POD Successes? Failures?

[Merry]

I was looking at Patches thread on getting POD reviews and I started to wonder...While I have never used a Print On Demand service, I'm sure others have.

If you've had your own book printed, how did it go? Would you recommend it? Or does the thought now make you run for cover? (A book cover, no doubt)

It would be interesting to hear about your experience in this area.

[wgjones3]

Funny you bring this up. Joe Konrath blogged about PODs last week (http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2006/01/thinking-pod-think-again.html).

[patches]

Joe,

That is a true picture of a vanity press, but not for POD. I don't consider vanity presses or "so-called" POD publishers to be true POD anyway. Any Publisher that sells a required package in order that you publish your book isn't true POD, it's a vanity press with a cheap business model and in my opinion, from what I have seen from those so-called POD vanities is they do shoddy work for the fees they charge.

My friend still has to edit and re-edit his book, even though the package called for editorial services. It's been gone through about four times now since the first proof was printed and when they get hold of it, for some reason, more errors appear, than are fixed.

Lulu and Cafepress, and a very few others, print-on-demand without requiring cash layout. I am the publisher, not Lulu or Cafepress. When I get my ISBN numbers, they are mine, not the POD's. It is my imprint, if I choose one, not the POD's. And when my books show up in Books in Print, it is my publishing company that will appear as the publisher, not the POD's.
I set the price, not the POD.

The Vanity Press POD's don't allow you to keep your identity. Their logos show up as the imprint and also on the ISBN's. Yuck! That isn't really self-publishing. That is vanity press.

Steph

[Merry]

Sooo there's a difference. Hmmm....good to know. I'll have to check out Joes Blog now, too.

[Merry]

Whoa! Joe's blog did have an awful lot of people comment on the subject, many confessing not so-great experiences. The only self-publish name that seemed to have any postive comments about it was Lulu.

A few people here have been involved with that. How's it been going? Sellling much? Or are big sales even your goal? 'May not be.

[Jean Ann]

I ahd 2 books published by POD. I only wrote the books. They did all the work. I retained the copyrights to the material. It was exactly like an other publishing house. I did the marketing and promoting of the book but I would have done the same thing if they had been published by Random House.

My books are also carried in Barnes & Noble. The stores, not just online. My only complaint would be that the publisher put too high a price on the book. This taught me a lesson as we prepare to publish books for our authors.

[MGalloway]

Joe wrote:

In 2003 I signed a three book deal with Hyperion...

Whenever I read something like what I saw over on Joe's blog, I always try to take it with a big grain of salt and keep in mind some wise words that a Journalism professor of mine once said: "Consider the source."

First off, Hyperion is a major book publishing house and is a division of the Disney Corporation. I'm not sure if Joe has had direct experience with publishing his books via POD or if he is going by secondhand knowledge. I do not have experience with a major publishing house, but do have experience with POD. I'm not sure where Joe is getting some of his numbers, however, such as the "$5000 setup fee" for a POD publisher. Anyway, here is my two cents. Remember, it's only an opinion. Consider:

I published "An Echo Through the Trees (http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~7664.aspx)" via Authorhouse. Why? To put my manuscript into a more readable form and to see if what I wrote actually had some traction in the reading world. Authorhouse secured an ISBN number for me. They put the book into Ingram Books in Print. The book is now on Amazon.com, BN.com, Borders, etc. Anybody can walk into the store and buy it (unfortunately it is not on the shelves, though). Sure, if you go through Barnes and Noble, they will charge you a lot...like $17.99 maybe. I don't agree with that price, but if a reader goes through Authorhouse directly, the book costs $9.99.

Yes, there was a setup fee, but no, I did not pay for them to secure a copyright for the book. I did that myself. Yes, the advertising is all left up to me. I did not choose any of their marketing options, and so the costs were kept well below the $1000 mark. I was not really interesting in starting up my own publishing company, however, so I don't mind the Authorhouse imprint on the back cover. I did not ask for them to write up any press releases, because I went to school for advertising copywriting, and figured I would probably be okay in this area. I did not hire an editor (a mistake, maybe?) but I did run the manuscript by numerous people first.

