Vanity publishing

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{{cquote|The ranks of the would-be novelists are filled with [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust deniers]], men who question whether women have [[soul]]s, followers of [[Ayn Rand]].|||Howard Mittelmark & Sandra Newman<ref>''How NOT to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them — A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide'' by Howard Mittelmark & Sandra Newman (2008) William Morrow. ISBN 0061357952.</ref>}}

For every Charles Dickens and [[William Shakespeare]] in the world, [[Sturgeon's Law|there's also six zillion talentless schmucks who couldn't write their way out of a wet paper sack]], yet are nevertheless [[Dunning-Kruger effect|convinced]] they're [[God]]'s gift to [[literature]]. How are these 'unsung geniuses' to grace the [[sheeple]] with their prose? '''Vanity publishing'''.

Legitimate publishers will cover all the costs of publishing a manuscript (e.g. printing, binding, distributing, and [[marketing]] fees) for a cut of the sales. For this reason, publishers will only accept a manuscript if they think the book will sell well enough such that the production costs will be met (hopefully exceeded). If the publisher decides the book won't be popular enough, they will reject it.

A vanity press, on the other hand, ''pretends'' to do the above, but in [[reality]] it does what no reputable traditional publisher would ever do: it forces the writer to pay all the costs of publication, plus hefty "editing fees," in advance. This means that a vanity press earns a fat profit even if none of the books they "publish" sell a single copy, which is why they accept almost any book submitted to them — no matter how badly written it is. Of course, they make it sound like their acceptance is based on a painstaking editorial process, but this is meant solely to act as an ego boost to the writer they're hoping to 
milk
 bilk (hence the name "vanity publishing"). Basically, if your book is legal to sell in your country, a vanity press will take it on. They don't care if it's horribly written, they don't care if there's no market for it: as long as it's legal to publish, they'll handle it — as long as you pay. And pay. And pay. The cost of publishing something through a vanity press can be over ''one hundred times'' that of self-publishing.

Vanity-published literature is not limited to ghastly ''[[Twilight]]'' knock-offs by teenage girls with bloated egos. Oftentimes, vanity publishing is what [[cranks]], [[quack]]s, and [[conspiracy theorists]] turn to once they find that no serious publisher is willing to touch their nonsense. Said publishers milk said authors' [[persecution complex]]es for all they're worth. You can bet your ass that a [[neo-Nazi]] up in arms about the [[Zionist Occupation Government]] preventing his screed about the [[Jews]] promoting [[Miscegenation|race-mixing]] through the media from being published through legitimate channels will be overjoyed to utilize a publishing house that he thinks has "seen the light." Since the 1990s, it has, of course, been possible for cranks to simply post whatever [[bullshit]] they've [[PIDOOMA|pulled out of their ass]] on the [[internet]], but having written a published book and being able to refer to oneself as an author affords one a certain air of credibility, so this variety of scam has not yet completely died out. If nothing else, you might take comfort in the fact that buffoons such as [[creationists]] and [[woo]]-meisters are being conned out of their money in this way instead of innocent people. Another thing to be aware of is that, given the egos of the typical customers of these companies, an author may very well be aware that their publisher is hoovering their pockets, but simply be so keen to see their name in print that they'll put up with it regardless. They may be under the delusion that they merely have to get the word out, at which point people will start "appreciating their genius."

==Journals==
{{main|Pseudojournal}}
In 2014, Harvard scientist Mark Shrime wrote an article titled "Cuckoo for Coco Puffs? The surgical and neoplastic role of cacao extract in breakfast cereals" using a [[random]] text generator and submitted it to 37 vanity journals, of which at least 17 accepted the article for publication pending a fee to be paid by the author. Many of these vanity journals have names that sound professional and similar to real journals, e.g. ''International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology'' is a real journal but ''Global Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology'' is a vanity journal.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150128041100/http://www.fastcompany.com/3041493/body-week/why-a-fake-article-cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs-was-accepted-by-17-medical-journals Why A Fake Article Titled "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?" Was Accepted By 17 Medical Journals: A Harvard scientist wanted to see exactly how easy it is to get medical research published. In some cases, $500 is pretty much all it takes] by Elizabeth Segran</ref> Vanity journals do not have a [[peer-review]] process, or they only have the veneer of one. It should be noted that some legitimate peer-reviewed journals have sometimes charged authors a publication fee, usually to partly defray excessive publication costs (e.g., to print color images).

