Knowledge is Power!

  1. Publish (pub•lish), v., pub•lish•ing, To prepare and issue (printed material) for public distribution or sale.
  2. Basic (ba•sic) - Of, relating to, or forming a base; fundamental:
  3. Publisher (pub•lish•er) - n. One that is engaged in publishing printed material.
  4. Self, n. pl. selves - 1. The total, essential, or particular being of a person; the individual:
  5. Vanity Press n. A publisher that publishes a book at the expense of the author.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Self-Publishing is a virtual minefield. To successfully navigate the treacherous waters ahead you need to understand the “Basics” of Publishing as well as some “Basic” definitions.

Based on the above a “self-publisher” would be an individual who is engaged in the publishing of printed material. It’s as easy as that. If You Are Not The Publisher…You Are Not A Self- Publisher, Nor Are You Self-Publishing. The Publisher owns the ISBN used to identify your book. If you do not own the ISBN that appears in your book, you are not the publisher nor are you self-publishing.

On the other hand, look closely at the definition of vanity press. If you are not the publisher but are paying a publisher to publish your book, your book is being published by a vanity publisher. … Period…. No matter what they call themselves.

Your self-publishing journey starts with the purchase of a single ISBN. If you are interested in getting started on that journey, click here.

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Self-Publishing and the New Millennium plus 10

by Ron Pramschufer ~ January 14th, 2010

Self-Publishing and the New Millennium plus 10
One decade down… nine to go.  It seems like just yesterday that I had a year’s supply of food in the cellar, several cases of batteries and a few bathtubs full of water as we anxiously waited for the clocks to turn, ushering in the new century.  Fortunately, Y2K [...]

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by Ron Pramschufer ~ January 14th, 2010

When are you going to expand the marketing programs offered at SelfPublishing.com? – The one area that runs a very close second place to the whole Vanity Press scam when it comes to “smoke and mirrors,” is book marketing for the self publisher. Offering printing is easy… it’s something tangible where you end up with a [...]

I see you are offering Kindle conversions. When did you change your opinion of eBooks?

by Ron Pramschufer ~ January 14th, 2010

I see you are offering Kindle conversions. When did you change your opinion of eBooks? Caught me! Yes, we are starting to offer EBook conversions at www.SelfPublishing.com but it is not because I had some sort of epiphany or think that one less printed book will be sold as a result of EBooks. They [...]

Welcome to the Coach’s Corner!

by Phil Whitmarsh ~ January 14th, 2010

Self Publishing, Inc. offers Book Coaches to help self-publishing authors plot out and navigate their publishing journey. Book Coaches provide guidance and share insights in hopes that authors will avoid the pitfalls that they could encounter.
* * * *
If you choose to make [...]

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by Carolyn Madison ~ January 14th, 2010

During the holidays, we remind ourselves to not overeat—for whatever good it does. Most of us are at least somewhat aware of what and how much we are eating. We make conscious choices about what to ingest and how much to exercise, knowing that the resulting outcome will be apparent. Similarly, as the publisher of [...]

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by Jonathan Gullery ~ January 14th, 2010

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Whats all this talk about ISBN’s?

by Ron Pramschufer ~ September 20th, 2009

Whats all this talk about ISBN’s? – Over the years, I have probably written about ISBNs  and the importance of the ownership of the ISBN for your book more than any other subject.  Understanding this basic publishing building block, helps the author avoid the “hooks” of the vanity/subsidy/POD publishing empires.  In the words of [...]