...those wonderful vanity publishers. There's a new one on the block - Green Shore. I won't link them because I don't want to give them the hits, but according to the wonderful Victoria at Writer Beware they're going as far as to create fake Facebook pages of fake authors. Sigh.
Here's the thing.
Vanity publishers generally don't offer a very good deal. That is, their packages are seldom cheaper than you would get buying those services yourself. If they include marketing, the marketing is often half-assed. Why? They've already been paid - unlike real publishers, who make their money off of book sales.
Again, if you want to self publish, you are better off buying the editing and cover art yourself and learning how to do the conversion and layout (If you really can't, there are people who will do it for a reasonable price - heck, I'd do simple ebook conversion for a price, but I encourage people to learn. It's not hard).
You'll get a better deal and because the editor is working for you not a third party you'll retain the creative control that is, after all, why most "indies" self publish.
And if you want a real publisher? No reputable publisher asks for money from their authors up front. A few even give you the money up front (advances are rare these days, but not completely non-existent). Reputable publishers use the money from the last book to pay for the next one.
And any publisher that claims to be something new, different, and amazing - isn't.
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