Vanity Presses Don't Offer Book Publishing Services
You wrote a book and now wish to be known as an accomplished author. You could publish your book yourself, or look for book publishing services that can accommodate your every need. What kind of services should you look for? Cover design, formatting, editing, and more are a bonus. Many first time authors like to use the print on demand option for their books. This might now be the best route to take. It is the cheaper alternative, but you won't get the most out of your cash. It is advised to hire a company that is interested in seeing you succeed rather than using a company that just wants to make a quick buck off of you. Vanity presses are much like print on demand companies. They don't have to worry about if the book is going to sell or not. They just print the books or offer their services and then get paid for it. A publishing house is pickier about what type of books they will work with. They receive their profits only if the book is a seller. A book that flops means they take a loss in profit. Vanity press does not really work with the author. A publishing house works with the author to make a profit. Vanity publishers don't screen for quality. They get all their profit from the author up front and before hand. Editing and marketing might be included in the package or you might have to pay extra for these book publishing services. Don't forget about advertising services. Many companies will also help you do online advertising as well as create a website to improve business. Like mentioned before, if you work with a publishing house you will most likely have help with the marketing department due to the fact that they don't succeed unless you do. Before any final decisions are made you will want to look at all your options. Do a little research on all publishers and what type of book publishing services they offer. Look into all the fees and costs prior to making any type of agreement with them. It is wise to communicate with other authors to see what they did in the past. Learn from other's mistakes. This is what is so special about history; we can learn from the mistakes of others and not make the same mistakes twice. If you're uncertain about how to communicate with other authors you can join an author group. There are many online that you can join, or if you live in a highly populated area you might be able to find focus groups near you that you can join in person. You will hear many different opinions, but you will need to make a final decision. You can take the advice from situations most like yours and use that to help you make an informative decision. Don't be afraid to shop around. You can go to the companies and ask questions about what type of services they offer and such. If you are not 100% satisfied with the answers you receive, you can also move onto the next company. This is your book, your work of art, so it should be the way that you want it no matter what. |
