HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
 By Argile Stox Apr. 4, 2006 There are different phases that an individual goes through once their manuscript has been accepted for publication by a well established book publisher. When an individual is signed by a well established book publisher, that individual has nothing to worry about. Their manuscript is gone over with a fine tooth comb by an assigned editor of that book publisher. The editor is in constant contact with the author and goes through the manuscript with a “blue pencil” to assist the writer to enhance the body of the work. Only when the editor and author are satisfied – the book goes through the art department, final touches and tweaks are made, and the publisher then orders a significant print run for the book. Once that is done, the marketing department takes over and the book is then distributed. The author is then contacted by the publishing company to do book signings, etc. The publishing company handles every aspect of the books birth, distribution, and marketing. If the book becomes a success through professional reviews and general word of mouth, the author’s only obligation is to be available for book signings and media interviews. There are different phases that individual’s goes through once their manuscript has been accepted for printing by a POD (print on demand) reverse vanity printing house. The manuscript is converted into a PDF file. The author is then told to go over the manuscript with a fine tooth comb and send corrections to the POD printing house editor. The author cannot edit the PDF file; the corrections have to be sent separately – line by line, to the printing house. The author is solely responsible for spelling errors, grammar errors, syntax, etc. Once the author has read and reread the manuscript for days / hours and has transmitted the list of corrections to the printing house “editor,” the author is then sent a final draft PDF file. A few weeks later, the author is contacted by an individual who sends a PDF file containing what that person thinks that the front and back cover should look like. The author then can make suggestions on how to improve the front and back cover. Once everyone is in agreement, the book is given a release date. The POD printing house then sends fliers by mail to individuals (about 100) that the author has supplied – announcing the release date of the book. Once the book has been printed the author receives two “author copies” by the POD printing company. In the envelope containing the books there is a note that states that the author can purchase their books at a significant discount by a certain date. OK, now a picture this: The author who was signed by a well established publishing house is setting up schedules for book signings. That same author has at least one hundred copies supplied by the publishing house, so that the author can sign and give them to friends and relatives, so these individuals can read the book and recommend it to their friends and relatives. The author can walk into any bookstore and see the book shelved in the proper section of the bookstore. The book is a regular sized paperback and is distributed to booksellers across the nation. The author who was signed by the POD printing house has received two “Trade Paperbacks” which are slightly smaller than a hard copy book and it is priced between three to four times more than a regular sized paperback. The newly minted author then tries to have the book shelved in their local bookstores in the community in which they live. The author has in their mind that it will be a slam dunk to have their book shelved in their local bookstores –because, after all –they are a “local author.” Reality sets in and the bubble bursts when the author is informed by the booksellers that corporate policy dictates that POD trade paperbacks printed by reverse vanity printing houses are not shelved in nationwide books stores. Meanwhile, maybe about 45% of the individuals who were sent fliers about the book’s release –actually buys the book. The individual signed by an established publishing house has the book sent to professional reviewers, hoping for a decent review to ramp up sales. The individual who was signed by a POD printing house is turned down by reviewers due to the fact that the book is a trade paperback printed by a reverse vanity printing house. The individual who had their book published and distributed by well established publishing houses received a signing bonus –and now is receiving decent royalty checks in the mail. The individual who had their book printed by a POD receives cigarette money royalty checks in the mail every six months. That individual is also locked into a contract that runs upwards to seven years. The individual who had their book published in standard paperback form is informed as the book begins to ramp up in demand and sales. After about a year, the publishing house may place the book in an “Out of Print” status, when demand and sales have declined significantly. However, the publishing house and the author have made a significant profit from the sales of the book. After the original publishing house releases the author from the contract –the author can shop the book around to other publishing houses that may have a different marketing strategy and the book is re-released. Money may have to change hands between the original publishing house and the new publishing house – However, the book is given a second opportunity to sell and make money. To put it in a different scenario – The book, when it is first released is a New Car. After about six to eight months, the book is no longer manufactured and is put in the “Out of Print” Book Lot. Another publisher comes along and may see that the book has potential in a different market with a different distribution plan. The book is then purchased from the original publisher – and the book marketing cycle begins again. Meanwhile, the individual who had their book printed in a trade paperback format is locked into an ironclad seven year contract. Only at the discretion of the POD printer, can the contract be terminated. The book that the author had high hopes of being shelved in bookstores nationwide is relegated to the “must be ordered from a bookstore