Print on Demand

Since I can't get anyone I know to read through any of my stories and so far been rejected by book publishers with no feed back, I decided to check around for Print on Demand companies to get it published. It is very hard to improve a story wih no feedback. I did once get the suggestion of publishing it myself and try to sell the book at bookstore and see if anyone buys it. I assure you this struggling author can not afford to print 1000 copies just to see if anyone lifts it off the bookpile. People need to do their homework before giving suggestions on selling my book.

My comparative study of Print on Demand companies.

1. They are more concerned on appearance than quality of the story. Of course they offer editing services, for $1000, or more if they charge per word. It takes more than a pretty cover to sell a story. Harry Potter only has illistrations only on the chapter headings so $25 per illistration seem unnecessary to sell a book to the public. Cover art is $200 to $350, $150 to copy the author's artwork.

2. You only get 2-5 free copies, naturally you have 40% author's discount but how does one make a profit buying your own book. Plus they don't include the retail price of your book you get 40% off of. You get good royalities from sales, 40-50%, but at what price are you getting that 50% from?

3. Review comments from newspaper book reviewers cost only $100-$150. The problem with only positive comments to place on the cover is the lack of sincerity in the comments. I have seen outstanding reviews from famous people endorsing books I bought to find out the books really sucked and a waste of my time. Negative reviews and comments are just as necessary to a struggling author as positive. I gladly will review a book or movie for that matter for free, but I doubt anyone will take me up on that.

4. Lastly it costs another $100 or $300 to format your story to be ready to be published in their system. Sure you can do it yourself for free on your own computer, but you have to buy Acrobat Reader to do it so that way is not exactly free either.

For a struggling author with no cover art or illistrations, no one to review it or edit it, a whole package can cost $800 to $4000, depending on how much help you need to make a book. And after you spend this small fortune, there is no guarentee the public will love reading your book. Then again, if it is Print on Demand, can your book be returned by the reader if they don't like it? That part is also not advertised in the packages. Plus, they also do not advertise how many books you have to sell to get your money returned. I think I'll take my rejections from book publishers like a woman and edit my own story. Post later. bye!