Print on Demand Publishing

Print on Demand (POD) publishing has made millions of out-of-print books available and has given unpublished authors a method to get their manuscripts published and available to anyone who wants to read it. Books are produced only when someone wants to buy one, eliminating overstock, buy backs, and publisher remainders. For the bookstore, it also eliminates the back and forth labor and shipping costs associated with packing the books, sending them to a warehouse, sending them to a bookstore, the time and money associated with stocking it on the shelf, only for the book to be returned back to the publisher which consumes payroll and shipping costs by pulling the book, scanning it out and shipping it to the publisher.

POD is a technology that was a good advance on it's own, but it's the Internet that has made it successful. The Internet heavily influences POD books sales, and POD authors often promote their books online at their personal websites and myspace pages. Several POD companies have sprouted up over the years, including iUniverse and Lightening Source, as well as other Self Publishing companies.

In the industry, self-published POD titles have a bit of a stigma. It gives inexperienced, sometimes untalented authors a voice, and often the quality of work is questionable. But there have been some success stories as well. There are some talented authors who are never "picked up" by a big publishing house. POD technology gives them a shot. Humorist Laurie Notaro was turned away from every major publisher in NYC. She turned to iUniverse.com, which lists books in major booksellers databases like Barnes & Noble and Amazon. This allows her book, The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club to be ordered in any B&N bricks & mortar store, online and bn.com or online at amazon.com. Her title gets the same channels as John Grisham does. With Notaro's infectious personality and a little old fashion, hit the streets self promotion in her home turf of NYC, she was able to earn a coveted top ten spot on the New York Times Bestseller List. For more reading on this story click here.

Notaro scored a 2 book, 6-figure contact with Random House after her success with POD self-publishing site iUniverse. She's published several books beyond that 2-book deal proving her marketability as a bankable author.

The Internet has helped POD technology significantly by making POD books available virtually anywhere to anyone. POD books are marketed online by authors directly and by using major, established websites like B&N, Borders, and Amazon, books are listed with cover art, description, and prices. This gives the work credibility by simply being offered at a mainstream store or site. If the Internet did not exist, these opportunities for unpublished authors would not either.