or the original POD printing house” status. The intended customer cannot hold the book in their hands before buying it, because the book is not on the shelf in a bookstore. Since there’s no exposure of the book to the public by way of advertising and marketing, the book floats in cyberspace along with hundreds of other POD offerings on bookseller’s web sites. Over the past three months, individuals have gleamed mass disappointment and disillusionment postings on a certain POD message board. All of these authors cannot understand why they have been turned down by their local bookstores for shelf space. They are also wondering why their POD printing house is not spending one thin dime to market their books. In addition, when the author of the trade paperback, printed by the POD house - secures a large order for the books to be placed in supermarkets, the order for the books is turned down by the POD printing house. The printing house is only geared up to print small orders of books that have been purchased by their own authors. The reality is that the POD printing house business plan is designed to sell books in small quantities to their own authors and their family and friends. Why is that, you ask? The answer is very simple. When the book is ordered from the POD printing house directly, it is paid immediately by credit card. If the book is ordered from a nationwide or local bookstore –the POD printing house is paid on a quick payment schedule. A large book order from a distributor that services nationwide supermarket chains –the payments for the books that are sold is very slow. After all, the POD printing house must pay their printers for the books on a timely basis. Therefore, there will be a long wait for reimbursement from the supermarket accounting department. The name of the game of the POD reverse vanity printing house is QUICK CASH! The one thing that the individual who contracts with a POD printing house fails to understand is that their book is stored in a database. When the printing company receives an order to print the book, they just punch in the amount of copies to be printed, then a couple buttons on a keyboard which initiates the printing of the book(s). That is the whole process. To back up my statements concerning large orders of books being turned down by a POD printing house – A few months ago, an author secured an order of 180 books to be placed in a very large community based supermarket chain. When the distributor for the supermarket chain tried to place that order with the POD printing company, the order was turned down because the order was too large. Imagine that! A POD printing company which bills itself as a “Traditional Book Publishing Company” refuses to accept an order for 180 books to be distributed in a very large community based supermarket chain. To further back up my statements, the part owner of this POD reverse vanity printing house admitted during testimony in an arbitration case (that the POD printing house lost), that the printing company was in business to sell books to its author’s and their friends and family – only! On the subject of this POD printing companies message board – If an author begins to question the operation of this printing company by voicing their concerns in a post on the company owned message board, that individual has their posting privileges revoked. It does not matter whether the questions are posted on the public or private message board the individual’s posting privileges are revoked –sometimes indefinitely. I am writing this article trying to explain the differences between the well established book publishing houses and small POD printing houses. The world of publishing is fascinating and is not difficult to understand. Well respected literary agents are bombarded daily with manuscripts from first time authors. These agents employ individuals to sift through each manuscript to see if it has potential. If the manuscript excites the “reader,” it is then forwarded to one of many literary agents in the company to be reviewed. If the literary agent gets excited about the book, it is then presented to a decision maker or decision makers. If everyone is in agreement, then the manuscript is shopped around to the usual established publishing houses that may have interest in the genre If the manuscript is “sold” to a well established publishing house, the literary agents are compensated when the deal is done. All negotiations between the author and the publishing house must flow through the literary agent. The publishing house provides the author with a list of editors that the author can talk with about the book. Soon, the author and editor are paired up and the editing process begins. Once all the details are agreed upon, contracts are signed and the publication process begins, the deal is done. After all is said and done and the book has been shelved in the marketplace for some time, the publishing company has the option to discontinue printing and marketing the book. From what I understand, the average shelf life of a book is about six to eight months. After that period, many books go out of print to make room for new offerings. Some books maybe taken off the shelves and relegated to a bookseller’s web site until all inventories of the book have been exhausted. In the world of POD reverse vanity printing houses, manuscripts are received –given to a “reader” who skims through the manuscript. From what I have learned from ex-POD employees, owners of POD printing houses have “reader” quotas. The owners want their readers to accept manuscripts that can be produced with the least amount of work by the “editing” staff. The editing staff consists of an individual converting the Microsoft Word or any other word processing manuscript format into a PDF file. The hope is that once the book is printed the author’s friends, family, and relations will buy the book. The POD industry is banking on the elation of the author to market and promote the book. Once the book is released, the POD printing company crosses their fingers and hopes that there will be a one or two time surge in book sales. After that parameter has been satisfied, and the author has exhausted all of their contacts to purchase the book, the POD printing company expects that the sales of the