After publishing it, I owned all the rights to it. I still do. I am finishing up a second manuscript now, but am torn between self-publishing it again or seeking out an agent. I tried the whole "agent-seeking" thing years ago with a couple of different manuscripts, and had some early success. I was able to get Molly Friedrich (of the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, who represent David Baldacci, Frank McCourt, etc.) to take a look at the first 100 pages of something I wrote. That was huge for me. Ultimately, it was rejected, and looking back on what I wrote, I realized it truly needed a lot of work, had a few typos (ouch), and there was even a duplicate page in there (double ouch). I still sent out letters for a while, and still kept plugging away at manuscripts and starting up new ones. However, that brief bit of success spurred me to write the best novel I possibly could. That is what "An Echo Through the Trees" was (at the time). So, after only sending out a couple of letters to agents, I got tired of generic rejection letters and simply decided to go the POD route (back in 2000-2001). I've sold about 35-40 copies by hand and word of mouth (and others through stores), and several people keep asking me when I'm going to write/publish something else. I have no advertising budget, and scant resources, but I am hoping to prove something I guess. Sure the sales numbers are a joke, and I don't know what to do at this point. Call Oprah? :rolleyes: It is a pretty sophisticated book under the surface, although it does not read like it initially. That was by design, however.

In essence, I think you can put out a high quality manuscript and go the POD route. The problem is, you are basically on your own, and for me, that's not a big deal. It is hard to get editors and critics/reviewers past the "oh, it's a self-published book" mindset, however. :confused:

I don't really want to go without a formal editor in the future, though. I'm closely following the Lulu threads here, too.

[lgracebrooks]

!thumbsup!
I too have had three books published by Print On Demand publishers. In order not to pay huge set up fees I had to edit the book myself and design the entire cover and supply the text for the back cover. While editing I also noticed there seemed to be just as many if not more mistakes than when I sent out the manuscript. Even the printed book showed lots of mistakes. I paid them money inorder to get set up in their sysyem but have not received a penny back in royalities.
And what is this Zulu? Is it a legal printing house? I've come across the website. I ignored them because I didn't want a book saying 'Published by Lulu' Am I wrong in ignoring them?

[patches]

Hey Galloway,

You wouldn't believe how many books I have had to order through either Books-A-Million or B&N. They carry very few available titles. Most of the books that I really buy are ordered through the store but not in stock. That is why getting picked up by a publisher is so difficult. You may have a great book but the Publishers only want books that will get on the bookshelves.

There are a few marketing ideas that I haven't seen much of anywhere that I believe can work. And I am going to try them after I get my reviews secured and put on the back cover.

One thing that people keep forgetting is that mail order has been around forever and many people have made millions from it. Internet selling is just another form of mail order and the same principles apply. That is why so many book clubs are successful and why people who live in rural areas still rely upon it to have access to the outside world.

When I first came to this site, my attitude towards marketing was a 'so-what I hate it' and a big shrug. Now that my book is a reality, and the next one which I've put in several years of work on, will be ready to upload within the week, there has been working in the back of my mind 'How am I going to market this book and still leave time to continue to write?'

And I think I am coming up with a couple of 'outside-of-the-box' ideas to do just that.

I am also praying about going back to school with distance learning. I want to become proficient in the graphics arena. I want to be able to design book covers that knock people's socks off and Uncle Sam is going to not only pay for the schooling, but he's also going to pay for a new computer, software, ect. So that once I get that certificate/diploma, I can compete on a level playing field technologically.

Everybody is suggesting getting business cards and bookmarks. Have you seen the prices of bookmarks? Some people that have money would be able to fork over the dough with no problem. Me, I'd have to scrimp for a year to get those paid for.

A Color laser printer or copier might just be in my future. If I am going to go into debt for schooling, I'm going to make sure I get the equipment to follow through afterwards.