==Taking ad-Vantage==
During its time, Vantage Press (1949-1992) was the largest vanity press in the [[United States]].<ref>[http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/55199-vantage-press-closes.html Vantage Press Closes] by Jim Milliot (Dec 19, 2012) ''Publishers Weekly''.</ref> It met its demise after being court-ordered to pay $3.5 million in damages to 2,200 authors who were defrauded of advertising fees.<ref name=sullivan>[http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/07/nyregion/jurors-vanity-press-review-publisher-defrauded-authors.html Jurors' Vanity Press Review: Publisher Defrauded Authors] by Ronald Sullivan (April 7, 1990) ''The New York Times''.</ref> Vantage had charged authors between $3,000-$20,000 per book title; the lawyer for the plaintiff had charged that "Vantage operates a sham operation rife with fraud and phantom editors."<ref name=sullivan/> After suspending Vantage Press in 1992, president David C. Lamb closed the business completely in 2012. Vantage Press and Lamb were sued again in 2014 for "deceptive business practices of not disclosing facts that would have influenced Plaintiff from not entering into an agreement."<ref name=rooney>[http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2014/01/exclusive-lawsuit-filed-against-vantage-press-and-former-owner.html EXCLUSIVE: Lawsuit Filed Against Vantage Press and Former Owner] by Mick Rooney (January 19, 2014) ''The Independent Publishing Magazine''.</ref>

==(Mis?) Fortune Press==
Older than and partly running in parallel to Vantage, was the [[British]]-run Fortune Press, operated principally by {{wpl|Reginald Caton|R.A. Caton}} {{lived|1897|1971}}. Caton began publishing in 1924 as a publisher of [[gay]] erotica.<ref name=smith>''R.A. Caton and the Fortune Press: A Memoir and a Hand-list'' by Timothy D'Arch Smith (2004) Asphodel Edition. ISBN 1893450236.</ref>{{rp|13}} Caton was particularly daring in that endeavor because gay sex was at that time had severe legal consequences (imprisonment with hard labor or even death).<ref>[https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/subjects/diversity/lgbt-history/qs/ LGBTQ+ history in Surrey: crime and punishment] (c. 2014) ''Exploring Surrey's Past''.</ref> The erotic publications eventually caught up with him when he lost a 1934 prosecution for obscenity.<ref name=smith/>{{rp|8}} Throughout the much of the long lifespan of Fortune Press, ending only shortly before his death, the Press functioned as a vanity publisher. Remarkably, though Fortune Press also managed to publish some first-time authors who later went on to fame. Most notable of these was Kingsley Amis' first book, ''Bright November: Poems'' (1947).<ref name=smith/>{{rp|}} Amis later went on to publish the acclaimed comic novel ''Lucky Jim'' in 1955 with Doubleday. In ''Lucky Jim'', Amis also managed to get in some digs at his first publisher with the character L. S. Caton.<ref>"The allusive comedy of Kingsley Amis' L.S. Caton" by James Stacey Taylor (2024) ''Comic Studies'' 15(2):208-225.</ref> Other first time author's books published by Fortune Press were {{wpl|Cecil Day-Lewis||'}} ''Beechen Vigil'' (1925)<ref name=smith/>{{rp|14,151}} and {{wpl|Philip Larkin||'s}} ''The North Ship'' (1945).<ref name=smith/>{{rp|26,66}} Authors were rarely paid royalties, and as with other vanity publishers, often had to sell their own books directly.<ref name=smith/>{{rp|27}} Nonetheless, Fortune Press published over 600 different book titles over its existence.<ref name=smith/>{{rp|32}}

