How accepted is Print on Demand publishing?
A quick check indicates not only a bias against Print on Demand (POD) publishing, there may even be active attempts to undermine it — and from some pretty big challengers — namely Borders, Baker and Taylor, some traditional publishers, and maybe even Romance Writers of America (RWA). Although to the latter, I have to say, “Please say it ain’t so.”
Traditional publishing is hurting. Fewer people read, and of those who do, there is a steady trend toward electronic formats. It seems to me that big publishers and many bookstores may have reason to fear POD publishers who primarily release e-books.
I think Ellora’s Cave made enemies in high places with its impressive sales and unexpected successes. Ellora’s Cave hit the big time in 2004 with over 2 million dollars in sales. It was featured on the cover of Romantic Times Magazine and has close ties with the magazine according to several online sources. According to a post at Absolute Write, Ellora’s Cave had the distinction of being the first e-book publisher to be listed by RWA as a RITA eligible publisher. At the time, a RITA eligible publisher was defined as a “non-subsidy, non-vanity publisher that has released books on a regular basis via national distribution for a minimum of one year and has sold a minimum of 1,500 hardcover/trade paperback copies or 5,000 copies of any other format of a single fiction book or a novella or collection of novellas in book form.”
RWA has since changed its guidelines, and the changes appear suspicious to me. It may not be accurate or fair, but I can’t help but wonder if they were deliberately designed to make it harder for POD and e-book publishers to succeed and thereby challenge the traditional publishing model.
These are the current definitions of a RWA Eligible Publisher, Subsidy Publisher, and Vanity Publisher according to their website:
“Eligible Publisher” means a romance publisher that has verified to RWA in a form acceptable to RWA, that it: (1) is not a Subsidy Publisher or Vanity Publisher; (2) has been releasing romance novels via national distribution for no fewer than three years, with no fewer than two full-length romance novels or novel-length romance anthologies published in each of three consecutive years; (3) provides advances of at least $1,000 for all books; and (4) pays all authors participating in an anthology an advance of at least $500.
“Subsidy Publisher” means any publisher that publishes books in which the author participates in the costs of production in any manner, including publisher assessment of a fee or other costs for editing and/or distribution. This definition includes publishers who withhold or seek full or partial payment or reimbursement of publication or distribution costs before paying royalties, including payment of paper, printing, binding, production, sales or marketing costs.
“Vanity Publisher” means any publisher whose authors exclusively promote and/or sell their own books and publishers whose business model and methods of publishing and distribution are primarily directed toward sales to the author, his/her relatives and/or associates.
According to elements within the last definition, most POD publishers could be considered a ‘vanity publisher’ and not a RWA eligible publisher. Also, because these are small publishing houses, most are not able to pay those types of advances.
It’s obvious that the industry equates POD with self-publishing, and that’s simply inaccurate. It certainly shows a bias, mixed with an agenda — namely an attempt to dissuade readers from turning away from big publishing houses and struggling bookstores like Borders to these upstart POD publishers. We’ve seen that big money is involved. Tiny little Ellora’s Cave carved off a $2 million chunk of change in one year alone. Money that most likely would have gone to the big publishing houses and traditional bookstores. I don’t imagine that went over well behind closed doors inside the industry.
According to Publishers Weekly and numerous online articles, Jasmine-Jade Enterprises, which is the parent company of Ellora’s Cave, filed a $1 million lawsuit against Borders and Baker & Taylor approximately one year ago, alleging that “churning,” or “ordering more books than one plans to sell in order to create a credit balance when those books are returned” is crippling not only them but the publishing industry as a whole. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and fraud. Jasmine-Jade Enterprises had complained to Borders that the number of returns they were receiving was overwhelming them. Borders said it would no longer receive returns from them after the complaint, and Border’s promised to only order enough of Jasmine’s titles to meet demand. The suit maintains that Borders misled them. According to the lawsuit, Borders then “conspired” with the wholesaler, Baker and Taylor, to defraud Jasmine by routing returns through them instead. Jasmine no longer does business with Borders or B&T and claims that both companies owe them money.
Jasmine’s claims may seem conspiratorial to some, but they seem credible to me in light of what happened at Triskelion. Triskelion, a POD and e-book publisher, cited Borders as one of the main reasons they filed for bankruptcy and closed their doors. Rumor has it they were never paid money owed them by Borders for sales. I can imagine the nightmare that closure created for the writers.
Even though Border’s stocked Ellora’s Cave paperbacks on their shelves at one time. Now, according to the clerks I spoke with, they won’t even order a book if it’s from a POD publisher — any POD publisher. It appears that this fiasco with Borders is responsible for Ellora’s cave severely cutting back their print section. Even if it does sound a bit conspiratorial, I’m on EC’s side in this matter, and I wish them luck with their lawsuit. I know Borders motioned to have the suit dismissed, but I have not seen if that motion was successful. I certainly hope it wasn’t.
This lawsuit is not new, but it only came to my attention recently after I visited my nearby Borders to order my novel, Sleeping With Skeletons. The clerks informed me that they don’t carry POD books. They weren’t even able to order it for me. There were some sellers who were offering it on Border’s website, but those independent sellers were asking outrageous prices for it — around $32.00. I can’t imagine anyone paying that, especially since it’s available at Amazon or Barnes and Noble for under $12.00.
