emeraldcite
Re: Something they might not think of
one thing that the pa authors don't understand about their 'publisher' is this:
imagine we're talking basketball. if you are picked up for your community team, you can consider yourself a 'basketball player.' you may be good. you may play a lot of games. Sure you have experience playing for a basketball team too. however, you can't go around calling yourself a 'pro' because you did not play in the NBA. you are not being paid highly for your skills.
same with PA. sure, they're publish. just as published as any vanity press produces. isbn's, online sales, and everything. but what they lack is reputation. PA doesn't edit (by edit i mean take the story, tear it down, build it back up again). they proof. they catch nominal errors. they slap a cover and sell it to the authors at a discount. not boxes of free copies. then, for being POD, it seems pretty hard to get what you demanded. on several of the PA boards there was talk of problems getting copies. you'd think that PA would make sure that if a group of authors were going to do a signing, there'd be books there. the signing could bring in sales. it could be a chance to sell their product.
alas, that was not how it was. some of the authors were lucky to get a few copies. so much for printing on demand. there was demand, and the printing couldn't meet it. that's why traditional houses have print runs and return policies. the book will be there when it is needed.
good luck to them trying to get agents, if they want them. but many of the authors who post on the PA boards are more concerned with having a copy in their hand than copies on the shelves.
one thing that the pa authors don't understand about their 'publisher' is this:
imagine we're talking basketball. if you are picked up for your community team, you can consider yourself a 'basketball player.' you may be good. you may play a lot of games. Sure you have experience playing for a basketball team too. however, you can't go around calling yourself a 'pro' because you did not play in the NBA. you are not being paid highly for your skills.
same with PA. sure, they're publish. just as published as any vanity press produces. isbn's, online sales, and everything. but what they lack is reputation. PA doesn't edit (by edit i mean take the story, tear it down, build it back up again). they proof. they catch nominal errors. they slap a cover and sell it to the authors at a discount. not boxes of free copies. then, for being POD, it seems pretty hard to get what you demanded. on several of the PA boards there was talk of problems getting copies. you'd think that PA would make sure that if a group of authors were going to do a signing, there'd be books there. the signing could bring in sales. it could be a chance to sell their product.
alas, that was not how it was. some of the authors were lucky to get a few copies. so much for printing on demand. there was demand, and the printing couldn't meet it. that's why traditional houses have print runs and return policies. the book will be there when it is needed.
good luck to them trying to get agents, if they want them. but many of the authors who post on the PA boards are more concerned with having a copy in their hand than copies on the shelves.