Firstly I’m going to explain the differences between vanity publishing and self-publishing along with the reasons as to what can potentially happen if you use the wrong publishing houses.
If you are a writer and have produced either short stories, poems, or a manuscript then the thought of actually getting your works into print is the icing on the cake so to speak.
Saying “I am the author of a book and it can be bought at this store” is a major achievement.
So how do you go about this?
There are two ways.
The first one is the self-published route where there are several successful authors who have done this such as – The Celestine Prophecy, by James Redfield.
The second one is what is referred to as vanity publishing.
What is the difference between Vanity Publishing and Self-Publishing?
Every book that is either bought via a Bookstore or an online merchant must have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number).
However, being the author and not the publisher is where you can go wrong.
When you self-publish your own material where you are the author then you are also the publisher.
The Dorrance Publishing scam claims are interesting because it is very easy to charge several thousand dollars to do this and that for you, then market the book and make all the money.
How easy is that?
Unfortunately, there are a number of companies that claim to bring your written work to life, but what they are doing is becoming the publisher of your work and then you lose all rights to your work.
Numerous books have been made into films and other forms of media, and the royalties involved can be quite considerable. However, if you are not the publisher then all the royalties will go to the company that you used…a very disturbing fact.
Without being the publisher, the ISBN is not registered to you and you are at the mercy of what the Publishing House is willing to share with you.
To change this you have to protect your rights.
Vanity Publishing is where you have used a company to do this for you, and while some will do this correctly, it would appear that Dorrance Publishing has been devious in how they have conducted their business.
The disturbing fact for me is they will charge you a large sum of money, and then make themselves the publisher of your work, and the ISBN becomes registered to them and not you.
This is game over for you and your work, and the only way to possibly get this reversed is to take legal action.
Companies of this type tend to charge a considerable sum but they use methods that can only be described as unscrupulous by listing enticing lines such as:
“you deserve to be printed”
“make your book available to 20,000 stores”
But here’s the real sting in the tail…
Remember I said that you have to pay a considerable amount of money (this could be up to $11,000), well the reality is that normally Publishing Houses take this approach…
“No reputable Publisher charges you a fee to publish your work. The Publisher pays you, not the other way around. Depending on the type of book, you may be paid an advance plus royalties (a percentage of the profits) or just royalties.”
Conclusion
My own opinion is that the numerous scam claims regarding Dorrance Publishing are definitely something that you should be mindful of if you are considering using them to publish your work.
If you are still interested in publishing your own writings then I suggest you visit this site SPANnet as they can provide you with all the help and assistance you may need.
Neil – WFHW
