Print on Demand offers new possibilities

Print on demand technology is getting better and better by the day, and while it evokes the ire of book collectors, POD has opened a lot of doors.

The most commonly realized beneficiaries are academics and graduate students who are now more easily able to order affordable copies of highly specialized reports and research projects.  The other groups to benefit are emerging novelists and poets who can offer their work to a large number of readers for a limited financial investment giving them a chance to build up their fan base potentially increasing their chances of picking up a publisher.

However one aspect of print on demand which I think is still in its relative infancy is the use of POD technology as a marketing tool for mainstream publishing.

I got thinking about this while reading my morning blogroll and seeing that romance novelist Brenda Novak is setting up an online charity auction for diabetes research where the winning bidder will be flown to a romance convention, have her photo taken with a cover model and get 10 copies of the book with "her" cover. 

Another scheme that has been hatched as of late is authors auctioning or raffling off the chance to name a character in their novel.  Stephen King, Amy Tan, Lemony Snicket, John Grisham, and Margaret Atwood have all done this for charity and today I read in Quill and Quire that Nathan Tyree (The author of Zombie Lust and the New Flesh and How to Make Love Like a Zombie) is taking this one step further and actually writing "you" into his next book, and he's pocketing the money.

The winner will have to provide me with their name, a photo of themselves, a description of their personality and mannerisms, a bio (background info and such). I will write the novel and guarantee publication within one year of the end of the auction. Then they will also receive a free copy of the book.

So my question is how long will it be before we see this kind of marketing translated into POD. 

Just say a regular copy of the new Stephen King book will cost you $15, but for $35 you can have the personalized copy where your name is substituted in place for that of the beat cop who catches the telekinetic werewolf serial killer goes for $30.  The same could be done with Novak’s cover scheme, have a premium option with a personalized cover.  Depending on the author, I could see it being popular.

[Now reading: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley]

Comments

[Chris Ringler]

I AM one of those people looking to POD as a way to get my work out there, and it is a tempting option. For me, I would never choose it over a recognized publisher but the fact is that there is too much literary bloat and not enough dollars coming in for everyone.
I would question the artistic standing of the author if they did start putting YOU into their books, as it smacks of condescension and money grabbing, but time will tell what the future brings.

My hope is that POD would finally garner some respect for up and comers and could be used by them and academics, and thus as a minor league of sorts for writing.

[maple mesos]

I would question the artistic standing of the author if they did start putting YOU into their books, as it smacks of condescension and money grabbing, but time will tell what the future brings.

[Bhavish]

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[Bhavish]

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