POD vs POD

There are 2 different PODs floating around in the literary world. One POD stands for print-on-demand. The other stands for publish-on-demand. They are two different processes but rather closely related.

Print-on-demand is when a company like Lightening Source keeps a book stored electronically then prints it whenever there is a request for the book.

Publish-on-demand is when a company will publish just about anything sent to them by authors regardless of editorial standard.

How are they related? Generally, the publish-on-demand companies use a print-on-demand company to fulfill orders for books. Traditional publishers have been known to utilize print-on-demand companies but not for new releases. Traditional publishers use print-on-demand for books that people are still buying once in a while but not enough to justify printing another run of books.

My issue with publish-on-demand should be transparent. Generally publish-on-demand gets authors' hopes up then sets them up for extreme disappointment when they aren't a best-seller. I think there is a definite place for print-on-demand in the literary world so that classics are still accessible to the general public. I don't think print-on-demand will ever be able to match the cover prices of traditional publishers for new works and should be avoided for a new release.

When is a POD/self-publishing/vanity press OK?

There are some situations where printers like Publish America have their place. These situations are when the authors are not looking to sell a lot of copies or only sell copies to family members. You may want to write your memoir for your children, your children's children, your children's children's children and so on. In this case, you don't necessarily want to sell thousands to strangers but you're not interested in paying thousands to a publisher either.

Maybe you just want to write something, print it then have a book with your name as the author. This is a good time to choose companies like Publish America.

I strongly encourage serious authors to avoid these options even if they want to retain editorial control. If the book idea is good enough, the editor lets you keep control. If your idea is close but not close enough, that's when you run into editors that take over and bring other people in. If you are serious about your idea, fight for the traditional publishing route first. You'll never regret it.

I honestly have never understood why an author would choose a company like iUniverse where you pay between $300 and $1000 to see your book in print, usually get pressured into mediocre editing services, end up with a high cover price and find out it's nonreturnable (which is a no-no for bookstores) when you try to set up a book signing.

I know, if I didn't work in the industry, I wouldn't know any better. This is exactly why I am posting this blog. I hope authors will enter the industry knowing what to look for and avoid these common traps.