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Print-on-Demand Publishing: Literary Robin Hood or "Slushpile.com"?

POD Authors and Experts Fight for Respect; Laurie Notaro Gets the "Two-Book Deal"

By Jim Barnes

Print-on-Demand publishing is looked on with scorn by some, ignored by others, and misunderstood by many. Proponents call it the "democratization of publishing," and believe that authors and service providers should be free to publish anything they please, letting the book-buying public sort out what's good and bad with their pocketbooks. "Bibliographic chaos!" cry those who object to this renegade approach to publishing with no gatekeepers.

Despite the philosophical clash, many independent authors are using POD to get their books in print and into the hands of readers. This "Just Do It" attitude has freed them from the treadmill of the established publishing model (proposal/agent/editor), and many are achieving moderate sales success, thank you very much. Many others are being discovered by royalty publishers and offered multi-book contracts. Reportedly, agents and editors use the POD sites to search out new talent.

Still, the vast majority of POD authors fight for respect and find their literary fame subject to their own ingenuity and sense of timing. Internet-based phenomenon that it is, it's not surprising that POD books aren't always welcomed with open arms by brick & mortar bookstores. Some booksellers have been soured by early run-ins with unprofessional POD cover designs, shoddy editing, and eager but inexperienced authors.

"POD's most significant shortcoming to date is a lack of polish on the lower end," admits Kelly Milner Halls, a moderator at the iUniverse author listserv who has heard and seen it all. "Books without sincere editorial attention hurt those that aspire to new heights, and we know it. Their professional counterparts hope to address these shortcomings by example." Milner Halls points out that POD authors are beginning to police themselves - numerous posts to the listserv call for authors to do more extensive proofreading, to seek out writing critique groups, and to hire outside editors.

In spite of the rough edges, there are many clear advantages and lots of success stories. With some authors, it's a matter of speed. For example, Michael D. Craig, author of The Totally Awesome 80s Pop Music Trivia Book has gotten great press recently by tying into Fox TV's new "That 80's Show" about to hit the television airwaves. "If it hadn't been for iUniverse, I wouldn't have my books published and ready to take advantage of the 80s revolution. Rest assured, I will be taking full advantage of the popularity of all things 80s to make sales!"

Pat Ballard is a real POD veteran, with three books now in print - and she is not a woman who likes to wait. It's only taken her fifteen months to get those three books to market! "I think that would be really hard to do with a mainstream publisher since they take so long to actually get the book in print after they've accepted the manuscript. So, for me, POD is working! I absolutely love knowing that I can write my books and as soon as they're finished, they will be in print. No long waiting periods. No hassle of trying to find a publisher who will accept the manuscript. Write the book. Publish the book. Go on to the next one. Wow! What a concept!"

"I see the first strike of POD like a 'title' wave," says Milner Halls. "The waters surged in 2001 and the panic hit with it. 2002 will see the water subside. In its wake, the nature of publishing will have been changed -- the playing field at least partially leveled. I get more excited about POD publishing as each day passes. I think that before long, the mainstream publishers are going to have to wake up and acknowledge that this is the wave of the future.

Getting the book in print is one thing, but selling it, of course, is another. POD authors are facing an uphill battle for respect with traditional booksellers, and hence, much of the buying public. Thankfully, the playing field has also been leveled somewhat by the Internet, which gives access to authors' titles, through bookselling sites like Amazon.com and through cooperative or self-created sites. Enterprising POD authors use the Web and other means of creating a buzz about themselves and their books.

"As the future unfolds, we'll see serious writers using ambitious and energetic promotional means to prove cream always rises to the top, even when it's churned via POD. Witness Ruby Ann Boxcar, a tornado of an author who carried her cookbook to Book Expo, landed in the New York Times and won a two-book contract with Kensington. I've seen enthusiasm and determination to be the most valuable marketing tool a POD author can muster. Never judge a book by its cover has never been more true."

