Leyla said:
. . . now I'm considering Infinity. When I called them I went directly to a publishing consultant instead of dialing for options or an extention.
What are your views of these companies and who do you recomend for new authors?
I assume you are writing for a narrow niche market. If not, you need to explore more options.
I've used Infinity three times and found them to be honest. However, before you consider a POD publisher, you should know that POD works best if you can sell at least 200 but not more than 1,000 books. My best-selling POD has sold 400 copies; my worst selling has sold 265. If you can't sell at least 200 books, go to a copy shop.
If you can sell more than 1,000, self-publishing is a better deal. I've sold over 1,500 copies of my self-pubbed book, now in its second press run. I'm close to maxing out my readership. If I sell out this run, I'll use Lulu for future copies of this book instead of doing another full run.
All my books are for very narrow regional niche audiences. Many of my readers are older and don't use computers, so they are unlikely to order online. I need hard copies available for them. POD lets me do that without having to store a thousand copies in the garage.
Before you POD, you should already have a readership in place (I write a local newspaper column, and the area where I live has many retired people who read and buy books), have places that will sell your books (I live in an area with lots of gift shops but darn few bookstores within 50 miles), and have a lot of organizations available who invite you to be a guest speaker and who will let you sell books after you speak (I do). If you don't meet any of those conditions, selling a POD/self-pubbed book will be tough.
The owner of the only bookstore in my county told me that readers don't care who publishes a book—they just want good books. She's right; my self-pubbed novel is the best selling-novel in her very small bookstore that sells mainly regional books. But you have to be able to get your book to readers. Bookstore owners are unlikely to take a chance on unknown authors; several times I have had to leave a book to preview before a store owner decided to order.
A couple of regional gift shops now order my POD books directly from Infinity, which "prints" in-house, has a toll-free number, and prices its books lower than most PODs. Plus it gives them 40% off the retail price. Infinity also has a return policy, and they give a discount on set-up fees to repeat authors.
One of the reasons I like Infinity: I can call them on short notice when I need books for a reading. I always order 20 (the minimum to get free shipping) which I get at 40% off. Since I get a 10% royalty for books I buy, my discount really comes to more than 40% off. (Infinity has recently increased its royalties on books bought from them or from Amazon.) Recently I called Infinity toll-free late on a Tuesday afternoon to order books for a speaking engagement I had on Wednesday of the following week. When I talked to Michelle Shane (people at Infinity have both first and last names), she told me I'd have them by Monday. I had my books at noon Friday—within three days!
I haven't lost money on my Infinity books (and I've actually made a modest profit), though I've made much more on my self-pubbed book. However, writing is not my primary occupation and I don't depend on it for an income. Hence, POD works for me for certain situations.
I am pitching my next book to a commercial publisher. This book has considerably wider audience potential than my previous books. However, if I'm unable to sell it commercially within a year or two, I will probably use Infinity again.