Self Publishing

Self-publishing has become a catch-all term that can be used to describe vanity publishing, subsidy publishing or independent ("indie") publishing.

A vanity publisher will accept any manuscript submitted to it and turn that manuscript into a book via its own editing, packaging and manufacture processes, all of which are offered to the author for a fee. The author must commit to buying a minimum quantity of the resulting book. Usually, the author must sign over some or all of her rights to the work being published for a fixed term as well. The vanity publisher may also offer ebook or audiobook production services, book distribution and marketing services on a fee basis.

Subsidy publishing is virtually identical to vanity publishing, except that subsidy publishers have a manuscript selection process and some subsidy outfits do not require the author to sign over future publication rights.

Indie publishing is used to describe the activities of individual authors or author collectives who essentially act as their own publishers. Editing, cover design, typesetting, printing, distribution and other services are hired by the indie publisher as needed, but the indie publisher himself manages the entire process and retains all rights to his work.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Self Publishing”

• Self Publish Books, Magazines and Brochures

  
  Living Kabbalah — Authority: 130
  Most authors would love to see their written works in published form even if they have to resort to self publishing . The traditional profit making publishers are restrictive in what they will accept. Their editors decide if a written work is publishable and will make money. These publishers assign an editor to an ...
  12 hours ago

• DellArte Press (Harlequin Paid-Publishing) - Reviewed

  
  POD, Self Publishing and Independent Publishing — Authority: 129
  In future months, that is—beyond November 2009—authors who drop by the DellArte Press site will probably be oblivious of the furore which occurred when US romance publisher Harlequin decided to sign up with Author Solutions and utilise them to development a paid-publishing services. Harlequin is not the first, nor ...
  23 hours ago

• Harlequin Begins Vanity Press

  
  Colleen Anderson — Authority: 421
  Anyone who knows anything about vanity presses knows that they’re not respected on several levels when it comes to publishing and being published. A vanity press is called thus because it caters to a would-be writer’s vanity. In other words, a work may be published without any editorial process taking place. This ...
  1 day ago

• Writers, money and the web (part four): niche content

  
  Lisa Dempster — Authority: 120
  A lot of writers toil for little reward when they are ‘emerging’ in the hopes that one day they will be raking in the big bucks (or at least, some bucks). However, sometimes logic says this will simply not happen. To use use myself as an example, no matter how amazing my writing skills become, there is simply a ...
  1 day ago

• Subsidy/vanity Presses and Self-Publishing, Pros and Cons

  
  Adventures in Writing — Authority: 114
  SUBSIDY/VANITY IN PAPER Many of the subsidy and vanity publishers have a system for publishing the book set up so all you have to do is plug in the various components of the book. You will design the cover or pay to have someone design the cover, you will write the book blurb, and you will edit or pay someone to ...
  1 day ago

• Business Leaders Discover A New Way to Make Money For Their Investors; Now They Need to Learn How to Write a Book Fast

  
  Joint Venture Marketing — Authority: 123
    Memo from the Executive Suite In hard times like these, true entrepreneurs are finding new ways to make more money is often the highest reward experience for experienced business leader. What are the options? Well, it is no surprise that the absolute top way that is encountered for the business leader improve ...
  1 day ago

• Harlequin Gets Two Out of Four

  
  Insert Witty Title Here — Authority: 639
  Harlequin has been making changes. First, the as-promised name change to its venue with AuthorSolutons: adieu, Harlequin Horizons, and hello, DellArte Press . Second, I can’t see a push for or link to DellArte Press anywhere on the eHarlequin website (although its press release section still touts the ...
  1 day ago

• Don’t self-publish in vain!

  
  TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home — Authority: 657
  Or, rather, don’t be fooled into thinking that “self-publishing” and “vanity press” mean the same thing. Recently, we reported on “lies told by the self-publishing industry” . Here is some more advice on the same subject: Fledgling co-author Sharon Lee posted to her LiveJournal yesterday a ...
  1 day ago

• Interview with David Seaman, Self-Published author

  
  Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery — Authority: 137
  I ran into David Seaman when I was doing research on Lulu.com for my own publishing needs.  I found his review, then his page which led me to discover his large amount of self-published works.  I couldnt resist asking for an interview. 1) Tell us a bit about yourself. I’m a (relatively) ordinary chap who ...
  1 day ago

• Writers, money and the web (guest post): ads on blogs

  
  Lisa Dempster — Authority: 120
  Guest blogger Karen Andrews talks about her decision to carry ads on her blog, and a little about the process involved in getting it all running. There comes a point once you’ve been blogging for a while, and the length of time differs from person to person, when it’s understandable to ask the question: can ...
  1 day ago

• NaNoWriMo RE: Who publishes?