Now I can do the layout, save it as a JPG and take it to Staples and they will do color copies on Index stock for $1.09 per copy from disk. That's great! As long as I have crop marks I'm good to go. I already have the cutter and I just had it serviced and sharpened a couple of years ago. I haven't really used it since then. They have the ability to do full bleed prints. There is no rule that says I have to have 1,000 bookmarks to pass out.

Actually, if I can get 7-up per sheet that is .15 a bookmark that will have www.breezyridge.biz and a blurb from one of my books on it that people will keep, if they are readers/booklovers.

Statistics are that you will normally get a 10-15% response rate to advertising. Now, take that bookmark and put it into the postage paid envelope when you pay a bill or respond to somebody elses mailorder offer.

I use to work in the Wholesale Lockbox at Barnett Bank. When the AAA Insurance did an Advertising promotion, those responses didn't go back to AAA they went to the Bank. We opened the envelopes, made sure that they had the checks and stuff filled out properly, made sure the adress matched what was on the the check or money order. So real people open those envelopes and they have to check out the contents. Somebody is going to see that bookmark and go, "Oh, a nice bookmark! I'll have to check out that website when I get home!"

And whoever they are working along side of, will also see it because they work together and it is an odd thing to recieve a bookmark when someone is paying for something.

Now, there is a book in your library that lists all of the periodicals and newspapers in print and what they charge for advertising. Some advertising is very inexpensive and where the customer used to have to write for information, they are now just a click away. www.breezyridge.biz

And in the meantime, because I know my grammar is atrocious (learning disabled) I am going to find someone who is a whiz at the English language and has editorial experience and get them onboard to work with me and we are going to have an awesome publishing company before this is over with. The Lord willing.

I worked for The Orlando Sentinel in the composing room and I loved it all. The darkroom, the chemical smells, the paste up and layout and the whole nine yards. I also worked for a print shop years ago. In both cases, they wanted to keep me on permanent but I had to go to school and get a degree or some such for them to keep me on. I've had ink in my veins since I was in high school working in the Tennessee Temple University campus' church office.

I can't remember the name of the Church but I can sure remember all those plates that needed cleaning and the collating and stencils and the chemicals (stinky) and I practically lived there and loved it more than food.

Printing isn't quite the same as it used to be and neither are newspaper companies, but the ink is still there and when it comes right down to it, it's something I can feel passionate about even on a bad day.

I don't suppose all writers ought to become publishers. But until this very moment, I didn't realize that I've been publishing in one way or another since I was a child.

I published greeting cards with pen and ink drawings when I was a kid (grade 3). I had kids at school trading their cookies and snacks for my drawings. My artwork became so popular that they sent a note home to my mother and told them that I had a thriving business, but some of the parents were complaining that I was taking part of their lunches for art, LOL!

And, at the age of fifteen, a local chapel had me writing up and creating their church bulletins. I had to interview the different ministries for news and tid-bits. It was my job to not only interview, write, type and prepare the stencils but I also had to set up the machine (one of those AB Dick duplicators) and fold them and deliver them every week.

I've published newsletters that were quite successful with just word-of-mouth advertising. I've even been a cartoonist for an Orlando FL Recovery Newsletter.

And I'm sitting here as I just wrote all of this and wondered, "Why haven't I seen all of this before?" No matter what else I have done in life (construction work, greenhouse, retail sales, service managment, gift basket manufacturing and design and even upholstery all working for others and killing myself physically to boot), I keep coming back to writing/printing/art/publishing.

And the one thing that has really kept me from persuing it is, that I kept getting told that I was learning disabled and "a high risk for rehabilitation". In the same breath they say that I am a genius, that's what all those stupid tests say...but I have told myself, "Haven't accomplished anything!"

And I've been judging myself and my ability to accomplish the desires of my heart based upon the opinion of some secular 'professionals' that told me "You aren't cut out for college, drop out, go write a book or invent something", because I embarrassed a professor in front of her class by proving her wrong (without realising it). So, I dropped out with a 4.0 average, and a VCC pin and felt like there was no place that I fit in.

