I recently evaluated the print-on-demand (POD) publishing model for the self-publisher. My goals for the evaluation were the following:

1. To understand the quality of the resulting book product (not the writing) using POD;
2. To understand the major process components to get from manuscript to printed book;
3. To understand why so many writers I know are moving towards self-publishing

I began by examining an example paperback book, written by a friend-of-a-friend and self-published through Booksurge, which is a POD publishing services company owned by Amazon. I chose this book to disassemble (figuratively speaking) because it has enjoyed something of a following. The author didn't get rich on this book, but had sufficient sales to warrant a second book in the series.

Booksurge uses quality paper - heavy and bright. Lettering is crisp and black. The example paperback book uses "perfect" binding, where pages are glued, the spine is glued, and the cover is glued to the spine. This book has a trim size of 5" x 8", and page margins of 9/16" (outside,) 1" (inside,) and 9/16" (top.) At the bottom of each page, page numbers are centered, with a 1/2" margin. However, because the number of lines of text from one page to the next is not consistent, it gives the appearance of a randomly changing bottom margin, making it difficult on the eyes. When I read the book, I often felt like text was somehow "missing" on a page, and at other times, I feared that the text would run off the page.

The book's cover art is richly detailed with bright colors. The cover title is in color; with an artistic font, also in color; Lettering appears on the spine of the book, and contains the author's name, the book volume number. I noticed that the title on the spine was printed slightly off-center. The book has an ISBN on the back cover.

Overall, the example POD book looks and feels like any good-quality book you might find at a bookstore - from a distance. Examining the example book closely shows that it contains numerous typos and has an odd off-center look to the interior pages. In researching the publishing options offered by the publisher, I determined that the author kept costs to a bare minimum by providing a print-ready pdf file, and did not take advantage of the editing or design services offered by Booksurge.

In going from manuscript to published book, the author/self-publisher should keep in mind three process areas to make the book look and feel professional:

1. Editing of the manuscript;

2. Book design;

3. Book distribution and marketing.

Most of the large companies that sell various services packages and promote the POD publishing model for self-publishers include packages that offer some combination of editing, design and book promotion. Your cost to self publish will depend on what services you purchase.

Editing Services

At very least, run spell-check on your manuscript, as well as a grammar check. This will catch most typos, however it's still an incomplete solution. Nothing beats having multiple sets of human eyes on your manuscript. Editing services offered by a POD publisher may include:

1. Copy editing - A basic copy edit is a line-by-line edit of the manuscript, where the editor looks for basic errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
2. Substantive editing - A line-by-line edit that includes a copy edit, plus checks for structure, clarity, consistency of point-of-view, and perhaps overall consistency of writing style.
3. Critique editing - A line-by-line and holistic edit of the manuscript that include a copy edit, a substantive edit, plus checks for story arc, character, plot, dialog, and emotional payoff. Sometimes, though, a critique edit does not include a line-by-line copy editing. Be sure you understand what you are paying for when you sign up for editing services.

You don't have to use the editing services offered by the POD publisher. Independent book editors offer their services and can often be a bargain. Check with your writing groups or writer's organizations for possible referrals, or do an Internet search for book editing services.

Design Services

Book design issues include cover lay-out, the actual cover illustration, the lettering on the front and back cover and spine, interior page design, and even details such as font selection and binding. Some design options are fairly straightforward to make on your own, but it is worth the money to pay for some design services.

1. Cover Illustration - Typically, you will hire an illustrator to create your cover art. Before engaging the illustrator, check with the book publisher to understand the page constraints. The publisher provides a template in which your art needs to fit, including bleed area and spine requirements. Some POD publishers have "stock" cover templates, which feature a generic design. This is a less expensive option than having a custom illustration, but the author will need to carefully consider whether or not this is the best option for the book.
2. Cover Lay-Out and Design - Basically, a book designer designs the book jacket, or cover, of a book. This includes selecting the title font, colors, general layout of the text over the cover art. It includes lay-out of text on the spine of the book, and layout of any blurbs or loglines that may appear on the front or back cover. A designer attempts to create a visual narrative; the book cover needs to convey a sense of what the book is about, what its voice is like, and who the book is written for.
3. Interior Page Design or Formatting - A book designer formats every interior page, including front and back matter, such as title page, dedication page, table of contents, About the Author, and other pertinent pages. A book designer may design special titling for the interior pages, or add definitive borders or page numbering. Finally, the designer provides to you the print-ready (usually pdf) file.
4. Binding Options - The most common binding for paperback books is "perfect" binding, in which pages are glued at the spine, and the cover is glued to the spine. Some soft cover picture books are stapled at the spine instead.

