What’s That Vanity Publisher’s Promo Package Really Worth?

You might be hearing about the mid-month promos from “self-publishing” company X, Y and Z. Twice a month they’ll hit you up with e-mail. “Half price?” How is it possible to discount a package or product price by 50%?

a) When the real value allows for acceptable profit even when deeply discounted.
b) When there’s incentive on the backend to make any shortfall acceptable.

Do they still make any money? Sure they do, and lots of it!

Caveat Emptor. “Let the buyer beware.”

A friend was recently in Home Depot investigating the costs to build an addition to his house for a nursery. Another customer was helpful in pointing out some of the materials and tools that my buddy hadn’t anticipated. Said “helpful” customer introduced himself in the parking lot as a local contractor and offered to build the addition at half the price of the shopping list of materials.

How could he afford to build the same addition at half the price? “Well, I’m not going to buy materials here. And I know a guy with a crew of workers. Great deal if you’re willing to pay cash …”

How much might those publishing services and products really be worth? Might that vanity publisher be outsourcing work to labors working for pennies on the US dollar?

Rather than always wondering whether his baby had the best roof over her head, my friend picked up a hammer, bought quality materials, and—with the help of some experienced friends—built an addition that will stand the test of time.

If you think of your book as a child, how protective will you be of it as you choose your publishing path? After all the time you’ve invested in your manuscript, do you really want to hand the reins to someone else during this critical stage?

Do The Math.

How do the vanity publishers make up the “big savings”? On the backend. By definition, a vanity publisher is the publisher of their customers’ books. They own the ISBN; can set the retail price; define the author’s royalty and—most importantly—they receive the publisher’s profits on every book printed.

How much profit are we talking about here? What incentive could company X, Y and Z have to slash their prices 50%? Let’s check it out.

Let’s take a book of average length, 256 pages, and compare the author’s split with company X, Y and Z. A paperback, Print-On-Demand (POD) copy of this book will cost about $4.25 to produce. Partnering retailers will take up to 55% of the suggested retail price. The profits are remaining monies minus the printing cost of the book (unless they also charge for shipping, which some of them do).

Company X sets the retail price at $16.95 and will pay the author a royalty of 20% of the net profits. Company X lets its partnering retailers keep 36% of the retail price. After the printing costs are paid, there’s about $6.60 left—unless there are shipping or other costs assessed. The vanity publisher keeps about $5.28. The author is paid $1.32 per copy.

Company Y sets the retail price for the same book at $20.95 and will pay the author a royalty of 20% of the net profits. If they haven’t totally priced the book out of the market and do make sales, Company Y gives its partnering retailers 55% of the retail price. After the printing costs are paid, there’s about $5.18 left. The vanity publisher keeps about $4.15. The author is paid $1.04 per copy.

Company Z sets the retail price for the same book at $22.95 and will pay the author a royalty of 10% of the net profits. Company Z’s partnering retailers take 40% of the retail price. After the printing costs are paid, there’s about $13.77 left. The vanity publisher keeps about $11.02. The author is paid $1.38 per copy.

According to the head of the largest collective of vanity publishers, the average POD-printed title will sell only about 150 copies during its lifetime (NYT, 1/27/2009). Still, even with those relatively smalls sales, Company X stands to make another $794. Company Y makes $622. Company Z makes a whopping $1653.

Plenty of incentive there to discount an inflated price, don’t you think?

The SelfPublishing.com Difference.

I hope you’re asking yourself what you’d make if you publish with us, Self Publishing, Inc. Being the publisher of your own book, you receive 100% of the net profits of your book (after the partnering retailers take their 50%). Selling just 150 copies of your book priced at a mere $14.95, you’d make $483. Price it a little higher at $16.95 and you’d make $633. And that’s only the POD sales. Selling copies you print directly to customers without retailers adds an even greater incentive to do it yourself (DIY).

Publisher's Take vs Author's Royalty



Might these dollars be incentive enough for you to re-consider the value of the specialty packages and those incessant twice-a-month offers? I sure hope so.

“If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is” … or there’s something more there than meets the eye.

Self Publishing, Inc. is like the Home Depot of publishing options. It’s the best of DIY with the support and expertise you need to put out the best book you can and reach for your publishing goals. So go ahead and pick up that hammer. You can do this and earn the rewards!

Last 5 posts by Phil Whitmarsh

• Caveat Emptor. “Let the buyer beware.” – Part II - August 19th, 2010
• Ready to Graduate? - June 30th, 2010
• Welcome to the Coach’s Corner! - January 14th, 2010
• Welcome to the Coach’s Corner! - September 20th, 2009
• Are You Ready to Order or Do You Need a Little More Time With The Menu? - January 15th, 2009