Customer Reviews

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About POD Publishing But Didn't Know Who To Ask

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John Harnish's 600+ page book is the ultimate reference on POD publishing and digital printing. The digital printing press is revolutionizing book production. Today, it is fast, easy and inexpensive to print 100, 500 or 1,000 books. It is no longer necessary for an author-publisher to invest in 3-5000 copies.

Every book must go through four stages: it has to be created (written), produced (printed and bound), distributed (shipped to stores and other outlets) and promoted (let the world know your book is available). John Harnish covers them all and even discusses how to set up and run your publishing business.

Harnish is a writer who works for a POD publisher. This is a fine and handy guide by a fine and successful author.

As a publisher and the author of The Self-Publishing Manual, I can attest that Harnish's book is a fine addition to the literature on books.

Dan Poynter, ParaPublishing.com.

As the title of this book indicates, Mr. Harnish has compiled a wealth of information about the print-on-demand publishing method available to anyone who wants to publish a book these days. Drawing not only on his own considerable experience, but on input from a great number of POD book authors, John Harnish delivers what he promises. Indexed and properly organised, the contents of this 606 page tome offer concise answers to just about any conceivable question on the subject. Well done!

RDP

Finally, a resource book for print book writers that doesn't assume they use a traditional print book publisher! With all of my books published POD (print-on-demand), I often find expert advice of "how it's done in the business" worthless. The rules for traditional publishing differ from those for POD publishing. Both offer unique limitations and unique freedoms. John F. Harnish explains all of that, and proves how POD actually offers more than traditional publishing on many levels.

Anyone considering using a POD publisher needs to read this book first, then read back through sections of it during and after the submission and publication process. Any writer, or any publicist, already involved with POD in any way should read this book now. Harnish gives all of the ins and outs of the POD industry, both as an employee of Infinity Publishing and as a POD author.

I can't say that I agree with all of Harnish's views on POD books or POD authors, but I can't say that I agree with all of anyone's views on anything. However, Harnish makes a bold and unusual step that further enriches an already valuable book: he brings in the views and experiences from dozens of other POD authors, in their own words. As I read those words, I kept making observations like "Yes, I know what you mean," or "I wish I would have thought of those points before wasting that time or money." The whole book seems like an incredibly helpful writer conference, one where everyone leaves feeling more informed and empowered.

(Duane Simolke's books include The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio.)

The title is misleading. There is no such thing as "POD Publishing" POD is a printing process available directly from
firms such as LSI, or indirectly through a subsidy house. What this book discusses is subsidy publishing. The author holds a position with Infinity.com, a well-known subsidy publisher.

The widespread prejudice in the industry against subsidy published books is never discussed. Subsidy publishing makes it easy to print books but hard to sell them. Reviewers, libraries, bookstores etc. will generally not consider books with a subsidy imprint. The alternative is true self publishing, which involves dealing directly with a printer, either POD or offset, but this option is never discussed in this lengthy book.

The value of this book is in the surveys the author has conducted among those who used subsidy publishing, and what they would do differently if they had it to do all over.

John F. Harnish has been employed by Infinity Publishing as Author's Advocate and Special Projects Director since 1999. A long-time marketing consultant, John knows both how to package and design marketing plans. He published his first Publish-on-Demand book, Enjoy Often!!! in March of 1999, but has enjoyed a long career in creative writing. He is an unabashed supporter of POD-style publishing, and his infectious style makes the reader of this considerable tome entertaining and informative. From page one this book rocks!

Anyone who has tried to enter the publishing world as a first-time writer knows the pitfalls. One must hire an agent, and this agent must be the right agent. Rejection is considered to be commonplace. Luck is a definite, and odds are worse than Las Vegas. Chain stores return books, so authors make little money and their books perish through mishandling and returns. Money is lost. But in the past few years, a new phenomenon has entered the marketplace through "publish-on-demand". Harnish carefully takes us through this new and exciting world in which people can actually see their book in print and sell books in quantities large or small, depending upon their entrepreneurial bent:

"The controlling ways of the kingdom devalues books and the word smithing talents of authors. Their all-controlling attitude is what's causing the publishing revolution. Too bad they won't be part of the positive changes. Most likely the big giants will go on thundering about the walled kingdom. Self-serving giants are hard to change. Of course their share of the market will continue to shrink, and the book market shares of self-published authors will certainly increase."

Harnish's "all about pod" book is a "must read" and an indispensable continuing reference for anyone contemplating entering the world of publish-on-demand. He leads us step-by-step through the system; answers a huge section of real life questions; notes objections and comments made by current pod authors; gives an overview of legal considerations; provides descriptions of services and prices from various pod companies currently operating; and finally ends with several hilarious, thought-provoking essays...

I bought this book out of curiosity, and I must say I'm glad I did. Its "question & answer" format answered a lot of the questions I personally had on the topic of print-on-demand. Reading about other people's experience has helped me out in my path to POD publishing. It's an excellent book that anyone interested in POD publishing should read.

This is a great explanation on a topic that causes a lot of people to scratch their heads. John F. Harnish explains the rapidly evolving world of print-on-demand for the average person. Answers all of the basic questions, and then some. Buy the book before you buy the service.

Virtually any question you can think to ask about print-on-demand (POD) publishing, John F. Harnish has anticipated--and answered. His massive research over many months comes together in this uniquely useful book about the emerging technology and process of POD publishing. If you, like many thousands of other would-be published writers have concluded that you will grow old before the traditional publishers will agree to publish your work, you should consider doing it yourself. Harnish demystifies the process and debunks the notion that this technology is nothing more that dressed up vanity publishing. No POD is much much more than that. It's more rewarding, more legitimate, more promising, and more lucrative. Think I'm wrong? Invest in this book and see for yourself. This is the most useful book you can have to launch your writing career--if you're serious about it.

Author John Harnish has brilliantly taken years of experience in the POD industry and added a dash of humor to create this comprehensive guide for anyone remotely interested in print-on-demand.

Interested in finding a POD publisher? Want to get serious exposure for your book or turn your novel into a movie? Mr. Harnish answers these questions and a great deal more. Plus, he even has a website dedicated to this book: ... where you can ask him questions and find out where he'll be speaking next.

There are only a few books for authors interested in getting published that can truly be deemed as a "MUST HAVE":
... John Harnish's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About POD Publishing But Didn't Know Who To Ask!!!"