It used to be just a few publishing houses published books and/or novels. You know, the Big Six as they're referred to today. But once the computer age kicked in about twenty years ago or so, which ushered in the digital age--there have been new publishing houses springing into existence every year. And today, there must be hundreds of publishers striving to make a business in publishing books and/or novels.
It's the POD formula. Print On Demand. That means you find a book, online, that you like, and order it, online, and then it gets printed and sent to you. Or. You find a book, online, that you like, and order it, online, and in seconds a digital copy of the book is made available for you to download into your digital device, whether that's an eBook reader, like Kindle, Nook, or the Sony readers, or your computer, your laptop or your iPhone or iPad.
And it's the POD technology that has made it possible for so many of these 'new' publishers to exist. The Big Six would print out a thousand books or so, send them to bookstores, and that's how they sold them. But the risk was maybe not all of that first run of printed books would sell. And if they didn't, the bookstores could send the books back, and it was all on the publisher.
So it seems that the POD way is the better way for publishers. No risk. No money spent to print books before they're paid for. The publisher gets paid first, then they print the book. Sounds good, but for one problem. SHOPPERS. Sure you can shop online, and sure you can order online, but the transition to the digital world is not complete at this time. Shoppers actually still like to shop in STORES. And POD publishers cannot get their books into stores. Real stores, that is.
Nevertheless, POD publishers are springing into existence by the dozens, it seems, every year. That's great for writers, authors, and even book readers. But with so many publishers out there now, the competition is very high. With so many new publishers around, and so many new books, just how do these hundreds of publishers promote their thousands of books? They don't really, not beyond some publishing conventions and the like.
I mean, take my two publishers, Melange Books and Penumbra Publishing. They are both good publishers, meaning they have good books on their published list, they have good writers who can write well and have great stories. But who knows about them, beyond the authors who have published with them? People who go to bookstores will not know about them, because their books aren't on the bookstore shelves. Sure, the authors themselves can promote their books, but an author's field of exposure is limited to the immediate people around him, like family, friends, and coworkers. And, as I've learned, these are the people who expect to get your book for free!
It's the general public who will pay for your book. The general public who make books "best sellers." It's in a bookstore, where hundreds of new people every week will see new books on the shelves, pick them up, and learn about them, and many will buy them, based on the interest that "seeing" them stirs up. That's the traditional way of having it happen.
But the digital age is here, even if it is still in the transitional phase. I wonder just how long it will take for real stores to go the way of the dinosaur. How long will it take for all shopping to be done online. Whether it is clothes, hardware, books, and even groceries. It will happen. Probably not in my lifetime. But I don't doubt it will happen soon, thereafter.
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