History Main / VanityPublishing

* The writing quality is often terrible. For every competent author out there, [[SturgeonsLaw there are dozens of] ''[terrible]'' [authors]] convinced [[GiftedlyBad they're God's gift]] to the literary world, and vanity presses are how a lot of them get published. It also provides ProtectionFromEditors, seeing as there are few if any.

* The writing quality is often terrible. For every competent author out there, [[SturgeonsLaw there are dozens of ''terrible'' authors]] convinced [[GiftedlyBad they're God's gift]] to the literary world, and vanity presses are how a lot of them get published. It also provides ProtectionFromEditors, seeing as there are few if any.

* The writing quality is often terrible. For every competent author out there, [[SturgeonsLaw there are dozens of]] ''[[SturgeonsLaw terrible]]'' [[SturgeonsLaw authors]] convinced [[GiftedlyBad they're God's gift]] to the literary world, and vanity presses are how a lot of them get published. It also provides ProtectionFromEditors, seeing as there are few if any.

!!Since vanity published books are almost by definition obscure, pretty much all examples will be obscure as well:
(See further down for in-universe examples.)

* After [=PublishAmerica=], already under fire for accusations of vanity publishing, made a couple of remarks [[SciFiGhetto critical of the science fiction and fantasy market]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Nights a group of authors from both genres put together]] ''Literature/AtlantaNights'', an [[StylisticSuck intentionally low-quality]] manuscript, written under the name "[[PunnyName Travis Tea]]". The "novel" was accepted by [=PublishAmerica=] (which purports to hold high standards), despite the fact that it contained numerous deliberate plot holes and inconsistencies, a missing chapter, a duplicate chapter, a chapter written by a [[ArtificialStupidity computer text-generating program]], and other flaws that should have rendered it unpublishable on face value (at least by any "traditional publisher"). After the hoax was revealed (by the authors themselves, on recommendation from their legal team), the acceptance was swiftly withdrawn.

!!In-universe and discussed examples

'''Don't add examples that are self-published, just terrible, or self-published and terrible. If you don't know why, go read what "vanity publisher" means again.'''

[[AC: ComicBooks]]
* ''ComicBook/ADistantSoil'', but for a different reason - it was originally published by Richard Pini of ''ComicBook/ElfQuest''. However, author Coleen Doran severed the contract after nine issues because of the ExecutiveMeddling. (Wherein dialogue, art, and cover changes were made without her approval, and she even stated in one of her memos that they even wanted to take ''her'' off the project. Pini has allegedly also tried to get the rights to it, too.)
* In one of the craziest examples, in 2008, Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart created a bizarre 16-page comic detailing his vehement opposition to homosexuality and painting his opponents as being inspired by Satan, and then distributed copies to his constituents in an attempt to convince them to re-elect him. He ended up losing the primary and facing felony charges relating to his 2004 campaign.

* The infamous ''Literature/TheLegendOfRahAndTheMuggles'' was self-published by author Nancy K. Stouffer in the 1980s. It was later republished by a company that was formed just to publish it 2001 in light of Stouffer's (since failed, miserably) attempt to sue Creator/JKRowling. This [[http://www.magespace.net/mugrev.html plot breakdown]] should show you why. A small-time publisher tried to cash in on the NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity and did a small print run, but it folded the next year.
* The first few books of ''The Cross Time Engineer'' series were published by Creator/BaenBooks, but the later novels are entirely self published.

* E. Lynn Harris self-published his first book, and by tireless promotional touring sold a lot of copies and got it picked up by a regular publisher. Many of his subsequent books have been bestsellers.

* Another example of a previously self-published work picked up by a legitimate publisher: Gollancz has paid a six-figure sum to acquire the ''{{Stonewylde}}'' series by Kit Berry.

* ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potters-muggles-guide-magic/dp/1929771053/ref=cm_cr-mr-title Harry Potter's Muggle's Guide to Magic]]'' must fall under this category. There's no other way to describe this "dictionary" of the Literature/HarryPotter books that was published well before the series concluded. It's rife with misspellings ("wizardu books"? Really?) and inaccuracies -- apparently Draco Malfoy's father is named "Dracus" (not "Lucius"), Dumbledore's first name is "Albert", and the Weasleys' car was a Flying Ford Angelica. The writing is also incomprehensible and manages to confuse the plots of the second and third books in the series. The art is just as bad: Hermione wearing glasses is a mild oversight, but making Hagrid into a four-foot-tall lumberjack and giving Mad-Eye Moody green skin is much less forgivable. At least we may all take comfort in the fact that the book is out of print.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry.com The National Library of Poetry]], anyone? Sure, you don't ''have'' to pay anything to get published...but you know they expect you to buy the book, and pay to travel to the conference where your poem will allegedly be read, and so on and so forth. People, including DaveBarry, have gotten in on the attempts to send something that's actually bad enough that they'll refuse to publish it; [[http://www.wockyjivvy.com/poetry/shame/index.html so far, no dice]].
* Orbit has bought the rights to the previously self-published six book series ''Literature/TheRiyriaRevelations'' by Michael J. Sullivan and will re-release it as a trilogy.
* ''Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys'', published in 2011, is a children's fantasy novel intended as the first in a franchise of five books ''and'' their film adaptations, suggesting vanity ''filmmaking'' as well as publishing. It came to public attention only when Paris Jackson (Michael's daughter) was announced as playing the lead in the movie -- she even appears on the cover -- and the book is only available through the official website and Amazon.com. It's a loopy one: When her husband and daughter are seemingly killed by "The Decayed Sea" (WaterIsAir is badly abused in this book), the jellyfish queen of the ocean kidnaps a human scientist, using his form to assume a human shape and turn kidnapped children into a half-human, half-insect army to destroy humanity for its pollution. Her plan hinges on destroying the belief in the heart of the scientist's 16-year-old daughter Lundon, who ultimately must save the day with help (a '''lot''' of help) from a dolphin that can turn into a human, a shapeshifting ''and'' fire-breathing seahorse, and a surfer friend who gets turned into a dragonfly. Supposedly this was in the planning stages for ''thirty-plus years''; the movie is currently in DevelopmentHell.
* The nonsensical plot and complete lack of understanding of biology present in Victoria Foyt's ''Literature/SaveThePearls'' might have gone unnoticed entirely, but for the fact that the book gathered extremely negative attention for its clumsy and insensitive handling of the PersecutionFlip that serves as its main premise: a {{dystopia}}n future where minority whites are discriminated against by a black majority, because higher melanin counts were less likely to get skin cancer when the Earth was bombarded with increased UV radiation. In the book it's a plot point that "Pearls" (whites) cover themselves in dark makeup to fit in... meaning {{blackface}}. The book also had [[http://www.youtube.com/user/savethepearls several promotional videos]] done, with actors in blackface. With the author point-blank refusing to acknowledge there being anything remotely problematic about this, deleting all negative criticism of the topic on her Facebook page, and having apparently fabricated the majority of her own book reviews, it went from unheard of to infamous almost overnight, generally turning into BileFascination as the depths of the novel's ignorance and insensitivity were more fully explored.
* A borderline example happened with Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez's works like ''Literature/YouthInSexualEcstasy'' and ''Literature/TheEyesOfMyPrincess''. These books are universally held in Mexico as prime examples of literary garbage that no self-respecting publisher would dare touch... except for Ediciones Diamante, which is Carlos's own publishing company!

* In the play ''CyranoDeBergerac'' by Edmond Rostand, there is an InUniverse example. At Act II Scene VII, [[StarvingArtist Cyrano]] [[DiscussedTrope discuss this trope]] with [[TheWatson Le Bret]], claiming that he will [[DefiedTrope defy it]].[[note]]: Because this play is VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, there was a real poet called CyranoDeBergerac and Sercy was his real editor, implying the very thing the fictional Cyrano vehemently denies[[/note]].
--> '''Cyrano:''' Get kindly editor Sercy
--> To print my verses at proper expense? [[DefiedTrope No thank you!]]

* In-universe example in ''Literature/FoucaultsPendulum'': The three main characters, who all work at a vanity press that's been getting a lot of manuscripts from occultists and conspiracy crackpots, decide to one-up them all by creating the Ultimate Conspiracy Theory. Things then [[GoneHorriblyRight go horribly right.]]
* In a twist, the not-terribly-obscure, not-at-all vanity published ''Literature/HowNotToWriteANovel'' is a how-to guide for writers taking the form of how to remain completely unpublishable. In addition to providing tips on how to make your protagonist insufferable, your plot horrid, and how to make sure no editor talks to an unprofessional boor such as yourself, it contains a truly sincere and serious warning about this business practice. The vanity publisher in the book is even called Fuxom and Snickers.

