Vanity Publishers

[Wolfox4777]

How do I know whether something was vanity published? Would they just have tried to get as much money from the writer as possible?

I entered a competition in the newspaper ages ago, and sent in three poems. I didn't get into that book, but to my great joy I got into another book that they were (conveniently) doing. Of course, to have a profile about yourself you had to pay quite a lot, and they sent several offers and stuff which, to me, seemed to be money-making schemes. I didn't go with any of them and just had the basic single copy of the book free of charge. They picked the poem which, in my opinion, was probably the worst of the three (I don't think I have the other poems anymore so I can't be certain now). Was this a vanity publisher? The poems in the book (along with mine) aren't particularly outstanding overall in my opinion. They're all by people in the same region.

Would this published poem still be useful as something to say "i've been published" when trying to publish something else?

United Press was the name of the company.

Thanks for any help and information!

[jchines]

I assume this is the company?

http://www.unitedpress.co.uk/

Let's see ... entry is free, and winners receive a free copy of the anthology. So it's better than the National Library of Poetry scam (aka Poetry.com, among other aliases.)

On the other hand, this page (http://www.unitedpress.co.uk/intoprint.htm) on their site includes lines such as:

"Currently, your chances of finding a publisher are low - and getting worse all the time. Today’s demanding financial market means publishers need sure-fire success."

and

"With United Press, you can self-publish for as little as £280. Most other publishers charge £4,000 to £9,000 to put you into print."

and

"So be realistic. Don’t aim too high too soon."

All of these are things that would not make me take the publisher that seriously. The first quote is typical BS used to push people toward self and vanity publishing. The third is just crappy advice.

I didn't find anything warning about the company as a scammer. But it does appear to be mostly a vanity press.

[Wolfox4777]

That's the company, yeah. I thought it was likely a vanity press, now I know. Thanks.