How to Choose a Print on Demand Publisher

Print on demand (POD) publishing is an enormous field - I've heard of at least a hundred companies that provide self-publishing and marketing services for books. In traditional publishing, you found an agent willing to represent your book, worried and prayed while the agent shopped the book around to publishers, and then eagerly waited for the day the book was published (as much as a year later).



POD offers a quicker, more customized option - for a price. Most companies offer a package that allows you to upload your manuscript, choose formatting and layout options, and provide marketing services to promote your work. The books are usually printed as a customer orders them.



I've assessed five of the biggest and most popular POD companies on their services and costs. See my POD comparison file at Pearl Writing Services. Once you are familiar with the basic options and terms, however, there is still an analysis to be done. Each of the POD publishers I documented have benefits and disadvantages, but all are excellent resources. How do you choose the right POD for your project? Consider these questions:

1. Does your work have broad appeal or will it appeal to those in a specific niche? If your work is for a niche audience, and you have access to promote to that audience, you may not need some of the promotional services offered by some PODs.
2. How much self-promoting you want to do? Some POD companies offer standard packages that provide for promotional items such as bookmarks, posters, free websites, and business cards; other PODs offer these as extra selections. Don't pay for what you don't need!
3. Will you also try to sell your book through table sales at conferences, trade organizations, or book readings? If so, you might choose a publisher that offers a steep discount to the author, and then bring those books with you to the event.
4. How much hand-holding will you need through the process? Some services provide a representative to walk you through each stage of the process. If you are familiar with the publishing world, you may not need that level of service.
5. What distribution channels will the publisher use? Make sure that these are the channels that your readers will use to find and purchase your book!