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]

* One episode of ''NightCourt'' has an in-universe example when Bull writes an autobiography and gets it published this way.

* ''Literature/MaradoniaSaga'': Once upon a time, a girl named Gloria Tesch wrote a [[ClicheStorm woefully generic]] young adult fantasy novel about a [[MartyStu Gary-Stu]] and [[MarySue Mary-Sue]] who discover a magical land adjacent to the US, ''à la'' ''{{Narnia}}'', fulfill a prophecy, turn out to be [[ChosenOne Chosen Ones]], and fight against an "Evil Empire" (yes, [[ObviouslyEvil that is what it is called]]; in spite of the fact that a reading of the first chapter reveals that isn't actually an empire anyway). Random words being italicized or in quotation marks for no fucking reason does not help. Her parents told her it was brilliant, published it, and the girl has since developed an ego the size of a planet; proclaiming herself the world's youngest published author (which she isn't), dismissing the most meager negative criticism as the work of "haters", and is under the impression that a Maradonia movie and amusement park are on the way. Amazon.com and other such websites are [[SockPuppet full of reviews written by the girl, her parents and her friends in which they relentlessly praise the series]]. [[http://conjugalfelicity.com/gloria-tesch/ Her books and self-promotional tactics have been analyzed in detail]].

* Some of the worse prose of all time is in ''The Shadow Mouse of Everjade''. If you look it up on Amazon and read an excerpt, you will get some idea of the quality.

* ''ComicBook/ADistantSoil'', but for a different reason - it was originally published by Richard Pini of ''ElfQuest''. However, author Coleen Doran severed the contract after nine issues because of the ExecutiveMeddling. (Wherein dialogue, art, and cover changes were made without her approval, and she even stated in one of her memos that they even wanted to take ''her'' off the project. Pini has allegedly also tried to get the rights to it, too.)

* A borderline example happened with Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez's works like ''YouthInSexualEcstasy'' and ''TheEyesOfMyPrincess''. These books are universally held in Mexico as prime examples of literary garbage that no self-respecting publisher would dare touch... except for Ediciones Diamante, which is Carlos's own publishing company!

* ''Literature/MaradoniaSaga'': Once upon a time, a girl named Gloria Tesch wrote a [[ClicheStorm woefully generic]] young adult fantasy novel about a [[MartyStu Gary-Stu]] and [[MarySue Mary-Sue]] who discover a magical land adjacent to the US, ''à la'' ''{{Narnia}}'', fulfill a prophecy, turn out to be [[ChosenOne Chosen Ones]], and fight against an "Evil Empire" (yes, [[ObviouslyEvil that is what it is called]]; in spite of the fact that a reading of the first chapter reveals that isn't actually an empire anyway). Random words being italicized or in quotation marks for no fucking reason does not help. Her parents told her it was brilliant, published it, and the girl has since developed an ego the size of a planet; proclaiming herself the world's youngest published author (which she isn't), dismissing the most meager negative criticism as the work of "haters", and is under the impression that a Maradonia movie and amusement park are on the way. Amazon.com and other such websites are [[SockPuppet full of reviews written by the girl, her parents and her friends in which they relentlessly praise the series]].

It's worth noting that there are differences between a vanity press and a self-publisher. In self-publishing, the writer takes on the duties of editor and formatter himself, simply contracting with a printing firm to produce the physical book. Naturally, for similar reasons, many (but not all) self-published books also suck. Some do not, and some have to be self-published even though they're high quality and well written, because they wouldn't sell in the real world, e.g. the history of a corporation. (Would you be interested in the corporate history of BB&T Bank? Well, that bank has a history of itself, well written and professionally produced, in the lobby of every branch for customers to read. Even though the book is well done, seriously, nobody in the general public would be interested in buying it.)

* Vanity pressings are the audio counterpart to vanity publishing. These could be something as benign as an unsigned band making a vinyl recording (essentially self-publishing with sales at shows) on up to companies that would write and record songs [[BlatantLies using the finest in talent and audio equipment]] around the authors lyrics for a fee. Some of these have become cult favorites thanks to blogs like WFMU's 365 Days Project.

