Finding a publisher for your novel or non-fiction book can be a daunting process, often marked by one rejection letter after another. It can take months or even years to secure a contract with a publisher. With the advent of print-on-demand publishing, a new crop of companies has emerged to provide instant self-publishing services to writers who do not wish to go through the process of finding a traditional publisher.
Through print-on-demand publishing, a writer can pay the POD publisher a fee to publish his or her book. The POD publisher accepts a manuscript from the writer in a file format such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect and then uses that file to create a digital copy of the book. Whenever someone orders the book (whether it is the writer, a bookstore, or a retail customer placing the order), the POD company prints exactly enough copies to fill that order.
POD companies do not stock copies of the writer's book in a warehouse to fulfill orders. Instead, the digital printing technology allows them to print copies only as needed. Unlike traditional publishing, in which print runs of smaller quantities are cost prohibitive, a POD publisher can print only one copy at a time without incurring any additional expenses.
The print-on-demand publishing method has its advantages and disadvantages, but in my view as a novelist, the disadvantages outweigh any advantage POD publishing may offer.
The primary advantage to POD publishing is that you are able to circumvent the process of finding a traditional publisher who will publish your book. Finding a publisher willing to publish and market a book is often an author's biggest obstacle to overcome, and many authors believe that advantage alone outweighs the disadvantages of print-on-demand publishing, but there are many disadvantages worth considering before you decide to go the POD route.
Here are a few of the important disadvantages to consider:
1. The first disadvantage is the pricing. When setting a retail price for your book, print-on-demand publishers typically set a price a few dollars higher than the prices charged for traditionally published books. The price difference is not enormous, but it certainly is noticeable and may be enough to dissuade some readers from purchasing your book.
2. The second disadvantage relates to print quality and cover design. Print-on-demand books have a reputation for bad print quality, faded ink, etc. This is not true of every POD book, but it occurs frequently enough to make it worth mentioning. In addition, the cover design on many POD books is sorely lacking in aesthetic appeal. Since so much of a book's selling potential is wrapped up in whether or not the cover attracts the attention of readers browsing in a bookstore or viewing your book on a web site, a cover that looks unprofessional may make or break a sale.
3. The third disadvantage is that many readers may see the name of an POD publisher and refrain from purchasing the book simply because they assume the writing must be of lesser quality. The sad fact is, that assumption usually proves correct. Not everyone is a skilled or talented writer. Without editors and traditional publishing houses to filter out manuscripts that don't meet even the most basic standards of quality, anything and everything can be published. When it comes to traditional publishing, far more manuscripts have been rejected than published. POD publishers revel in this fact because it means any author who has ever been turned down by a traditional publisher is a potential customer for their POD service.
If you believe your manuscript truly is ready to be published and you choose to go the print-on-demand route, be sure to consider how potential readers will perceive your book if it is labeled with the name of a POD publishing company. With certain POD publishers, you can get around this disadvantage rather easily because they will allow you to create your own "publishing company" and, when listing the publisher info inside the book, will use that name instead of their own. The reader will see only your publishing company's name rather than the print-on-demand publisher's name. Some print-on-demand publishers charge a small fee for this extra service.
4. The fourth disadvantage is the marketing issue. Traditional publishers will take steps to market your book. They will mail galley copies to magazines and newspapers for potential book reviews. They will print postcards and bookmarks featuring your book, and will send press releases to hundreds of media outlets. Some of them also run large advertisements in major newspapers, such as the New York Times, listing the details of their newly published books. Some will place advertisements in magazines, and some will work with major bookstore chains to arrange book-signings for you.
Traditional publishers have spent years building a network of contacts in the industry. They've done this sort of thing before and they know exactly how the system works.
Nearly all on-demand publishers either do not offer any marketing support whatsoever or charge you an additional fee for their marketing services. Even if you pay extra for a marketing package, you may be shortchanged and not receive the appropriate amount of marketing attention from the company. Their marketing departments are usually focused on selling their POD publishing services to new authors instead of promoting your book to bookstores.
You will need to spend a considerable amount of time marketing your book on your own and at your own expense. You will need to purchase galley copies and send them out yourself, contact local bookstores to arrange book-signings, try to set up your own interviews, and/or purchase magazine advertising. The advertising expense alone can be intimidating. A 1/3-page ad in most magazines with lower circulation rates will cost, at minimum, $1,000. The same ad in a major magazine with larger circulation rates could cost anywhere from $5,000 to much, much more. (Try these prices on for size: $68,295 for a 1/3-page ad in Men's Health magazine; $115,130 for the same size ad in Time magazine.)
On the other hand, many traditional publishers may not work overly hard to promote a new author — at least, not nearly as hard as they would work to promote an author who has already published a bestseller or two — so you could end up spending much of your own time marketing your book regardless. The disadvantage isn't applicable solely to print-on-demand publishing, but the level of self-promotion required from a POD published author will be much higher.
5. The final disadvantage — and one that could determine the success or failure of your book — is that retail bookstores will not stock POD books on the shelves. Most on-demand publishers claim your book will be available through bookstores, but what they really mean is your book will be listed in a catalog with thousands of other books and the store has the option of ordering copies or not. Because there is such a huge volume of books available to them, bookstores aren't likely to notice your book and will only order a copy if a customer comes into their store and requests it. And to make matters worse, some bookstores aren't willing to order a copy of your POD book even if a customer requests it.
There is one very important reason bookstores will not stock POD books. When bookstores order books through publishing companies or distributors, they purchase those books only on the condition they will be allowed to return any unsold books to receive a refund. This is a huge factor in any bookstore's decision to stock a particular book or a particular publisher's line of books. Print-on-demand publishers do not stock copies of your book and therefore do not accept returned copies from bookstores. This means there is no return clause available for POD books. The simple fact that they will not be able to return unsold books is enough to make most major retail stores such as Borders or Barnes & Noble refuse to stock POD books.
You might be able to convince privately owned local bookstores to stock a few copies of your POD book on consignment, but it's highly unlikely your book will get major distribution.
There are many other disadvantages as well, but hopefully the five disadvantages mentioned above are enough to make you think twice before signing up for a print-on-demand service. If not, consider this statistic: the average POD book sells less than 150 copies.
Despite the many disadvantages, there are certain situations in which it is worth considering the print-on-demand publishing option:
1. If you speak regularly at seminars and workshops, or if you have a web site and have accumulated a very large mailing list (tens or hundreds of thousands of members), you already have an audience to which you can market copies of your book. If you know there is a ready-made audience, it may be worth printing a batch of books to sell at each seminar or to sell through your web site.
2. If the topic of your book covers a specific region or a local attraction, with its appeal limited to people living in that area, you may be able to sell enough copies at local events to make it worth using the print-on-demand method.
3. If you want to publish a very small number of copies of a book for a limited audience (such as family members, employees, or members of a specific group or organization), but you want a professionally bound book instead of a photocopied handout, the POD method may be your best option. You will be able to print any number of copies you desire. Just keep in mind the per-copy price of POD books is higher than the price of traditionally published books.
If your situation doesn't meet any of the three scenarios described above, please be sure to perform thorough research before signing up for any print-on-demand service. You could end up forfeiting your rights to your own material and receiving very little or nothing in return.
