Trying to pick a POD Publisher...HELP!

[darrell_Carrington]

Hi Everyone,
This is my first post here so be gentle. I’m trying to decide on a Print-On-Demand publisher but I’m frustrated in trying to decide which to choose. I know, I know, I shouldn’t do it but I am tired of trying to break that glass ceiling of traditional publishing and I just want to get my book out there. I’ve done tons of research on print-on-demand and I know what I want and what I don’t want. That’s the problem. Each seems to have their good points and bad points and I can’t decide which is the least evil. Believe me, I am well aware of the challenges POD authors face and I’ve accepted it. In a way, I think POD has become the new midlist. I’m not going to get rich, but I just want to get my name out there and who knows? Maybe someone will notice.

I’ve visited Lulu and while their inexpensive; they don’t do much for you. Everything pretty much falls on you. Llumina Press, Trafford, and IUniverse are ridiculously priced for the royalty I’ll get back. Virtual Book Worm seems to be pretty decent but they charge extra for all the stuff I would want (i.e. to accept returns, ISBN, Barcodes, LCCN, etc.). I never considered Authorhouse because of all the bad rep it’s gotten on WritersBeware and AbsoluteWrite. None of them seemed to fulfill what I wanted.

Then I found this POD on Google, Luna Brillante Publishing. They seem to be subsidy but they give you a ton of features that other subsidies charge extra for. I like that they are not all over the map in regards to the type of books they publish (they only do Spec Fic). Plus, they claim they screen manuscripts, offer ARCs to PW and Library Journal, have award winning graphic artists doing covers, plus pay more royalty than the others. Sounds great right? Well, they appear to only have two titles in print and it looks like they’re just starting out. I know these POD’s come and go so I’m a little leery of giving my money to a new startup.

Has anyone ever had any dealings or heard of this company?

I think, for me, it’s between Virtual BookWorm and Luna Brillante. VBW has the track record; LBP gives you more for less. How to choose?

Should there be others I consider?

Thanks!

Darrell

[Mark Robson]

I'm afraid I'm no expert on POD, so I'd hate to offer any advice. You could try asking the Society of Authors to recommend one if you're UK based. They are very good at offering all sorts of advice to authors - just a thought.

Whatever you decide, I wish you all the very best of luck with your writing.

[I, Brian]

Point to keep vigilant about is rights - there would be little point signing with a new company, offering them exclusive rights for two years, if they are not able to deliver anything satisfactory during this period - but still keep you legally bound to them. Also beware not to go on price alone - "Pay peanuts, get monkeys".

Although you dismissed Lulu as an option, don't think that many POD companies can do much for you in terms of marketing - really, a lot of this is going to fall on yourself to do. It's increasingly common even in traditional print that authors need to be able to market themselves, especially when still new.

Hope that helps for thought, and welcome to chronicles.

[the_faery_queen]

to be honest, even tradional publishers don't do that much for you! they want you to promote your stuff yourself, as they have a lot of people on their books. have you tried small print? if so, i'd go with lulu. i know (my friend is looking into this) that for a fee they will list you on amazon and other places. and as they are someone a lot of people have heard of, you have more chance of people finding your book there and buying it. if you go for someone that isn't so well known, they may not be as reputable and the standard maybe less, also less chance of people finding your book to start with.

[I, Brian]

That's a good point - you need your works to be accessible, so that if you can get people to buy, it's relatively easy and inexpensive for them to do so.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Also, some of those subsidy publishers have been known to promise far more than they can actually deliver. If what they are offering is very much more than what other, more established publishers are offering, you can pretty well figure that a) being new they're making unrealistic promises, or b) they're not being honest with you.

[SJAB]

Can I put this link up. I suggest you read the contents well before you make any choice it might help.

I would add I am not recommending any of the companys


http://dehanna.com/database.htm

Also I have never heard of any POD company accepting returns.

[darrell_Carrington]

Thanks everyone for you responses.

The thing about Lulu is I'm doing all the work from book cover design, to formatting the book, to getting an LCCN, to submitting it for reviews. I'm doing everything. I honestly would prefer just to focus on marketing and promotion.

I have visited Luna Brillante Publishing's website and I have to say, if they are legit I am very impressed. They have a copy of the contract on the website. Its non-exclusive. I can break the deal with 30 days notice with no penalty. I had never heard of them and they aren't listed on many of the POD lists...but again, maybe its because they are new. I don't know.

They claim they do will offer returns at no extra cost to the author. They offer industry standard wholesale discounts. They also are giving authors 60-80% royalty off of net receipts.

They were also the first POD I've ever seen that spells it out honestly for you. They actually say on their site "You're not going to get rich going POD".

I couldn't believe when I read that. Most PODs paint a rosy picture of how you're going to get published and have a best seller. Heck, IUniverse practically guarantees it. These guys actually broke it down and told you what is the norm.

