
16: Self-Publishing Is Ownership, Not Vanity
From For Women who Write by Mikaela Mathews
February 23, 2026 · 22 min · Season 1 · Episode 16
About this episode
Mikaela Mathews discusses the misconceptions surrounding self-publishing and advocates for author ownership.
I’ve got a pet peeve. A real, “nails on a chalkboard” kind of pet peeve. When people call self-publishing “vanity publishing,” I about jump out of my skin. Only in the literary world do we call an artist taking agency… vanity. A musician bypassing a record label? We celebrate. A filmmaker ignoring a production studio? Indie and impressive. A writer choosing not to pitch agents and self-publishing? Suddenly it’s suspect. Let’s talk about it. In this episode, I’m getting a little preachy about:...
People in this episode
Host: Mikaela Mathews
Topics covered
- self-publishing
- vanity publishing
- literary agency
- author empowerment
- independent publishing
Keywords
- self-publishing
- vanity publishing
- literary world
- author agency
- indie publishing
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