On Thursday evening, Loving Husband and I talked about the Harlequin Horizons situation. It went something like this:

ME: I am stunned so many people aren’t seeing why Harlequin’s move with Horizons is horrible for authors.

LOVING HUSBAND: You have to remember that’s your perspective.

ME: Perspective? But I’m **right**.

Over the past week, many people have been sharing their thoughts on whether Harlequin’s move was a good one or a poor one, and it’s opened up the larger discussion of traditional publishing versus self-publishing. This is very cool — it’s important to discuss issues, especially ones that have such a huge impact on so many people.

But what I don’t understand why some people are ignoring or dismissing the arguments against vanity publishing. So let’s look at some of the arguments.

Vanity publishing is really self publishing!

No, it’s not. In self-publishing, authors keep 100% of the profits and control the ISBN. In vanity publishing, the publisher gets a chunk of the author’s profit and the publisher controls the ISBN. Just because a publisher claims that it’s a self-publisher, that doesn’t mean it really is. I can claim to be a brain surgeon. That doesn’t mean I am one.

It’s not vanity publishing, it’s assisted publishing!

The author is still paying the printer for all services, from editorial (if the author decides to have the book edited) to design to production to marketing. And the publisher, on top of getting paid for all of those services, gets a percentage of the author’s profit. Let’s not even get into how those services are already marked up so that the publisher is making out like a bandit. You can call it “assisted publishing,” if you want. I’ll call it “highway robbery.”

Self-publishing and vanity publishing means more books for readers to read!

No, self-publishing means that authors are publishing their own books instead of getting paid by publishers for their books. And that’s cool; there’s absolutely nothing wrong with self-publishing through a legitimate POD printer. Vanity publishing means that authors are paying printer to print a book, control the ISBN and get a chunk of the profit. That’s not cool.

But sure, add those self-published and vanity published books to the hundreds of thousands of traditionally published books, and e-books, and small-press books. Yes, that means there are even more books for readers to read (assuming they can find those vanity published books, of course).

Keep in mind: more of something doesn’t mean it’s automatically better. It just means there’s more.

Self-publishing means writers can finally get their books published!

Not published. Printed. The author is the publisher.

Here’s a question: why choose to pay to have your book printed (or, if you use a vanity press, published)? Is it because traditional/e-publishers/small-press publishers have said that they don’t know how to market the book? Is it because your previous sales were low so traditional publishers don’t want to take the risk? Is it because your book just isn’t a good match for any of the traditional publishers, or e-publishers, or small presses? If the answer to these questions is yes, then self-publishing may be a good way to go, even with all those upfront costs to the author. Self-publishing is difficult for a number of reasons, but it certainly can be done, and done successfully.

But if you’re choosing to have your book printed because it’s been rejected everywhere else…you may want to consider that the book is simply not good enough to be published. Yeah, I know, that stings. But rejection is part of the publishing business. You can choose to either be hurt and offended, or you can choose to write a better book.

Traditional publishers are elitist!

Yes, they are. That’s because not everyone can write a book that is marketable. Traditional publishers — and their gatekeepers, literary agents — have to determine which manuscripts are worth the risk of publication and which are not. Sure, they may make mistakes along the way; if this business were clear-cut, every book published would be a bestseller. But that doesn’t change the concept that traditional publishers publish books they believe are going to sell, and sell well.

There seems to be this argument that everyone should be a published author if they want to be. To which I say: Why? I can do math, but I’m not good enough to be a mathematician. I can sing — very poorly, and off-key — but that doesn’t mean I’m good enough to be a soprano in an opera.

Writing, like any skill, takes time to get it right. And like any craft, there’s a lot of trial and error involved. The first time I completed a novel was back in 1995. And frankly, it was terrible. For one thing, the plot began on page 212. For another, the book ended on a cliffhanger on page 226. It wasn’t good enough to be published. And I didn’t get any offers for it.

So I kept working at the craft. And over time, I became a stronger writer. And finally, I was good enough to sell to a traditional publisher.

Saying that “thanks to self-publishing, everyone can write a book” doesn’t mean that everyone is able to write a good book.

Self-published authors can sell 5,000 copies of their books!

Sure, it’s possible. But keep in mind that the average number of copies a self-published title actually sells is closer to 75. If you can turn that number to 5,000, that’s wonderful.

Self-published e-book authors can sell 5,000 copies of their books!

You know, I’d say this is feasible, if they undercut other e-book prices. The question would be if their readers would return for more books after reading that initial inexpensive e-book.

RWA is being mean to Harlequin.

Stop and think for a minute: There has to be a good reason for the largest romance writing organization to tell the top romance publisher it is now an ineligible publisher. Harlequin has given tons of money to RWA over the years; by taking this stand, the organization is sure to feel the bite. And yet, RWA did it anyway.

That’s because RWA (along with MWA and SFWA) is taking a stand for its members. This goes back to Harlequin Horizons being a vanity publisher. RWA’s bylaws state that vanity publishers are ineligible publishers. Therefore, RWA declared Harlequin an ineligible publisher. It has nothing to do with being mean.

RWA didn’t declare Random House or HarperCollins or Thomas Nelson ineligible! Shenanigans!

First: Thomas Nelson, with its vanity arm West Bow, is now an ineligible RWA publisher.

Second: Random House didn’t own Xlibris; Random House’s parent, Bertelsmann, did, with a 49% share. That had nothing to do with Random House, and Random House didn’t funnel aspiring authors to Xlibris through its rejection letters.

Third: HarperCollins’s authonomy is a social networking platform in which authors may upload, for free, their manuscripts (either complete or incomplete), and other authonomy members share them, rank them, and critique them. Authonomy does advertise its POD venue with CreateSpace (a subsidiary of Amazon.com), and HarperCollins does advertise authonomy on its website. But CreateSpace is a legitimate POD publisher (I believe its distribution is limited to Amazon.com). I’ve heard that HarperCollins gets a referral fee — but this is not the same thing as a publisher having the author pay for all services **and then taking a portion of the author’s profit when the book sells.**

Self-publishing is the wave of the future!

Self-publishing is becoming easier for people to do. But just like any business venture — because publishing is a business, after all — people should make sure they know exactly what they’re getting into before they sign on the dotted line. But I don’t think it’s the wave of the future the way that e-books are. Technology is making more books accessible to readers in more ways. That doesn’t mean self-publishing is leveling the playing field.

You’re an elitist.

I’m a published author. I’ve learned a lot about this business since 2005, when my agent sold my novel to a traditional publisher. I’m sharing that knowledge, and I’m hopeful that it will help people understand what’s happening and what it means to them. If that makes me an elitist, so be it.

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This morning, my conversation with Loving Husband went like this:

ME: You were right, you know. It’s really a matter of perspective. All I can do is share my perspective and let people come to their own conclusions.

LOVING HUSBAND: Of course I was right. I’m always right.

To everyone who has been reading and commenting on the blog these past few days, thank you.