No, we're not aliens (well, maybe I am...).
"POD" stands for "print on demand." It's a technology specifically designed to NOT produce an inventory--in other words, by their very nature, POD books will not [typically] be shelved in bookstores. This presents a certain dilemma for POD authors (who I like to term "POD People"), which we will get into in just a bit.
Author House, as do other companies (but we won't talk about them) print their books through a company called Lightning Source, which is a subsidiary of the Ingram Book Group, the world's largest book distributor. POD titles, such as Sleepwalkers, are only printed once an order has been placed, so that, in the retail market, no unread copies will [theoretically] ever exist. The way current, traditional, business operates, print runs are done on a title, and an advance is given to an author, based...well, on all kinds of numerical Voodoo, let's just say. These prints runs are, to further simplify matters, then sent out to all their outlets (bookstores, book clubs, et cetera), which then shelf, and now have to sell, their new inventory. Note: these are no longer books--they're inventory. Well, okay, to some salespeople who really love books, they're not just inventory, but that's the upshot of it. As much as bookstores love books, they also want to get rid of them--and fast. Revenue, people, revenue! Problem is, it's a lot of overhead, not just to the bookstore, but to publishers. Remember, I said that once books are created from their print run they are then shipped. All this costs money. And I am simplifying matters, by not including all the editors, copyeditors, marketers, cover artists, blah-blah-blah, involved in okaying and creating ONE BOOK. POD bypasses most of this, so far, and streamlines (as I understand it) the book creation process.
But it's relatively new, and is still experiencing growing pains. One of them is getting said book to readers. A major POD People Dilemma (the "PPD"; I hope I get to use this elsewhere...).
Initially, Sleepwalkers can only be ordered through www.authorhouse.com. This will change, as the process keeps rolling (I'm hoping by the end of November, 2001). Author House progresses in stages, and since I'm new (as of Oct 2001; my book became "live" September 28, 2001), it takes about an advertised 30 - 45 days, or so, to get my book into the distributorships, like Ingrams, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.com. I am still learning the whole process, myself, but keep this in mind: if you purchase Sleepwalkers through Author House (either by the Internet or by phone), you will pay the wholesale price of $15.50. If you find my book in a bookstore, you may have to pay as much as $21.70--and believe me, that's okay, we all have to make a living, right? Buy it where you can find it, I always say, but retailers have to charge their discount when they purchase books (inventory) so they can meet and beat their overhead and turn a profit. That's okay, but what that means is that they will have to either: 1) buy my book at the wholesale value from www.authorhouse.com, then add their 30 - 40% markup/discount (retailing it for $21.70), or 2) buy the book from me, with their discount up front, I lose out on $6.20 (when applying their 40% discount, so they'd buy it from me for $9.30), and then they (the retailers) sell it for the wholesale value of $15.50. I have to say up front, I'm not rich, and I'm not yet my own incorporation, like Stephen King, so I can't work like that.
Why is business conducted this way? Well, PDD #2:
I'm a no name. I'm unproven. In the book world, I have no track record, no prior sales, and no "claim to fame" (i.e., I'm not famous and no one has a reason to buy my work, other than what's on the cover jacket, and knowing my winning personality--okay, strike that second part, but to know me, is to "buy" me, and, no, not that way...), and that's okay. We all have to start somewhere. Grisham hand sold his first novel, after self-publishing it, and now look at him! This PPD means that most stores might be wary of selling an unknown's work for $21.70--especially as a trade (softcover, not "paperback"--that's a smaller format). There's other factors that enter this, but I'm making it easy on you, and don't want to make a mile-long web page....
What does this mean? POD People have to get creative, and work on the word-of-mouth, grass-roots, advertising level (c'mon, people, work with me on this one, will ya?!). Things like e-mailing friends and family. Passing on a good book by telling others about it. POD People can still do signings, but we have to hit marketing from "outside the traditional box."
Hey, Sleepwalkers would make a GREAT Christmas gift! Or how about someone's birthday? Presidents' Day gift? Did that guy from three cubes down smile at you today? Well, there you go--what better way to say "Hey, ask me out, Goodlookin!" then by giving that person a well-wrapped "Sleepwalkers--a Roadtrip For The Soul"?!
Now, all this said and done, not many stores, or people, are knowledgeable about POD. If you do inquire at a bookstore, about Sleepwalkers, or any other POD title, emphasize (get them to mouth the words with you), that it is a print-on-demand (spell it out for them) title. The store clerks might get a computer message saying it's "on back order," or "not in stock," but simply, kindly, gently, reiterate the POD part, to try to push the order through. I've recently heard that certain distributors won't send out no-name titles, or low sellers, until they get a "couple" (didn't get a definition on that one) orders come in. Well, that might well be, but remember: you can always order it from www.authorhouse.com. (Do it now...do it now...do it NOW...!)
And don't worry that a POD book is necessarily worse than a traditional house. Yes, traditional houses are picky, while some POD "houses" aren't, but we've all read traditionally published books that we didn't like--am I right, people? Exactly. There's simply no accounting for taste. If a book strikes your fancy, that's all you have to worry about. Check out www.authorhouse.com, and you'll see a couple authors who are already published the traditional route, also doing the Author House POD route. There have even been a couple movies made out of Author House books. Legally Blonde, is the most recent, but that movie (I can never remember its name) with Meg Ryan and that gladiator was also an Author House book. Yeah, no kiddin. POD People are everywhere, I tell ya.
So, I hope this helped educate you on POD People. We may be in the minority right now...but we're growing...slowly, steadily...all through the night...in the swamps...in the graveyards...and in the deep, dark, scary woods...you can run, but you can't hide...
...because we're coming for you....
