Print on Demand –The New World of Paper Books

As I mentioned yesterday, the Gutenberg’s printing press may have been revolutionary it 1439. But today it’s very old news and no longer being used to print the vast majority of all books published, including those published by large traditional publishing companies. Instead, books are being printed on demand.


When a publishing company licenses a title with a POD company, the electronic file is entered into the machines database. Then when a reader or bookstore orders a copy of the book, it is printed on demand. This new printing model eliminates the large upfront print costs that were historically (five years ago) associated with publishing. POD also eliminates the need to warehouse large surpluses of yet to be sold books.

But chances are you already know that. What you might not know is exactly how easy it is to use POD. Ingram is the world’s largest book warehouser and distributor. When you buy a book on Amazon, they immediately turn around and buy it from ingram and then have ingram ship it to you. When the Barns and Nobel in your neighborhood buys 50 copies of the latest best seller to stock their shelves, they buy those books from ingram too.

Lightning Source is the world’s largest POD company, and guess who owns it – ingram. So when you or B&N or anyone else buys a book from ingram that is set up as a POD, Lightning Source prints it and then ingram ships it. Lightning Source/Ingram guarantee printing and shipment within 12 hours of order, and all of the big traditional publishers use Lightning Source and Ingram.

So even if you get a contract with one of the big presses that hasn’t gone bankrupt yet, your book will be POD. And the big press publishing company will have Lightning Source print all your books for you. Lightning Source even has a special “best seller clause” in their contracts. If a book sells more than 1500 copies in a week, Lightning Source will automatically transfer the book to offsite printing and have Ingram start warehousing copies of the book. So when your POD book breaks out and starts topping the New York Times best seller list, your Lightning Source account is still all you need to meet your readers demand.

So like I said, we aren’t living in the 15th century anymore and Gutenberg’s cute little invention is obsolete. And with the fall of the printing press, comes the fall of the high upfront cost of publishing. You as a writer don’t need a giant publishing company to print and warehouse thousands of copies of your book of you. All you need is an account with Lightning Source.

This is the reason why the large traditional publishing companies are all scrambling to stay afloat. This is the reason why what used to be the big six is now the big five, and tomorrow will probably be the big zero. This is the reason why at the same time as traditional publishers are filing for bankruptcy, hundreds of new small presses are opening their doors every day.

Because I understand this, I’ve decided to let go of the past and embrace the future. I chose to part ways with my agent and stop attempting to sell my books using the old dead model. Instead, I am starting my own small press. Starting a small publishing company does require a little bit more work than just setting up a Lighting Source account. But I’ll tell you more about that later.

The New World of Publishing

There is a reason why the traditional publishers used to exist. For the past 550 years, the printing press has been the primary form of technology used to create books. Printing a book using a printing press requires a large amount of upfront capital. It also requires a large amount of warehouse space to store books after their printed but before they are sold. Large publishing companies had the resources to print and store books using this system, and as a result large publishing companies were the best option for writers that wanted to publish high quality books that could reach a large audience.


Today, the printing press is old obsolete technology. In 2012, the publishing industry made more money selling ebooks than hard back books. Young readers in particular are flocking towards ebook technology. Children’s and Young Adult ebook sales increased by 117% between 2011 and 2012 alone. E-readers are becoming cheaper and more accessible, and once readers get their hands on this new technology, they don’t look back.

I personally bought my Kindle back in 2009. And I can officially claim, I’ve come to hate paper. Reading books on paper is so cumbersome and annoying. Not even looking at price, if given the choice I will always choose an ebook over a paper book. They’re lighter, more convenient, easier to read, and much easier to buy. They’re even easier to get from the library, because I can download them off my libraries webpage and not have to bother heading into my local branch.

While ebooks are super convenient for readers, they are also changing the landscape for publishers. If people aren't reading actual books, why do publishing companies have to print books? Why do publishing companies have to exist at all?

Ebook only may be the future of publishing, but that future hasn't fully arrived yet. Even if more people are now reading ebooks than hard backs, there are still a lot of readers who like the feel of paper and if an author wants to reach a large audience of readers, having paper books in addition to ebooks available to readers is still the best option for success.

Ebooks aren’t the only new technology that has made the printing press obsolete though. Even paper books aren’t being printed on traditional presses anymore. Instead they are being printed on demand. POD books look exactly the same as traditional books and I would be willing to bet money the majority of the books you bought from traditional publishers in the past three years were printed on demand.

