The Truth Behind POD Publishing
Are you thinking about using a fee-based POD service? No time to read but want to learn a lot about POD in a very short time? Well, don't miss this:
"The Truth Behind POD Publishing"
From the site: "Print on Demand, POD, Vanity Press, Subsidy Press or whatever you want to call the "pay to be published" publishing industry, it's all the same…"
Featuring an audio seven part series, the aim of this string is to get "to the bottom of the multi-billion dollar 'pay to be published' publishing industry."
Hosted by Ron Pramschufer, the entire "Truth" series comprises of "interviews [with] the former VP of Finance for Xlibris, the presidents of Author House and IUniverse, author Mark Levine, and Jan Nathan, the Executive Director of PMA.
This information is very helpful for any author wanting to explore fee-based publishing however listeners should remember that any publishing experience should be something an author chooses for themselves--not just because someone said it was good or bad--and in doing so should form their own opinion about the industry [not rely on just the opinions presented anywhere, including my own site].
Having seen the extremely good, expected bad, and very ugly in this industry and I've always believed that education is the best guarantee for a successful publishing experience-regardless of the method!
http://www.wbjbradio.com/series/pod.php
"The Truth Behind POD Publishing"
From the site: "Print on Demand, POD, Vanity Press, Subsidy Press or whatever you want to call the "pay to be published" publishing industry, it's all the same…"
Featuring an audio seven part series, the aim of this string is to get "to the bottom of the multi-billion dollar 'pay to be published' publishing industry."
Hosted by Ron Pramschufer, the entire "Truth" series comprises of "interviews [with] the former VP of Finance for Xlibris, the presidents of Author House and IUniverse, author Mark Levine, and Jan Nathan, the Executive Director of PMA.
This information is very helpful for any author wanting to explore fee-based publishing however listeners should remember that any publishing experience should be something an author chooses for themselves--not just because someone said it was good or bad--and in doing so should form their own opinion about the industry [not rely on just the opinions presented anywhere, including my own site].
Having seen the extremely good, expected bad, and very ugly in this industry and I've always believed that education is the best guarantee for a successful publishing experience-regardless of the method!
http://www.wbjbradio.com/series/pod.php
posted by dehanna at 7:40 PM
2 Comments:
Please be aware that POD is NOT the same as fee-based publishing or vanity/subsidy publishers.
POD simply means "print on demand" - an alternative to the large print run, offset press printing that has been the standard for years. There are POD printers (not publishers) who contract with both indpendent and large publishers to print and bind books without the need to warehouse thousands of books from a print run. The better POD printers produce quality books that are indistinguishable from offset press books to the public. Even such large publishers as Bantam/Doubleday/Dell, Viking/Penguin, and Simon & Schuster have chosen POD printing for some of their titles. It is especially useful for short print runs and niche books.
POD printers are just that: printers. While some may offer other services such as cover design and distribution agreements, they do not actually publish your book. They do not do book layout, marketing, or offer an ISBN. The publisher must do that.
There are subsidy/vanity publishers who may also use POD as their method of printing. The way to tell the difference is easy: if they say they will provide your book with an ISBN, they are a subsidy/vanity publisher.
If they will print your book but you - or your publisher - must provide the ISBN, then they are a printer, NOT a publisher, and you will need a publishing company to accept your manuscript before ever getting to the stage of talking about how the book will be printed.
It is unfortunate that so many people lump POD printing and subsidy/vanity publishing into the same group, when they are actually two very different things. It makes it even harder for indpendent and small publishers (NOT subsidy/vanity) to succeed.
Sheyna Galyan
Owner
Yaldah Publishing
www.yaldahpublishing.com
A clarification and follow-up on my previous comment. Within the indpendent/small publishing industry, the terms "POD" (Print On Demand) and "digital printing" are used interchangeably, contributing to the confusion I alluded to in my previous comment.
It seems to me that the subsidy/vanity publishers perhaps are using the term POD to describe themselves as a way of gaining credibility (and attracting new dupes, er, I mean customers). At the same time, others in the publishing industry don't always look close enough at an independent publisher to determine if it is a traditional publishing company that takes advantage of digital printing (sometimes also called POD) where appropriate or a subsidy/vanity publisher.
Thanks for letting me muddy the waters a bit more. :grin:
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