Occasionally (''very'' occasionally) a vanity published book can break out and end up being published by a legitimate publishing company. This happened with the children's book series ''TheFairyChronicles''. It originally cost a lot and had only 32 pages (due to its small [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} typeface]]), with no color and no illustrations. Once moved to a new publisher, it had vibrant color, many illustrations, and more pages (with a larger, more appropriately sized font).

* ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potters-muggles-guide-magic/dp/1929771053/ref=cm_cr-mr-title Harry Potter's muggle's guide to magic]]'' must fall under this category. There's no other way to describe this 'dictionary' of the Literature/HarryPotter books that was published well before the series concluded. It's rife with misspellings ("wizardu books"?) and inaccuracies -- apparently Draco Malfoy's father is named "Dracus", Dumbledore's first name is "Albert", and the Weasleys' car was a Flying Ford Angelica. The writing is also incomprehensible and manages to confuse the plots of the second and third books in the series. The art is just as bad; while Hermione wearing glasses is a mild oversight, making Hagrid into a four-foot-tall lumberjack and giving Mad-Eye Moody green skin is much less forgivable. At least we may all take comfort in the fact that the book is out of print.

* [[http://www.wikipedia.org/Kenneth_Eng Kenneth Eng]] is proof-positive that white supremacists aren't the only insane racist bunch around. A self-proclaimed Asian supremacist who '''''claimed credit for inciting the Virginia Tech massacre''''', Kenneth Eng published obvious FlameBait articles in the California newspaper ''Asian Week'' titled "Why I Hate Black People" and "Why I Hate White People." Once word of this got out to the mainstream media, he used the exposure to '''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK4fjMhGn-I plug his vanity-published science-fiction book!]]''' Said book, ''Literature/DragonsLexiconTriumvirate'', is pretty much awful, but he's written glowing five-star reviews of it on Amazon, while [[SockPuppet pretending to be someone else]]. He even writes reviews of other books just to mention it. His review of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' amounted to: "This book is good, go read ''Dragons: Lexicon Triumvirate.''" He's also stooped to sock-puppet antics on various literary fora, bringing up a topic and then using it to plug his book.

* [[http://www.wikipedia.org/Kenneth_Eng Kenneth Eng]] is proof-positive that white supremacists aren't the only insane racist bunch around. A self-proclaimed Asian supremacist who '''''claimed credit for inciting the Virginia Tech massacre''''', Kenneth Eng published obvious FlameBait articles in the California newspaper ''Asian Week'' titled "Why I Hate Black People" and "Why I Hate White People." Once word of this got out to the mainstream media, he used the exposure to '''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK4fjMhGn-I plug his vanity-published science-fiction book!]]''' Said book, ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Triumvirate-Kenneth-Che-Tew-Eng/dp/097487650X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252608288&sr=8-1 Dragons:]] [[WordSaladTitle Lexicon Triumvirate]]'', is pretty much awful, but he's written glowing five-star reviews of it on Amazon, while [[SockPuppet pretending to be someone else]]. He even writes reviews of other books just to mention it. His review of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' amounted to: "This book is good, go read ''Dragons: Lexicon Triumvirate.''" He's also stooped to sock-puppet antics on various literary fora, bringing up a topic and then using it to plug his book.

* After [=PublishAmerica=], already under fire for accusations of vanity publishing, made a couple of remarks critical of the science fiction and fantasy market, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Nights a group of authors from both genres put together]] ''Literature/AtlantaNights'', an [[StylisticSuck intentionally low-quality]] manuscript, written under the name "[[PunnyName Travis Tea]]". The "novel" was accepted by [=PublishAmerica=] (which purports to hold high standards), despite the fact that it contained numerous deliberate plot holes and inconsistencies, a missing chapter, a duplicate chapter, a chapter written by a [[ArtificialStupidity computer text-generating program]], and other flaws that should have rendered it unpublishable on face value (at least by any "traditional publisher"). After the hoax was revealed (by the authors themselves, on recommendation from their legal team), the acceptance was swiftly withdrawn.

* The infamous ''Literature/TheLegendOfRahAndTheMuggles'' was self-published by author Nancy K. Stouffer in the 1980s. It was later republished by a company that was formed just to publish it 2001 in light of Stouffer's (since failed, miserably) attempt to sue JKRowling. This [[http://www.magespace.net/mugrev.html plot breakdown]] should show you why. A small-time publisher tried to cash in on the NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity and did a small print run, but it folded the next year.