I saw a post from the owner of the company on Absolute Write asking "What makes a good POD?" to the authors there. The money is not any more than I would spend with VBW....I may give them a submission. It will be interesting to see if they will reject me, considering I haven't had any success elsewhere and they claim to screen manuscripts.

I know my momma always told me that if its too good to be true it probably is. Has anyone dealt with these guys?

[the_faery_queen]

no, i just wanted to say to sjab, my small print publisher also doesn't accept returns!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Before you sign a contract with anyone, buy a copy of one of the titles they have already published, so you'll know whether or not the books they produce look like they were professionally formated, printed, and bound. From what I've heard, the quality can vary considerably.

Also, if you are paying them for, say, copy-editing be sure that someone in-house is qualified. You might be surprised how many people with a little money start up new publishing houses and appoint themselves as editors, when they can't even spell and punctuate correctly.

[Brown Rat]

It sounds like you've decided against Lulu, but I just want to mention that I've been pleased with what Lulu offers. I like doing my own cover and my own copyediting and fussing over my "baby," and whenever I've had a question about some aspect of the process, I've been able to find an answer on the Lulu website. There are Lulu affiliates you can pay for help with press kits, editing, graphics, obtaining reviews, etc.: http://www.lulu.com/services/

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by darrell_Carrington

I have visited Luna Brillante Publishing's website and I have to say, if they are legit I am very impressed. They have a copy of the contract on the website. Its non-exclusive. I can break the deal with 30 days notice with no penalty. I had never heard of them and they aren't listed on many of the POD lists...but again, maybe its because they are new. I don't know.

Promising - and delivery - are two different things.

New companies can be easily tempted to offer more than they can, simply because their limits haven't been tested.

Whereas a more established POD could be expected to have a more secure business plan, so even if they don't offer everything, they can comfortably deliver on what they do offer.

You keep asking if anyone's dealt with the company, but you've said they only actually have two titles. Maybe worth actually contacting the writers behind those titles for their direct experiences.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Maybe worth actually contacting the writers behind those titles for their direct experiences.

Just for curiosity I looked around the site and discovered that the writers behind those titles are the publishers themselves. So ... not likely to get an unbiased impression from those two.

[darrell_Carrington]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Promising - and delivery - are two different things.

New companies can be easily tempted to offer more than they can, simply because their limits haven't been tested.

Whereas a more established POD could be expected to have a more secure business plan, so even if they don't offer everything, they can comfortably deliver on what they do offer.

You keep asking if anyone's dealt with the company, but you've said they only actually have two titles. Maybe worth actually contacting the writers behind those titles for their direct experiences.

Teresa and Brian, you're right - the only two titles are by the owners of the company themselves.

In their defense, the website does say that they began accepting submissions on the 2nd...so perhaps they haven't contracted with anyone yet. Also, I was able to find the titles on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and all the other major websites - and they list as shipping within 1-2 business days.

Teresa, I will order their books, just to see the quality. You shouldn't judge by covers but they are definitely nice and it looks like the Atlantis one has gotten a lot of reviews.

I don't know...maybe I'm getting snake oil sold or what have you but it really seems to me like they are serious about their promises. I emailed JC Dellatore, the owner, and they responded right away. I'm sending my ms for Dawn of the Necromancer (my novel).

Every publisher has to start somewhere, right? Everyone gets their first book. Like I said, the money is not that much and if they do half of what they say they do, they'll be better than most of the PODs out there.

Like I said, I like lulu, I just don't like that I have to do everything. I just want to focus on marketing...and with Lulu I have to get a cover done, convert my book to PDF, do all kinds of stuff that takes time away from promotion. I'd rather just focus on that.

I do appreciate all the advice you guys have given me. I will let you know how it goes dealing with them.

Thanks!

[I, Brian]

No problem, but do be aware that someone POD publishing their own book may be more likely to put in the extra effort, than for someone else.

Overall, I don't think it's a case of "snake oil" - but it has to be said, if all they've POD published is two of their own books, then the company has hardly been tested in terms of delivering what they promise, not to mention not having *any* kind of track record by which to validate itself.

Many businesses only learn to run by falling over and hurting themselves sometimes - learn from dealing with hard issues. By signing up immediately to a new and untested company, any writer is in danger of it being their manuscript that they fall over and hurt themselves with. And anyone who has taken the time to actually finish a novel needs to be much more careful than that.

Overall - never go on price alone, ignore easy promises, and long for reliability and stability in a company. General business 2 business rules, methinks. And that's how a new author should treat themselves. Otherwise they could be looking at taking serious risks with your work. For someone who said themselves they were "leery of giving my money to a new startup", you seem to have changed your mind awful quickly.

2c.