Distribution Services

In order for your book to have the widest possible distribution, it must have an ISBN. This unique sales distribution number is key to getting your book out on the wholesale book distribution channels, which gives libraries and booksellers a way to order your book. The ISBN and a barcode that embeds the ISBN needs to appear on the cover of your book, something to keep in mind during the design phase. The ISBN and barcode can be purchased through the POD publisher, or directly by you through Bowker http://www.isbn.org If you are purchasing a distribution package, make sure you understand who owns the ISBN, you or the publisher, and what the implications are.

Wholesale Distributors

Two of the most common wholesale distributors are Baker & Taylor, and Ingram. Many POD publishers aren't affiliated with any wholesale distributors, which may limit your selling channels. Retail booksellers buy their books through the wholesaler and, in general, prefer to buy books that have a return policy. Be sure that when you purchase a distribution service from your self-publishing company that you are buying a book return option.

Retail Distributors

Some POD publishers offer their own online market for selling your book. This might be sufficient for your needs if you are publishing a "family and friends" book, intended for a limited audience. In this scenario, you have great control over your target sales audience, so it can be a cost-effective way to go. However, if your intent is to try to reach a mass market, then a limited online market is not going to be effective. To reach a larger market, you will need to get your book into large retail markets, such as amazon.com, or independent booksellers, or other large bricks-and-mortar booksellers. To do that, you must have an ISBN, and you must engage a wholesale distributor. Your books need to be made available on a returnable basis through the wholesaler.

Marketing and Promotion

Every author, self-published or not, needs to promote their book. With tight marketing dollars, publishers can only do so much, and the self-publisher must be prepared to do it all. Some marketing and promotion options include:

1. Promotional materials such as postcards and bookmarks. Postcards can be mailed to independent booksellers, school libraries, and friends. Bookmarks are nice giveaways at book fairs, school visits, and signings.
2. Book fairs, festivals, and book signings. Target book fairs and festivals that are appropriate for your book. Consider adjunct venues that may have a tie-in to your book's content. For example, a children's book on rabbits might sell at a Pet Expo.
3. Internet promotion. Nearly every author has an internet presence. This doesn't need to be expensive - a blog, a simple author's website, a Myspace or Facebook page are all possibilities. Put your press kit on your author's website along with a contact email.
4. For-hire marketing professional or company. You may wish to consider contracting with a for-hire or freelance marketing person or company.  Look for individuals with ties to both the bookseller market and to the larger publishing houses. Experience speaks to their credentials and their ability to create a successful marketing campaign to promote your book effectively.
   

If you decide to self-publish your book using a POD services publisher, move forward in the most professional manner that you can afford. At minimum:

1. Follow guidelines recommended by the publisher. In the example book that I evaluated, the author came up with his own margin sizing, which resulted in a slightly off-center appearance of all the odd-numbered pages. This could have been avoided by simply following the publishing guidelines.
2. Pay for professional editing. Nothing says amateur more than typographical errors in a published book. Even though POD allows you to revise and update at any time, you don't want to get into the cycle of having your readers catch your typos. Worst case scenario is that you book stops selling.
3. Strongly consider paying for professional book design. A book designer or art designer can help you format and design your book so that it can compete on the shelf, and help bring your work to its aesthetic best.
4. Do the math. Sit down and work out your book's profit-and-loss statement. You can figure this out by adding up all the costs to get your book published. Add up costs for the per-copy book, illustration, design, editing, promotion and marketing, and subtract these costs from your expected sales figures. Take into account how many books you think you might be able to sell at planned book signings and other appearances, as well as through direct or wholesale channels. Some rough guidelines: a small-press independent publisher might do a first-run of 2500 books or less; a large trade publisher might run 20,000 - 50,000 copies; a "big book," that is, a book expected to sell exceptionally well, might warrant a first run of 100,000 copies. So, an unknown self-published writer might expect sales of 500-1000 books in the first year, if aggressively marketed and well-received. On the other hand, the book may be enthusiastically received, but sell only a handful of copies. You will need to take a hard look and create a best guess at how many books you think you will be able to sell. At minimum, you should be able to answer the question: how many books do I need to sell in order to break even?
5. Understand what motivates you to self-publish. Sometimes a writer gets frustrated by rejection letters, other times, a writer simply wants to get a special book in print for family and friends to buy. Some writers want absolute control over their book.

Making money is often not the writer's goal when going the self-publishing route. A writer can learn much about the process of creating a book by going through the steps of self-publishing. It can make you a better writer, in a way, because you will have gained an understanding of what a publisher must go through, and how much is spent, on getting one book out the door.