POD Books Rose as Traditional Books Decreased In 2008

An interesting article in Publisher's Weekly points out that POD book titles produced in 2009 surpassed the number of tradionally published titles. Traditional publishers decreased the number of titles they introduced and futher narrowed the funnel for new writers looking to break through. The new technology available today allows authors other avenues to get their work in print. It is like a squeezing a balloon, when you squeeze one end, the other end grows. Writers will continue in their desire to be published and now they have options and are using them.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6659193.html

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I don't think this is any surprise, considering how cheap and accessible self-publishing has become. My question is, what benefit is this to those self-pubbed POD authors who want to see their books widely read and on retailer shelves? Do you think this proliferation will help their cause or hurt it?

I lean towards "hurt it," but what do I know.

I think it will help. The stigma against a POD book will lessen.

People will have to let books stand on their own.

I don't know what a certain forum I am thinking of will do, but I ought to go see.

LC, I think that it will help. Shelf space is getting smaller with independent bookstores closing. Borders is hanging on by a thread. Big box stores are only going to sell big name authors and bestsellers. Shelf prescence is good but was a problem regardless.

Think about it, if traditional publishers are cutting back on their catalog, the odds of a breakthrough are lower than ever. Authors have to decide if they want to fight the longer odds or go another route. The only thing missing is a robust marketplace for POD books. Amazon and other online stores are great marketplaces but miss the physical browse and shop customers who are not on the net.

dtpollard wrote:

The only thing missing is a robust marketplace for POD books. Amazon and other online stores are great marketplaces but miss the physical browse and shop customers who are not on the net.

Ah, but that's a huge missing piece, right? Are you envisioning a bricks and mortar store one day that stocks just POD? And why would they have better luck with their merchandise than Borders?

Just wondering. I'm not trying to be negative. I have no idea how it will all play out. Right now it looks to me that many (most?) books will turn into Kindle products, but they'll still be published by the same folks with the same requirements, with the same large-scale advertising budgets. POD'ers with little advertising capability may remain fringe, even if there's more of them.

LC wrote:

I don't think this is any surprise, considering how cheap and accessible self-publishing has become. My question is, what benefit is this to those self-pubbed POD authors who want to see their books widely read and on retailer shelves? Do you think this proliferation will help their cause or hurt it?

I lean towards "hurt it," but what do I know.

I'm unsure if I think the same way as the majority of self-published authors or not. Maybe I am among a group of self-published authors who do not speak out because their thoughts don't fit in with the type of comments that prevail on writing forums. Like minded people are more likely (pun intended!) to post their thoughts than those who disagree, who stay quiet rather than be seen as odd.

I've never had any problem with being seen as odd. I always go my own way and never follow the crowd.

Now seems as good a time as any to be open and honest and say what I really think.

I don't care if my books are on bookshelves in bookstores or not. I don't want to be a bestselling author. It doesn't bother me that mainstream publishers have rejected my books.

I wrote my first novel to see if I could write a novel. I wasn't driven to write. I didn't absolutely love writing. I didn't have a career path in mind with aspirations of earning a living from writing books. I didn't rate myself as a writer. I had no expectations that anything I wrote would be in the least bit interesting for anyone else.

When I wrote my first novel, The Power of Persuasion, I realised that writing was far more enjoyable than reading. I could control the direction of the story and the characters in a way I could not when reading novels written by other authors.

I wasn't foolish enough to believe that anyone else would receive the same amount of enjoyment from reading my work as I did from writing it. I could hardly prefer my writing to anyone else's and then not expect them to feel exactly the same way!

I sent my work away to see if it would be of interest to anyone else. My father said, "If a publisher thinks he can make some money out of it, he will." Simply put! Nothing to do with quality, polished manuscripts, brilliant query letters or knowing someone who could introduce me to an agent/publisher. Simple economics. Good, bad or indifferent, if it will make money, it will be accepted.

I expected the rejections but I was pleasantly surprised when I talked to publishers on the phone (which you are not supposed to do!) and they said how much they had enjoyed reading the sample chapters. So, I could write; I could entertain, but could I make money for a publisher? Apparently not.

When I found PublishAmerica, it was just what I was looking for: no costs to be published, no book signing tours and no pressure to write a follow-up novel that would take me away from all the other things in my life. Unlike the few hundred complainers, I think I am in the majority group of over twenty-nine out of thirty thousand PA authors who used the company to achieve a goal that they could not achieve any other way -- and didn't cost anything!

I went on to self-publish that first book. It is not in book stores and is not widely available. Does this bother me? Not in the least. The book is out there for people to read. If they don't want to read it then fine, don't read it. There are thousands of new books on the market every year. Mine is just one of them. It's no big deal. Why anyone would make a fuss or song and dance about force feeding the public to read their work, which may be mediocre at best, is beyond me. JMO.

Well put, Shelagh.

