, and a 4.5 rating with 192 ratings on Goodreads. I’m not bragging, just stating facts. I know authors who have published fewer books than I have who are doing better than I am. So, I’m really not bragging.

Now, here’s a testimonial screen captured from Dr. Adair’s site:

So, I was going to look at the individual author who wrote that, but, that person is a domestic violence survivor and that’s what she writes about, according to her bio, so, I’m redacting her information and we’ll talk high level. Plus, she’s the victim here. She’s the one who was taken advantage of by a predatory “publisher,” who I think should be ashamed of herself.

Her first book was published in June of 2014. So, we already know Dr. Adair is relying on a testimonial from over 10 years ago.

The book has a 4.5 rating, with 14 ratings on Amazon.

For all I know, this is an amazing book of self-empowerment and survival, but, the publisher didn’t care if it sold or not, because they don’t make money on sales. They make money on selling the dream of being a published author. Honestly, this pisses me off. I want to reach out to that author personally and offer to help her spread the word about her work (if it’s any good), but, not my business, and as I said, I suck at marketing.

Get it now? These companies are a scam that take advantage of people who are in a weak spot in their life, desperate to get their words out into the world with a hunger that only a creative yearning for validation can feel.

I’m still pissed about that, because I’m writing this as I’m doing the research, but let’s move on.

Hybrid Press

Now we’re going to look at another specific company that calls itself a “Hybrid Press.”

Here’s the advertisement, from their own Facebook page:

So, I actually applaud the mission of this, but their tactics are built to take advantage of that. They’re screaming inclusion, while ripping people off. They call it an “author-subsidized” short story anthology. That’s another way of saying they’re ripping you off.

They want YOU, an author, to write a 1,000 word piece of what I’d call flash fiction, and give them $75 to CONSIDER publishing it in their anthology. No. You know what, let’s go through the list like I did the other one:

• Up to 1000 words max: $75 — I already covered this. No. An author does not PAY for the chance to get published.

• First 75 words critique w/Generalized Notes — WTF does that mean? Who is doing the critique? Is it anyone who has the qualifications to do a critique? Now… at a recent event, I was paid $50 (total price was $75, $25 went to the event organizer) to critique a CHAPTER. Honestly, I would have done it for free because I was going to be at the event to teach a class anyway, and it was my idea they offer sessions, but, that was the organization’s decision. The event was cancelled due to it happening just after a hurricane, and the venue had no power. I did a manual review of the chapter, put in a ton of actionable notes, and did a 30 minute Zoom meeting with the writer, with an offer for her to reach out to me anytime. That was over 2k words. What can you do with a review of 75 words? It’s useless.
  You know what? I’ll make an offer right now. The first 5 people to reach out to me, I’ll let you send me 1,000 words and I’ll review it. For free. Just send me a message here on this platform and we’ll set it up.

• Inclusion in digital versions — Um… isn’t that the point? WTF?

• Complimentary Print Copy — Don’t you mean a $75 print copy? IF it gets selected? Or, okay, let’s say you’re going to get it anyway. Sorry, I won’t even pay $75 for a book from Chuck Gannon, and he’s a friend and one hell of an amazing author.

• Promotion on SOMO’s social media and email list — Well, duh. It’s the least you can do if you’re publishing something.

• Author credit in marketing materials and the SOMO website — So, they feel like they have to tell you you’re going to get credit for something you wrote. Folks, that’s scary that they think that needs to be a line item. Run, don’t walk, in the other direction.

Now, here’s what happened on Facebook. This is a screen capture, so I’m not making anything up. Yes, I got a little bit haughty, and got up on a high horse, but these people piss me off:

So, that last statement MIGHT have been a bit of an exaggeration, because I honestly have not asked every professional author I know what they think, but I have a good idea based on my interactions with them, and the general attitude in the community about any “publisher” that charges an author a dime for publishing.

They’re offering a 40/60 split, which is indeed better than industry average. Then again, I’ve never paid to have anything published, so I started at net zero minus the time it took to write the book. Everything was profit. But… a 40/60 split? On an anthology? Hm… that doesn’t add up, does it?

