Print-On-Demand Publishing - A Definition and a Comparison

Print On Demand
A Definition and a Comparison
Copyright 2004, Michael LaRocca

The purpose of this article is to consider Print-On-Demand
publishing as an alternative for the aspiring author. It has its
strengths and its weaknesses. You may wonder as you begin reading
this, but in the end I'm going to say some good things about it.

To a large extent, the title explains the technology. The way
that literature has traditionally been printed involves running
many copies simultaneously in order to bring the price per copy
down. Smaller print runs, such as advertising brochures or
concert programs, cost more per copy because they are small print
runs. Until recently, printing a single book was all but
unthinkable.

In the case of novels, the traditional print publisher begins by
publishing several thousand copies. His goal is to run off the
smallest number of copies he can while getting the best possible
price per copy.

These books are then sent to bookstores, which tend to prefer
something along the lines of what has succeeded before. The
remainder sits in a warehouse somewhere. Perhaps to be shipped as
the orders come in, perhaps to be joined by any "remaindered"
copies the bookstores couldn't move.

This represents an investment on the part of that publisher,
hence his paranoia about experimenting with new formats or (more
importantly) new authors.

Print-On-Demand (POD), as the name implies, uses a completely
different process. The end result is, the price per copy on a
small run is much lower. How small of a run? Try one book. Zero
inventory. The book is economically produced when the reader
orders it, not before.

This technology was probably invented for sales literature. Then
someone realized it might be a pretty cool way to get ARCs
(Advance Review Copies) out to the book reviewers before the book
was actually available. Finally, someone decided to get it into
the publishing mainstream.

Why is it so much cheaper to publish a single book via POD? The
reasons really aren't relevant to this article, besides which
they'd probably bore you. But if you care, the first link below
spells it all out.

http://www.jdwrite.com/writing/pod_01.htm
http://www.jdwrite.com/writing/pod_02.htm
http://www.jdwrite.com/writing/pod_03.htm
http://www.jdwrite.com/writing/pod_04.htm
http://www.jdwrite.com/writing/pod_05.htm

I recommend reading (or at least skimming) all five of those, by
the way. It's quite a comprehensive analysis of how. Then come
back to this article to determine why. Or if.

Have you ever heard of the author who self-published and wound up
with a best-seller? They do exist!

Now look at all the self-published authors who couldn't do that.
They're the vast majority. The author who uses POD could be
facing similar long shot odds.

(Keep reading. I'll say good things about POD eventually.)

POD has a definite advantage over self-publishing, in that you
don't wind up with a few hundred (or more?) copies of a book in
your basement because you can't sell them. Thus, it's cheaper,
with no difference in quality unless you hook up with losers.

But neither option will bring you the readership that you'll get
from a successful book with a traditional print publisher.

I have self published. I went to a local print shop back in the
pre-POD days, ran off 80 copies at $3 a copy, and sold them to
local bookstores for $6 a copy. Lots of fun, and lots of
learning, but I didn't get rich. My wage per hour stunk, but that
was fine with me because I honestly didn't care. I broke even and
gave away the rest. A pleasant way to spend lunch hours during
the work week.

Most of us, though, just don't have that kind of time. And even
if we do, why bother? Take the money you'd have invested and buy
some Microsoft stock, then take the time you'd have invested and
write more books. You'll be happier and you'll make more money.

Having said all that, why am I recommending POD at all? In my
case, it's because I've written some books that no print
publisher will ever pick up. That's my honest appraisal.

If I were a mercenary type, I'd follow that up with something
like "Why'd you even write those books then?" But if you are a
REAL writer, you know the answer.

It's always about writing first, marketing second. Two different
hats. I'm assuming you already did the writing and now are
wondering what the heck to do with it.

As an example, my EPPIE 2002 finalist is too short. I wrote it
back when print publishers wanted 40,000 words. Now they want
50,000. But it doesn't take 50,000 words to tell that particular
story, and I'm not padding it. Even if I were willing, it'd stink
and nobody would buy it. Give the publishers some credit. They
know padding when they see it. The same goes for the readers.

As another example, consider my short story collection.
Critically acclaimed and selling moderately well, but no
traditional publisher wants short story collections from unknown
authors. It's just that simple.

So, I simultaneously published these books in e-book form and POD
form. E-books are cheaper and more environmentally friendly, but
the paperback option is still there for those who can't or won't
ever read an e-book.

(Daddy is in that group, by the way. How about your family?)

Places who publish only POD began by accepting anything sent
their way. Pay your money, and do your own editing and marketing.
This gave POD a credibility problem. There are POD outfits who
don't operate this way, but the credibility problem will take
time to heal.