I think the pendulum is swinging on the publishing business. I also think there is room for both POD and traditional publishing. If one's writing is good, it will be sought out, no matter who published it. But the consumers will be the ones who tip the scales. Perhaps the two systems can coexist.

Thank you, Shelagh,

Your post helps me put my own goals back into perspective.

Ann

My opinion is that technology changes everything and those who learn the new rules, rule. An economic "guru" or "public intellectual" as they are calling him, Richard Florida, predicts that the future belongs to those with three things, technology, talent and tolerance.

Technology is apparent, and POD as well as the new printing kiosks will make a difference. Talent, real creative talent, is the hope of the future. Whoever harnesses the new waves and has the talent to exploit the market will be noticed if they have the savvy to make the right connections.

Tolerance is tolerance for the source of creative genius: diverse people, diverse cultures, diverse religions, diverse life styles, diverse ideas and methods and many more differences that provide the raw material for ideas to grow and proliferate. Tolerence is not easy for many people with ingrained beliefs and habits they will not release.

It is a new era in the world where communication is not stopped by artificial borders but flies through the air. Does an increase in POD books and a decrease in print runs indicate that POD authors have new hope? To me, they have as much hope as ever to express their creative genius, find their market and be heard. The vehicle is a matter of the moment, talent is the hope of the future. Richard Florida emphasizes the new order as based on "creativity." Who better than authors to take creativity to its highest level?

Actually, he predicted that those engaged in the arts and sciences are destined to be the leaders; but they are stimied by the generations who still exude intolerence for differences, regardless of their source. If POD does one thing, it frees the publication of ideas for small markets so that they can be part of the creative synergy that is lacking when large publishing houses only pander to a few people with marketing promise.

I don't think that POD proliferation is necessarily good for small presses and authors; I do think it is good for the world in terms of creative expression and choices of reading venues. If anything, some day the big name books and mega sales may more closely resemble the current small press environment, where talent counts more than notoriety, and a day job might still be a necessity.

Shelagh, I'm not laughing(hahahahahaha) But, The title of your first book is funny. Why did you not use the Power of Persuasion to sell a publisher...? lol.

Shelagh wrote:
When I wrote my first novel, The Power of Persuasion, I realised that writing was far more enjoyable than
reading. I could control the direction of the story and the characters
in a way I could not when reading novels written by other authors.

Shelagh's next book, a companion to the first, will be called
The Power Of Percussion, and it's pretty sure to drum up a lot of interest with publishers round the world.

(Sorry Shelagh, I know I've used that before, but I just couldn't resist)

domenic Pappalardo wrote:

Shelagh, I'm not laughing(hahahahahaha) But, The title of your first book is funny. Why did you not use the Power of Persuasion to sell a publisher...? lol.

Shelagh wrote:
When I wrote my first novel, The Power of Persuasion, I realised that writing was far more enjoyable than
reading. I could control the direction of the story and the characters
in a way I could not when reading novels written by other authors.

The story is about Beth Durban (Elizabeth Bennet) and F. William D'Arcy (Fitzwilliam Darcy) but, instead of "Pride and Prejudice" in the title, I chose Jane Austen's Persuasion. There is prejudice in the novel and pride as well as the power of the mind to conjure up a fantasy love interest that hides a real romance. It is a very deep novel with multiple layers that may or may not be picked up by the reader. I think it is excellent. but I would, wouldn't I?

Don, I'm on a roll. Watch this space!

Ultimately, I think POD is the future of the print book. POD technology allows books to be printed as they are ordered so there is no warehousing and less waste. POD technology also allows more authors to see their work in print than traditional methods. POD and E-books are the future as I see it.

I definitely think print on demand and ebooks and maybe something even more technologically advanced are the future. Print is already archaic. Pages disintegrate, yellow, collect bugs, take up space - just like the old 8 track tapes. Remember the old tape decks? Or the punch cards for computers? Paper and tape are on their way out.

How the changes benefit authors will depend on how authors present themselves and combine new marketing and media skills with their writing skills. The marketplace may be the determining factor, a regular free for all with reviewers taking on new importance in their blogs and markets. It may be the reviewers' credentials rather than the publisher that makes the difference. It's all up for speculation in my mind.

Prehapse we will eventually come to a day when absolutely everything is "on screen" and all information is stored in digital form only. A day when there is no paper and printers simply do not exist. Then one day there'll be a massive electromagnetic pulse that'll fry all the computers and the knowledge of generations will be gone in an instant. Digital has lots of benefits, but I say hard copies should always be kept as an insurance policy against data loss.

dkchristi wrote:

The marketplace may be the determining factor, a regular free for all with reviewers taking on new importance in their blogs and markets. It may be the reviewers' credentials rather than the publisher that makes the difference.

This is an interesting take. My jaded self, though, thinks that if this happens, the publishers will buy or partner with the largest review sites, and a "Siskel and Ebert"- type site will evolve that most people will go to. Individual book reviewers will remain fringe.