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Contributors this Issue...
- Andrew Barriger continues his
research into Michelangelo's Gay Organ, in this issue's Fairy Factoid, page 5
- Ronald L. Donaghe answers questions
about the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing through
online print-on-demand publishers, page 3
- Tony
Heyes reviews In the Absence of Men, page
7
- Lori L. Lake reviews two books this
issue: And Then They Were Nuns
and A Departure from the Script.
Find both reviews on page 2
- William Maltese
writes about print-on-demand vs traditional publishing, and talks about
his latest book, Conspiracy of Ravens: a one-hand read, page 6
- Gary Phillips writes a "coming out"
story that is both humorous and painful, page
4
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TO POD OR NOT TO
POD...That is the question
I recently received a letter from a retired individual asking my
opinion about which print-on-demand (POD) publishing service he should
use for his first book. He asked a lot of good questions which, in
turn, prompted questions of my own. The important question to begin
with when thinking about finding a publisher for your work, is not
automatically which POD publisher to choose, but whether you want to go
the "traditional" route or the "self-publishing" route. There are
advantages to both paths. But there are also disadvantages and pitfalls
to both paths as well.
Although I have wholeheartedly gone POD in recent years with my own
work, it might surprise you to learn that I don't automatically urge
everyone to take this step. Find out why, here...
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To POD, another perspective
 William
Maltese, a veteran writer with dozens of books of all stripes under
his
belt, also takes up the question of using POD publishers versus—or in
tandem with—traditional publishers.
"For the past few
months, I've watched both books [Thai Died and SS Mann Hunt] keep pretty close
together, by way of Sales Ranks, on on-line retailer sites like
amazon.com and bn.com. Some weeks THAI DIED coming in ahead of SS
MANN HUNT, but the latter more than holding its own and more than once
coming in with superior sales.
"If Green Candy
Press, the mainline publisher of THAI DIED, gave me a great cover and
quick listings on the on-line retail sites, POD iUniverse provided me a
great cover and quick listings on the on-line retail sites. So
far, Green Candy Press having the advantage because it has provided
more sales, via brick-and-mortar bookstores, and it has managed to get
THAI DIED selected as an InsightOut Book Club selection. Which doesn't
mean that I've been soured on POD publishing. Quite to the
contrary.
"Not only do I
continue to like the author-control POD publishing allows me, but also
it's an inexpensive and fast way of conducting additional "testing"
projects."
Continue to page 6...
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