Who's so vain?





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Until recently, "self-publishing" was often called "vanity publishing."



The word "vanity" implies excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements and appeal.



Vanity has been considered a sin. It can lead to wasted resources and wasted lives. It can also lead to useful activities and important accomplishments.



♦ Most or all artistic people have some degree of vanity, or they would not produce or perform.

Most people seem to like themselves. There are gradations in vanity, ranging from justified confidence to outrageous, obnoxious egomania.



In "You're So Vain," Carly Simon wrote and sang that some man (possibly Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger) is so vain that he probably thinks that the song is about him.



One reason that self-publishing companies stay in business is because vain people are willing to spend money to flatter themselves. A company like this depends on the vanity of writers who strive to become "published authors." Self-publishing companies make most of their money from writers, not from readers. If you work with a self-publishing company, you pay all of the expenses of publishing, and have all of the risks and all of the loss.



Although not always true, a book published by a self-publishing company is often assumed to have been rejected as unworthy of publication by traditional publishers.

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♦ Here's another way of looking at vanity and publishing: Maybe the most vain writers are those who will delay publication for years or decades in hope of being accepted by a traditional publisher, instead of quickly self-publishing, reaching the public, making their points, and maybe making some money.