So, there’s been massive blow-up over in romance writing world, as evidenced by the discussion at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books about the new Harlequin Horizons venture. It hit a nerve – it now has over 500 comments. The upshot is that Harlequin have started up a vanity press (not a self-publishing venture) and have now been dumped off the RWA list of recognised publishers. That’s pretty damn major.

I’m not a romance writer (nor a traditionally published writer), nor do I read romance much, so one part of me is merely watching the whole shebang with raised eyebrows. But I’m not dumb enough to think this can’t spread to other genres. Writers Weekly has been discussing the ever-lower rates offered to freelancers (insultingly low rates); writers’ work is being devalued and if other publishers see this make profit for Harlequin they may well also decide to “monetize their slush-pile”, as one commenter put it.

At least two commenters on that discussion said they had thought, before reading other people’s explanations, that they had to pay to get published.

Good God! I know I’ve said in the past on this blog that you shouldn’t expect millions from writing, but nor should you expect to pay out big bucks. If you too think you have to pay to get published but don’t want to read 500 comments to work out otherwise, here’s a summary:

  • Traditionally published: you invest the time and skill in writing the manuscript, the publisher invests their expertise in producing it and risks their money in putting into the marketplace. You pay nothing except maybe a bit on self-marketing. The publisher took the financial risk, they get a lot of the financial reward, but you get a share. They don’t make any money unless you do. This last point is important. Ebook publishers work on the same principle.
  • Self-published: you invest the time, expertise, and money yourself. You have to spend a lot on marketing. You took all the risks, you keep control, you keep all the profit. Best for non-fiction, but there’s a definite place for niche genre books which mainstream publishers are wary of.

    [Some people worry that self-publishers are flooding the market with dreck and an overwhelming amount of choice. I say, I read over 100 books a year and generally find less than 10% that wow me, so if self-publishers can cater to my specific, obviously choosy tastes, they can flood away, baby: Long Tail.]

  • Vanity publishing: you invest the time. You also invest the money. Meanwhile, the vanity publisher gets a bunch of money off you, over-charges you for basic services, takes a cut off your royalties (ie even after you’ve paid all the costs of printing and distribution, they still get to help themselves to what should be pure profit for you), and gets control of your book (they issue the ISBN, you see). Here is the thing to pay attention to: they make money whether you succeed or fail. They take no risk.

Understand me, new writers: vanity publishing is not a long-term option. If you want to self-publish but don’t know how to go about it and therefore find the ads for vanity publishers attractive, go through Lulu or one of several other similiar providers. They promise the same sort of thing as the true vanity presses – being able to produce a few copies for friends, getting on to Amazon etc – but charge a lot less and leave much of the control in your hands. You can provide your own ISBN with them, making you a true self-publisher.

If you find the thought of self-publishing overwhelming and want to be published by another and the mainstream publishers have turned you down (or won’t even look at you without an agent, and you can’t get one of those), consider the smaller presses and the ebook publishers. They do niche.

[Small self-plug: my new ebook publishing imprint is about to start asking for submissions from Australian genre writers. We pay an advance. We do not ask for payment from you.]

If self-publishing is not for you, and no traditional or ebook publisher will pick you up…well, all right, the vanity presses are out there for a reason. But understand you are unlikely to reach bookshelves with this method, no matter what their blurbs say, OK?

ETA: the comments also raise a misconception about traditional publishing, that you are in fact paying to be published by the mainstream houses, just in the form of pay-as-you-go rather than pay-in-advance. This is based on the idea that a book sells for a certain amount, then the publisher subtracts off all the costs (design, printing, distribution, marketing) plus their fee, and then gives you the tiny amount that’s left over. It is more accurate to say that the publisher pays you a fee per book for the “hire” of your words, pays all costs, and that they are the ones who get what’s left over. Therein lies their risk.