Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #738392 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 156 pages

Synopsis
POD People. Seems like they're everywhere all of a sudden. Thousands of authors are publishing their books via print-on-demand, but only a very small percentage of them find any kind of success. Why? POD People must not only act as author, but also publisher, advertiser, editor, agent and graphic designer. The sad truth is that many POD People don't know what to do when they're starting out and plunge blindfolded into the publishing world. Most POD books fade into obscurity, selling only a few copies and leaving the author disappointed and in many cases, broke. This failure is due primarily to the negative POD stigma. Many people avoid self- published books and loathe POD books even more. It's a harsh reality, but there is hope. Bestselling POD author, Jeremy Robinson, reveals how to beat the POD stigma and make your book stand out. "Robinson has penned the essential guide to self-publishing success in today's market. If you're looking for a way to traverse the challenging world of print-on-demand, consider this book a Hummer with a full tank of gas." - POD-DY MOUTH

Customer Reviews

Great advice for the budding author
Despite the cover art, this has nothing to do with little green aliens - the POD in question is the "Print On Demand" movement that allows budding authors to get their books into print quickly and cost-effectively.

As such, this book will only appeal if you are (like me) one of those budding authors.

Assuming you are, "POD People" represents one of the best uses of a tenner that I've yet to find. The book is down-to-earth, well-written, and of course has the credibility of coming from an author who actually hit some best-seller lists with a Print On Demand novel.

There are few books that deserve the "I wish I'd read this 6 months ago" tagline, but for me, POD People qualifies - as my own book enters the final stages of production, POD People represented an interesting mix of reassurance that I'd made the right choices, and revelation that there are some things I need to over the next few weeks to optimise my chances of selling well.

I ought to stress that the bulk of the material concentrates on how best to market your POD book - and it doesn't get sidetracked into the minutiae of how to use any particular bit of software to actually produce it.

For me, this is exactly what I needed to learn, hence I'm giving this five stars...

... just don't buy it if you're expecting little aliens.

A Good Starting Point, but....
I really wanted to like this book and the author is obviously enthusiastic about his subject and makes several good points about self-publishing, and his opinions on the importance of a good cover are particularly insightful, but at the end of the day the question that haunts every independent publisher, be they one-book POD people or directors of small companies like myself, remains completely unanswered. How do you persuade bookstores to stock your titles if they consider you to be a nobody?

Distribution is the key to success, advertising and marketing is pointless if the buying public cannot fall over your product, and good design is wasted if your book is not being seen.

If you are an author contemplating self-publishing your work this is a great place to start. If you are an independent publisher you might do better with Aaron Shepard's (appallingly designed) Aiming at Amazon although both books seem to feel that it's OK to design a book interior with Microsoft Word. (Get real guys!)

There are better marketing tips in John Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Book, but all of these works do nothing to address the overwhelming screams of indifference that will greet your independently published work.

The issue of staying motivated in the face of this, along with the eternal conundrum of cracking Borders and Waterstones, remains unaddressed.

This book is a brave effort and well worth buying, but it will not provide you with all the answers that you need to succeed as an independent publisher.

A useful primer for poddies
The author's enthusiasm for his subject is evident, and I wish him every success with his POD novels. There were some very useful tips on getting the most out of Amazon, and also with the ever-difficult interface with the book shop acquisition staff.

The main problems I had were:

I felt on a few occasions the author was rather gloating about his POD success.
Several tips are repeated, wasting book space.
The book was entirely dedicated to the self-publishing route, with nothing specifically for the small-press author like me.

Nonetheless, the Amazon tips and several other promotion tools make the book a very useful addition to the bookshelf.