As an author, your goal is to write what's in your heart, find
people who like to read what you like to write, and get it out to
them. (That's my goal, anyway.) If your name happens to be Tom
Clancy, that equals many readers. But that's simply luck of the
draw.

Many of us don't have such mass appeal. Possibly you're the sort
of writer who knows exactly where you stand in that respect. But
many don't, and they're flooding the POD market with stuff that
most readers just plain don't want. Add to that the badly edited
stuff, and the credibility problem with POD is understandable.

Ideally, what you want is for your e-publisher to simultaneously
release your book in both formats without charging a POD setup
fee. That way, you can direct all your promotional efforts to
that single URL. However, these e-publishers have a real problem
with backlog now, so if you want to travel the road I did, you'll
need much more patience than I did.

Taking advantage of a free POD option with your e-book will also
help your promotional efforts. Many reviewers just plain won't
touch an e-book. If you've done the POD bit, in addition to being
able to tell all your friends and family, "Look at this, I'm a
real author because here's the paperback," you'll be able to send
review copies via POD to those book reviewers.

(I told my friends and family to kiss my butt, but I'm just a
crochety old cuss.)

If you find yourself with an e-publisher who doesn't offer free
POD, you may wish to shop around for a POD publisher. As you do
this, remember the business model. If a publisher makes all its
money from writers, it doesn't need to sell a single book to a
single reader to stay in business.

No matter how much praise they send your way, that's the bottom
line. Writing is a calling, but publishing is a business. Those
authors who can't distinguish between the two are what keep the
opportunists in business. (I was such an author for most of my
life.)

Some POD places are no more than thinly veiled vanity (or
subsidy) presses. They have a valuable role to serve, but let's
be honest. Most do no editing, and they don't care. They may not
be making a massive profit from your setup fees, but they're
certainly making enough to stay in business. Even if you don't
sell any books to anyone except your Gramma.

(A few new POD places help with marketing and charge no fees of
any kind. I've been told http://www.bewrite.net is such a place,
but have yet to visit it.)

Earlier, I recommended e-publishing before print publishing for
the free editing you'll receive. If you're going with POD,
consider it mandatory. Either that, or pay an editor. The author
who can write a mistake-free manuscript does not exist.

Still interested in POD publishing? I've done it, by the way, and
it worked out well. Here are the questions you should ask
yourself when you select a POD publisher:

A) Sale price of each book
1) Who decides what it is?
2) Will readers pay that much for your book?

B) Profit per sale vs. your setup cost
1) How many copies must you sell to break even?
2) Can you do it?
3) If not, do you care? How big of a financial hit are you
willing to take just to see your name in print?

As a rule, US$100 or less setup cost is good and US$1000 is very
bad. The latter, no matter how much publicity they promise you,
is only a thinly disguised vanity publisher. You will not sell
enough books to recoup that $1000 unless you are a real marketing
machine. Even then you shouldn't pay the $1000 up front. Pay $100
or less and then sell all those books. $1000 or more won't get
you anything that $100 or less won't.

A comprehensive list of POD publishers, along with descriptions,
can be found on-line at http://dehanna.com/database.htm

The site mentioned fails to mention Booksurge
(http://www.booksurge.com), also known as Digitz
(http://www.digitz.net), and Publish America
(http://www.publishamerica.com). The first charges US$99 and the
second is free.

Another that isn't mentioned is Digital Print Australia at
http://www.digitalprintaustralia.com. I've used them before. My
setup cost was AUD$35 (roughly US$18), which compares rather
favorably to those listed.

Their price per copy is also excellent. The quality is at least
as good as what you'll find in the bookstores. If you've ever
bought a paperback from Writers Exchange E-Publishing, you've
seen it already. If not, Digital Print will send you a free
sample. They sent mine to China.

Two problems you may have with them, though, are shipping charges
from Australia if that's not where your readers are located, and
the fact that they don't offer a way to sell the books on their
site.

For selling the books, I used the Book Store feature on Authors
Den (http://www.authorsden.com) back when it was free. It offers
a secure server. I know some authors who I trusted enough to send
money to without a secure server. But I suspect that most of your
prospective readers won't know you that well. In fact, they won't
know you at all.

Another option is the shopping cart feature at PayPal
(https://www.paypal.com/refer/pal=BH2CTDYDK8RPW), which I haven't
researched. But take a look. You oughta have PayPal anyway,
because it lets people send you money or vice versa through
email, absolutely free. They'll give you $5 just for signing up.

If the POD place only prints "trade paperbacks," which are the
larger ones, your cost per book (and sale price per book) will be
higher than if you can print "mass-market paperbacks." The choice
is yours, but whatever you decide, visit the local bookstores and
price similar-sized books. If you write like Stephen King but
charge twice as much per book, readers are going to buy the
author they've heard of, and that's probably not you. Yet...