Publishing Evolution #82: Print on Demand

Looking at the various websites was very interesting. It seemed to me that they are all much the same even in pricing. If you are willing to pay more of course you receive more support and direction. When looking at the published materials they were charging just a little less or the same as what you pay at the bookstore or on Amazon. I used one of the calculators to see how much a person would make and in order for an author to make any money they would have to sell the book for about what I pay on Amazon anyhow.

I found several titles on the print on demand sites that looked interesting to me. I would be willing to read them (keeping an open mind about the validity of material) and would be even more willing if they were recommended by a friend or coworker. In my opinion there are probably many quality authors who just haven’t made it to the best seller list.

A person would have to determine why they want their book published. If it were personal or to share with family friends I would recommend using one of the lower rates with as much support as I could afford. If a person were looking toward a career in writing they would have to determine how much they were willing to invest in getting their name out into the field. While looking at the various websites I saw that if you were willing to pay more they would try to get your book handled by various publishers and Barnes and Noble.

I doubt that publish on demand will replace the traditional method of getting published in the near future. If you have a ready group that will buy your book or a way of promoting your book you would have a better chance of becoming a success than if you just put it out with these online publishers.