Authors, Be careful Not To Overpay For POD Services
While technology is certainly making the path to readers easier than ever for authors, there are some things that authors need to keep in mind before they sign up with a Print On Demand company.
Print On Demand is simply a technology to create your book. It's not a distribution system or a book marketing plan. However, many companies that create POD books also offer some sort of distribution or marketing services as well.
This post will not discuss the merits of POD books vs printing your books in bulk at a printer, nor will it discuss the pros and cons of traditional publishing vs. publishing with a company that uses POD technology. My purpose is to help authors consider the right questions if they are looking to produce their books with a POD company.
Authors often have different goals when it comes to seeing their book in print. Some want their books to help them with their career, while others want to make it to the best seller's list. Still, others want to make their books available to a small group of intimate fiends and family. With that in mind, here are some issues to consider before you sign on with a POD company:
Know what you are purchasing- Packages can vary hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. Make sure you are performing your due diligence to compare apples with apples. How many books will each package ship you as part of the package price? What distribution is each package making available? What, if any, editing services or cover creation services are they offering? What royalty system do they have set up for you? The list can go on and on.
Not all "publishing packages" are created equal, so make sure you know what you are paying for.
Don't pay for what you don't want- Often, a company will throw in a lot of bullet point services to show you how great of a deal you're getting by paying for their premium packages. If the services are something you want, then no problem. But spend a little time researching what you think you will really need.
For example, I still cringe when I see packages that many companies refer to as "Marketing Packages." I admit, what means "marketing" to me may be different than what it means to many authors, but often these packages are really collateral print packages. They give you a few hundred bookmarks, postcards and business cards and slap the term "marketing package" on it. I understand that print collateral can be part of a marketing package, I really do. But with a little due diligence, you can often get a lot more collateral at a lot less cost by buying this type of "marketing service" elsewhere.
Understand the fine print- What rights do you retain and what rights do you not retain? Do you own the cover art outright or is it copyrighted by the company that produced it? What is the royalty rate? Is it on the list price or the net price of the book? Who controls the price of your book- you or the company? What do they mean when they say that your books will be available to bookstores? Is there a period of time that you are required to list your book through them or can you switch to another company anytime you want? What distribution options will be available to your book? What online bookstores will your books be submitted to?
Check out the boards- A little caution here... every POD will have some customers who think that their company was spawned from the depths of hell. In fact, companies in any industries will have customers ready to tell you how bad they are. But you can still spot general trends from message boards if a company really has issues. Remember, the sales pieces you get from the company are just that... sales pieces. Dig around to find what others are saying as well.
Seek out testimonials- See if any of your favorite authors have published through a company you are researching and, if possible, contact them and ask them about their experiences. Remember, it often takes months before an author has seen enough to give you a valid appraisal of their POD, but it's worth checking into.
Be Prepared For The Up Sale- Many of these companies exist, not to sell books as much as they exist to sell you services. That's the simple truth. If you become a best seller while you are their customer, then great. But their business model is created to sell you services not to sell your books. They will make a profit even if you don't make a single sale. Don't be surprised when the e-mails and phone calls come to explain why you need to buy their next level of service. You are their customer, your readers are not.
I don't want to leave the wrong message here. I am not saying that PODs are bad or even the wrong choice. My book, The Samson Effect, is a POD produced book. All-in-all, I am pretty satisfied with the services my POD company provided me at the time I was looking to get The Samson Effect in print. And for many authors, POD companies provide exactly what they need in order to meet the goals for their book.
That said, we all need to know exactly what we are getting and what we are not getting if we want a POD company to produce and distribute our books. I admit that I am often loose with words, but POD companies are services, they are not publishers in the traditional sense. They have, however, allowed many authors to get their books into the hands of readers who have gone on to become raving fans. They have made the dream of producing a book real to many authors who would never have had books in print if not for them.