book will diminish. The seven year contract is in place so that the book can be printed one copy at a time if a person orders the book from a website. The POD printing company expects that the author will mention the book to everyone they come in contact with. Therefore, the digitized version of the book can be easily printed by pressing a few buttons. Lately, a strange phenomenon has been occurring in one particular POD printing company. If an author’s book has not sold any copies within a certain amount of royalty cycles, the contract for the book is terminated and all rights are reverted back to the author. This action came as a huge surprise to many authors. In fact, they were quite bewildered by this action. Some were elated, while others were completely confused. The reason for the termination of the contract(s) was “lack of public interest and sales.” So, if I understand the rationale of this POD printing company, they are satisfied if only one book is sold per royalty cycle. If a few cycles pass and not one book are sold, they terminate the contract due to lack of public interest and sales. Could it be possible that the digital printing company that this POD printing company is using, maybe increasing the price of their digital storage space? Could it be possible that the contract being canceled has been milked dry –and the company does not expect any further sales in the future? It appears that the old saying, “What goes around, comes around.” If a product is designed, created, manufactured, and offered to the public –and it does not sell due to lack of marketing and promotion, the entire POD business plan is doomed to failure. In addition, if a first time author does their research and avoids a particular POD printing company, that company’s revenues will shrink drastically. The last time I checked a particular POD printing company’s new weekly releases –there were 135 new POD trade paperback offerings. Believe it or not, 135 new books were released in one single week. That means Barnes & Noble / Amazon and other bookseller web sites will have to make room and store information on 135 new POD offerings. Can you imagine that? This particular POD printing company is flooding the market. The sad fact is - most of these newly minted authors will expect to see their trade paperback shelved at their local bookseller. When they discover that their book can only be ordered from the bookstore and or the POD printing company’s web site –that is when the bubble bursts. The POD public and private message boards begin to fill up with questions from these newly minted authors. Then, the POD printing company begins to ban these inquisitive authors from the public and private message boards. This cycle happens about three times a month, and more when the royalty statements are received every six months. So, what does this all mean? “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t” applies. Buyers Beware…. Does this apply? I don’t think so. This POD printing company does not ask for a single dime for this service. What they expect is to be compensated for this service by having authors buy their own books at inflated prices, and to market their books to friends and relatives. On the surface, this appears to be a fair deal. However, as time goes on the author begins to feel very cramped and suffocated in this relationship with the POD printing company. What the newly minted author desires is that the book be read by the masses. They want their books to be shelved in nationwide bookseller chains. They become very disappointed when they find doors slammed in their faces by book store managers, simply because their book was produced by a POD reverse vanity printing company. When they first held the finished copy of their book in their hands, it was an exhilarating moment. However, that exhilarating moment was soon to be replaced by the agony of the national book seller chains rejection of their work. They walk into bookstores and roam around the stacks of the books that are being presented for sale. They cannot believe that their book is not among those offerings. The POD printing company only gave them half of what they expected. Sure, their book was printed. That was ½ of the dream. However, the other half of the dream may never be realized –having their book shelved in a bookstore. The obstacles that face an individual who has their book printed by a POD printing company are enormous. Each and every day, a POD author’s spirit is crushed when a manager of a bookstore implies that the book will be shelved in that store. However, once the manager researches the POD printing company, its return policy, and the overpricing of the books –the manager then has to give the bad news to the author that the book cannot be shelved in his book store due to the complexities of the POD printing company. This bad news completely shocks the author. Yesterday, they were beaming with pride that their book will be shelved at the bookstore. Today, they are informed that the manager had to rescind the offer. What this writer does not understand is the fact that there is no law on the books that prevent POD printing companies from disclosing the entire truth concerning this industry. POD websites hype the dream of being a published author. They make it a point to stress that they assume all the risks involved in the production of a book; and it does not cost the author one single dime to have their manuscript manufactured into a book. However, POD printing companies refuse to divulge and admit that POD trade paperback books are overpriced, have a lousy return policy, and are not well received by bookstores. What they do say, is that the book will be marketed on booksellers web sites. They also go on to say that not all books that are produced make it onto a bookstore shelf. What I would like to see is a “Truth in POD Printing / Publication” Law that forces POD printing companies to be up front and publicly admit what they do and what they don’t do explained on their web sites. Sometimes, individuals on message boards become so annoyed at individuals who complain about being duped by a POD printing company, that they yell “Didn’t you read the contract before you decided to sign it?” The sad fact is, that the contract admits that