2009: The Year Print-on-Demand Goes Mainstream
"2009 is the year that print on demand goes mainstream." – Warren Ellis
We are living in an incredible time, both as consumers and creators. As consumers, whatever entertainment we want, whether it's television, music, movies, games or books, is easier and faster to get than ever before. As creators, the barriers between us and our audience are falling faster and more easily than ever before, the time between creation and release is shrinking, and thanks to the Internet we can reach more people with less effort than we could as recently as a decade ago.
Earlier this week, I came across a post in my blog archives from September of 2002 where I said:
Remember how so many readers have been telling me to write a book? Well, I listened. Watch this space for details on how you can get it in about a week or so, maybe two.
I was talking about my book Dancing Barefoot, which was created from material I cut out of Just A Geek. I looked at that post and felt a little nostalgic, because that's where my journey as a published writer and champion of indie publishing began.
In 2002, I was just another struggling actor and fledgling blogger. I figured that, since I was having such a hard time getting work as an actor - where I had a huge resume and a lifetime of experience - it would be nearly-impossible to sell my books to a publisher. I did some research, figured out that I was able to reach a few hundred thousand people with my blog, and decided to reject the "traditional" publishing route in favor of self-publishing.
I needed an education in self-publishing, and read two books that made all the difference: The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and The Self-Publishing Manual. They were both filled with great advice, like the importance of hiring and respecting an experienced editor, a good designer, and putting together an intelligent marketing plan. I'm not sure what the current versions of the books say, but in 2002, they both warned authors away from using print on demand, largely because the per-unit costs were unreasonably high, and when you held a POD book in your hands, it really felt like you were holding a POD book in your hands.
My, my, my, how the times have changed. The prejudice against POD persists, but that tactile difference in quality has vanished, and after a couple of my friends used print on demand from Lulu to release their books, I decided to give it a try myself. I wrote in my blog:
If this works the way I think it will, it's going to be super awesome for all of us as I release books in the future: You don't have to worry about me screwing up your order, I don't have to invest in a thousand books at a time, you get your book in a few days instead of a few weeks because I'm not shipping it myself, and I can spend more time creating new stories while remaining independent. Best of all, I'll have the time to write and release more than one or two books a year.
Just one month after releasing print and digital versions of my chapbook Sunken Treasure, as well as a short audio book, my only complaint is that I didn't use POD sooner. The whole experience has been so overwhelmingly positive, I don't think I'll ever use a different publishing method again. If you're a writer, you owe it to yourself to examine the self-publishing and POD opportunities you have available to you right now, keeping in mind the advice in those books I mentioned: if you want people to take you seriously, you have to invest in a good editor and designer, and you have to be willing to listen to them both. This is the fundamental difference between someone who is a self-publisher, and someone who is a vanity publisher.
As a creator, I have an unprecedented opportunity to use POD technology and Internet distribution to take more chances and release more material with less risk than ever before. Before POD, I never would have even considered a wide release of something like Sunken Treasure; it was just too risky to invest thousands of dollars into something that I was unsure would sell the quantity I would need to order from a traditional printer. But with access to print on demand technology, and using the Internet as a means to market and distribute the book, there was no good reason not to give it a try. So far, it's working out really well. Reviews are good, sales are good, and I've really enjoyed every step of the process.
I know I'm just one guy with a very small operation, and my way of doing things isn't for everyone, but I believe that this is the future of publishing,
Last week, there was a significant change in the institutional prejudice against print on demand. It's not in book publishing, but in DVDs:
Warner Brothers is putting their DVD back catalog into a POD service: Warner Bros on Monday became the first studio to open its film vault to "made-to-order" DVDs, as it sought new revenues in a slumping DVD market by making it possible for fans to buy decades-old films.
Warner Bros, owned by Time Warner Inc, made an initial batch of 150 titles available for purchase online at www.WarnerArchive.com, including 1943 comedy-romance "Mr. Lucky" starring Cary Grant and the 1962 release "All Fall Down" with Warren Beatty and Eva Marie Saint.
The on-demand service allows Warner Bros. to avoid the risk of manufacturing too many copies of old or obscure titles and shipping them to retailers because customers directly order only the titles they want to buy.
The Warner Bros film archive has 6,800 titles. Since it entered the DVD market in 1997, the studio has released only around 1,200 of those titles from the vault. By comparison, the company expects by the end of the year to have more than 300 titles available via the DVD-on-demand service.
