Vanity Publishers: BEWARE
What Does It Mean?
In the wiki, it says:
"A vanity press, vanity publisher, or subsidy
publisher is a publishing house in which authors pay to have their books
published."
What Does It Mean to Me?
A publisher that exploits the fundamental flaw in
the nature of amateur authors—the dream of becoming the next Dan
Brown or J.K. Rowling—and extracts money.
Known Vanity Publishers
Examples include:
- Dorrance
Publishing Company
- Commonwealth
Publications (Source: SFWA)
- AuthorHouse UK
But this is my story with one of
them: Pegasus Publishers.
📖 My Journey with Pegasus
First Submission (2017)
- 23rd
May 2017 when I submitted 'Finding an Indian Bride' book for the
first time to submissions@pegasuspublishers.com.
- Laura
Bayne replied: "I've put your sample chapters forward for
our initial review process, which takes approximately 2–3 weeks."
- 13th
June 2017: Received another mail from Laura: I am writing to thank you
for your recent submission of work and for your patience in awaiting our
response. We would like to invite you to submit your full manuscript for
further consideration for our new lists.' (Of course, this is just a
snapshot. The original message is longer.)
I was genuinely excited—this was one of the first times a publishing company had said “yes” to me. At the time, I didn’t even know what vanity publishing was. I submitted my full manuscript and eagerly awaited a positive response, hopeful that my hard work might finally see the light of day. Looking back, it’s a journey many authors go through, learning the difference between genuine publishing opportunities and those that take advantage of our passion.
- 16th
August 2017: Rejection. We are sorry to inform you that the
Publishing Board has decided that the above work is not something that it
feels able to take on at the moment. We would like to thank you for taking
the time to submit your work to us, and we sincerely wish you every
success in placing your manuscript elsewhere.
But wait—before you jump to conclusions and call these sour
grapes, just hold on—story abhi baki hai, dost (this is just the beginning, my
friend).
I took their decision with a pinch of salt and used it as motivation to improve. I reached out to proofreaders and beta readers to refine my manuscript further. The journey continues, and every rejection is just a steppingstone to success.
Second Attempt (2019) Then two years later.
- 06th
April 2019 I re-submitted the same work, and Elaine Wadsworth
replied on 08th April 2019, "I am
writing to thank you for your recent submission of work and for your
patience in awaiting our response. We would like to invite you to submit
your full manuscript for further consideration for our new lists."
Phew, it was quick. Just two days for the full
manuscript, they must be dying to read the whole story.
- 09th
April 2019 Sent full manuscript.
- Elaine
Wadsworth replied, Thank you for your email and for sending the entire
manuscript. We have put your manuscript forward for our initial
review. Please allow up to 8 weeks for the submission review process to be
completed. If the editor considers the work to be appropriate for
our lists, we will put forward an offer of publication, either
under a traditional contract or a shared cost inclusive contract.'
Fingers crossed
- 25th
June 2019: Suzanne Mulvey replied (I am sure most of the authors who
have contacted Pegasus know her.) : Dear Vinay, Thank you for your
patience during the submission process. We enjoyed FINDING AN
INDIAN BRIDE and would very much like to publish your work. We
are, however, at the present time, unable to offer you a traditional
contract. If you are interested in receiving information on one of our
inclusive contracts where the cost of production is partly shared with the
author, please let me know, and I can send you the details. I have
attached our publishing guide for further information.
I felt like I was standing at the summit—on top of the
world. I truly believed this was the moment I had been waiting for. But once
the adrenaline faded and my mind cleared, I began to digest the phrase
“inclusive contracts where the cost of production is partly shared with the
author” a little differently. Still, I held on to hope. After all, why
shouldn’t I bear part of the cost? I thought I could manage that much.
This moment marked the beginning of a new phase, one where cautious optimism met the reality of publishing contracts and what they truly entail.
- 01st
July 2019, and she asked me to sign digitally and revert back. The
agreement was well written, and I didn't want to paste the entire content
here, but just the once that mattered to me the most.