* ''Another Hope'' is a ''StarWars'' FanFic by Lori Jareo in which all the main characters die in the first episode and the author's MarySue AuthorAvatar takes over. Also, the ''Star Wars'' Galaxy now apparently possess a [[Franchise/StarTrek Starfleet]]. When Jareo, in a move that must have taken balls of steel, had the story vanity-published and put it up for sale via mainstream channels like Amazon.com (claiming that it was okay do so because only her family knew it was there), GeorgeLucas' lawyers wept tears of burning sulfur.

* John Trubee's "Peace And Love" was an attempt to try and write lyrics so confusing and disgusting that the company would not record it. However, in a break with their policy, they did record it, changing only one line.

* The aforementioned [=PublishAmerica=] claims to be a "traditional publisher". In response to a comment on the company's website denigrating science fiction and fantasy authors, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Nights a group of these authors put together]] ''Literature/AtlantaNights'', an [[StylisticSuck intentionally low-quality]] manuscript under the name [[PunnyName Travis Tea]]. The "novel" was accepted by [=PublishAmerica=] (which purports to have high standards and to reject the majority of submissions), despite the fact that it contained numerous deliberate plot holes and inconsistencies, a missing chapter, a duplicate chapter, a chapter written by a [[ArtificialStupidity computer text-generating program]], and other flaws that should have rendered it unpublishable on its face (at least, by any "traditional publisher"). After the hoax was revealed, the acceptance was swiftly withdrawn.

* ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfArchieReynolds'' Horrible dialog, BeigeProse galore, and ''very'' repetitive writing. There's dozens of examples of Archie thinking that he's going to do so something, then saying out loud that he's going to do something, and then actually doing it; all in the exact same words. (e.g. Archie wants to get back at a girl who cracked an egg over his head. He sees her swimming pool and thinks to throw her in there. He then says out loud that he should throw her in the pool. He then throws her in the pool.) There's also a gang of bullies who talk like pirates for no reason, and a scene in which the characters speculate on the purpose of a ladder and come to the conclusion that it is for [[CaptainObvious climbing up or down]]. Gee, who would have guessed. The author attempted to promote his book by [[SockPuppet using multiple accounts on Amazon.com]] to [[TheShill write nearly identical glowing reviews]]. It was obvious from clicking each screenname that the accounts were created just to praise that book. He'd even tried the same stunt in other places as well.

* ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potters-muggles-guide-magic/dp/1929771053/ref=cm_cr-mr-title Harry Potter's muggle's guide to magic]]'' must fall under this category. There's no other way to describe this 'dictionary' of the HarryPotter books that was published well before the series concluded. It's rife with misspellings ("wizardu books"?) and inaccuracies -- apparently Draco Malfoy's father is named "Dracus", Dumbledore's first name is "Albert", and the Weasleys' car was a Flying Ford Angelica. The writing is also incomprehensible and manages to confuse the plots of the second and third books in the series. The art is just as bad; while Hermione wearing glasses is a mild oversight, making Hagrid into a four-foot-tall lumberjack and giving Mad-Eye Moody green skin is much less forgivable. At least we may all take comfort in the fact that the book is out of print.

* Orbit has bought the rights to the previously self-published six book series ''TheRiyriaRevelations'' by Michael J. Sullivan and will re-release it as a trilogy.

* ''Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys'', published in 2011, is a children's fantasy novel intended as the first in a franchise of five books ''and'' their film adaptations, suggesting vanity ''filmmaking'' as well as publishing. It came to public attention only when Paris Jackson (Michael's daughter) was announced as playing the lead in the movie -- she even appears on the cover -- and the book is only available through the official website and Amazon.com. It's a loopy one: When her husband and daughter are seemingly killed by "The Decayed Sea" (WaterIsAir is badly abused in this book), the jellyfish queen of the ocean kidnaps a human scientist, using his form to assume a human shape and turn kidnapped children into a half-human, half-insect army to destroy humanity for its pollution. Her plan hinges on destroying the belief in the heart of the scientist's 16-year-old daughter Lundon, who ultimately must save the day with help from a dolphin that can turn into a human, a shapeshifting, fire-breathing seahorse, and a surfer friend who gets turned into a dragonfly. Supposedly this was in the planning stages for ''thirty-plus years''; the movie is currently in DevelopmentHell.