And the rub of it is, that the criticism came at a very vulnerable time for me. I was dealing with ritual abuse issues. College was an attempt to feel normal while I was doing surgery on my soul. While I was having to relive all of the abuse so that I could deal with it, forgive it and get on with my life, I was practically being told that there would be no life.

That was back in the late 80's and very early 90's.

Me thinks, that if something is of God, that all of the critics can take their responses and give them back to the devil where they came from. If something is truly God's will and we keep seeking His will to be done, it will pursue us even if we aren't pursuing it.

Matt 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.

1 Cor 1:24 But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.
1 Cor 1:25 [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
1 Cor 1:26 For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates {and} standards, not many influential {and} powerful, not many of high {and} noble birth.
1 Cor 1:27 [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.
1 Cor 1:28 And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn {and} insignificant and branded {and} treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose {and} bring to nothing the things that are,
1 Cor 1:29 So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.

Steph

[patches]

!thumbsup!
I too have had three books published by Print On Demand publishers. In order not to pay huge set up fees I had to edit the book myself and design the entire cover and supply the text for the back cover. While editing I also noticed there seemed to be just as many if not more mistakes than when I sent out the manuscript. Even the printed book showed lots of mistakes. I paid them money inorder to get set up in their sysyem but have not received a penny back in royalities.
And what is this Zulu? Is it a legal printing house? I've come across the website. I ignored them because I didn't want a book saying 'Published by Lulu' Am I wrong in ignoring them?

You have a choice of leaving the Lulu imprint off. They do not insert anything in your book that says, lulu printing, lulu publishing or anything else like that.

It is print on demand. No setup fees, no nothing that you don't want to pay for fees.

My book shows me as publisher. Breezy Ridge Publishing with my mailing addy and my url, www.breezyridge.biz printed in the United States of America.

Sign up and feel free to ask all the questions you want to. They are an awesome bunch of people but my impression is that there aren't a whole lot of Christians that post to their forum.

That's why I posted a poll under suggestions on this forum. I wanted you all to vote for a 'Self-publishing Writers Forum' on this site.

Maybe I posted the poll in the wrong thread.

Steph

[patches]

I ahd 2 books published by POD. I only wrote the books. They did all the work. I retained the copyrights to the material. It was exactly like an other publishing house. I did the marketing and promoting of the book but I would have done the same thing if they had been published by Random House.

My books are also carried in Barnes & Noble. The stores, not just online. My only complaint would be that the publisher put too high a price on the book. This taught me a lesson as we prepare to publish books for our authors.

That's why I like Lulu. I set my price.

Steph

[Jean Ann]

I paid nothing. I did not have to design my cover. I did not have to get my own ISBN.

Steph, Lulu may work but B&N stores can't carry your books. I like walking into my local store and finding my books on the shelf.

[patches]

I'm not much worried about getting into B&N. And there aren't any local bookstores here, LOL!

[patches]

I thought I would post some statistics about the book industry in general that might open some eyes.

B&N stocks titles per year
http://www.fonerbooks.com/2005/07/sterling-publishing-and-barnes-noble.html

"However, as their annual report points out - "Each Barnes & Noble store stocks from 60,000 to 200,000 titles, of which approximately 50,000 titles are common to all stores." For the true super stores which stock 200,000 titles (though I suspect they may have meant "books" rather than "titles")"

"Barnes & Noble now has some 10,000 books in print, and they tend to be lower priced than the competing titles, which while great for customers (vertical supply chain) doesn't make publishers very enthusiastic."

"With half their books coming from their Sterling subsidiary which specializes in how-to, and a good chunk of the remaining half also in the how-to segment, it's safe to assume that how-to publishers are at the greatest risk for the time being."

"If I was in the process of setting up a new imprint to publish nonfiction, I would look long and hard at my business model and focus on titles I felt would do especially well on Amazon or independent stores, as opposed to making plans based on the whole market."




Some Statistics about the Book Industry:
http://www.parapublishing.com/statistics

Bookstores

15,000 stores in the U.S. that carry books.
8,000 are "bookstores".
3,000 might be profiled for any particular book. (Business books sell better downtown; parenting books can be found in the suburbs).