Come back tomorrow for a more detailed overview of POD technology and what it means for writers.

Why I Parted With My Agent

The day my former agent said, “I want to work with you” was one of the most exciting days in my writing life. She was a publishing insider with lots of bestselling clients and she loved my writing. She tossed out words like auction and made me believe I could actually make a lot of money as a writer. Of course I was excited.

Then a few weeks after she signed with my Borders closed its doors. The publishing world is different today than it was ten years ago, or even two years ago. And the more time I spent having an agent that wasn't able to sell my book to publishers, not because they didn't like it but simply because they weren't buy any new books, the more time I spent wondering why I needed an agent to begin with.


I’m still glad I went through the experience of getting an agent, because having her tell me she liked my writing was the validation I needed to do what I’m doing now. Which is moving on without her. I’m not looking for a new agent. And I honestly, wouldn’t recommend currently unagented authors even bother with trying to get an agent.

The reason is simple. Agents work in the old system. If you want to work in the old system, you have to have and agent. As recently as five years ago, getting an agent was a critical step in the path to publication. But the world of publishing is changing, and it’s changing fast. And trying to work with an agent for just shy of two years, I spent a lot of time feeling like she was holding me back.

My agent liked the old system. She made a living in the old system. She didn’t want the old system to die, and put up blinders to the new emerging landscape. So I made the decision to bid her ado.

Next week, I’ll let you know more about what I’m doing now, without an agent.

Rejecting the Old – Accepting the New

I’ve been bad about blogging lately, but that doesn’t mean nothing has been happening in my authorly life. Actually A LOT has been happening. I just haven’t been sure how much I wanted to share, or how to go about sharing it. I’ve decided to tell you, my dear internet friends, everything. Mainly because as someone who occasionally reads author blogs, this is info I would want to read.


Instead, of giving you all the details in one super long post, I’m going to let the info out slowly. So you can look forward to several informative posts in the next few days/weeks/months on the fun topic of the brave new world of publishing, and how I’m embracing it.

As a teaser, today I’ll tell you this. I decided to part ways with my highly reputable NY based agent and instead start my own publishing company. I’m not “self-publishing”, I and I’m not working with a traditional large NY based publishing house.

I’m publishing with a small boutique style press, because I think small boutique style presses are going to be the future of publishing and no longer see the value of trying to fit into an old dying system. I simply decided to start my own small press, and will be accepting submissions by authors soon.

If you want to know the details about why I’ve made these plans and what I’m doing to fulfill them, you’ll have to come back tomorrow and read more.

Z is for Zoo

As a part of the A to Z blogger challenge, I've selected 26 alphabet themed genres, and am recommending 5 books from each genre during the month of April. Come back each day this month to find out what great books you need to add to your to-read list. Today, Z is for Zoo.

It's actually May 1st. Does that mean I get to skip Z? I managed to come up with a Q genre, and an X genre, so I guess I can finish up today with a Z genre. Z stands for Zoo. None of today's recommendations actually take place at a zoo, but they all contain animals (real or imaginary) and I'm calling that good enough.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

The River Why by David James Duncan

Fluke by Christopher Moore

Y is for Young Adult

As a part of the A to Z blogger challenge, I've selected 26 alphabet themed genres, and am recommending 5 books from each genre during the month of April. Come back each day this month to find out what great books you need to add to your to-read list. Today, Y is for Young Adult.

Even though I graduated from high school more than 15 years ago, I still love reading YA. I think it comes down to the Why part of YA. The first question I always ask as a writer is why. Why is this a story? Why does it matter? Sometimes exciting things happen to adults, and there are definitely lots of very great books written about and for adults. But exciting things happen to even the most ordinary of teenagers. The whole point of adolescence to to figure out who you are and who you want to become, the WHY's are downright overwhelming. And as a result, many of my favorite books are Why-Ah?, I mean YA. Here are five of my all time favorites.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

X is for X-ray

As a part of the A to Z blogger challenge, I've selected 26 alphabet themed genres, and am recommending 5 books from each genre during the month of April. Come back each day this month to find out what great books you need to add to your to-read list. Today, X is for X-ray.

I know what you're thinking, and X-ray is a machine not a genre. But it's also the only word I can think of that starts with X, so I'm using it today. X-ray machines are used in the medical field, and there are some fabulous medical themed books out there. Some of these books are fiction, and others are not. Still I loved them all.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Be Different by John Elder Robison

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks