[Becoming a Writer] Self-Published and Vanity Press - Walter S. Campbell

The first question is, then, who is to pay for the printing? After a few rejections (due largely to ignorance of markets) the beginner is apt to think that, if he is ever to break into print, he will have to pay the printing bill himself. If he can afford it, there are ways of doing so.
He may go and hire a printer outright, and label his book “printed for the author.” He may prefer to incorporate himself under some new firm name, and so have his title-page adorned with the imprint of a publisher, mythical though he may be.
In such cases, the author gambles upon his work. Generally he loses heavily, because the mere printing of a book cannot insure its sale, and the lone author has no machinery with which to launch his book upon the market...
Visit: https://livingsensical.gumroad.com/l/audiencefirstbooksales