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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3680
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I think [JSBᾶngs’s last paragraph](https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/3677/whats-the-distinction-between-vanity-publishing-and-self-publishing/3679#3679) nailed it, but to add to the confusion let me show a German perspective:

People in the whole world "love" German for its ability to construct long names. A vanity publisher is a Druckkostenzuschussverlag (Druck-Kosten-Zuschuss-Verlag).

That’s a print-cost-subsidy-publisher. The writer subsidizes the publisher to print his book and sell it in stores (what will never happen; book stores don't take vanity press books).

The fraud here is obvious if you know where the German word "Verlag" (publisher) comes from. It is derived from "vorlegen" which means "advancing money".

So by definition the Verlag advances the money. The Verlag pays the cost. The publisher takes the risk, not the writer. So a vanity publisher is lying to the writer, because he tells him, that the writer has to pay money. He does not.

If you self-publish, the writer still does not pay the money. The publisher does. The difference is, that the publisher and the writer are the same person. That's not true for vanity publishing.

Most self-publishers need help to publish their books. So they ask publishing service providers. Are these different from vanity publishers? Are security companies different from Mafia families? There are black sheep all over the place.

Original score: 5