{"id":655,"date":"2018-01-24T14:10:55","date_gmt":"2018-01-24T03:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booksandpublishing.com.au\/independentpublishing\/?p=655"},"modified":"2018-01-24T14:10:55","modified_gmt":"2018-01-24T03:10:55","slug":"the-pod-process-explained-in-8-simple-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booksandpublishing.com.au\/independentpublishing\/articles\/2018\/01\/24\/655\/the-pod-process-explained-in-8-simple-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"The POD process explained in 8 simple steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many authors and self-publishers would have come across the term ‘print on demand (POD)’ during the course of publishing, but there may be some confusion around what the term means exactly. How does POD work? How does it differ to other kinds of publishing or printing? And most importantly, should you do it?\u00a0<\/em>Self-publishing expert and founder of Pick-a-woo woo Publishing Group,\u00a0Julie-Ann Harper, gives us a breakdown of the terms used, the processes involved and the benefits of POD.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is print on demand?<\/b><\/p>\n

Print on demand (POD) is simply a printing technology available to all publishers (including self-publishers\/DIY publishers, author-publishers, independent and small press) for low print quantities. Instead of having to manufacture hundreds or thousands of books at any one time, as ‘offset’ printing does, POD allows you to affordably produce quantities to order. There’s no inventory being stored, or anticipated demand being measured. You simply get an order and print a book, one at a time.<\/p>\n

Trade publishers, small press and ‘pay to publish’ organisations all use POD as part of their overall business plan. It allows them to test the demand for a new genre, author or series and then print traditionally (offset) if successful with readers. Publishers of academic or low-demand content use POD for front list titles too.<\/p>\n

One of the most important things to remember about this technology is that it gives every self-publisher, with a printed book, a way to inexpensively bring a book to market. This is a publishing paradigm shift. Before print on demand, a self-publisher had two main options:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Predict sales, offset print (bulk) and then warehouse the number of copies they thought could be sold. Unfortunately, the estimation was often wrong.<\/li>\n
  2. Pay to publish through a third party (known as vanity publishing or predatory publishing because of the inflated costs involved and preying on authors ignorance).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    POD offers the opportunity to print and distribute at low cost and low risk.\u00a0 There are four POD providers\u00a0that Australian authors can look to\u2014CreateSpace, Lightning Source, IngramSpark and Blurb\u2014with some of these providers also offering ‘production services’ to help create your book. If you have a book file ready<\/a>, we recommend dealing with IngramSpark directly for POD as, besides having global distribution and printing, their local printing facility makes shipping books within Australia more cost effective. However, you will still have the task of marketing and promoting your book no matter which platform you use.<\/p>\n

    How POD Works (simplified)<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. A digital file of the book is stored on computer.<\/li>\n
    2. The book title is added to various distribution channels and online bookstore catalogues.<\/li>\n
    3. A customer orders the book from:\n