I have the chance to do a "vanity press" style printing of a book--but just two copies. One for myself (because my book got printed, how cool?!), and one to be put on a shelf at a local cafe for customers to peruse. It wouldn't be sold or anything like that. But because it was printed (technically published?), would that cause problems with trying to get that novel properly published later? Would it even need to be disclosed when querying agents/publishers? Thanks
Hi there,
It’s very wise of you to think about this before publishing your work. Some publishers can be very finicky about being previously published, especially when it’s vanity or self-publishing. But there have been those rare cases when it has worked for the author because they have had great sales.
Your vanity published book could work in your favour if it is beautifully done and well edited. But since you are printing out only two copies, there is no way for them to judge the sales of your book, so again this won’t hamper the valuation of your work. Maybe think about not having a copy sitting in a cafe until you have approached a few agents and gauged their reaction to their decision.
Another thing to consider is self marketing and using this vanity press opportunity to market your work online and build an audience willing to buy copies of your work. If it’s great content then it will sell. As long as you are prepared to do the promotion and marketing yourself and getting your work professionally edited, you don’t technically ‘need’ a publisher.
Good luck!
Zeba