59% of the customers plan to purchase a specific book when entering a bookstore.
--Book industry Study Group. Publishing for Profit by Tom Woll, page 170.
http://www.BISG.org
TWoll@aol.com

2002: Of the $23.7 billion spent on books, only $10.7 billion is spent in bookstores. The non-traditional outlets sell more books.
--Tami DePalma, Marketability.
twist@marketability.com

Borders 2002: opened 41 super stores for a total of 404.
Closed 53 Waldenbook stores and opened 4, leaving a total of 778.
8 new stores were opened overseas for a total of 30 super stores and 37 Books, Etc.
--Publishers weekly, March 17, 2003.
http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

Book Purchases by Store Type

24.6% Large chain stores
17.7% Book Clubs
15.2% Smaller chains and independent stores.
5.4% Internet such as Amazon.com
--Book Industry Study Group.
http://www.BISG.org

2002: $450 million was spent on general-interest books at big-box stores such as Wal-Mart. That figure is up 7.4% from 2000. Costco and other price clubs are taking market share from the bookstores.
--Ipsos Book Trends, reported in The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2003


Returns

Books are displayed in bookstores for one selling season of four months. Those books that do not sell are returned for a refund. Yes, books may be "gone today, here tomorrow."

Returns are 21-23% for larger publishers according to the AAP.
--Tom Woll in Publishing for Profit.
http://www.publishers.org/industry/index.cfm
TWoll@aol.com

Barnes & Noble had a return rate of 28% for all categories of books in 1996 and 19% in 1997.
--Publishers Weekly Interactive. March 30, 1998.
http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

Returns were 23% in 1993.
--Jerrold Jenkins.
http://www.JenkinsGroup.com
http://www.JenkinsGroup.com

The 1997 return rate for new adult trade hardcover books was 36.7% according to the AAP.
--PW Interactive. March 30, 1998.
http://www.publishers.org/industry/index.cfm
http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

A return rate of 15% is considered very good.
--Publishing for Profit by Tom Woll, page 76.
TWoll@aol.com

35% worth of the adult hardcovers shipped to retailers in 1996 were returned in 1996 according to the AAP. The rate was 32% in 1995.
--The Wall Street Journal, May 29, 1997.
http://www.publishers.org/industry/index.cfm
http://online.wsj.com/public/us

Sell-Through. Independent stores sell over 80% of the books they order. Superstores sell 70% of the books they order. Discounters such as Wal-Mart and Sam's Club sell about 60%.
--The Wall Street Journal, May 29, 1997.
http://online.wsj.com/public/us

The industry return rate is 36.3% for hardcover and 25% for soft. B&N returns 19%.
--Brill's Content, July/August 1998.

2002: 37% of the books sent to stores were returned.
www.electronic-publishing.com

Harper-Collins lost more than $250 million in a single year just on returns.
--The New York Times, reported in Booktech the Magazine, March/April 2002

Pricing

2002: The number of book priced between $30 and $40 increased 15% to more than 800 titles.
" Adult trade hardcover: increased 20 cents to an average of $27.52 average retail price.
" Adult trade soft cover: increased 2 cents to an average of $15.77 average retail price.
" Adult trade mass-market paper: increased 32 cents to an average of $7.30 average retail price.
" Juvenile hard covers rose 12% to 15.93
" University press hardcover titles decrease 11 cents to 51.09
" University press soft cover titles rose 11 cents to $18.30
--R.R. Bowker in Publishers weekly, June 2, 2003.
http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

Book Exports from the US

Entertainment content is the largest U.S. export.
Information is the basis of more than half the gross domestic product.
--The Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2003

$837.5 million in 2001. To Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and others, in that order.
--Publishers Weekly, September 3, 2001.
http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

2002: $1.68 billion, down 1.8%
Top eexport markets (in order): Canada, U.K. Japan, Australia, Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Germany, Taiwan.
--Publishers weekly, March 24, 2003.
www.publishersweekly.com

[jvdoles]

POD has been a great benefit to us.

