The Pluses of On-Demand Publishing

As I said in my previous blog, most writers (myself included) would prefer to have a contract with a publishing house, as that confers a certain degree of respectability and comes with an advance and access to the resources of the company (such as publicity). Having said that, I have come up with a list of positive attributes for the on-demand publishing side of things.

 

1)      Good for the environment. Your book is not mass-produced, so there’s no pre-publishing guess about how many copies will be needed by the public. Each book represents a desired commodity, and no books get remaindered. This is good for our forests. And as Kindle use grows, even fewer trees will meet the axe.

 

2)      The book never goes out of print. Once computer files of the book are uploaded, your book will always be available unless you decide to take it down.

3)      No timetable for publicity. If the book is always available, you can do publicity bursts whenever and however you choose.

 

4)      Corrections can be made quickly and easily.  This point might not seem very important, but if you’ve ever worked in book publishing (as I have), you know the process authors go through to correct typos, etc. By the time changes are incorporated, many thousands of books may have already been produced and purchased.

5)       No second-novel pressure. As a fiction writer, I’m not supposed to talk about this, but many published writers feel some panic about producing a second book. But in this case, if your second title doesn’t sell like the first, you’re the only one to know. In fact, commercial success is moot, though plenty of on-demand publishing authors sell very well (a friend of mine mentioned to me that one of her students had sold more than 10,000 copies).

 

6)      Less ego involvement. We all like our ego stroked, but there’s a delicious sweetness in sending your book out into the world without fanfare. Like a parent, you trust this creation (which is yours and not yours) to go forth and make its way.

7)      No publishing house author hatred. If you’re a writer whose book has traveled the ordinary publishing house route, this might surprise you, but oftentimes there’s some copy editor or production person gnashing their teeth at the mere mention of your name. I remember this well…such comments as, “Will he ever stop making corrections?” “She’s in my office making kissy sounds over the phone with her husband, and I can’t get her to leave.” “He only thinks he knows Spanish.” “She thinks she lives here, and she keeps staring at my breasts.” “Can you believe that advance? Good god, how I hate her.” (By the way, if you are a publishing house author, follow Cristina Garcia’s--Dreaming in Cuban—lead and send gracious notes to everyone who worked on your book. You’d be surprised how few do this, and a simple thank you goes a long way. Your agent and editor are not the only significant people in the development of your book.)