"I write romance novels with 'Big Beautiful Heroines,'" says Ballard. "So, along with constantly marketing via the Internet -- exchanging links with like-minded websites, and acquiring as many book reviews as possible -- one of the very next things I plan to do is distribute a new flyer that I've designed. It has a cut-away bookmark that I will autograph, and I'll place them in every plus-size store and bookstore in my area. I will also send these flyers as bag stuffers to rallies like International No Diet Day." "Mine is the typical frustrated author story," says Laurie Notaro, a popular columnist at the Arizona Republic and AZCentral.com. "Seven years of rejections and excuses like, 'There's no market for essays.' Then I stumbled across iUniverse and the POD concept, and it seemed like somebody was sending me a message. I'm relentless, obsessive, and never take "no" for an answer, so I had to go for it. First, I had to prove it to myself, and then to all the people who'd told me I couldn't do it -- my teachers, including one Professor Fussdoodle, an especially cranky journalism professor and advisor at our high school newspaper. I published Idiot Girls Adventure Club, got myself a website, and went to work promoting it."

Laurie soon realized the power of marketing on the Web: she had a snazzy website designed and built, filled it full of her edgy humor, and started spreading the buzz about her book through every like-minded website she could find. "Having written a weekly column for ten years has its benefits. You make a lot of connections with charities, feminist groups and the like. It also looks good at the bottom of my tag line." Idiot Girls began popping up on chat lines, reading lists, and friends were telling friends about it. Sales began to grow, and not just in the Southwest. "I'm still puzzled by the customers in New York and Puerto Rico," she says.

Laurie got her book listed at online booksellers like B&N.com and Amazon.com, and discovered some of the promotional "extras." She began researching Amazon's "Sponsored Results" service, which allowed (the service was recently discontinued) publishers to pay to have their title come up in the column next to title search results. She liked the idea of having her book listed next to titles by superstar columnists like Dave Barry, and she rented that space diligently, playing it like a chess game and spending about $1500 on the service -- "a good tax write-off." Like many authors, she became Amazon-obsessive, checking the site about five times a day, toying with her book's description and trying out new search terms.

Well, all her obsessive effort recently paid off. Her book reached #680 in overall sales at one point, and was at #9 in Humor and #12 in Short Stories for quite awhile. Then came The Agent Call... "After seven years of trying to get that thing published, I put it out myself, and this great agent finds me on Amazon. Her name is Jenny Bent of Karvey Klinger, Inc. and she is fantastic. It was pure luck and a matter of timing. We worked on the proposal for my second book for a month, sent it out to Random House and in TWO DAYS we sold BOTH BOOKS! We hadn't really even been trying to sell Idiot Girls; we put it in the package as an example. I still can't believe it. I really can't believe it. Random House has been great. They're really supporting the book, and my editor totally rocks." Idiot Girls will be re-released in July on the Villard imprint, and the new title, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, is in the works.

The moral of the story, according to Laurie Notaro, is "use the Web for all it's worth," and be relentless. "Especially for POD authors, Amazon gives you so much support. And, luckily, I'm just really cranky - I was raised Catholic, so there's a good start right there," she says slyly. Look out Professor Fussdoodle -- Laurie Notaro's Got A Two-Book Contract, and she's the Meanest Girl in the World...

So there you have it. As with so many other Web-based creations, Print-On-Demand has its share of success stories. "Publishing via POD is not an 'easy' way out," says Milner. "It requires careful editorial attention to detail and marketing determination. But a powerful book is a powerful book. Whether or not anyone ever DISCOVERS its power is up to you, with POD publishing. Go into it with your eyes open, and the potential is endless."

"I wish and hope and believe that in the months ahead, POD publishing and the authors who go this route will gain more and more respect. Nothing speaks louder than quality -- promised AND delivered. We are, after all, brave new pioneers who believe in what we're doing. We believe in it so strongly that we refuse to be ignored. We will make a difference in the publishing future."

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