Print on Demand Publishing (POD)
What You Need to Know about POD
Working with a Print on Demand (POD) publisher can either be the smartest or dumbest decision you made. The good news is it is up to YOU to determine which path you take.
First and foremost you MUST understand that you have chosen a DIFFERENT business model than traditional publishing. Let me explain.
Traditional publishers produce a book and then market it. They allocate say a 50/50 split in production and marketing. They spend resources (time, energy and money) in the up front production and distribution of the book. Basically, this includes the design, printing, and bookstore distribution. Then they begin the marketing.
You have chosen to make a 10/90 split in your production and marketing. You will spend fewer resources up front. You will design the book and get the printing ready to go. You will then begin marketing.
The beauty of the POD model is that you don’t have to spend a ton of resources (time, energy or money) on the up front production and distribution. You just get the book ready to be printed when it is ordered and then move right on to the marketing. You can spend your time on marketing. You can allocate your budget on selling books, not printing them. Very smart!
Choosing POD is smart ONLY IF you work the business model to its advantages. If you try to make the POD business model fit into the traditional publishing model you will waste time and money and wind up very frustrated – thereby making this a dumb decision. Please don’t do that. Go with the smart and easy path.
Why POD books DO NOT work in bookstores:
Bookstores stock books that are already printed and ready to sell. POD books, by definition, are not printed until they ARE sold. So how can a bookstore stock a book on its shelf that is not printed?
Yes, POD books can be printed and then stocked on a shelf. However, bookstores can’t even fit all the traditionally published books on their shelf, so why would they allocate space to a book that isn’t even supposed to be there?
My best advice about POD books and bookstores is to STOP TRYING TO FIT A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE. Just accept that your book is available to order if someone would come in and ask for it.
Forget that you were loosely promised your POD book would be available in bookstores. Just give this illusion up. It was a sales tactic to get you to jump on the POD bandwagon. Not my favorite part about the POD community as a whole, but it is already done. Move on.
What is the best way to sell POD books?
Direct response. Sell your books first and then deliver them. Your customers don’t even need to know it is a POD book. Get your message in front of people who are looking for your book but don’t know it yet. Use the Internet. Sell POD books online. Do very targeted advertising to very tight niche markets. Use direct mail to the same tight markets.
For information on how to sell books using these methods, click here.
Working with a Print on Demand (POD) publisher can either be the smartest or dumbest decision you made. The good news is it is up to YOU to determine which path you take.
First and foremost you MUST understand that you have chosen a DIFFERENT business model than traditional publishing. Let me explain.
Traditional publishers produce a book and then market it. They allocate say a 50/50 split in production and marketing. They spend resources (time, energy and money) in the up front production and distribution of the book. Basically, this includes the design, printing, and bookstore distribution. Then they begin the marketing.
You have chosen to make a 10/90 split in your production and marketing. You will spend fewer resources up front. You will design the book and get the printing ready to go. You will then begin marketing.
The beauty of the POD model is that you don’t have to spend a ton of resources (time, energy or money) on the up front production and distribution. You just get the book ready to be printed when it is ordered and then move right on to the marketing. You can spend your time on marketing. You can allocate your budget on selling books, not printing them. Very smart!
Choosing POD is smart ONLY IF you work the business model to its advantages. If you try to make the POD business model fit into the traditional publishing model you will waste time and money and wind up very frustrated – thereby making this a dumb decision. Please don’t do that. Go with the smart and easy path.
Why POD books DO NOT work in bookstores:
Bookstores stock books that are already printed and ready to sell. POD books, by definition, are not printed until they ARE sold. So how can a bookstore stock a book on its shelf that is not printed?
Yes, POD books can be printed and then stocked on a shelf. However, bookstores can’t even fit all the traditionally published books on their shelf, so why would they allocate space to a book that isn’t even supposed to be there?
My best advice about POD books and bookstores is to STOP TRYING TO FIT A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE. Just accept that your book is available to order if someone would come in and ask for it.
Forget that you were loosely promised your POD book would be available in bookstores. Just give this illusion up. It was a sales tactic to get you to jump on the POD bandwagon. Not my favorite part about the POD community as a whole, but it is already done. Move on.
What is the best way to sell POD books?
Direct response. Sell your books first and then deliver them. Your customers don’t even need to know it is a POD book. Get your message in front of people who are looking for your book but don’t know it yet. Use the Internet. Sell POD books online. Do very targeted advertising to very tight niche markets. Use direct mail to the same tight markets.
For information on how to sell books using these methods, click here.
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