I just saw this on Publisher’s Weekly in the article “POD House Steps into Acquisitions.”
By the end of November, Xulon Press, an evangelical Christian POD publisher, is expanding their services to include a new division focused on acquisitions.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The world of publishing is about to be absolutely turned upsidedown.
The upside? It will be cheaper than ever to bring manuscripts to readers as books move toward digital distribution. Finding good books will also be easier as social networking and search engine technology allow us to search for what we like.
The downside? Many traditional publishers have a business model based on putting pulp books into big box bookstores. They are big and strong and resistant to change. (These aren’t bad things. It’s just the way things are. Change will be painful.)
A question for writers… How would you feel about publishing your first book with a print on demand publisher? Would you feel “genuinely” published? (What does it mean to be published?)
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I think I’m okay with it. I mentioned on the last post you wrote about this technology that it reminds me a lot of DLP technology that my former employer created. The obstacles are big, but it’s eventually going to make a huge difference in the current status quo.
PS – I suppose I wouldn’t actually feel “published” until the first person (other than my mother) “demanded” it . . .
Oh, that’s funny, Spaghettipie.
I thought you might like to check this out at the IVP site. Another conversation about changing technologies.
Hi Mark,
Sorry to leave this message for you here. I wouldn’t know what you’re speaking of since I’ve never tried to get anything published. Should I try? (Maybe you’ll have to read some of me before you answer that!)
Gordon Atkinson left a message at my blog that said “Welcome to HighCallingBlogs” I haven’t seen mine linked there yet. My blog is mostly aimed at Christian men who are married. Wives and unmarried people are welcome too, of course (that covers just about everyone doesn’t it?!). Anyway, looking at the categories, I don’t see “Marriage” Maybe you could create one? Otherwise, I guess mine would fall into “Devotion” I know you guys are totally busy, so I won’t hold my breath or anything….
Peace! Kim
Marcus,
I’m deeply into this. After dealing with Eerdmans with my first book, I published the second one myself (The Christmas Story). I mean, I bought the ISBN number and the bar code, and I formed a company (Consafo) and I printed the dang thing. The problem is classic. In order to keep the price where it needs to be, I had to print a LOT of them. So now I have about 1500 copies laying around. And I lost money. BUT, with blog distribution, I’ll be selling these for the next several years. If I can print 2000 and sell them out in 5 or 6 years, why do I need anyone’s help? Why should I give the rights and all the money away.
it’s just getting through that first year that hurts. Cost me $1000
Still, I’m not going to a publisher with my plan for 7 Christmas Stories.
g
mr g, this is unrelated to the topic at hand, but i didn’t know where to ask. are you perchance taking part in nanowrimo this year? i ask because i am doing the album based equivalent (nasoalmo) and am curious if anyone is along for the ride, at least in spirit.
Sorry for the delayed response here. I’ve been living, eating, and sleeping HighCallingBlogs.com in preparation for BlogWorld. Ironic that I would neglect my blog in preparation for BlogWorld…
spaghettipie, I agree that the technology is coming. This week, Time Magazine listed the Espresso Book Machine as one of the best inventions of the year. And I like your definition of publication… whenever there is demand for an author’s work. Economics 101 meets publishing.
L.L., first, thanks for being such an inspiration. An eBook will never be able compete with a real book. But that’s missing the point of eBooks. An eBook shouldn’t compete with a real book. It should compete with a stack of real books, a library of real books. You get the idea. Why buy the OED in book form (except that its just freaking cool), when I can have a searchable version on an ebook reader? The technology is still several years away at least, I think.
Kim, no worries. I really need to install a contact me form on this site.
RLP, your posts on selling the remainders were brilliant. They are a perfect example of what makes good word of mouth! People want the personal touch. They want whimsy. I’m glad to have you as friend, man.
matt!!! I’m always excited to see you here. Alas, I’m not doing nanawrimo. I seriously considered it because I could use to add 50,000 words to my current manuscript this month. But I’m doing the blog network for now.
I am writing though. 1000 words a day, more or less, when I’m not living, eating, breathing, and dreaming HighCallingBlogs.com.
Also, I’m learning to enjoy writing more. I don’t want to rush toward publication because it isn’t really about publication for me anymore. I mean, sure I’ll try to publish my zombie novel, but that’s not why I’m writing it. Does the world really need more zombies? No. But I think they are fun. For me, nanowrimo would be like chugging a bottle of chilean merlot. The whole point is to sip and savor.
But I’ll root you on! I always loved your music.
Ah, that’s too bad. Although I suppose it’s easier to record an album in a week than write a book, but maybe that’s based on my own abilities.
I’ll let you know when I finish, and will make sure to make a clean .zip file so that kids may listen. There is gonna be a song called “Love Winnebago”. It’s unfortunately not anything like “Love Rollercoaster”. This is because a Winnebago is nothing like a rollercoaster. And I do not have the resources to sound like the Ohio Players.
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