Over the past years many things have changed in the world of publishing; one of the major ones being the arrival of Print on Demand or POD.

SO WHAT IS IT?

Simply put, it’s the ability to have single or limited copies of just about anything printed by a printer or manufacturer, and for it not to cost you an absolute fortune. So it could be books, journals, greetings cards, mugs, T-shirts, shower curtains, like I say, just about anything. But for the sake of this article, I’ll just referring to paperback or hardback books, notebooks, novels, autobiographies, and such.

It used to be that the most common way to self-publish a physical book that compared in look and feel to those in bookstores was to take the finished product down to a local printer and have them print up a few box loads for you. Not a cheap option, but it did see your prized book actually in print. Unfortunately it also meant that many new writers ended up paying large printing bills, while also having a stack of boxes stashed under the bed or in the bottom of the cupboard, because overestimating how many books you need is always way more easier than selling the books in the first place.

Now though with the ability for everyone to publish even singular copies of books through POD, that can truly be a thing of the past.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Well, it really is as the phrase implies, nothing gets printed until somebody asks (and pays) for it to be printed - it will be printed when there’s a demand for it. 

The writer (or formats their book on the computer so that it looks as they would like the finished book to look, they then save that as a computer file, but this time instead of taking it a printer they upload it on to a website, where it sits until somebody says, ‘I want that book. Here’s my money, send me a copy.’ Then the website will print up one physical copy of the book (paperback or hardback) and mail it directly to the customer (usually arriving within a couple of weeks).

THERE'S NO...

minimum quantity

long publication delays

large publishing bill

dealing with customers 

mailing out of orders

Your POD company organises everything and you simply get paid your cut of the profits by their website.

Obviously there are a few challenges, especially if you want to sell to stores or in person, but nothing too serious.

YOU'LL NEED TO...

Accept that there will be slightly less profit on each book.

~

Format the layout of your book to the company’s requirements. It’s now possible to do this using a variety of software (some free) or have someone do it for you.

~

You may have to earn a set amount before you get paid by the website.

~

Order books direct from the website to sell them through a store, or third party. 

~

You won’t know the quality of the book until you’ve ordered one.

But, to be honest, the possibly of paying a few extra cents to order your own books, as opposed to paying less for books you never sell, and have to find storage room for, never seemed like a big deal to me.

Other articles of interest