For the last two weeks, I've been talking about print on demand. I've offered my experience with the process and have shared some of the problems I've encountered. Today's blog wraps up this topic.
Technology
Print on Demand (POD) is technology. It's neither good nor bad. It's a means to an end. It's another iteration of getting the word out to the reading public, and as such, it's not going to be the final stop on the publishing juggernaut that writers must negotiate in today's rapidly changing market.
The Good
1. POD is as green as paper publishing can get right now. It's not carbon-footprint free, but it beats having tables of remainders that end up ultimately in the landfill.
2. POD allows writers to self -publish without kow-towing to agents or big city publishers.
3. POD allows small presses to offer services to writers who otherwise would languish at their computers without ever seeing their books come to fruition in print.
The Huffington Post noted Kelly Gallagher, vice president of publishing services for New Providence, N.J.-based Bowker's remarks on POD: "We're seeing that the face of publishing itself is changing. Non-traditional publishing, especially related to print-on-demand, continues to offer new avenues and opportunities to grow the publishing industry. Given the exponential growth over the past three years, it's showing no signs of abating."
The Only Constant
The only constant is change. POD provides a good venue for getting your novel or nonfiction work published. However, the prognosticators are predicting we'll see the end of paper printing within the next five years. That means eBooks are the next BIG THING; in fact, they already are.
ePublishers weekly reports the sales of ebooks in the U.S.A. for the first quarter of 2010, more than 90 million dollars, predict a record year for ebooks. epublishersweekly.blogspot.com
So there are some thoughts on POD. After weighing the pros and cons, I chose it for my novel. It's not perfect, but it's one way to get your work before the public.
