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p.o.d.

Started by nevermore, November 17, 2011, 04:47:29 PM

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nevermore

I'm getting stuff from print on demand publishers... what's up w/ this?  What's every1s opinion about these types of publishers? Just wondering. Also, I was hoping being here w/ you creepy, creative types would do me some good... just got an email yesterday... my short for 100 Horrors was accepted!  The first time in, well, longer than I'd like to admit, that I've had a piece accepted someplace other than my local paper!  Thx again, guys!  :grin:  :dance:  Let's just hope I can keep up my momentum  :grin:

Ed

Congrats on the acceptance :afro:

I think POD is the way of the future, but there are often issues with quality/perceived quality, for example, books falling apart as people try to read them, poor quality paper, blurry text. Stuff like that. There were a lot of shoddy books around in the early days, which ended up with POD getting a bad name, which it's fighting hard to overcome. There are still rogues out there, too.

The whole self publishing thing is a double edged sword. There are serious pros and cons to it, but the basic rule is to get the quality right, both editorially and materially, and then you're on the right track. Nevertheless, even if you do it all right, be aware that getting a good book in your hands is only the start of your journey. The hardest part is marketing the thing and getting people to buy it in numbers. I get the distinct impression that most self-pubbed authors struggle to sell more than twenty books in total, which obviously isn't worth the effort, but at least with POD the unlucky author doesn't end up with 500+ books from their first and only print run stacked up in unopened boxes that are cluttering their garage.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Pharosian

If POD publishers are contacting you, trying to solicit business, I think you should be wary. It could be they just want to sell their services and don't have much interest in promoting your work.

nevermore

I agree with both your statements. I've seen a book that was not too-well put together. I just thought it odd that I've gotten a few emails from such publishers, and was hearing some good and some bad things about them.  As for the second comment- I definately agree, them emailing me out of the blue is enough to make me want to steer clear of them.

Ed

Yep, I'm the same. I don't respond to any junk mail (electronic or paper), cold calling, telesales, or any other type of direct marketing. If I want something I'll go and find it for myself, ask friends what they recommend, etc.

The two biggest names in POD that I know of are Lulu and Lightning Source, though I couldn't vouch for either. There's also an outfit called comixpress that I looked at backalong, which seemed to offer a very good deal for perfect bound publications.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

delboy

Well done on the acceptance, Nevermore, great news!  :cheers:

I had a couple of stories published in anthologies that were put together (edited) very professionally and ultimately went on sale on Lulu. Never received any money so I guess sales are low, but the contributors copies are real good quality.

I'm well off the pace with all the different routes to market available now - POD and eBooks, Lulu, Kindle, self-publishing this and that... It strikes me that there are now so many easy mechanisms to get stories published that there are literally many more millions of stories now available - so actually getting people to find one's story among all the others is probably harder than ever. And also, casual readers might only experiment so long - if every thing they take a chance n turns out to be poor they make stop taking those chances.

I think I'll stick to letting other people do all that publishing malarky. I kind of like the validation of having someone else believe in my work enough to do all that, too. Albeit, neither of those last two statements happen more than once a year (on average) for me, so maybe one of these days I'll be directing you all to my latest eBook...  ;)

Derek
"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker

Geoff_N

Congrats on the acceptance !

As a publisher with both BeWrite Books and Adventure Books of Seattle I've used Lulu and Lightning Source. Both give excellent quality output - and you, the publlisher (whether you are self-publishing or HarperCollins, who like other mainstream publishers are turning to POD) can determine exactly what quality you want - covers, paper, margins, fonts etc. On one rare occasion our Escape Velocity magazine was printed by Lulu with the cover art skewed. They replaced them within days. Everyone comments on how superb the quality of the print editions of EV is. I have many traditional print books that are almost unreadable. The issue now is not the quality of the print but that of the writing. Because it is so easy to self-publish, many are doing so without proper editing and proofreading. It's the emergence of so much trash fiction that taints the technical issues of POD.

I agree that if you are collecting unsolicited mail from POD publishers then either you are an outstanding writer or the subject of scam.

ozmosis7

Gratz, Geoff! I've been meaning to try that market, but haven't had time as of late.

I saw an article a while back that some book stores plan to put POD kiosks in their store soon. You will be able to choose from those small publishers who pay for the service, and get their books printed while you wait apparently. Of course, they haven't made the deal very attractive to anyone who doesn't make a lot of money as a publisher so far, so I wouldn't expect more than a handful of publishers to become involved.
Author of Dark Fiction - http://kennethwcain.com