After leaving Borders, I traveled across town to Barnes and Noble — which is my favorite bookstore — especially since I’m boycotting Borders — and they were able to order the book. However, the clerk made a point of informing me that it was a Print on Demand book — as if I should be aware of that in case I wanted to change my mind about ordering it. So, even though they carried it — thankfully — I couldn’t help but notice the obvious bias the clerk had for my POD title.
Everyone who has attempted to find a publisher knows how difficult it is. Most big publishing houses won’t accept queries from unagented writers, and most agents I’ve contacted haven’t even answered my queries. As a result, many writers are turning to POD publishers because they accept queries from writers without agents. There are a lot of great books that never would have been published without the independent publishers. But this leads to a new problem for these writers. I have been looking for a publisher for my mystery and crime novel, SPIDERS. One of the publishers who accepted queries from unagented writers stated in their submission guidelines that they would not consider anyone who has self-published or been published by a POD publisher.
It seems to me that industry insiders have successfully cast POD in a disreputable light. The wagons are circling, trying to protect their territory. But to be fair and honest, I think many POD publishers are partly to blame for this. Many of them have published writers who never should have been published in the first place. Early on, I read some books from POD publishers that I couldn’t even finish because they were so poorly written and edited. The cringe factor on those novels was so high it was staggering. But many POD publishers have become more selective. They certainly have a talented pool to fish from. As POD publishers continue improving the quality of their product, that should help remove some of the stigma. (At this point, since I am being forthcoming, many large publishing houses are guilty of this as well. I’ve read some atrocious books from big publishing houses. It seems the only reason those books were published was because the writer was well known and could produce sales.)
But publishing is changing, whether anyone likes it or not, and I think the ones who get in front of these changes will be the ones who survive and thrive. The ones who have been doing that are the POD publishers, but, so far, they’ve been getting slapped down pretty hard. Even if I weren’t published by a POD publisher, I would still be rooting for the underdog. I hope they continue to rise up and take big bites out of all their pretentious detractors and underhanded insiders. I want big publishers and bookstores to do well, but not by destroying POD publishers and their writers.
I discovered Ellora’s Cave a year or so ago when I was searching for some early books by an author I like. It was an easy to use website with an advance chapter to read. I’m not fond of reading online but I have used them.
I’ve wanted to do self-pub book of my poetry, because let’s face it, there isn’t much market in poetry. But if I tell a publisher later or they find out, will that turn them away from my novel? They put you in a Catch 22.
The issue is that some of the self-publishing or POD’s are printing crap but then again some regular print people print crap.
I think there needs to be a centralized store (like an Amazon.com) that sells just ebooks and POD books. This would give readers one place to go. It would have sample chapters to read and the writer would be obligated to provide one copy for an internal reader to read, summarize, and give their review on.
I’d love that.
Tirz
Hi Tirz, I’m not sure if self publishing your poetry would hurt you too much, but I’m not sure about that. I do know there are agents and publishers who won’t deal with writers who have self-published, though. (Or done POD/PTO). It is a Catch 22.
Your centralized store sounds like a monopoly though — which makes me freak out a little! So I hope we never come to that. (Of course, I may have misunderstood your point.)
Ellora’s Cave has put out some great fiction. They discovered Anya Bast. But a lot of POD publishers have printed quite a bit of crap, but like you say, so have the big publishing houses.
I had an unexpected surprise today. Raelene Gorlinsky, who is the publisher at Ellora’s Cave, actually stopped by my blog and commented on this article. I about fell out of my chair when I saw her post. Then I received a Google alert. She blogged about it at Redlines and Deadlines. So it’s been a great day for me so far.
Thanks so much for your comment.
Doralynn
I would have peed my pants, Doralynn. Good for you!
What I meant by centralized location is like a one stop store front where you could go to different online purchase places or POD. But basically, one place to search for PODs. Sometimes I think there are dozens of great POD books but I get tired of the 100 bad ones I have sift through to find them.
But don’t mind me. I woke up cranky today.
Tirz
Thanks Tirz.
I realized that was probably what you were talking about after I posted. I understand why those bad books got published in the beginning — there was low overhead and a small built-in market for them. The more books the indie’s contracted, the more earnings they generated for their press. But that blade cut the one wielding it. I think the practice caused people to look unfavorably on POD as a whole. And that’s a shame because I think POD publishers are rejecting poorly written books now. There is still a stigma with a lot of people though. I hear about it often — and I used to be guilty of it myself. But there are some terrific books coming out from those publishers. That — combined with the common sense behind their business model — and I think the POD/PTO industry is poised to really take off and grow exponetially.
I read this article at the crack of dawn. As a self-published author, I have definitely seen some of the biases against POD published books up close and personal. I’ve noticed at that Barnes and Noble HQ is very POD friendly… even if some of the booksellers in the stores are not. I’m getting ready to fight the battle with Borders, which unfortunately is a battle I must fight because they’re are so many within my area.