I completely agree with Warren Ellis (who, full disclosure, is a friend) that 2009 is the year print on demand goes mainstream. It just makes so much sense; why waste warehouse space, shelf space, and limited-investment capital on something nobody's interested in, when it's just as easy to show them the entire menu and let them pick out what they want? All of the elements that we need are lined up and ready to work together: decentralized distribution online, long tail publishing, high-quality on-demand products, and creators who have enough direct contact with their audience to make giving huge portions of their profits and their rights away to publishers totally unnecessary.
I hope that Warner Bros. has success with their POD publishing, and that it encourages other publishers, creators, and music labels to do the same, because I believe that this is the future, whether you're an indie creator like me, or a giant powerhouse like them.
--Wil Wheaton would love to change the world.
Heather Rolland on March 30, 2009 at 04:58 PM
I recently self-published my first novel and find this discussion incredibly timely and relevant. One of my first reviews described my book as having a "garage band feel." How delightful! It was unfiltered and unrefined.
And yet Chandler's comments about accelerating the dumbing down of America hit home. In shopping for a publisher to use for my project, I purchased a couple of books, and read lots of ad copy for others. Overwhelmingly I found the self publishers' bookshops were indeed the domain of the mediocre and the shoddy, to borrow Chandler's phrase. Most publishers were passed by because I couldn't stomach the thought of my book sitting on a cybershelf in that company.
I feel strongly that POD printing and self publishing is a Good Thing, and I look forward to publishing a sequel... when I sell enough copies of the first book to fund such an endeavor. I plan to hire an editor as well - but with self publishing I can keep my garage band feel if I so choose. Perhaps that's the compromise position?
Jack Dixon on March 30, 2009 at 05:08 PM
Chandler, you make good points. It's true that anyone can self-publish anything they feel like putting into print, regardless of quality or relevance. But as with any change, it's bound to have bright and dark spots.
People will not buy enough rubbish to make it worthwhile to publish rubbish. Readers who have purchased rubbish will complain loudly, ideally in reviews posted on the venues from which they purchased the rubbish. We'll have the benefit of consumer evaluations, and will no longer have to rely upon gatekeepers who think they know what readers want based on sales of what they already thought readers wanted. We'll get to read stories that are not formulaic. We won't be able to suss the plot from the start, or guess the names, the personalities, and the hair colors of the characters based upon the genre of the book.
As a writer, I don't want to be held to a formula or told what to write by anyone other than the people who might read my books. The reader is - and rightfully should be - the moderator of what does and does not sell.
There are many bright and talented writers who can not get an agent or a publishing company desk jockey to consider their work. If the gatekeepers of the publishing companies are our defense against the "dumbing of America," I'd say we're already there.
Chandler Hill on March 30, 2009 at 06:26 PM
Let me add an important point that I neglected to mention. There is every possibility that a self-published or POD book--a novel, for example--could be a major piece of literary art. I feel that I have put myself in bad company opposing the new digital technologies. Random House should not be the arbiter of art, nor should the New York Times Book Review have the power to make or break an author. The truth of the matter is every day a book of merit is dropped into a bin in a publisher's office that may be many times better than the one that goes to print. I just don't know how we find a better way? I fear that too much choice is just too much without a way of organizing and validating content. I'm not a snob, believe me. I am just cynical about where we may be heading.
Dr Dalim on March 31, 2009 at 12:05 AM
"SLN" I know it's all about cash and sales and selling to different markets for different prices and market size - we (Australia) are small compared to US and other markets. We are also tied to Asia and that has all sorts of problems (high levels of copyright infridgement) the list goes on.
I'm not sure that Government can do much if the Multi-nationals don't want to... and no there is not much I can do but gripe about it - at least I can buy books without restriction... for now (US books are half the price we pay - yes even with exchange rates)
William Donnelly on March 31, 2009 at 06:21 AM
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Add these facts to our European heritage for being "green" and long established "sustainability" manufacturing model and the POD scenario described by other bloggers makes the possiblity of the "book of on" even more attractive.
Look @ my corporate website: www.oceusa.com
Kartik on March 31, 2009 at 04:32 PM
Wil Wheaton was not on ST:Voyager (although he should have been, that would have made it a better show with more TNG cameos from Dr. Crusher and Picard, rather than create the Tom Paris character).
Wil was on Start Trek : TNG.
