Quick Link: POD: Why Authors Should Handle Their Print-On-Demand

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Michele DeFilippo at BookWorks makes the case on why indie authors should do their own print-on-demand. What have your experiences been?

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POD: Why Authors Should Handle Their Print-On-Demand

by Michele DeFilippo

Michele DeFilippo of 1106 Design is committed to helping indie authors succeed. She has shared advice on our Discussion Groups forum and here offers further support by presenting the case for setting up and managing your own POD.

Marketing your book is the final step in self-publishing; it’s also the never-ending step. Distribution—a way of delivering your book to readers—is a vital ingredient of your marketing plan. At one time, a printed book sold in a brick-and-mortar bookstore (or via mail order or out of the back of one’s trunk) was the only distribution method open to self-published authors. Today’s indie publishers have several options: print, eBooks, audio books, and print-on-demand (POD).

In this article, I’ll focus on POD: what it is, who does it, and how authors can manage their own POD and get paid more.

Read the full post on BookWorks.

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Quick Links: What’s the Best Print on Demand Service for Self-published Paperbacks?

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Print on demand is such a wonderful option for authors who want to expand from their eBook offering.  helps you to ask the right questions on what to expect from POD services, and which option is right for you. Go to Self Publishing Advice Center to learn more.

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What’s the Best Print on Demand Service for Self-published Paperbacks?

By Jay Artale

This looks expensive.
This looks expensive.

June 21, 2016

In a new occasional series here on the blog, ALLi’s Communications Manager Jay Artale dips into our vast Author Advice Centre archive of information and distills the answers to some of the most frequent questions among self-publishing authors.

Before you dive headlong into creating a paperback version of your ebook you should ask yourself why you want a print version in the first place, which will give you all the information you need to choose the right print partner to achieve your self-publishing goals.

Many of the decisions regarding printing your books will depend on your goals. If you only intend to sell online, you’ll have fewer decisions to make. If you intend to try and get into brick-and-mortar stores, you have a lot more to consider. Quality and cost are considerations, but ease of use also comes into play when making your POD decisions.

Determine your POD goals

Choosing a print partner is not as much about money as it might seem at first. It’s a decision that can only be answered after you determine exactly what you want to do with your printed book. Here are five questions to ask yourself:

  1. Are you going to be primarily an ebook author with a few printed books for promotional purposes?
  2. Are you going to restrict print sales to online, through the pbook retailer and your own website?
  3. Are you going to limit yourself to a few local or handpicked bookstores?
  4. Are you going to go all out and try to get a distributor and do a print campaign with the associated trade-style publicity in newspapers and other media that is necessary to sell books in this way. If yes, why?
  5. Have you realistically budgeted time and money costs?

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

They Might Be Giants

This post by Philip Jones originally appeared on FUTUReBOOK on 6/24/14.

Are we at the beginnings of a backlash against big tech? Last week the New Yorker published a disruption takedown from Jill Lepore in which she castigated the tech community for its “reckless and ruthless” philosophy of disruption. Over the weekend the Observer criticised tech companies for sometimes thinking “they are above good rules”. A few weeks ago the New Statesman ran a series of articles puncturing the Silicon Valley dream, and warning about the “political and social damage that may be done by the future land-grab being pursued by the big internet companies”.

For publishers the context for this are the ongoing negotiations between Amazon and its suppliers over supremacy in the book business. As The Bookseller exclusively reported yesterday, Amazon’s latest terms indicate a direction of travel that would see the online retailer take a sizeable control over both a publisher’s inventory and its marketing. Can’t deliver fast enough to meet Amazon’s super-efficient distribution machine? Amazon would now POD the book. Not sure how best to market a book, or a list? Amazon could do it for you, albeit for a cut of the turnover.

 

Click here to read the full post on FUTUReBOOK.