One thing I’d like to add is that I don’t really buy into the issue that agents won’t represent you if they find out you previously published POD. If you write a book that an agent or major publisher thinks will make them money, your POD career will be quickly forgotten if it wasn’t successful. And if you managed to find some success, selling a few thousand copies, then they’ll love you that much more. So, I wouldn’t really worry about that.
Hmm, you may be right.
I don’t know if they’ll care about the fifty copies I might sell of my poetry book. It’s poetry. It’s not like I’m stealing money from them. They won’t publish it.
LOL.
Borders is a tough nut to crack. Luckily, I have a rather large privately owned bookstore in my area that carries the local author poetry books. Isn’t that cool?
Tirz
Hi K.L. thanks for reading — especially at the crack of dawn! I could barely pry my eyes open until well past that point.
Success is a great persuader. Maybe even the publisher I mentioned in the post would accept a query from someone who has self published (or been published with a POD publisher) if they came with a few thousand sales under their belt.
I don’t think the current bias will last. The industry is changing too much, and money is tight. The big publishing houses are smart. I think they’ll see which way this bus is heading, and I think they’ll get on for the ride. I know they want to hang on to what they have. Even if they prefer riding in limos.
Of course, if they decide to start doing more POD, they will change everyone’s perception of it. POD will become a bold and brilliant move to save the industry.
Great article, Doralynn. Thanks for shedding light on the POD issue. I think the smaller companies that are more selective in terms of what they print, are far above the rest, who will print up anything sent their way. It kind of hurts the publishing industry as a whole. That’s where the disdain comes from. But there are some wonderful self-published books out there too.
Hi Courtney, I just left a post with Tirz about the very things you mention. I think that is where a lot of the disdain comes from, too. Glad you mentioned the self-published books. I have read some self-published books recently that were much better than some of the stuff coming out from the New York Times Best Sellers’. I have read two books recently from big sellers, and both of those were so bad, I couldn’t even finish them. And one of the most enjoyable books I read this year came from my POD publisher – The Wild Rose Press.
Thanks for the comment. I really appreciate it.
Doralynn
Hi Doralynn,
A most fascinating post. I’ve been thinking about it all day. For sure, publishing is changing. I’m not particularly fond of reading online, but that’s because I’m a dinosaur and love the feel of a book. There are those, however, who like to read online, and why shouldn’t books be available to them?
You’re right that big houses must feel threatened. They’ve become an albatross and are going to have to learn to change with the times. Sure, there are lots of trashy books out there and I’m a bit wary, but one can’t deny the right to publication. As you say, these publishers make it so hard that writers have a difficult time getting published. Which reminds me of Spiders. I read some chapters before you pulled it off. I loved it.
Bisi
Hi Bisi,
thanks for your kind comments. I know how you feel. I’m not fond of reading online either. Fortunately – for ebook publishers and their writers – many people are. I don’t really get it, but I’m a bit of a dinosaur myself. I will never submit a manuscript to a small press who only does ebooks though. I want to have a print copy for my shelf – and for my family and friends to have on their shelves. That’s why I love The Wild Rose Press so much. They have the print line as well as the electronic. Unfortunately, they don’t do other genres besides romance. And Spiders is not a romance and never will be. I consider myself a crime/mystery writer. I don’t want to write romance. I only turned my thriller Skeletons into a romance so I could get it published.
I appreciate your comments on Spiders. I know it’s good. Best thing I’ve ever written actually. But somedays I think I have a better chance of landing on the moon than finding an agent for it. (And I’m not finding too many publishers I can submit to directly.)
thanks again. Always nice to hear from you.
Doralynn
I didn’t even realize you’d pulled Spiders. I hadn’t finished. I signed a contract for Hardware with Wild Child/Freya’s Bauer. The first release will be via e-book. Once upon a time, I wouldn’t have considered that option, but now I realize there are people who buy a fair number of e-books. Based on the number of those sold, and/or it’s length, they’ll do a print version.
I can’t deny that I prefer a book in my hand, but the times are a-changing, as you’ve shown with this very informative article. Come hell or high water, I’ll be getting myself an e-reader. It only makes sense where I am. 🙂
Hi Joy, Spiders isn’t pulled. Bisi is talking about quite a while back. I pulled most of Spiders chapters earlier this year due to health reasons. I was too sick to write and review. I had a lot of new reviewers coming in, and it was impossible to reciprocate all those reviews, so I pulled all but the new chapters of Spiders to manage the number of reviewers I was getting. All of it is posted now. If I were getting a lot of reviewers, I’d have to consider pulling it again, but I have a note on my profile page warning people I’m not reviewing so they might want to read someone else. I also tell people who review that I’m not currently reciprocating reviews, so that manages the problem without actually having to pull the work.
Joy, I know you’ve been debating whether to get that e-reader or not. It really does make sense where you live. I haven’t gotten one. I’m clinging to my print books, but I do order e-books, and I’ll certainly be ordering yours.
Understood. On the e-reader, I think I’ll just have to find a reasonably priced one on e-bay. The shipping costs on actual books is way too much. I’m keeping a list for when I buy that e-reader.
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