Earl S. Wynn on March 31, 2009 at 08:54 PM
Go you! (or us, haha!) And three cheers for Print on Demand! The old system is sick and broken-- it can't keep up with our time, and it's people like me and you (and others who've commented) that are riding the edge of a wave bound for the future. Keep writing, and keep being awesome. :)
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Karl Schroeder on April 09, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Traditional publishers still have an established place in the publishing industry, albeit somewhat flat lined. That is the effect of these rapid industry changes and the advent of online retail outlets and instantaneous, print-on-demand printing and distribution. That is where turn-key, on-demand options like Outskirts Press function as a unique option for authors, blending the advantages of traditional and custom self publishing.
The fact is traditional publishers rely on proven authors and titles to generate sales. To meet that goal, those publishers accept a very small portion of titles submitted and of the titles, an even smaller percent actually make a profit. Beyond that basic numbers problem, if a traditional publisher does accept a manuscript, they usually demand outright intellectual property rights to your work. Authors lose all control — a traditional publisher will change even the book title if they think it will put money into their bank account. And if they don't meet the profits they are looking for they will simply pull your work from publication. But they still own your material and regaining rights often requires you to buy your own book back from them and often at costs in the tens of thousands of dollars.
With the Print-on-Demand and Outskirts Press, authors are in the driver's seat, retaining all property rights and unlimited publishing time lines and distribution outlets.
Not bad.
Karl Schroeder
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Voltaire on June 06, 2009 at 06:58 PM
Wow, thanks for this! I just came from a trade show where I had an extremely frustrating conversation with a very small publisher. I was pitching a book and trying to explain to him that I have a reasonably sized fan base and can move at least a couple thousand units and of course he was giving me that "sure kid, sure" look.
I wanted desperately to say, "buddy, POD is starting to look really enticing these days. I could just go print my book POD, sell it directly to my fans and make ALL of the money myself! Any minute now, your services will be completely worthless to me!" But honestly I didn't know if POD had come to that point. You've really encouraged me to look deeper at it.
Incidentally, I'm also a musician and after being on a record label for 10 years, I put out my first self-released CD last year and made more money in one month than I had in a whole year while on the label! So it seems it may be no different with books.
Thanks again,
Voltaire
www.myspace.com/voltairenyc
Christopher Ballantyne on June 16, 2009 at 02:23 PM
The main reason "Traditional" publishers denigrate POD is because they are threatened by it, and rightly so. If POD publishers used their brains, and really started to publish for the authors and weren't focused on making too much money, they could kill traditional publishing and the traditional publishers know it.
Only a hand full of POD publishers really supply a good service, and many others are vanity publishers getting in on the act so, authors do have to be wary. But if a POD publisher went all out and incorporated true book store discounting, with the ability to return books, and really helped with the promotion side of things. Bookstores would start to get the message and take more POD books, then watch traditional publishers disappear from the face of the market.
Similarly, if Agents actually still read and were willing to take on good books but in the right circumstances direct authors to an appropriate POD publishers, then traditional publishers would have to not only sit up and take notice, but they may have to change their tactics, and not be so picky with the books they are willing to take on board.
In other words instead of monopolizing the market and thinking only about making millions for their own pockets, they might just be forced to think about the authors for once.
Finally: Tolkien and his amazing trilogy Lord of the Rings, originally was not accepted by traditional publishers. Tolkien had to borrow as small sum of money to print his first 30 copies from C.S. Lewis. (His good friend). Now look at his sales! And I bet every publisher he ever approached has shed thousands of tears over throwing him out of their doors.
NO! I say POD forever with a condition. POD publishers have to get it right, but when they do. Watch out world!!!
Qua on June 19, 2009 at 03:54 PM
We are considering POD for our first book, and find this blog very interesting. One thing I'm concerned about with POD is the paper quality - which just doesn't feel or look as good as full production printed books. Do all POD authors use the same kind of 'copy' paper ? Are some using nicer paper?
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Steve M on January 20, 2010 at 01:25 PM
Isn't POD the closest thing to using an EnterpriseD replicator to create a one-off out of thin air?
Okay, I got a little geeky there. Sorry.
Wil, you are wished continued success.
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p90x workout on July 14, 2010 at 06:39 AM
Print on Demand helped my cousin who published a very small book about his experiences in Iraq. He was able to start small so I am glad that this is finally starting to happen (Even though it is 2010 now)
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Print on demand was able to help my cousin publish his small book about his experiences over in Iraq, so I am glad its finally catching up.
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