  
  EK's Star Log — Authority: 136
  The question and my answer:Who publishes?[quote=Esmeralda_m]Do any of you go on to publish your books later? [/quote]Always. I started writing short stories in 1978. All of them published via indie-press chapbooks. Though most never had more than 12 or 15 copies made. =P I moved on the adding novels in 2006, and ...
  1 day ago

• NaNoWriMo RE: Who publishes?

  
  EK's Writing Blog — Authority: 135
  The question and my answer: Who publishes? [quote=Esmeralda_m]Do any of you go on to publish your books later? [/quote] Always. I started writing short stories in 1978. All of them published via indie-press chapbooks. Though most never had more than 12 or 15 copies made. =P I moved on the adding novels in ...
  1 day ago

• Taking the Vanity Out of Vanity Publishing

  
  Insert Witty Title Here — Authority: 639
  So you know how I’ve been defining the difference between vanity publishers and self-publishing presses as (A) who’s getting the profit and (B) who controls the ISBN? Well, it looks like I have to rethink that difference. Thanks to a number of people (some of whom I’m quoting, with their permission, in this ...
  2 days ago

• Free

  
  Pub Rants — Authority: 634
  STATUS: And here I said I wouldn’t be blogging again for the holiday week. I couldn’t help myself. What’s playing on the iPod right now? IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT by R.E.M Yesterday I posted my blog entry rather late at night. This morning when I woke up, realized that there was something ...
  2 days ago

• Self-Publishing...I tried to keep quiet

  
  Nicole O'Dell — Authority: 121
  The current industry buzz is all about self vs. traditional publishing. I wont go into all of the specifics because so many professionals have done such a great job outlining those details for us. Here are some great posts on the topic: Rachelle Gardner #1 Rachelle Gardner #2 Writer Beware Id ...
  2 days ago

• Publishing Definitions

  
  Caridad Pineiro Blog — Authority: 126
  There has been a lot discussion during the last week about the new Harlequin Horizons venture. For more on this venture and the response to it, you can click below on these links for comments: Ashley Grayson Agency Jackie Kessler (Hilarious by the way!) Dear Author Harlequin and Author Solutions Press ...
  2 days ago

• Horizons Is Not Remotely Like Harper Studio Or Vanguard Press

  
  Pub Rants — Authority: 634
  STATUS: Heading off for Thanksgiving Break. I won’t be back to blogging until Monday. Seems like bad timing with all that’s going on but don’t worry. We haven’t heard the last of it yet. If I hear any breaking news, I’ll try and update the blog. What’s playing on the iPod right now? Nothing at the ...
  2 days ago

• Self-publishing and Harlequin Kicking-up Dust

  
  Self Publishing Advice — Authority: 118
  A mass of heated discussion is being shouted around the publishing world in the wake of recent announcements by Harlequin and Thomas Nelson to step in the direction of self-publishing. Responses have exploded across the industry from the New Yorker to Publisher’s Weekly . Crotchety, curious, and shocked are ...
  2 days ago

• Writers, money and the web: further thoughts on crowdsourcing

  
  Lisa Dempster — Authority: 120
  There is a bit of buzz about crowdsourcing at the moment. But how might it be relevant to writers? Kickstarter is an online portal for artists to get funding to get their projects off the ground. The idea is that something is offered in return though – a copy of the published book, for example, or access to a ...
  2 days ago

• Rants and Raves

  
  Chip MacGregor .com — Authority: 518
  Rave: I just got back from our first-even "Fiction Marketing Seminar." We held it in Dallas with a half-dozen novelists, and we had a GREAT time. Everyone found it helpful, and our brainstorming with authors about how they can help promote their own novels more effectively was the highlight of the weekend. Thanks for ...
  3 days ago

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