Having written for anthologies, I kind of know a little about it, at least with my publisher. I’m not going to go into exact percentages, but, every author in the anthologies I wrote in received XX% of profits for one year, paid quarterly. After that, the rights to the story reverted to me. I could publish it for free right now if I wanted to, as long as I credit the original source, as stated in my contract. But… how much is 60% of your split of an anthology going to be? Not much. Better to just be paid outright by the word.

Do you think any author who submits to that anthology is going to make back their $75? I don’t, and I haven’t seen the contract, so I don’t know what the reversion clause is.

Now, let’s see what else they do. Holy shit. Never mind. This header is all you should need to see to know these people are worthless pieces of shit. Never mind that they’re hosting their site on sites.google.com. Sorry, I’m an IT snob.

I just can’t even… That should be illegal. That’s more than your average author makes in a year. Oh yes, I know people who make a healthy six figures writing, but they’re the exception, not the rule.

You know what else strikes me as 100% scam about SOMO publishing? Nowhere on their web site does it list their published works. Not a single book title. Nothing. No publisher worth a shit is NOT going to list the books written by their authors, because they want sales, because they want to make money.

Here are a few publisher web sites of publishers that I personally know. Again, they have no relation to this article (and I’m a bit biased when it comes to Chris), but, take a look. I bet you find books on all of them, and I do not have professional relationships with all of them.

https://chriskennedypublishing.com/

https://threeravenspublishing.com/

https://www.baen.com/

https://falstaffbooks.com/

So… you tell me? Are you going to pay $10,000 to a publisher who doesn’t even have a single book on their web site that they’ve published?

IT’S A SCAM

I’m going to say this again. This is all 100% my opinion. I’ve given you examples of two companies who claim to be publishers. I’ve given you actual information from their own web sites, and showed you how they respond to being challenged. What you do with that information is up to you.

As you scroll through your chosen social media, as soon as you see a company that wants to help you be “Self-Published” by paying them money, I hope you laugh at them. I hope you ignore them, or block them, or, hell, taunt them. I do, but I’m a smartass, and i hope someone will see my message, and think again about wasting their money.

Does it cost money to self-publish? YES! You have to hire an editor. If you think you don’t need an editor, you probably need one more than I do, because I know I need an editor.

You have to hire a cover designer, unless you’re one of the rare creatives who can create both written and visual art. If you are, I’m jealous, and good for you!

You have to format the book, which may or may not require some software that costs money. Honestly, I don’t know. There are people who do that you can ask about that.

Final Note

So, I’ve spent the time I would normally have been working on my novel this morning, writing this article, because it was in my head and it had to get out. Same as it will be later with the novel, because if I don’t write 1k today, I’ll be very cross with myself.

Yes, this is on Substack, but when I have a mind to write articles like this, they will never be behind a paywall. I want this information out there, far and wide, so, please, not to get me attention, but to educate people, share this. Send it to every person you know who wants to be an author, or thinks maybe they want to be an author, or…well, you get the idea.

No, I didn’t edit this, so if there are mistakes, well, sorry. This is almost 3,000 words of my thoughts on one subject. That’s almost a chapter in one of my books, and I won’t make a dime on this. I wrote it because people need to know, and I hope it helps.

Thanks for reading. If you want to throw me some support as a way of saying thanks, check out one of my books on Amazon, or leave a review on one if you’ve already read it. Or, hell, sign up for my newsletter (which I’m horrible about sending), and get the free novella to check out my work for free, and read all the cool things Chuck had to say about me.

If you want to see my Facebook posts about these subjects, those posts are public on my personal profile. You’ll also see how other industry professionals reacted.

Last minute note!

There ARE places where you can pay for services to help you in your publishing journey, like Draft2Digital (Yes, I know people there, but I’ve never used their services, so I’m not 100% up on what they offer), who I would trust. But here’s the thing about them. Based on their web site, they charge 10% of the retail price of any book they distribute. That’s it. If the book doesn’t sell, they don’t make money. They WANT you to make money, so they make money.

Here’s where you can find me:

Facebook (my personal page): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1163529822

Facebook (my Author page): https://www.facebook.com/alexrathauthor/

My web site: AlexRathAuthor.com