Is POD right for you?

That's a question each and every author has to ask. There are far more novels written each year than get accepted by the major publishers for publication. And if an author can't find a home for his or her Great American Novel... well, the possibility is hardly worth contemplating.

Sure, there are vanity publishers out there which will publish your book - for a fee. And they won't market it, although they usually give you a few dozen copies to hand out to your friends and family. Plus, if you give your novel over to these vultures, they own the book, despite that they have no interest in marketing it. They make all their money charging *YOU* to have it printed.

So that leaves, for the vast majority of us, self-publishing. But who wants to deal with the hassle of registering the ISBN, finding a printer, designing a cover, editing, proofing, binding the final versions, storing the copies and handling the shipping of the books to buyers?

Which is where P(rint) O(n) D(emand) printers come in. Such as Books Just Books or LuLu. (Click on the link above to reach the LuLu site) LuLu's been a POD printer which bought the ISBNs in their own name - meaning they owned the rights to the books - but they've started a Publish It Yourself program where they charge a simple, one-time-per-novel fee to deal with purchasing - for YOU - your very own ISBN. That means YOU own the copyright to the book, and LuLu acts as the printer and fulfillment specialist. It might not be right for every author, but for some, this program could be a Godsend.