Some of the websites for vanity publishers tout "free" publishing programs. What you get for free is hot air. If you want real books, you pay real money.
CreateSpace is an Amazon subsidiary which says it lets you "Self-Publish a Book - Free.": The only free things I could find on its website are "free tools to prepare your content for publication" and an ISBN number that identifies CreateSpace (not you) as the publisher.
The company has two publishing programs. The standard program is sort of free. The $39 "Pro" program can provide so much more profit per book that you'd have to be an idiot or a pessimist not to go for the Pro.
With the "free" standard plan, apparently you don't have to pay a penny to upload your book's files into the CreateSpace computer and make it available for printing when orders are received.
HOWEVER, each time a book is printed, you do pay a fee, and you have to order at least one book.
It seems to me that until eBooks or mental telepathy become widespread, printing will be an intrinsic part of publishing books. Therefore, "Self-Publish for Free" is baloney.
It reminds me of radio commercials that AT&T ran back in the 20th century, promising FREE INSTALLATION of their Merlin phone systems. The fine print of the deal revealed that they had a unique definition of "installation," because it did not include installing any wire, which could cost thousands.
Lulu says it is "the only publisher that offers you all that it does for free." The company has run online ads touting "Publish Your Book - Free," "Free publishing," and "Free Self Publishing." Their website promises, "free book publishing," but their publishing is free only if you don't want any books to be printed!
A 250-pager with decent paper will cost $9.50 in quantities up to 24. Shipping is additional. That doesn't seem like free.
Lulu has offered several somewhat confusing publishing services. The default "free" service does not provide an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for your book. Without an ISBN, you can use Lulu.com as the sole sales site, or sell books from a table in front of your house, a backpack, or the trunk of your car, but booksellers other than Lulu won't sell it.
The "Published by You" and "Published by Lulu" plans have been canceled. Under the new system, you can use either a Lulu ISBN or your own ISBN, and choose from several extra-cost distribution packages. Keep in mind that, unless you choose one of the more expensive plans, Lulu.com will be the only online seller. People can buy the book if you send them there, but it's less likely that people will find the book through normal online searches. It ain't Amazon.
The price of a Lulu book is often higher than books printed by others. To make an adequate profit you'll probably set a higher retail price than you otherwise would, and this may cost you some sales unless your book is unique and important.
Lulu does have one useful and fairly priced service. Printing one or a few books, when you're not in a hurry, can cost about half as much as using a local copy shop. Lulu charged me $13.12 to print a copy of a book, plus $6.53 to mail it. The mailing charge was over twice what it should have been, but the total was reasonable because there was no set-up fee.
Wordclay says, "You can sign up and start publishing your book for free. There is no cost to register with our Web site and create your account. There is no cost to use our publishing wizard to turn your work into a published book. We have additional goods and services that you can also purchase through our Services Store, but again, there is no obligation. The basic publishing experience of getting your manuscript into a finished book is entirely free."
Here, too, the "free" publishing doesn't include printing any books.
Michael N. Marcus (from Become a Real Self-Publisher: Don't be a Victim of a Vanity Press)
