A publish on demand service is not a publisher.
A Hybrid publisher is still a “pay to play” situation.
And I understand – they aren’t publishers. They’re print houses.
So… if a hybrid or publish on demand print house passes themselves off as a publisher…
They’ve lied.
Tell people you’re a print house. If you claim to be something you’re not, and use misleading claims on your web page to sell your services, that’s the very definition of fraud.
Create Space and places like that are acceptable – they act as a print house, but with a storefront. You can order an Ebook, and it’s set up so that it can be sold on the largest non-brick-and-mortar storefront in the world – Amazon. What they’re doing is ethical, because they make it clear what they’re doing. They’re not REALLY a publisher. That word really shouldn’t be used in their claims or descriptions.
If you’re a print house, and you claim to be a publisher when you’re not – it becomes an integrity issue. Lying in order to solicit business is the definition of fraud.
I disagree that it is incumbent upon me to sort through the claims of a print house to determine if it’s a print house or a publisher.
I don’t have to do this for a doctor. I don’t have to do this for an electrician. I don’t have to do this for a lawyer. I do have to do this for contractors, because where I live, probably 75% of the building contractors have a criminal record for accepting payment for work not rendered.
Why then should I have to do it for a publisher? And shouldn’t anyone claiming to be a publisher who is not face the same penalties as a fraudulent building contractor?
here’s a bottom line statement.
Don’t trust any publisher that demands money from you. A publisher pays you. If you paid money to get your book printed, that’s printed and not published.
And just to make it plainer, don’t trust a publisher that accepts manuscripts without an agent.
Do it the hard way. Get the agent, and let them chase the publishing deal.
These are of course opinions, and I reserve the right to be wrong! What do you think? Discuss it!
