Is POD a good fit for self-publishers?

SpeakingOfWealth.comSome POD (Print On Demand) publishers would like writers to believe that a world of riches as a result of a best selling book is within your grasp if you sign up for their self-publisher services. The truth is – like Billy Joel says – you may be wrong but you may be right. If your goal is to sell your book through a bookstore, no POD publisher is the best way to go.
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The reason is simple. Bookstores expect a deep discount to stock books, often as much as 50%, a percentage that is completely incompatible with the POD pricing model. The numbers simply do not work. A customer can walk up to the counter at their local Barnes & Noble and request a copy of a POD book, and the store will be happy to order and sell it to you, but the idea that they will stock massive quantities of a work by an unknown (to the general public) is fantasy.

POD might be a good fit for your purpose if you plan on selling it via an online seller like Amazon.com, your own website, or offer them for sale at events you speak at. To realize financial benefits of going the POD self-publisher route, you must be ready to embrace marketing with a vengeance. There is no deep pocket publisher standing behind you ready to help out by financing a book tour (which happens rarely these days anyway). You’re going to have to bootstrap your own sales. There’s no advance and nothing happens unless you do it.

On the plus side, you have total control to publish a book exactly how you envision it any time you want. So, no, POD is not perfect for all self-publishers but it might be good for you.

The Speaking of Wealth TeamIT certification


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