The Pros and Cons of Print on Demand Publishing

Written by Victoria Ring


The Pros and Cons of Print-on-Demand Publishing Read Online at http://www.graphicopublishing.com/history/article_pod.html Written 04/01/2004

When I was five years old, my parents bought me a manual typewriter for a Christmas present. I practiced every day until I was able to type letters to my grandparents and other relatives. Although it is safe to say that I have been a writer since 1963, I didn’t start making money from my writing until I started Graphico Publishing in 1988.

Back in those days, Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) had never been thought of. In fact,repparttar word “internet” was unknown torepparttar 129064 majority ofrepparttar 129065 general public. Therefore, I had only three options available to me if I was going to sell my articles and books:

1. Submit them to publishers, hoping they would be published “someday”; 2. Typeset my own books, print them on a copier and mail copies to customers ordering directly from me (this also meant that I had to marketrepparttar 129066 books myself); or 3. Pay a printer to typeset and print my books, which meant I had to buy a minimum amount and pay for them upfront (which could cost $10,000 or more).

I chose to employ option Number 2. I figured that I would not have to spend any money using that option because as books were ordered, I could print them on my copy machine. Besides, my books were not full-length paperbacks. They were 20-page booklets that I could print on letter-size paper, fold in half and saddle stitch. Only until I started selling 100s of books would I invest into purchasing a minimum amount from a printer. Besides,repparttar 129067 idea of not having to stock a product was of great importance to me since I was living in a small one-bedroom apartment atrepparttar 129068 time.

However, while choosingrepparttar 129069 Number 2 method above would save me a lot of money, I was going to have to learn how to market and typeset my books. Learning to typeset was pretty easy. I went to a printer’s supply store and picked up books showing me different styles of fonts and I looked at every display advertisement I could find. I purchased Roger Parker’s Book, “The Aldus Guide to Basic Design” (http://www.newentrepreneur.com/) and was soon able to start designing my own ads, using combinations of examples I learned fromrepparttar 129070 professional designers. The entire learning experience was great fun and I acquired a skill that I now use on a daily basis.

Learning to market though, took longer compared to learning how to typeset. That is because there are so many variations to marketing. What works for one person may not work for another. However, withrepparttar 129071 vast amount of technology available at your fingertips today, learning to market your products and services is as simple as filling out forms and posting messages to bulletin boards utilized by your target market.

Little did I realize atrepparttar 129072 time thatrepparttar 129073 procedure I utilized to sell my books by printing copies only when an order was received isrepparttar 129074 same thing as print-on-demand publishing. The only difference is that today, most ofrepparttar 129075 marketing and typesetting is included inrepparttar 129076 publishers price. Since I already know how to typeset my books,repparttar 129077 publisher normally gives me a discount of $100 to $150 for saving them time and expense.

I was first introduced to print-on-demand publishing when I wrote my book, “How to Start, Operate and Market a Freelance Notary Signing Agent Business” available online at http://www.50statenotary.com/book). Not knowing that print-on-demand publishing existed I sent my manuscript to several publishers for acceptance. To my surprise, two publishers acceptedrepparttar 129078 book and one offered me an advance of $2,800.

At first I was elated. I called all my friends and we all yelled and screamed together in excitement. The excitement was short lived when I received an email fromrepparttar 129079 publisherrepparttar 129080 next day with a list of demands they required before my book could be published. One ofrepparttar 129081 demands wasrepparttar 129082 name of my book needed to be changed and secondly, I was not permitted to publish my testimonial to Jesus Christ inrepparttar 129083 back ofrepparttar 129084 book. I immediately said “no” and began seeking other alternatives for publishing.

To make a long story short, I found Gom Publishing (http://www.gompublishing.com) through my local Christian Blue Pages directory. It just so happened that their office was located within 10 miles of my house. I called them up, asked if I could come for a visit and received a personal tour of their operation. It was a great learning experience and I was sold onrepparttar 129085 idea of print-on-demand publishing.

Here are just some ofrepparttar 129086 advantages to a writer who uses print-on-demand publishing:

How to Have an Effective Writing Group

Written by Stephen Earley Jordan, II


The works you’ve written are numerous, ranging from short stories to evenrepparttar novel, hidden in a storage bin (underrepparttar 129062 bed) collecting dust. But there comes a time when you must wipe away that dust, regain your pride, and prepare your babies for publication! But, how do you get such a critical, unbiased eye to analyze your works, offering both praise and criticism?

It’s simple—start a writing group!

Creating a writing group isrepparttar 129063 easy part, but creating a functioning and beneficial writing group can be quite a task.

Writing groups are age-old sessions where writers obtain helpful evaluations for their works. Nowadays, though, writing groups seem to be a fad, and for many a status symbol reassuring them of their writerdom. Don’t create a writing group simply forrepparttar 129064 sake of saying, “I belong to a writing group”. Create or join a group because ofrepparttar 129065 numerous benefits that come along with them.

Keep Number of Members Limited. You don’t want just one other person in this group. So shoot for 3 or more members. Onrepparttar 129066 other hand, you don’t want to have 30 people inrepparttar 129067 group either. Try approximately 8-10 members. If one person leavesrepparttar 129068 group, replace that person with a new recruit. Keeprepparttar 129069 same standards for all members. Make it standard that members can only join by an invite. Allowing your group to be very exclusive bringsrepparttar 129070 group more pride.

Select Randomly. It’s okay to have a friend in this group, but you chose to create this writing group for unbiased opinions. So don’t allow ALLrepparttar 129071 members to be your best friends in which you see on a daily basis. Perhaps one member is 18 yrs old, whilerepparttar 129072 other is 35. Keeping age, sex, ethnicity, and educational levels of your group will allow a diverse critique—which is ultimately what you’re seeking. A diverse group will only make you andrepparttar 129073 group much stronger.

Meetings. We’re all struggling writers, so most oftenrepparttar 129074 other members ofrepparttar 129075 group will have jobs to attend. So finding an appropriate time for a meeting is crucial. I’ve found that one Sunday per month, after 2 p.m. is great. Make it an odd time. Creating times such as 2:07 p.m. will stand out and allow members to remember. Where are these meetings held? Keep switching locations. Allowrepparttar 129076 members to rotaterepparttar 129077 location to each of their homes. If homes are not available, then a select person should discuss where they chooserepparttar 129078 next meeting should be held. This isrepparttar 129079 reason membership should be limited to a few members. It’s much easier to meet with just a few people.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use