Vanity publishing is a publishing arrangement in which the author pays some or all of the costs of producing a book, often in exchange for having the work printed and distributed. In poetry, it usually refers to services that accept a poet's manuscript and charge fees rather than selecting books for editorial or commercial reasons. It can leave the poet with little editorial support and limited reach.
Example
After years of sending her manuscript to presses, she was tempted by a vanity publisher that promised a hardcover edition-for a fee.
The book appeared on her shelf,
but not on the tables
where readers browse.