In conclusion, to witness this trend is to realize that those offering opportunities, services and products need to target senior market. Those planning media, marketing and advertising need to focus on this powerful and ever growing segment of population.

What about selection process? Do these publishers accept anything that's sent to them? The answer is no. While approval process is far less restrictive than traditional publishers and you don't need an agent, some POD publishers still have guidelines as to what they will and won't consider. These guidelines vary from publisher to publisher, so you'll need to check their individual sites or contracts for specifics. Also, some publishers will even read manuscript to determine quality; if they feel work is so poor it's unmarketable, they will turn it down.

While you're in selection process, download publishing company's publishing contract and look it over carefully. You'll want to make sure a few things are in place before you sign on dotted line. First off, be certain you're able to retain all rights to your book (foreign, film, audio, hard cover, paperback, and ebook). This is extremely important. Never give or sell any of rights away to a book you're publishing through POD process. Second, determine how quickly you can cancel this agreement. Ideally, cancellation should be immediate. Cancellation clauses will benefit you if your book should get picked up by a traditional house or if you decide to switch publishing companies.

Your time to market, meaning time it takes them to format your manuscript into a book and get it ready for sale, will vary. Generally, you should see a completed book within ninety days, or in some cases, even less. This turnaround is incredible when you consider it takes a traditional house about twelve to eighteen months to get a new title ready for sale.

As with anything, there are drawbacks to this form of publishing. One of biggest issues with print-on-demand is that there is a no-return policy in place for these books. Returns are a crucial part of doing retail business in U.S. In fact, a whopping 35 percent of merchandise purchased is returned. Still, authors are finding ways around this issue and for most small business owners, this won't matter anyway since most of your books will probably be sold from your office or back of room at speaking engagements. Secondly, this form of printing is more expensive than traditional trade paperback model. Generally, POD books will be priced higher. Their price is often determined by page count. As print-on-demand machines become more efficient and per-page printing costs decline, POD book prices will drop. Many have already decreased considerably from where they were a year ago.

With on-demand publishing, what was once a dream can now be a reality. In an industry that is saturated with exceptional talent, advent of these publishers has afforded authors and entrepreneurs an opportunity that might otherwise not be available to them; a way to expand their business and increase their exposure without expense of ad placement. It is an opportunity millions are taking advantage of. For some, it's an extension of their business, for others it's increased credibility but for most, it spells success.

Print-On-Demand Publishers: http://www.iuniverse.com/ http://www.1stbooks.com http://www.traffordpublishing.com http://www.infinitypublishing.com http://www.xlibris.com