Five Things Your POD Subsidy Publisher Won’t Tell You

There are several good reasons to consider POD/subsidy publishers. But there are also many reasons why they’re not the most appropriate choice for most book projects. Below are five things your POD subsidy publisher probably won’t tell you. (For more information on your other options, see the article on subsidy/POD publishing at http://www.publishinggame.com/art_pod.htm as well as the dozens of other articles on the http://www.PublishingGame.com website, and sign up for the (free) Expertizing email newsletter at http://www.PublishingGame.com/signup.htm)

So what won’t your POD subsidy publisher tell you?

Nobody reviews our subsidy books. The trade press, such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, won’t generally review POD/subsidy books. (They will review self-published books.) Your book, unfortunately, is unlikely to be the exception to this rule.

Bookstores don’t carry subsidy books. Partly because your book won’t receive a review (see point one—trade press reviews are how most bookstores make their buying decisions), partly because of the high price point, and partly because most POD subsidy houses don’t allow returns, most bookstores aren’t interested in stocking POD subsidy books. (Although the POD subsidy companies claim that books will be available to bookstores, being available ‘to’ bookstores is different from being available ‘in’ bookstores.)

Your book won’t look great. Almost everyone in the publishing industry can spot a POD subsidy book a mile away—and will run in the opposite direction. Your cover, interior design, and editing are all likely to suffer. (Ironically, since most of the POD subsidy houses use Ingram’s Lighting Source as their backend printer, your print job is the one thing that won’t suffer.)

Since we own the ISBN, we control the book. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number, and all books have ISBNs. Some POD subsidy houses will now let you own your own book’s ISBN. But if they don’t—you don’t really control your own book. They do.

You’ll pay through the nose. To self-publish a 200-page softcover book might cost about $2 a copy. To POD subsidy publish the exact same book will cost between $5 and $15 per copy.

So if you’re thinking of publishing your family genealogy, or a church or synagogue cookbook, POD subsidy might well be the right decision. But if you’re writing a book which you hope will have widespread distribution into bookstores, stay away from POD subsidy. And tell your friends.

Fern Reiss, CEO of PublishingGame.com/Expertizing.com, is the author of The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days (book promotion), The Publishing Game: Find an Agent in 30 Days (traditional publishing), and The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days (self-publishing). Her Expertizing.com Workshops, on how to get more media attention for your book and business, will take place at the Ritz Carlton Hotels in Boston on May 22 and NYC on May 31. To learn more, sign up for Fern’s free Expertizing email newsletter at http://www.PublishingGame.com

Last 5 posts by Fern Reiss

• Publicize Your Novel - April 17th, 2008
• 19 Ways to Publicize Your Book - March 24th, 2008
• Publicize Via Social Networks - February 11th, 2008
• Get More Publicity For Your Book and Business - December 5th, 2007
• Sell More Books to Libraries - October 22nd, 2007