Don't you hate it when you see an email that looks really promising, that's offering a free lifetimes' supply of... wait a minute, SPAM ALERT! Well, that's certainly what the email from LAP Publishing offering to "publishing your dissertation in the form of a printed book" appeared to be. Is it sad that I can't believe anything I read in emails anymore? Some call it unhealthy skepticism, I call it self preservation and COMMON SENSE.
However, after doing a bit of research, it seems that this is not a scam but "standard practice" for the company. You get a free book, a listing on Amazon.com, and some royalties for other books sold. Apparently if the royalties are too low each month, you receive a book voucher for... LAP Publishing! Wow.
However, after doing a bit of research, it seems that this is not a scam but "standard practice" for the company. You get a free book, a listing on Amazon.com, and some royalties for other books sold. Apparently if the royalties are too low each month, you receive a book voucher for... LAP Publishing! Wow.
The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret
(think Terry Pratchett, people!)
(think Terry Pratchett, people!)
Quality control and peer review is also a big issue when choosing a publishing house, and it seems that LAP simply take your work and print it out verbatim, doing no extra editorial work. So it seems that this is a case of vanity press: if you really feel the need to say "I've published a book mwa ha ha, look me up on Amazon" then go right ahead. But I won't be.
