Why is a self-published, written work considered, VANITY.....
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That's a good question...
I'm not sure where I stand on it yet, but to argue the other side:
Maybe because a painter doesn't pay to have his painting duplicated into 1000's of copies to distribute and let the world see?
Maybe because a movie you distribute generally costs exponentially more than it costs to write a book, so you have to recoup costs? Sure a book takes time to write, but it's generally considered "free time" and only that of the author, not an entire crew.
Also, maybe because movies aren't solo projects? No matter how many hats you wear, there's always someone else involved at some point so it's more of a "team effort" than a manuscript.
Again, just throwing some arguments out there. There's only a few books I've seen out there that IMO seem to serve as an EGO boost to the author and nothing more. I tend to think the best (or try to anyway) of most people though.
Good post!
I'm not sure where I stand on it yet, but to argue the other side:
Maybe because a painter doesn't pay to have his painting duplicated into 1000's of copies to distribute and let the world see?
Maybe because a movie you distribute generally costs exponentially more than it costs to write a book, so you have to recoup costs? Sure a book takes time to write, but it's generally considered "free time" and only that of the author, not an entire crew.
Also, maybe because movies aren't solo projects? No matter how many hats you wear, there's always someone else involved at some point so it's more of a "team effort" than a manuscript.
Again, just throwing some arguments out there. There's only a few books I've seen out there that IMO seem to serve as an EGO boost to the author and nothing more. I tend to think the best (or try to anyway) of most people though.
Good post!
Excellent thoughts, Paul. I'm not so concerned about the fiscal costs associated with bringing a person's art to the masses...if one did make a film, solo, but paid to have many DVD copies to self-distribute, there still wouldn't be as much disdain for this person's means of distribution when compared to an author who self-publishes a work. At least, that's the impression I've always had. I dunno, maybe it's about the accessibility of the written word, like it already belongs to the public on an abstract level...that a written work therefore needs to be a masterpiece before it's worthy of second party (approval) reproduction/distribution.
Better PR. People like Robert Redford have been championing the virtues of indie films for decades. Music is all about (the illusion of) small artists "hitting it big".
Which isn't to say that there is no hope for literature, definitely not these days. "House of Leaves" was first published on the internet. Doesn't get more "vanity press" than that!
On the other hand, I can have a lot more fun watching a badly written, poorly executed movie than reading a poorly written book.
Which isn't to say that there is no hope for literature, definitely not these days. "House of Leaves" was first published on the internet. Doesn't get more "vanity press" than that!
On the other hand, I can have a lot more fun watching a badly written, poorly executed movie than reading a poorly written book.
As someone who has self published 3 books....
The term "vanity press" is because no publishing company, or any 3rd party, paid to have the book published and sold except for the author. In the olden days of 2004-2005 people had to buy books in a minimum run of 1,000 or more. Today they print books on-demand with services like Amazon's CREATESPACE or LULU.COM.
Most people refer to it as "self published" and the term "vanity press" is not as common as a colloquialism.
The term "vanity press" is because no publishing company, or any 3rd party, paid to have the book published and sold except for the author. In the olden days of 2004-2005 people had to buy books in a minimum run of 1,000 or more. Today they print books on-demand with services like Amazon's CREATESPACE or LULU.COM.
Most people refer to it as "self published" and the term "vanity press" is not as common as a colloquialism.
ASJA conferences has discussed "vanity press" in detail. Self-Publishing is self-publishing and NOT considered "vanity press."
"Vanity Press" is when you pay a publisher to publish your book and advertise for you. The most well-known "vanity press" houses is VANTAGE PRESS. You pay them to publish you. They take care of everything if you pay their fee.
With self-publising, you do everything yourself. You do your own page layout, typesetting, and advertising. You can pay a printer to replicate everything for you.
If you have a VERY successful run with you book, you can use your sales data to get a major publisher to pick up the next printing and they will redesign the book cover, the page layout, and typesetting and use their distribution channels to sell your book and pay out royalty.
Major publishers never pay vanity press houses like Vantage Press any mind. They are not considered legit.
A Hollywood producer told me to get your film, script, or other media idea noticed by Hollywood, you must first prove to them it has selling power that can make them money on it's own merits. They don't care what similar material has done. What has your material done before?
It is the same principle with self-publishing. If you can prove your self-published book makes money, a major publishing house will pick it up and it works better than having an agent.
"Vanity Press" is when you pay a publisher to publish your book and advertise for you. The most well-known "vanity press" houses is VANTAGE PRESS. You pay them to publish you. They take care of everything if you pay their fee.
With self-publising, you do everything yourself. You do your own page layout, typesetting, and advertising. You can pay a printer to replicate everything for you.
If you have a VERY successful run with you book, you can use your sales data to get a major publisher to pick up the next printing and they will redesign the book cover, the page layout, and typesetting and use their distribution channels to sell your book and pay out royalty.
Major publishers never pay vanity press houses like Vantage Press any mind. They are not considered legit.
A Hollywood producer told me to get your film, script, or other media idea noticed by Hollywood, you must first prove to them it has selling power that can make them money on it's own merits. They don't care what similar material has done. What has your material done before?
It is the same principle with self-publishing. If you can prove your self-published book makes money, a major publishing house will pick it up and it works better than having an agent.