Publishing Traps!

Recently I was answering a few questions on Quora, when I came across two questions I felt I was able to shed some light on. 

One question was about publishing with a company I have a particular problem with, a vanity press. 
When it comes to publishing these days authors and publishers are given a slew of options.  It's easy to become overwhelmed.  
Some deal with this by not publishing at all...you cant fail if you don't try...I guess.
Others may pay disturbingly high fees to companies that promise to "take care of all the details" for you... this could be worse than never trying,  except hopefully this mistake will wake those authors up enough to seek more profitable avenues.
There's traditional publishing, publishing with a small press, hybrid publishing, Vanity publishing and self publishing...probably a few more.
Traditional publishing is what we see in movies, you find an agent, they get you a deal, you get paid.
A small press is like traditional publishing but on a smaller scale...you probably don't need an agent.
Now a vanity press and hybrid publishing are similar in practice but different in terms of value and overall moral standing.
With hybrid publishing you bring as much of a finished product as you can, they will offer services at reasonable rates to fill the gaps. The cost of this will be covered by you the author. 
Note how I said reasonable. These rates may still be pricey but shouldn't be overly so. In addition to this, you should have significantly higher royalties than traditional publishing, or some other form of compensation worked out between you and the publisher.
A vanity press operates the same, however the value and quality of their services is a joke. 
Do your research (beyond the first page of Google as these presses pay loads of money to ensure they show up at the top of the results.
Where a vanity press will promise you distribution to all the major platforms...and yes they will in fact uphold that promise, you could be offered a fraction of what legitimate publishers and distributors would offer you.
And remember, you've already paid these presses thousands, so now after those thousands you are still expected to share up to 60% of your royalties (gross royalties mind you, not net) hoping to make back your investment operating on a meager 10% royalty rate (25%) if you're lucky or paid another few thousand for a "Proffessional Package"
Moral of the story avoid these, at all costs. 
Can you make money with them?
Sure.
You could also win the lottery. 
Below is a stellar resource for both finding ethical services to partner with, as well as avoiding the unethical ones. 
But to name a few:
Xlibris Author Solutions Dog Ear Publishing 
ALLI's Watch Dog List

My personal recommendation, whether you're self publishing or going through a small press is to use Draft 2 Digital.
They take 10% of your royalties as their cut, but in exchange they distribute your books to all the major stores (including a lot I'm sure you've never heard of.)
You can also manage any changes or updates to your book through one easy to use dashboard. These changes will be reflected in all the stores you choose to sell your book (though update times may vary by vendor.)
I'll make a post specifically to talk about Aggregators like Draft 2 Digital in a future post, but if you're interested now, feel free to use my affiliate link!
https://www.draft2digital.com/DiceBook

If you choose to do so, please feel free to let me know:
contact@dicebookpublishing.com