Being "published"

Yesterday there was an article in my local paper about 13 YO Girl, Published Author!!! I think it's cool that she was writing a novel all this time when her parents thought she was doing homework, and it's cool she's writing a sequel--but oh, did they all get taken! The "publisher" is a total vanity operation, which means (from what I can find out about that specific company) that she was "published" to the tune of about $4000. For the distribution she's going to get, it would have been better for her to give it away as a free download on a web site. And um, much more profitable, too. And then she could have kept writing and improved and published with a real publisher at some point down the road. Or even if they had gone with a POD sort of place like Lulu, which is useful for what it is (ie, to have limited copies for families and friends, NOT to try to place in bookstores, or to have reviewed in any venue that will get you taken seriously--because they won't. But Lulu is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper, and it's a pretty reasonable Print on Demand setup.)

For anyone who doesn't know how real publishing works, here's how it works: MONEY FLOWS TO THE AUTHOR.  Not the other way around. Do lawyers pay for the privilege of practicing law? Do Walmart greeters pay for the privilege of passing out stickers at the door? Do artists pay people to take their sculptures? Well, writing is also a job. You are selling your creation. Don't sell yourself short.