Print on demand - the industry's saving grace

The blog of literary agent and author advocate Richard Curtis has an interesting article today regarding print on demand and how it could prove to be the publishing industry's saving grace, something that I have stated for a long time.

What he has to say makes interesting reading, for he suggests that contrary to popular belief, there is nothing wrong with the publishing industry, despite its current decline, that a different form of distribution would not solve. The different form of distribution that he proposed has nothing to do with wholesalers, but is rather, a different printing method - namely, print on demand.

To those who are not in the know and do not understand why this would be so, it may seem like an extravagant statement, but the reasoning behind it will be clear to those who understand how it works, and there are some statistics to back this theory up, recorded in an interview conducted by Liz Thompson for Bookbrunch, with David Taylor, President of Lightning Source in the UK, the largest print on demand operation in the world. Lightning Source have printed 70 million books in the ten years since their operations began, and their facilities in Tennessee and Pennsylvania hold almost one million digital files.

While the rest of the industry is in the doldrums, Taylor claims that their business has grown by 20 to 30 percent in the last six months alone. Lightning Source print, bind and ship 10,000 books each day on machines that run around the clock. At their plant in Milton Keynes, they are building new, improved facilities the size of a football pitch. Lightning Source continues to thrive at a time when the industry is reeling from an epidemic of returns, with a system based on the exact opposite.

As Taylor told his interviewer, "the recession is focusing publishers' minds on cash, on the amount of inventory they have sitting in warehouses, on the cost of transporting stock. Most global publishers in the academic and STM (scientific, technical and medical) markets are saying they want to get out of inventory, and some pretty radical discussions are now taking place which will allow publishers to do just that. Believe me, it's an exciting time to be part of the business."

The most obvious solution to this problem is not to print so many books in the first place, and to ensure that those that are printed are sold - the best way to ensure that both of these happen is through print on demand, for you know that the books that are printed have already been sold.

In the future Taylor sees the creation of vast digital warehouses, which are in essence a network of servers containing vast archives of POD files linked to Espresso machines, which Blackwells are currently trailing in their Charing Cross store. These are like miniature print on demand machines (known as ATM's for books) that enable books to be printed and bound in a matter of minutes, the time it takes to have a cup of coffee, hence their name.

There is no reason in the future, why such machines should be confined to book shops; they could be set up anywhere, and could be particularly beneficial in developing countries that do not have the same infrastructure and distribution channels in place that we do in the west.

The full article can be read here.

Curtis also provides a useful and interesting link to You Tube where you can see the Espresso Machine in action.

Publishers get a taste for the Espresso

Since the Espresso Machine was unveiled at Blackwells flagship store in Charing Cross Road on 17th April, books have been rolling off its presses. Until now it inventory has been confined to self published and out of copyright works, but according to The Bookseller today, the Hactette Book Group USA, Simon & Schuster and McGraw-Hill are among several publishers who have signed up to make their works available through this "ATM for books", making an extra 89,000 titles in copyright titles available as from next week.

Eight less well known publishers have also signed up, including general and academic publisher W W Norton, specialists Cosimo Inc, Clements Publishing, Kessinger Publishing, Information Age Publishing, California/Princeton Fulfillment Services, EReads.com and Bibliolife. Oxford University Press and Palgrave books are currently being converted, and will be available in a few weeks time.

Over one million books will be available via these machines by the summer, with a long term aim of making every book available in this way.

Exact sales figures are yet to be released, but Blackwells state that 35 percent of sales from the machine have been for self published works, with the remaining 65 percent for out of copyright works. The majority of purchases have been one offs, with an average retail price of £11.50.

Web stats are interesting things

Web stats are interesting things, I get mine from a company called E-web counter. I can't remember where or how I came across them, but the service is free, so that is all that matters. I get access to details on the last 200 visitors to this site, and after that I have to start paying.

My stats reveal that out of the last 200 visitors, almost 60 percent were from outside the UK - mostly the United States and Canada, although I also had visits from Australia, Singapore, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, China, Brazil, the Netherlands, the Ukraine, Spain, France, Ireland (I had quite a few of these) and Taiwan.