We published our first two books using offset (traditional printing press). The first one was for 500 copies, the second for 1500. We still have hundreds of books sitting in our closet and garage.

By the time we were ready to publish our third book, POD (which is digital printing) began to make more sense. I looked around and decided that Lightning Source Inc. had the best deal going -- both financially and in fulfillment of orders.

So I designed the book cover and interiors and submitted it to LSI. I was only going to order 100 copies, but they had a special going and I was able to get 150 for not much more cost.

Very happy with the product. The quality of the book printing was good, inside and out. A trained printing profession may be able to detect a slight distinction between offset and digital, but most other people won't be able to tell any difference.

Since then, we have submitted our earlier books to LSI, so they can be available on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, etc. This is a tremendous benefit LSI offers--I just checked our stats at LSI this morning and saw the 5 copies of one of our books (Praying With Fire) were ordered through Amazon yesterday.

Other benefits: LSI handles our eBook versions. LSI is affiliated with Ingram / Spring Arbor book wholesalers (Ingram for the secular stores, Spring Arbor for Christian stores.) LSI is the easiest way for small publishers and self-publishers to get in the Ingram catalog, and that can be a considerable benefit.

Now when we run low on our POD titles, we order another 25 to 50 copies and have them within around 2 weeks. We don't need a lot of storage space for our POD titles (and we continue to free up space selling down our offset titles).

As we develop to the place of moving greater quantity of books, it will become more financally feasible to go back to offset, but right now, we are quite happy with POD, particularly LSI. I recommend them to all my friends in ministry who want to publish their books.

[Debtfree]

You have a choice of leaving the Lulu imprint off. They do not insert anything in your book that says, lulu printing, lulu publishing or anything else like that.

It is print on demand. No setup fees, no nothing that you don't want to pay for fees.

My book shows me as publisher. Breezy Ridge Publishing with my mailing addy and my url, www.breezyridge.biz printed in the United States of America.

Sign up and feel free to ask all the questions you want to. They are an awesome bunch of people but my impression is that there aren't a whole lot of Christians that post to their forum.

That's why I posted a poll under suggestions on this forum. I wanted you all to vote for a 'Self-publishing Writers Forum' on this site.

Maybe I posted the poll in the wrong thread.

Steph

patches,

I, too, am a Christian author. I have been considering lulu.com, Xulon.com and PawprintsPOD.com (are you familiar with any of these POD's?)

I have my own website Blessed To Be A Blessing Ministries (http://www.b2bablessing.org)to use to advertise like in Charisma Mag etc. but still have not taken the plunge into the world of POD. I guess I am a bit uneasy about it.

I did visit your site...I like it...looks really professional. I created my own site with FrontPage 2003. It serves the purpose.

What are you doing for publishing now. Email me and let me know. I am very interested. I am planning to get one of my books published soon.

Debtfree!thumbsup!

[Debtfree]

POD has been a great benefit to us.

We published our first two books using offset (traditional printing press). The first one was for 500 copies, the second for 1500. We still have hundreds of books sitting in our closet and garage.

By the time we were ready to publish our third book, POD (which is digital printing) began to make more sense. I looked around and decided that Lightning Source Inc. had the best deal going -- both financially and in fulfillment of orders.

So I designed the book cover and interiors and submitted it to LSI. I was only going to order 100 copies, but they had a special going and I was able to get 150 for not much more cost.

Very happy with the product. The quality of the book printing was good, inside and out. A trained printing profession may be able to detect a slight distinction between offset and digital, but most other people won't be able to tell any difference.

Since then, we have submitted our earlier books to LSI, so they can be available on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, etc. This is a tremendous benefit LSI offers--I just checked our stats at LSI this morning and saw the 5 copies of one of our books (Praying With Fire) were ordered through Amazon yesterday.

Other benefits: LSI handles our eBook versions. LSI is affiliated with Ingram / Spring Arbor book wholesalers (Ingram for the secular stores, Spring Arbor for Christian stores.) LSI is the easiest way for small publishers and self-publishers to get in the Ingram catalog, and that can be a considerable benefit.