the POD printing company will only manufacture and distribute the book. The contract also states that it is of the discretion of the POD printing company to market the book. It clearly states that the author must take an active role in promoting and selling their book. It is all there, in black and white –for all to witness and absorb. However, the aspect of becoming a published author –that will set you apart from all others clouds intellectual reasoning in the human mind. The individual has only one goal in mind –get the book printed and available to be sold. Once the POD printing company has fulfilled their part of the contract, the author then must use their own monetary resources to distribute and sell their book. I have read an enormous amount of accounts of individuals on message boards spending thousands of dollars to advertise and sell their books. After all was said and done and they received their royalty checks, the amounts they received did not cover 99% of their monetary expenses. The POD printing company made their money. The bookstores made their money. However, the author that purchased their own books from the POD printing company –even with the discount that was offered, plus shipping expenses, evaporated any potential profit realization. In conclusion, I will admit that I was enthralled at the aspect of becoming a published author. In my mind, the hardest part of becoming a published author –was getting the manuscript in print and in book form. I figured that once I had the product in hand it would be an easy task to have my book shelved in a local bookstore. I was completely ignorant of the complexities that surround the traditional publishing houses, national bookseller chains, and the entire POD industry. In retrospect, if I had known about the obstacles that disengage the book buying public from the POD industry, I would have not submitted my manuscript to a POD printing company, only to have it die on the vine after publication. In addition, I will have to wait another five years until my contract expires. I often wonder if I will rewrite my memoir after my contract expires. Then, even if I am released early from my contract, I do not know if I have the enthusiasm, stamina, and intestinal fortitude to rewrite my memoir. Just thinking about rewriting my memoir and submitting it to well established literary agencies –causes me unbearable anxiety. In my mind, once a project is done, it is done. There is no need to revisit it –for it is complete, published (printed), and available to be purchased. However, there is one aspect missing… The general public isn’t even aware that my book exists. My memoir is not on one shelf, in one bookstore in the United States of America. My memoir is a ghost…. In addition, my health is deteriorating. I take a truckload of pills every day to control my blood pressure, pills to calm my heart, pills to ease the pain of the arthritis which is spreading throughout my body, and pills to relieve my reaction to stress and anxiety. For the past four days, I have gone to sleep at about 2:00 AM in the morning and woke up at 4:00 PM the next day. I realize that I am suffering from depression. The root cause of the depression is not very complicated. However, the situation with my book and the POD printing company’s refusal to release me from my contract, I believe –is a contributing and underlying factor that is fueling my depression. I have repeatedly asked the POD printing company to explain via regular mail why they continually throw a gag order at me –as a prerequisite to release me from my contract. Meanwhile, every day –authors are being released from their contract due to poor sales, and no gag order. I have repeatedly asked the POD printing company what they are so afraid of. Everything I know about this POD printing company has been gleamed from other message board forums and a few publishing trade magazines that I subscribe too. I do not have any “friendly” contacts with in this POD printing company. In fact, I wrote a tribute to a recently deceased author, and a member of this POD printing company posted a link to the tribute on their message board web site which appeared on the U-K Magazine web site. Within five hours, the link was expunged. My name, Argile Stox at this POD printing company –is mud. The reason why I am a asking this POD printing company to send the explanations via U.S. mail with verifiable human names - is that I want to know who makes the policies and decisions at this POD printing company. I have repeatedly asked them not to e-mail me. I have repeatedly asked them to send me information on their company letterhead via U.S. mail. As of this writing, they have been silent. When I first contacted them over two years ago, they answered every question I had and was ready willing and able to assist me in any possible way. In the two years that have elapsed, I have learned and witnessed some very disturbing actions, “Tone Letters,” and policies which I do not agree with. I have taken time out of my life to make suggestions to improve the operation of this POD printing company. All of my suggestions were ignored, and some of my emails were never answered. Dear Reader, if you are considering submitting a manuscript to a POD company - please research them thoroughly. There are plenty of well established vanity book publishers that charge money to produce your book. I would suggest that you would engage these companies only when your manuscript has been rejected by traditional, well established literary agents and or publishing houses. Looking back, if my manuscript was continuously rejected by reputable literary agents and publishing houses, I would have engaged the services of a professional editor(s) to make my manuscript more appealing. Yeah, I know –I could’ve done things a lot better rather than jumping the gun. However, I am stuck in a situation and trying to resolve it in a civil manner. It is my hope that you have enjoyed a bird’s eye view of the POD and publishing industry. Please do not let my experiences deter you from realizing your own dream of becoming a published author. Keep writing, keep submitting your work, and keep the faith. ------------ Email Argile Stox: argilestox@gmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
