{"id":110,"date":"2020-11-10T16:01:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T16:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=110"},"modified":"2024-12-07T11:06:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T11:06:44","slug":"austin-macauley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/austin-macauley\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanity Publishing & Austin Macauley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A short journey to the sewer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re always on the side of the book. We\u2019re always on the side of the writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With books, we want them to be as good as they can be \u2013 written well, edited well, pressing clients to be as wonderful as they can \u2013 and if you have the guts and determination to pick up a pen and write a book, we\u2019re on your side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s why we are firmly, emphatically, viscerally opposed to vanity publishing in all its forms. This is a story, yes, about Austin Macauley, but it is also a story about a whole raft of other vanity presses too. Snakes, worms and weasels, every one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why such strong language?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because vanity publishers take vast sums of money from authors to publish their books. This is in contrast to how to best practice in both traditional publishing (where publishers pay\u00a0you<\/em>), and modern ebook-led self-publishing where it costs nothing to upload your book to retailers like Amazon, and where per book royalties are excellent. So if you want to know more about what to avoid \u2013 and about Austin Macauley Publishers specifically \u2013 then read on. A more complete guide to (proper, legitimate, profitable) publishing can be found\u00a0here<\/a>. We also have a range of writing courses<\/a>, which include plenty of material on publishing, literary agents, and self-publishing etc – as well as just the joy of creative writing itself. We urge you to explore all this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Vanity Publishing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vanity publishing is where authors pay for their book to be \u2018published\u2019 and where ownership of the book passes to the publisher as part of the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanity publishers never call themselves by that name. They\u2019ll say they offer \u2018partnership publishing\u2019 or \u2018hybrid publishing\u2019 or say they offer a \u2018contributory contract\u2019 or anything else of that sort. But if any publisher:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Asks you for money<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Ends up owning the rights to your book<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    you should regard them as a vanity publisher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That\u2019s if you\u2019re polite, and inclined to be generous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Quite frankly, we prefer to think of them as thieves and fraudsters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To be clear: they are not breaking the law. But whether some narrow legal test of fraud is or is not met misses the ethical heart of the issue. The fact is that these publishers are offering writers a contract which they basically know will not meet the legitimate dreams and aspirations of those writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

    What Vanity Publishing Looks Like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ve spoken to one writer who was offered a \u2018contributory contract\u2019 from one vanity publisher (not Austin Macauley), requesting from her a staggering \u00a37,000<\/strong> to publish her poems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This lady was dying of cancer, and she wanted to earn a little something for the son she\u2019d leave behind. Thankfully, she called us first, and asked for our advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What we told her was this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n