Now when we run low on our POD titles, we order another 25 to 50 copies and have them within around 2 weeks. We don't need a lot of storage space for our POD titles (and we continue to free up space selling down our offset titles).

As we develop to the place of moving greater quantity of books, it will become more financally feasible to go back to offset, but right now, we are quite happy with POD, particularly LSI. I recommend them to all my friends in ministry who want to publish their books.

!thumbsup! Just checked out your site...looks really great! I, too, am a author. I plan to decide soon where to publish. I will check out lighting source Inc. and see what they have to offer. Thanks for the tip.

Debtree:D

[Gumpngreen]

I'm considering a POD primarily because I don't have the required time (Video games keep me too busy) to fully invest into my writing but I at least want my stuff made publicly available.

[patches]

patches,

I, too, am a Christian author. I have been considering lulu.com, Xulon.com and PawprintsPOD.com (are you familiar with any of these POD's?)

I have my own website Blessed To Be A Blessing Ministries (http://www.b2bablessing.org)to use to advertise like in Charisma Mag etc. but still have not taken the plunge into the world of POD. I guess I am a bit uneasy about it.

I did visit your site...I like it...looks really professional. I created my own site with FrontPage 2003. It serves the purpose.

What are you doing for publishing now. Email me and let me know. I am very interested. I am planning to get one of my books published soon.

Debtfree!thumbsup!

I don't know anything about xulon or pawprints, cafepress seems to be okay but my software is a tad too outdated for them to accept and lulu we've all posted on here.

Thanks for the input on my website. I'm not a professional web site designer, but I did the best I could.

I'm currently using lulu.

Steph

[Rocky Top]

I'm looking at Xulon and Pleasant Word. However, I'm going to pick out an editor that's not connected to these two firms. I write humor/essays...so I'm searching for an editor that knows timing....and can repair my punctuation damage.

Anybody worked with Xulon or Pleasant Word?
Or anybody worked with an editor that knows comedy writing?

[AngelAzariah]

_____I read one forth of this and realised it was going to go on forever for me. Interesting read though. I guess this is what I get for moving and not being on the board for a month. :p

[Debtfree]

Greetings Again Everyone,

I have finally made the leap into POD. I did some research on PawPrintsPOD.com (http://www.pawprintspod.com), and man I got started for $124 (Setup and ISBN), and I paid an additional $75 for a professional cover. [The fee may vary depending upon what type of art etc., you may require].

They did all of the set up, ISBN, and a cover artist named Jinger did my cover. I am still in the production phase. I should be receiving my test print in a few days. The owner has been awesome to work with. They are far more inexpensive than Xulon.com and many other Christian POD's I've contacted.

Thus far, I definately recommend them to all who are interested. If you contact them please let them know that Gregg Huestis of Blessed To Be A Blessing Ministries sent you their way. I promised Linda that I would tell anyone who would listen about their work.

They also provide fulfillment and distribution as well for an additional fee, and they also assist you in marketing the book to a certain extent. Yes, we still have to do some work with marketing, but they will assist in this project as well.

I will keep you posted on my progress as the project continues. I am hopeful to have the book ready for purchase by mid-March at the latest.

There is also an organization that I want to recommend as well. Christian Authors' Promotional Alliance (CAPA). If you haven't heard of them they are a group that help each other market every members writing. The cost is $30 per year, but seems to be well worth the investment. I am planning to sign up as soon as my book is ready for purchase. They market through a catalog on paper and/or CD. They will send 5 catalogs to 5 different bookstores etc. that one requests for an extra fee of $10 for the postage. I am guessing that most on this site have heard of this organization, but just in case you haven't I wanted to put a plug in for them too.

Debtfree:D
Blessed To Be A Blessing Ministries

Ps.
If you want to check out my book cover click on the link in my signature and then go to "Book Reviews." Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will see the front and back covers.

[AngelAzariah]

_____What do they want in the contract? Do they want rights to print for a time, or a time after you leave, or can you leave at any time without penlty?

