Pay Attention to That Print on Demand Book!!
Publishing went through some big changes in 2008, many of these changes are still processing.
Small bookstores were closing. I still go to and have books at Classics Bookstore (4 West Lafayette Street, Trenton NJ). (website: www.classicsusedbooks.com) Barnes and Noble www.barnesandnoble.com wouldn’t carry POD titles because of the return policy. I told you about that in last week's blog. Borders Books appeared to be more open to POD, but it was still tough.
I was taken by surprise by the book world at that point. It seemed like POD books were advertised in magazines and they were sold in stores. Suddenly that stopped. There were reports that POD authors would go to stores and order books then never pick the book up. This would force a bookstore to stock it on their shelves. There were reports of companies with no editors printing books, which made stores nervous about stocking and selling these books.
Today authors are still scrambling to get attention while they find time to write and try to enjoy this publishing world.
Just when it seemed like it was too tough for many, a new invention called the Kindle came out. It wasn't the first e-reader. The Kindle was bulky and expensive. There weren’t many titles available at the time. That was the first Kindle. Things would change quick.
POD publishers converted books to e-format. Books were priced lower than at bookstores. Readers could buy books from other parts of the country. More types of e-readers came out. Kindle put out a second generation, then more.
The Ipad came out. It boasted e-reading ability. The Kindle Fire followed. E-readers were big business.
Traditional publishers took notice and realized there had to be a way to screw their customers and get richer doing it.
And they did.
A lawsuit against Amazon for pricing went through the courts. Publishers now set prices for e-books and what do you know…those prices are higher now.
The smaller author and smaller publishing companies still offer lower priced e-books. Getting you to notice is the hard part.
If you buy an e-book from an unknown author, please review them or tell your friends.
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