RE Baghdad Dream copyright CRAIG KIRCHNER
RE Inferiority Complex copyright JAN O HANSEN

Building Your Business with Books


In a world inundated with ads, business owners are clamoring for a way 
to rise above the "noise" of advertisers and bring customers flocking 
to their door. One way to do this is by writing a book.



Too overwhelming you say? Well, consider this. People value experts
and no one is more of an expert on your topic than you. Books are 
a credential builder and they are a 24/7 way to advertise your 
business without the cost of ads. Books are also a way to introduce 
someone to your services who might not be ready to commit
to a package or service.



If you're hesitant to endeavor to write a book, perhaps consider a 
twenty-four page booklet instead. These are a quick summary of 
tips and helpful advice that can easily be compiled and put together
in a saleable format. 



So, let's say you're going to write a book. How would you go about
getting it published?



Well, how about "print-on-demand" or POD. So what is print-on-demand?



Essentially it's a way of printing books as they are needed making bulk 
and huge print runs unnecessary. Think of it as self-publishing with a 
twist. It used to be, if you wanted to circumvent the traditional 
publishing houses, you had to tackle everything from printers to cover 
designers, ISBNs (International Standard Book Number) to distribution. 
Feeling dizzy yet? Sure, there were also self-publishing houses called 
vanity presses. They churned out about 6,000 titles per year and the 
author paid anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 to publish his or her 
book. Cost alone was usually enough to discourage anyone who had 
not spent a great deal of time in the industry. Options were pretty 
limited, until the Internet explosion occurred.



Enter the on-demand publisher.



Now, for a minimal fee (usually from $159 to $1,500), you can see 
your book in print. Essentially, what you're doing is hiring a publisher 
to publish your book. They take care of the cover, the book 
interior, the ISBN, and the distribution. They are compensated 
for this by receiving a portion of the profits every time you sell 
a book. You are compensated through royalties and while these 
do vary, they typically fall somewhere in the 18-20 percent range 
per book. The great part about POD publishing is that the "on-demand" 
part enables them to print books as they are needed, meaning that 
someone (probably you) won't get stuck with a garage full of books 
you can't get rid of. If you only sell 100 books, that's what they'll print. 
There are no minimum orders, and your book will always stay in print. 



To give you an idea of the scope of the on-demand publishing industry,
consider this: the typical big New York publisher prints about eight 
hundred  (800!) new titles a year. At last count, some of print-on-demand 
publishers were doing five hundred a month. Early estimates indicate 
that POD publishers printed around half a million books in 2001. This 
year, there are indications that this industry will hit the $78 billion market. 
These indicators tell us that the POD industry is growing at a pace 
no one anticipated. Why? Because the traditional publishing field is 
narrowing. Only one percent of books published each year are by 
unpublished authors. Does this low number tell us that there are fewer 
new authors out there? Absolutely not. What it tells us is that 
publishing houses are cutting back, merging and no longer willing 
o take chances on untested material.



The challenge with this industry is that you can't get published unless 
you're published it's a cycle from which we all aspire to escape. 
Now, we can. And for very little money, entrepreneurs and small 
business owners can have a marketing tool like no other. Not only 
will a book help to leverage your credibility in the industry but have 
you ever tried getting a speaking engagement without a book? Not
the easiest thing to do, is it? 



So, how do you find these on-demand publishers? A list of some
I've worked with follows this article, but who you pick will depend 
entirely on you and the needs of your book. For some, it's the 
turnaround time; for others, it's whether or not they can print in 
hardcover. Generally, though, the final product should be your 
first consideration; distribution or shipping time should be second. 
Once you've narrowed your publishers down to two or three, 
a good idea would be to order a book from each of them. This 
will tell you two things. First, you'll get a sense for their 
ordering process and how quickly they ship the book to you, 
and second, you'll get a firsthand look at the quality of their books.



What about the selection process? Do these publishers accept 
anything that's sent to them?



The answer is no. While the approval process is far less restrictive 
than traditional publishers and you don't need an agent, some POD 
publishers still have guidelines as to what they will and won't consider.
These guidelines vary from publisher to publisher, so you'll need to 
check their individual sites or contracts for specifics. Also, some 
publishers will even read the manuscript to determine the quality; 
if they feel the work is so poor it's unmarketable, they will turn it 
down. 



While you're in the selection process, download the publishing
company's publishing contract and look it over carefully. You'll
want to make sure a few things are in place before you sign on 
the dotted line. First off, be certain you're able to retain all the
rights to your book (foreign, film, audio, hard cover, paperback, 
and ebook). This is extremely important. Never give or sell 
any of the rights away to a book you're publishing through the 
POD process. Second, determine how quickly you can cancel this
agreement. Ideally, cancellation should be immediate. Cancellation
clauses will benefit you if your book should get picked up by a 
traditional house or if you decide to switch publishing companies. 
Your time to market, meaning the time it takes them to format 
your manuscript into a book and get it ready for sale, will vary. 
Generally, you should see a completed book within ninety days, 
or in some cases, even less. This turnaround is incredible when 
you consider it takes a traditional house about twelve to eighteen
months to get a new title ready for sale. 



As with anything, there are drawbacks to this form of publishing. 
One of the biggest issues with print-on-demand is that there is
a no-return policy in place for these books. Returns are a crucial 
part of doing retail business in the U.S. In fact, a whopping 35%
of merchandise purchased is returned. Still, authors are finding 
ways around this issue and for most small business owners, 
this won't matter anyway since most of your books will probably 
be sold from your office or back of the room at speaking 
engagements. Secondly, this form of printing is more expensive 
than the traditional trade paperback model. Generally, POD books
will be priced higher. Their price is often determined by the page
count. As print-on-demand machines become more efficient and
the per-page printing costs decline, POD book prices will drop. 
Many have already decreased considerably from where they were 
a year ago. With on-demand publishing, what was once a dream
can now be a reality. ! In an industry that is saturated with 
exceptional talent, the advent of these publishers has afforded 
authors and entrepreneurs an opportunity that might otherwise 
not be available to them; a way to expand their business and 
increase their exposure without the expense of ad placement. 
It is an opportunity millions are taking advantage of. For some, 
it's an extension of their business, for others it's increased 
credibility but for most, it spells success.







Print-On-Demand Publishers: 
http://www.iuniverse.com/ 
http://www.1stbooks.com 
http://www.traffordpublishing.com 
http://www.infinitypublishing.com 
http://www.xlibris.com 






Penny C. Sansevieri The Cliffhanger was published in June
of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed the ranks 
at Amazon.com to the #1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent 
book: No More Rejections. Get Published Today! was released 
in July of 2002 to rave reviews. Penny is a book marketing and media 
relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts 
and marketing plans and instructs a variety of coursing on publishing and 
promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, or
to subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: 
      mailto:subscribe@booksbypen.com 





Copyright 2004 Penny C. Sansevieri 







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