[Debtfree]

_____What do they want in the contract? Do they want rights to print for a time, or a time after you leave, or can you leave at any time without penlty?

Angel,

PawPrintsPOD doesn't attempt to take the rights to your book. If you received a traditional publishing deal and wanted to go with it all you have to do is let Linda know.

Your contract with them is non-exclusive. You retain ALL rights. It is a very good deal. For me it was better than lulu.com because they do all of the set up and also helped me with an excellent cover.

Have you check out the cover Jinger made for me yet?

If you go to my site and click on "Book Reviews" Scroll to the bottom and you'll see the cover she created. My wife and I were totally blown away. The link is in my signature.

Debtfree!thumbsup!

[AngelAzariah]

_____Nice photo work, and the contract stuff dosn't sound bad. I'll look them over for fun.

[AngelAzariah]

The ISBN price seems high to me. 10 ISBNs cost 200 something from one site. I wonder how all that really works. Paw seems to have better pricing than lulu per book though. It's just the initial. I guess it would be up to the person. If you're only planning on selling ten books, then lulu, if 100 or so, Paw. Well maybe.

[Debtfree]

Angel,

The price per book is for printing. There is an additional nominal fee for the fulfillment part. Lulu.com usually charges 10-12 dollars for a book of my size. Where as PawPrints charges 6 or 7 plus fulfillment.

It is a good deal, and you don't have to price yourself out of the market.

Debtfree:D

[AngelAzariah]

_____That was my worry with lulu. My book would run around seven bucks too. I still need to finish the readthrough edit first. I did bookmark the place though.

[Debtfree]

Joe,
That is a true picture of a vanity press, but not for POD. I don't consider vanity presses or "so-called" POD publishers to be true POD anyway. Any Publisher that sells a required package in order that you publish your book isn't true POD, it's a vanity press with a cheap business model and in my opinion, from what I have seen from those so-called POD vanities is they do shoddy work for the fees they charge.

My friend still has to edit and re-edit his book, even though the package called for editorial services. It's been gone through about four times now since the first proof was printed and when they get hold of it, for some reason, more errors appear, than are fixed.

Lulu and Cafepress, and a very few others, print-on-demand without requiring cash layout. I am the publisher, not Lulu or Cafepress. When I get my ISBN numbers, they are mine, not the POD's. It is my imprint, if I choose one, not the POD's. And when my books show up in Books in Print, it is my publishing company that will appear as the publisher, not the POD's.
I set the price, not the POD.

The Vanity Press POD's don't allow you to keep your identity. Their logos show up as the imprint and also on the ISBN's. Yuck! That isn't really self-publishing. That is vanity press.

Steph

Patches & Steph,

I am presently working with a small POD called PawPrintsPOD.com. I just received my test copy yesterday, and I was surprised at the way it was setup...unitl I talked to the daughter of the company. Having not read the book entirely they had set it the way they would usually set up a novel. However, that doesn't work for a non-fiction teaching book.

I called the publisher and discussed my concerns and I know they will get it set up the way I want it. I sent a PDF of my book that I am using on my website so that they understand exactly what I am wanting.

Yes, I have some small problems with the formating, but they are working with me to correct the problems and they are totally committed to my being satisfied with the end product. Overall, the copy they sent me looked very good, but it just wasn't the format I was looking for...not bad, but just not what I preferred.

I just wanted you both to know that with PawPrints they will work with you until you are satisfied with your end product. You keep all of the rights etc. Yes, they do go down as your POR unless you already own the ISBN. In my case I did not. They will even help you reduce the page count so that the book costs less for both. They also assist their authors with promotions, fulfillment and distribution for a nominal additional fee.

My experience has been overall extremely good. I would recommend PawPrintsPOD.com (http://www.pawprintspod.com)to anyone who is interested in publishing their book and have a cover made professionally for under $200.00.

If you want to see the cover I had made for my book visit the this address (http://www.b2bablessing.org/reviews.htm). When you get to the reviews page, scroll down to the bottom where my review is located and you will see the front and back cover of my book: Another Side of the Coin.

God bless and Anointed Writing,

Debtfree