Publishing: Can't Someone Else Do It? Pt. 1

Last week, I talked about self-publishing, why I haven't done it, and why other people find it attractive. This week, I wanted to mention a couple of other ways—besides traditional publishing—that I know of and what people have told me of them. Here's the first in a series.

Boutique publishers: These are also referred to as "vanity" publishers, because they often try to appeal to a new writer's sense of vanity. In a lot of cases, they will be full-service publishers and will do everything a big publishing house will do. Which is great. The issue a lot of people tend to have is that they generally require you to pay them before publication, then they also get a cut of each sell. Authors are also on their own when it comes to negotiating rights, so it's difficult to navigate the muddy waters of legal documentation and making sure you maintain copyright and get the best contract for yourself. Also, vanity publishers don't usually have the widest distribution channels, which can hamstring you if you're looking to make the biggest splash you can.

• Positives:
• Good-looking product
• ISBN
• Income from book sales
• You don't have to do any of the design or layout
• Negatives
• You pay them
• Smaller distribution networks
• May not have author's best interest at heart
• Contracting
• You don't have an advocate

There are a lot of negatives here. It can be frightening to go with a vanity press, and it's not the option I'm personally interested in pursuing. But they wouldn't be around if people didn't use them and feel comfortable with them. Like with anything else, a few horrible experiences could have spoiled the people I know, and that's coloring my opinion on the subject. Whatever you do though, be careful. If you don't have a professional advocate, be your own best advocate. And be the best advocate for your work. You naturally want it out there, but don't let your ego and impatience get you into trouble.

Thanks for wreading!