Some thoughts on POD

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EllenG

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Some of you have had good experiences with POD but I, and many others, have not. We have been decieved, disappointed and have lost money. So why did we do it?
Maybe we became impatient with the traditional publishing world as it is today, seemingly catering to celebrities and self-help gurus. The fiction world has its superstars who command huge royalties, perhaps using up the annual budgets of the big houses. As we over-40s know, things have changed in the last 30 years and there are few publishers who are willing to take risks.
But why did you write your book to begin with? I can only answer for myself. I wrote it in hopes of communicating some ideas to others, not to have it be listed online where hardly anyone will stumble upon it. And, to add insult to iinjury in my case, where if someone does find it, I will not see any royalties from a possible sale because of fraud.
We write to express a point of view. Perhaps that point of view does not appeal to a majority of readers, but I believe there is at least a small market for any thoughtful book. It is difficult find those readers with POD because many do not browse online. A good friend of mine said that she loves to browse in a bookstore and hold a book in her hand before buying it. I think the vast majority of readers feel this way, even in the era of the ebook and POD.
Best of luck with your ventures. I am finished with POD and ebooks.
Ellen
 

Cathy C

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I'm sorry you had such a negative experience, Ellen. I hope it hasn't soured you from continuing to write. There are plenty of small and large presses who pay advances and good royalties to new authors with a good story or useful information to tell.


Good luck with your future endeavors. Hang in there! :kiss:
 

EllenG

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Cathy, I hope I don't sound bitter, I'm not. I just want to share my thoughts in hopes that other writers don't make the same mistakes I did, and wind up throwing good money after bad.
I am still writing and in the future will only deal with publishers who can actually put books on store shelves. Best of luck to you too. :)
Ellen
 

maggie2

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Hi Ellen,

Sorry to hear about your problems with a POD publisher. Could you elaborate a bit more about how the problems arose? You said that your book was only listed online and that the company committed fraud. Could you tell us which company it was/is and how the fraud was committed? It would be good for others to know about these problems so they could avoid the same mistakes. Thanks for sharing anything you can.
 

veinglory

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... noting that both POD and ebooks are also used by companies that don't charge money and do provide publisher services (i.e. basically traditional small presses). I e-publish and have made money at it. It depends on finding a reputable press.
 

EllenG

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Maggie2: See my thread on Heliographica in Bewares.
Veinglory: What you say is true. Still, you will never see your book on the shelf in Barnes and Nobles or the corner bookstore. If this is okay with you, then go for it.
Ellen
 

mr58inc

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Since I have been a lurker for some time now, and gleaned so much useful information from this site, I have decided to relate my experience with pod publishing.
I am 60 years young and have never written a thing, until recently. I have had a story idea for 15 years and after retiring a year ago, I decided to try and write a novel using my story. My goal from the beginning was to get my story in print and have a few people read it. I took stock in the fact I am not a very good writer and probably will never be one, but my story is a very good one. It took 7 months to write the novel along with 2 ending changes, and numerous proof readings by myself and family. I submitted to Diggory Press in England. It cost me $240.00, which included my cover design, ISBN, submission to the usual online book sellers, and formating. I purchased 80 books for $600.00 (including shipping). I put up a website for a cost of $95 a year and did my own pages. I then sent press releases to 4 of our local newspapers. All this was done by November 2005. My plans now are to move to more national press releases, and I have a local book store , because of the local news coverage willing to let me have a book signing. My goal was to break even money wise.
Results so far have been 16 sales online and 57 sales through my website or personal sales. I am 10 books away from breaking even. The responses have been encouraging with comments like, great story, page turner, can't wait for your next book. I have another story idea and will write a second book, but this time I have the courage to send it to traditional publishers. Maybe its because of my 15 minutes of fame locally, or maybe I'm not such a bad writer after all, or maybe it's because of the reality of not seeing my book in brick and mortar stores, but regardless the reason I will go more traditional now.
I wanted to thank evryone who has posted on this site, it has given me a wealth of information, and for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you.
 

maggie2

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Hi, Mr58Inc,

Thank you for sharing your story about POD. There are many people like you and I applaud you for fulfilling your dream. You had realistic expectations and found a way to cover your costs and make your dream a reality at the same time. Good for you! All writing is not about money and fame...some of it is for the satisfaction of having your work published. And as a bonus you have gained enough confidence to write another book AND attempt to have it accepted by a traditional publisher. That's awesome and commendable.
 

Ralyks

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I entered the POD process knowing my book would only be available online. I broke even fairly quickly and have sold over 1,000 copies of my novel. However, I know this is a major "exception" in the world of POD publishing, so, in general, I would not reccomend POD publishing to others except in select cases, and if the author has full knowledge of the limitations and reasonable expectations.
 
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