So, my advice is simple. Be careful not to overpay for POD services. Know what you are getting and what you are not getting. And above all, don't be afraid to say no to anything you really don't need.
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests .
Print On Demand is simply a technology to create your book. It's not a distribution system or a book marketing plan. However, many companies that create POD books also offer some sort of distribution or marketing services as well.
This post will not discuss the merits of POD books vs printing your books in bulk at a printer, nor will it discuss the pros and cons of traditional publishing vs. publishing with a company that uses POD technology. My purpose is to help authors consider the right questions if they are looking to produce their books with a POD company.
Authors often have different goals when it comes to seeing their book in print. Some want their books to help them with their career, while others want to make it to the best seller's list. Still, others want to make their books available to a small group of intimate fiends and family. With that in mind, here are some issues to consider before you sign on with a POD company:
Know what you are purchasing- Packages can vary hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. Make sure you are performing your due diligence to compare apples with apples. How many books will each package ship you as part of the package price? What distribution is each package making available? What, if any, editing services or cover creation services are they offering? What royalty system do they have set up for you? The list can go on and on.
Not all "publishing packages" are created equal, so make sure you know what you are paying for.
Don't pay for what you don't want- Often, a company will throw in a lot of bullet point services to show you how great of a deal you're getting by paying for their premium packages. If the services are something you want, then no problem. But spend a little time researching what you think you will really need.
For example, I still cringe when I see packages that many companies refer to as "Marketing Packages." I admit, what means "marketing" to me may be different than what it means to many authors, but often these packages are really collateral print packages. They give you a few hundred bookmarks, postcards and business cards and slap the term "marketing package" on it. I understand that print collateral can be part of a marketing package, I really do. But with a little due diligence, you can often get a lot more collateral at a lot less cost by buying this type of "marketing service" elsewhere.
Understand the fine print- What rights do you retain and what rights do you not retain? Do you own the cover art outright or is it copyrighted by the company that produced it? What is the royalty rate? Is it on the list price or the net price of the book? Who controls the price of your book- you or the company? What do they mean when they say that your books will be available to bookstores? Is there a period of time that you are required to list your book through them or can you switch to another company anytime you want? What distribution options will be available to your book? What online bookstores will your books be submitted to?
Check out the boards- A little caution here... every POD will have some customers who think that their company was spawned from the depths of hell. In fact, companies in any industries will have customers ready to tell you how bad they are. But you can still spot general trends from message boards if a company really has issues. Remember, the sales pieces you get from the company are just that... sales pieces. Dig around to find what others are saying as well.
Seek out testimonials- See if any of your favorite authors have published through a company you are researching and, if possible, contact them and ask them about their experiences. Remember, it often takes months before an author has seen enough to give you a valid appraisal of their POD, but it's worth checking into.
Be Prepared For The Up Sale- Many of these companies exist, not to sell books as much as they exist to sell you services. That's the simple truth. If you become a best seller while you are their customer, then great. But their business model is created to sell you services not to sell your books. They will make a profit even if you don't make a single sale. Don't be surprised when the e-mails and phone calls come to explain why you need to buy their next level of service. You are their customer, your readers are not.
I don't want to leave the wrong message here. I am not saying that PODs are bad or even the wrong choice. My book, The Samson Effect, is a POD produced book. All-in-all, I am pretty satisfied with the services my POD company provided me at the time I was looking to get The Samson Effect in print. And for many authors, POD companies provide exactly what they need in order to meet the goals for their book.
That said, we all need to know exactly what we are getting and what we are not getting if we want a POD company to produce and distribute our books. I admit that I am often loose with words, but POD companies are services, they are not publishers in the traditional sense. They have, however, allowed many authors to get their books into the hands of readers who have gone on to become raving fans. They have made the dream of producing a book real to many authors who would never have had books in print if not for them.
So, my advice is simple. Be careful not to overpay for POD services. Know what you are getting and what you are not getting. And above all, don't be afraid to say no to anything you really don't need.
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests .
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