Lars Eighner's Homepage Writers' Workshop FAQ: Q. What is subsidy publishing?

Q. What is subsidy publishing?

A. Often it is nothing more than a polite term for vanity publishing. After all, if you are a vanity publisher, you don't have to be an Einstein to figure out that calling yourself a "vanity publisher" is not going to create the most favorable impression. Most advertise themselves as "subsidy publishers," and a few of the even more shady type pretend that they are conventional publishers and hope that their clueless clients will not know that there is nothing conventional about the author paying to be published.

However, some kinds of subsidy publishing are legitimate. Subsidy publishing is a way that books that are expected to sell only to a few specialists and libraries can be produced. In most cases, the authors are academics who know they will not recoup their investments through book sales but nonetheless find subsidy publishing worthwhile because of the enhancement of their professional reputations. Naturally, this payoff will be realized only when the works are meritorious in the estimation of the authors' colleagues.

Some subsidies are not paid by the author. Local histories, for example, might be subsidized by the local historical society. and various organizations and businesses often subsidize (flattering) books about themselves. Professional organizations may subsidize certain kinds of obscure reference books.

Needless to say, few novelists will find someone else to subsidize the publication of his or her novel nor will subsidized publication enhance a novelist's professional reputation.