==Examples of vanity publishing==
[[File:Birth-control-is-sinful-cover.jpeg|thumb|right|165px|Written in FORTRAN, according to one reviewer<ref>[https://archive.ph/wip/ThloN Birth Control is Sinful in the Christian Marriages and also Robbing God of Priesthood Children!! by Eliyzabeth Yanne Strong-Anderson: Customer Review] by Ronald J. Conlon (January 2, 2010) ''Amazon.com'' (archived from 5 Jul 2022 20:26:34 UTC).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220705203205/https://forums.mixedmartialarts.com/t/birth-control-is-sinful-book/2364006 Birth Control is Sinful… (book)] by Khun Kao (September 11, 2014, 12:54pm) ''MMA Underground Forums'' (archived from July 5, 2022).</ref>]]
* ''[[Fun:Birth Control Is Sinful In The Christian Marriages and also Robbing God Of Priesthood Children!!|BIRTH CONTROL IS SINFUL IN THE CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES and also ROBBING GOD OF PRIESTHOOD CHILDREN!!]]'' by Eliyzabeth Yanne Strong-Anderson<ref>''BIRTH CONTROL IS SINFUL IN THE CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES and also ROBBING GOD OF PRIESTHOOD CHILDREN!!'' by Eliyzabeth Yanne Strong-Anderson (2007) AuthorHouse. ISBN 1425992609.</ref>
* ''Atlanta Nights'' — a deliberately bad novel concocted by a group of [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy]] writers to humiliate and get revenge on PublishAmerica, a publisher that had made some highly disparaging comments about the aforementioned genres. After the manuscript was accepted by PublishAmerica,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070105023200/http://www.cs.du.edu/~aburt/StingAcceptance.pdf Atlanta Nights] by Meg Phillips (December 07, 2004 12:53 PM) ''PublishAmerica'' (archived from January 5, 2007).</ref> the publisher's offer was subsequently withdrawn. The authors chose to publish the book with a self-publishing company instead so that the issue would not be forgotten.<ref>''Atlanta Nights'' by Travis Tea (2002) Lulu. ISBN 1411622987.</ref> PublishAmerica had long been accused of being a vanity press, an allegation that it strongly denied, claiming that it only accepted high-quality manuscripts. To test this claim, the writers sent their terrible manuscript to them to test precisely what their standards were; sure enough, it was accepted, with PublishAmerica hastily retracting the book after the hoax was revealed.
* The infamously bad song "Friday" by Rebecca Black was produced by a vanity record label called ARK Music Factory,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0 Rebecca Black - Friday] (Sep 16, 2011) ''YouTube''.</ref> which spawned many, many parodies. 
* ''Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say "No" to Drugs'', where a ''horse'' overdoses<ref>''Latawnya, the naughty horse, learns to say "No" to drugs'' by Sylvia Scott Gibson (1990) Vantage Press. ISBN 0533091020.</ref><ref>[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/LatawnyaTheNaughtyHorseLearnsToSayNoToDrugs Illustrations talk by themselves]</ref> — if only the [[Ivermectin]] abusers had read this first!
* ''Maradonia and the Seven Bridges'' by Gloria Tesch<ref>''Maradonia and the Seven Bridges'' by Gloria Tesch (2007) Liberty's Book Press. ISBN 0615214797.</ref> — '''Bible''' [[plagiarism]] (and worse) plus an author with a planet-sized ego.<ref>[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/MaradoniaSaga Gaze into the horror]</ref>
* ''Moon People'' by Dale M. Courtney.<ref>''Moon People'' by Dale M. Courtney (2008) Xlibris. ISBN 1436372135.</ref> A science fiction book published through Xlibris Publishing that looks like it was written by a ten-year-old. The book contains abundant typos, misplaced punctuation, no quotation marks, [[random]] capitalization, flat characters, wooden dialogue, telling instead of showing, a gushingly over-perfect lead, tons of filler and padding, almost no conflict, no plot, bizarre references to [[Star Trek]] and Led Zeppelin, an [[imperialist]]ic [[alien]] race depicted as heroes, designated villains, etc. It also has two sequels. 
* Too many others to count.

==Not to be confused with==
*Self-Publishing — Where an author could also be of questionable talent/sanity, but once the books are printed, they take care of promotion, etc. on their own — the printer delivers the books, and makes no false promises.

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160105072553/http://scholarlyoa.com/2014/04/08/a-list-of-print-on-demand-publishers-self-publishingvanity-presses-and-other-non-traditional-publishers-for-librarians-and-authors/ A list of Print-on-demand publishers, self-publishing/”Vanity presses” and other non-traditional publishers for librarians and authors] by Lara Seven Phillips, Pacific Collection Librarian, University of the South Pacific (archived from January 5, 2016)

==See also==
*[[Bentham Science Publishers]]
*[[Diploma mill]] &mdash; a similar type of business which cranks patronize so as to circumvent conspiracies they think exist against them and acquire illusory credibility. For examples, see [[Thomas E. Bearden]] and [[Ken Johnston]].
*[[Pseudojournal]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Scams]]

Categories: Books, Media, Scams