What is the difference between a vanity press, a subsidy press, and a packager?
Linda and Jim Salisbury, the authors of Smart Self-Publishing define subsidy press as “a publishing company that applies its ISBN to a book and charges the author for the cost of production. The author receives only a few copies of the book, and is promised royalties on those copies that might be sold by the subsidy press.” They define vanity press as “another term for a subsidy press. It implies that the published book has no value other than to stroke the author’s ego.” So a vanity press and a subsidy press are basically the same. I responded to the ads for two subsidy presses in a national magazine and a week later received their introductory packets. Both of them were very slick and impressive—on the surface. I must commend the first one for its “Word of caution about financial returns.” They write: “No one can predict how a book will sell and, consequently, how much of your fee you are likely to regain by publishing your work with us. Some authors have received satisfactory return
