Beware the predators in the self-publishing pool
(This article appeared first in Women's Ink, Autumn 2015. Thanks to the Society of Women Writers NSW for their kind permission to republish here.)
At the Dare to be an author Literary Festival in October 2014, Blanche D’Alpuget gave a thought-provoking keynote address outlining her venture into self-publishing. Her practical account of the process she established for self-publishing her novel ‘The lion rampant’ created a conversational thread that continued throughout the day, particularly during tea and lunch breaks
D’Alpuget is not alone amongst established authors who have decided to self-publish. Neil Gaiman and Stephen King are possibly the most well-known authors to go down this path, while R.L. Stine published a horror story via Twitter just in time for Halloween this year. Authors select different media to publish their work, taking into consideration their target audience, publishing budget and their own mode of reading preference. Each has their own advantages and pitfalls, but authors who particularly want to self-publish paper based books need to be aware of the perils of the ‘vanity press’ publisher. While canny authors have been cognisant of these publishers, increasingly there is a newer, more devious and often outright dishonest player to watch out for; the predatory publisher.
University librarians have for some time been advising their ever- eager- to- publish academics to be wary of ‘predatory’ publishers, who contact individuals with promises of guaranteed publication in ‘high exposure’ journals that have well-respected experts/academics on their editorial boards. Upon closer investigation, these journals, if they exist at all, are poor quality and poor circulation, and in some cases, the academics supposedly on the editorial board had never even heard of the journal. What began with the academic journal sector has now spread to book publishing, with numerous companies contacting academics, conference presenters and blog authors amongst others with promises of quality, high volume publications. In the case of predatory publishers, the adage “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is” is certainly true.
Enter Jeffrey Beall, librarian and researcher at the University of Colorado, Denver, who established ‘Beall’s List’ in 2010. The list began as a “critical analysis of scholarly open-access publishing” specifically for journals and has expanded to include analysis of book publishers. While the majority of the publishers appearing in Beall’s list focus on scholarly, non-fiction material, it is highly recommended that any author considering self-publishing or taking up an offer with an unknown publisher, check the list before agreeing to submit their work.
Also on Beall’s site and possibly more pertinent to fiction authors considering self-publishing, is the comprehensive list of vanity press publishers compiled by Lara Seven Phillips, Pacific Collection Librarian, University of the South Pacific*, Suva, Fiji. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have also posted a very good comparison of vanity and subsidy publishers and The Australian Society of Authors also has several articles on self-publishing. Librarians are continuing to monitor the predatory publisher trend, so if still in doubt, ask a friendly librarian.
(This article appeared first in Women's Ink, Autumn 2015. Thanks to the Society of Women Writers NSW for their kind permission to republish here.)
At the Dare to be an author Literary Festival in October 2014, Blanche D’Alpuget gave a thought-provoking keynote address outlining her venture into self-publishing. Her practical account of the process she established for self-publishing her novel ‘The lion rampant’ created a conversational thread that continued throughout the day, particularly during tea and lunch breaks
D’Alpuget is not alone amongst established authors who have decided to self-publish. Neil Gaiman and Stephen King are possibly the most well-known authors to go down this path, while R.L. Stine published a horror story via Twitter just in time for Halloween this year. Authors select different media to publish their work, taking into consideration their target audience, publishing budget and their own mode of reading preference. Each has their own advantages and pitfalls, but authors who particularly want to self-publish paper based books need to be aware of the perils of the ‘vanity press’ publisher. While canny authors have been cognisant of these publishers, increasingly there is a newer, more devious and often outright dishonest player to watch out for; the predatory publisher.
University librarians have for some time been advising their ever- eager- to- publish academics to be wary of ‘predatory’ publishers, who contact individuals with promises of guaranteed publication in ‘high exposure’ journals that have well-respected experts/academics on their editorial boards. Upon closer investigation, these journals, if they exist at all, are poor quality and poor circulation, and in some cases, the academics supposedly on the editorial board had never even heard of the journal. What began with the academic journal sector has now spread to book publishing, with numerous companies contacting academics, conference presenters and blog authors amongst others with promises of quality, high volume publications. In the case of predatory publishers, the adage “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is” is certainly true.
Enter Jeffrey Beall, librarian and researcher at the University of Colorado, Denver, who established ‘Beall’s List’ in 2010. The list began as a “critical analysis of scholarly open-access publishing” specifically for journals and has expanded to include analysis of book publishers. While the majority of the publishers appearing in Beall’s list focus on scholarly, non-fiction material, it is highly recommended that any author considering self-publishing or taking up an offer with an unknown publisher, check the list before agreeing to submit their work.
Also on Beall’s site and possibly more pertinent to fiction authors considering self-publishing, is the comprehensive list of vanity press publishers compiled by Lara Seven Phillips, Pacific Collection Librarian, University of the South Pacific*, Suva, Fiji. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have also posted a very good comparison of vanity and subsidy publishers and The Australian Society of Authors also has several articles on self-publishing. Librarians are continuing to monitor the predatory publisher trend, so if still in doubt, ask a friendly librarian.