Over the last year, I have seen with increasing frequency people asking advice about “self-publishing” companies.

Let’s get one thing straight: There is no such thing as a “self-publishing company.”

When it comes to publishing, the author has three basic options:

  1. Traditional publishing
  2. Hired publishing (aka hybrid publishing)
  3. Self-publishing.

Traditional publishing is the default concept that springs to mind when one thinks of publishing. The author writes a book, submits it to a publishing company, and the company publishes it.

If only the process were so simple. In actuality, the process goes much like this:

  1. Write the manuscript.
  2. Edit and revise the manuscript. Repeat until it’s as good as you can possibly get it.
  3. Write the query letter and/or book proposal.
  4. Write the synopsis and/or outline.
  5. Research publishing companies and literary agencies.
  6. From a short list of publishers and agents most likely to handle your work, look up their author guidelines and follow them exactly.
  7. Submit and wait.
  8. Expect rejection.
  9. Submit and wait again.
  10. Lather, rinse, repeat steps 6, 7, 8, and 9 until your manuscript is accepted or you exhaust all viable publishing venues.

What most ill-informed or naive authors call “self-publishing companies” are what the savvy among us identify as vanity publishers. To be fair, not all publishers-for-hire (aka hybrid publishers) are predatory and exist to exploit naive, ambitious authors who ought to know better. Some do provide good service for the money. All are expensive.

Follow the money. The key here distinguishing hybrid or vanity publishers from traditional publishers is the flow of money. A publisher in the traditional sense pays the author a share of royalties earned from book sales. A hired publishing company charges the author: the author pays for one-stop-shop that usually provides a suite of services including editing, book design, cover design, publishing, and maybe even marketing.

Because most hired publishers are indeed vanity presses, the quality of their service (and products) is usually substandard. Not only that, but vanity presses also command a hefty percentage of the author’s royalties and may even require ownership of the copyright.

Self-publishing means the author is the publisher. The author controls the project and publishes the book on his or her own behalf. This does not mean the author does everything by himself or herself. Because a traditional publisher employs professionals (e.g., editors, designers), it’s perfectly acceptable and normal for an author to hire freelance professionals to perform those production-related tasks that he or she either cannot do or cannot do well.

Yes, I’m one of those freelance professionals.

In self-publishing model, the author pays those hired professionals, but does not pay to publish. Amazon (aka Kindle Direct Publishing), IngramSpark, and other services offer online platforms through which anyone may upload their files and publish them for free. That’s right: free.

A little due diligence on your end to educate yourself will save you big headaches later.