Vanity press

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A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher, is a book printer that is paid by authors to self-publish their books. A vanity press charges fees in advance and does not contribute to the development of the book. It has been described as a scam. However, as the book does get printed, it does not necessarily meet the definition of actual fraud. The term vanity press is derogatory, so it is not used by the printers. Some self-publishing businesses prefer to market themselves as an independent press. It is not to be confused with hybrid publishing, where the publisher and author collaborate and share costs and risks, or with assisted self-publishing, where the authors, sometimes styling themselves as authorpreneurs, pay various contractors and publishing services to assist them with self-publishing their own book, and retain all rights.

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