A Hurdle for POD

Just thinking this over... One of the most commonly listed problems with POD books (from traditional publishers) is the lax editing most receive. Now, you'll still see errors in traditional publishing (oddly enough, I recently noted two separate uses of the number 1, when a capital letter I was called for, in Harper Publishing's edition of Making Money, by Terry Pratchett), but it is true that micropublishers rarely hire professional editors.

Generally, I'm not sure this matters so much if the publisher isn't targeting millions of buyers. Still, poor editing can grate, particularly if combined with poor layout design. (I stick to my own preferred template, created from trial-and-error, and follow a few basic rules: no orphans, no widows, etc.) But the cost of adding a professional editor on staff (or even hiring on a line-by-line basis) is too expensive with books that might take 5 years to reach 1,000 copies.

So, there's a potential market for alternatives here. It probably wouldn't be worth it for an editor to offer "quick edits" for a lower fee. Perhaps there is opportunity, though, for small community-oriented editing groups. Set up a sort of private wiki for 5-10 interested people with a background in writing/editing, and an interest in the subject, and give them the ability to make basic edits. Not sure how that would offer compensation, but it's one possible angle.

Two New Titles

LSI is running efficiently at present, so my recently submitted titles are now available for purchase from Amazon, and soon from other outlets. (Takes a little while for the Ingram data to propagate online.)

The titles are Lincoln's Own Stories, and The Rational Creation. Sample chapters are available with the cover images and pricing details.

Ebay Lot

In looking over the financial side, it looks like selling books on Ebay at a discount would be difficult with single copies, given the higher print cost and LSI's shipping fees. The only way to give a reasonable discount and still make a profit (taking into account shipping, auction and payment fees, etc.) is to sell in larger lots. I doubt there's going to be much interest in the long run, but I'm going to test the waters here with a twenty lot of The Historical Bigfoot, just in time for Halloween. Ebay posting is here.

Lightning Source: 10 Years

LSI is celebrating ten years in the print-on-demand business. Overall, I've had a great experience with this company. They've done a good job of keeping up with trends, and pushing forward in new areas. But, as Christmas is coming up, here's my wish list for Lightning Source, things (from a small publisher's perspective) I think would really help this business grow and compete with "mainstream" publishers.

1. Print books with horizontal (landscape) layouts, also, rather than just vertical (portrait) layouts.

2. Cheaper color printing. Even coming down to 6 cents a page would drastically improve pricing and distribution capabilities.

3. Drop the annual title "catalog" fees. With 500,000 titles, do you really need $12 a title a year? (Did I just answer my own question?)

4. Allow digital certification after 25 titles, rather than 50.

5. Bring the publisher-ordered print costs down to the same price as vendor-ordered books.

6. Develop the capability for color inserts, rather than just full-color versus black-and-white books.

7. Work with Ingram to create a marketing catalog for libraries and bookstores that doesn't discriminate against POD books

8. Convince Amazon to accept LSI ebooks again. It's not like their own ebook program has taken off.

9. Make the discount program for higher-quantity orders standard, not just the occasional promotion.

10. Decrease the cover replacement "correction fee." $50 a shot is a bit high.

The Rational Creation

Another title just uploaded. This is from the same era as Paley's Natural Theology and similar science/theology books, but includes discussion from both nature and direct revelation regarding man, angels, and God's plan for redemption. Brodie was a Scott minister with the Bow of Fife Free Church, and is very readable. I was pleasantly surprised when I first came across it. I think this is the very first reprint of the title since it's initial publication in 1855.

Now that I'm looking at it, I don't think I like my cover layout quite so much, the image needs more "greenspace" around it, and the top seems a little unbalanced, but it will have to do for now. I might like it better once I've seen a print copy.

This is another title that will have a 55% wholesale discount, from a list price of $19.95, so should be reduced from that on the online bookseller's websites.

The Rational Creation
Rev. James Brodie

Title will be available by end of October.

Lincoln's Own Stories

I've just uploaded this title to the printer. There are a few other publishers reprinting this book, also -- one came out in September -- but my edition will be a fair bit less expensive. I'm also going to test the 55% discount, which may open up some direct brick-and-mortar bookstore sales, and should put up a decent discount on the online bookstore list prices.

Lincoln's Own Stories
Ed., Anthony Gross

Title should be available ($11.95 list price) by end of October.

Amazon Glitch Fixed

It appears that most cases (a few other publishers still have a raised price here or there) the Amazon pricing glitch is over. One odd side effect: Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation is now selling at a discount, 5 cents off list price. Go figure.

Another plus, I do like the scrolling cover images under "Customers who bought this item also bought..." It allows many more similar products to be viewed at the customer's leisure, not just the most popular or just the "mainstream" books.

Amazon Screw-Up

As noted on all the POD publishing lists, Amazon has some sort of glitch in their pricing system now. What appears to be a random price increase on random books has hit most publishers, including myself. Two of my titles have odd increases: Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation, and the Lesser-Known Mystery Animals compilation. Enough of an increase, it does appear to be affecting sales. All I can say, is Barnes & Noble still has them selling at the correct price, so that might be the best option. Hopefully this issue is corrected soon, or at least some rationale is discovered, so that I can figure out a way around it.