Five Reasons for Choosing Print On Demand Publishing

To learn more about PERCHANCE TO FEAST, A Novel of Impossible Possibilities, scroll down to the November entries.

Contest winners: Sorry, there were none. But not to despair. Hang in there and there will be more contests.

And on to today's topic:
Why I chose to publish with a POD (print on demand) company rather than a traditional publisher:

1. Ecology: I'm into trees. I love trees. Nothing brings me to a place of peace and contentment like a walk in the woods. The usual way to publish a book is to print a set number and hope they sell. If they don't, ah, well...to the garbage heap. POD means that not a sheet of paper is wasted, not a tree is cut down needlessly. Books are printed as they are needed. The icing on the cake is that Perchance to Feast will also be available as an e-book. For anyone who has the hardware, the book can simply be downloaded. This is likely to be the future of publishing. For those who have grown up with paper and ink, and love the feel, POD is the next best alternative where the environment is concerned.

2. Control: I'll just say it. I'm a control freak. Not something I'm proud of, but not about to change. The thought of a publisher telling me what changes have to be made, what cover and title I have to use, what merchandizing I must do, etc. is abhorent. I love suggestions, and usually take them, but this is my book--an extension of me. Whatever mistakes I make, whatever less than perfect phrases appear, they're mine. Besides, I don't write my books. My characters march into my head and dictate. How can I let anyone change their words?

3. Longevity. Well, yes. We all want to live forever. But books don't. Books today are given but a few months to "make it," and then are "remaindered." Their front covers are torn off, they are returned to the publisher, and gone for good from the retail market--and everywhere else, as far as I know. With POD, a book will be available as long as the author--or her heirs--pay a small (and I mean very small--just a few dollars a year) storage fee for the software they use to print the book.

4. Speed of publication: I have no patience. When I decide to do something, I want it done. Yesterday. The normal publication process involves finding an agent, then finding a publisher, then getting on the publisher's calendar--the publisher may want to publish the book this year, but may not be able to fit it in until next season, or year, or...Bottom line, traditional publishing can take years. It's not unheard of for a book to be published two or more years after it's purchased. Who has time to wait for that? Not me. I first contacted iUniverse in September, slowed down the process with an editorial evaluation (I wanted to be sure it was good enough--it was,) am experiencing a delay now because we're having trouble agreeing on a cover, and still, I expect the book to be available sometime in January. Five months at the most from start to finish.

5. Ease: I'm not a researcher. I was driving myself crazy reading write-ups, ads, web-pages, etc to familiarize myself with agents and small publishing companies in my search for "the perfect match." Every moment I spent researching was a moment my characters were shouting at me, demanding that I get on with their stories (either my next novel, or a short piece.) How very enticing it was to type a few words to a web address, speak to living human beings on the phone, provide a credit card number and whammo! be on the way to publication. POD isn't expensive--and my time is worth paying for.

The entire process has been relatively easy--even for a technophobe like me. iUniverse provided the support I needed whenever technology had me in a tizzy, and the whole process has gone quite smoothly. I think I made the right choice. Time will tell.

CONTEST

Five days left!
Contest ends Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007 at midnight.
Guess my top five reasons for choosing POD,
and win a free copy of Perchance to Feast!

The Whys and Wherefores of Print on Demand

Sadie, who you've met if you've read the previous entries, has been nagging me: "Oy, so write already. Too long it's been taking you between postings." Sorry Sadie. I intended to write every week. For the last two weeks, Life has intervened. First there was Thanksgiving. My house. Fifteen people. Need I say more?

Then I opened my e-mail to find a little message from my PSA at iUniverse--the angel who is guiding my book through the publishing process--telling me that my proofs were ready. Expert that I am, it only took two days and key by key instruction from my PSA to open the Adobe file and access the proofs. Once I had them, I had to re-read every word of the book, cover to cover, with a magnifying glass and a mind on hyper-alert to weed out any typos or glitches that had escaped all previous prunings. So now I'm done, and am here to answer the question I promised to answer the last time I blogged: What is Print on Demand (POD) publishing?

To publish traditionally, an author has to find an agent, the agent has to find a publisher where an editor has to fall in love with a book and convince the marketing department that the book will be a bestseller. The book has to be produced, then sold and shipped to stores. If the books ordered don't sell out in a timely fashion, they are returned to the publisher, and ultimately destroyed. The print-set-up for Print on Demand books is paid for by the author. The POD company--in my case, iUniverse--offers a variety of services, all for a fee. I chose to have them design a cover for my book, and to have an editorial evaluation. (If this hadn't been positive, I would have aborted the publication process, or hired an editor.) Of course, they also produce the books. Instead of producing a set number, they print only those books that have been ordered.

Books are available from the publisher (iUniverse.com) or from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, etc. Autographed copies of Perchance to Feast can be ordered from me at Belbook1@gmail.com when they become available, probably by mid-January.

In my next posting, I'll give my top five reasons for choosing POD over traditional publishing. Anyone want to guess? I'll give a free book to anyone who guesses all five reasons correctly (send guesses to Belbook1@gmail.com)