37.5 percent of my visitors found the site via Yahoo.com, 22.73 percent via Google.com, 12.5 percent via Google.co.uk and the remainder (27.2 percent) from elsewhere, mostly via my website and the various forums that I post on, but also through certain blog search engines and other sites. It is good to know that my own name is still the most popular search string.

The number of repeat visits is relatively low at around 8 percent, with the same amount staying for more than 5 minutes. One of these repeat visitors, I have been somewhat amused to see is my ex employer - it is good to know that they find my site so interesting!

Overall I think the stats are about average for a site such as this - it will probably never reach the echelons of the Guardian best literary blog list, although I have had visits from several writers who are on it, and been mentioned on one or two of their sites. It is not always easy to keep up to date with the publishing world, but I do my best to write articles which I consider to be interesting and informative, particularly for self publishers, who the site is after all aimed at. In this climate we need all the help we can get.

The problem of piracy

With the explosion in e-books and electronic reading devices, more and more publishers are experiencing problems with illegal copies of their authors work being submitted to various websites.

An article in the New York Times cites the case of science fiction writer Ursula K Le Guin, who found pirated copies of several of her novels on Scribd, including her best selling work, “The Left Hand of Darkness.”

Mr Le Guin and her publisher were quite rightly outraged. She quotes: “Who do these people think they are? Why do they think they can violate my copyright and get away with it?”

Of course this is depressingly familiar to music and film makers, who fought battles with illegal download sites for years before protection was put in place. Truth be told, this is one of the reasons why the publishing world held off with embracing e-books for as long as they did, for they realised what the implications would be; Google and their shenanigans are it seems, the tip of the iceberg.

If readers are determined enough, and know where to look, they will find a way to get these works for free. Such websites have it seems, ballooned in recent months with publishers forced to employ more legal staff whose role it is to sniff these sites out and get the offending material removed. As Russell Davis, author and president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America quotes, “It’s a game of Whac-a-Mole, “you knock one down and five more spring up.”

Websites such as Scribd and Wattpad, which invite users to upload documents such as college theses and self-published books novels, have been the target of much grumbling in recent weeks, as illegal copies of many popular titles have also appeared on them. Trip Adler, Chief Executive of Scribd, said it was his “gut feeling” that unauthorized editions represented only a small fraction of the site’s content, but this is not the point, it should not happen at all.

Both sites appear to take issues very seriously indeed. Offending material is immediately removed, and filters put in place to identify such works as and when they are uploaded. I would like to think that the culprits are also banned.

E-books are still in their infancy, and so for the moment, piracy is not nearly as widespread as within the music industry, when sites such as the now legal Napster, threatened the entire industry. The benefit of this is that both authors and publishers can learn from this experience to go about things in the right way, to go after the sites themselves rather than those who use them. The idea is to start legal sites at the outset so that people get used to having to buy e-books, and the fact that these music sites are now so well established will ultimately help our cause. There are still some though who consider it their god given right to take what they want without regard for the law or those who create these works, who persist in using illegal sites and file sharing software. I used to get great satisfaction from listening to one of the men in my former job complain about the computer viruses he also downloaded from such practises.

It is vital that authors and publishers be adequately compensated for each use of their work, whether in electronic or printed form. It is not about getting rich (I fear that any author that thinks that is in the wrong job), but about being honoured for the work that you do, which personally I don't think is too much to ask.

Social networking sites - are they worth the effort?

If you read any of the writing magazines, they all emphasise the importance of networking with other authors and those within the publishing industry in order to make contacts and increase your profile. It used to be the case that in order to do this writers needed to attend seminars, summer schools and the like, but the arrival of the various social networking sites has opened up a whole new arena of possibilities. Is it though worth the time and effort that it entails in order to not only join, but retain an active membership of such sites, and what are the benefits?

I am no stranger to such sites, having been involved with various types of forums for around 8 years now. I started as a member Healthy Pages, one of the largest and best known complimentary health networks, where I worked as a moderator for several years. I made some good friends there, at least one of whom I am still in contact with, but chose to leave for personal reasons, when I set up my own site with a group of friends. The site was besieged with problems due to hackers and personality clashes between the different partners, so I left them to their own devices, and went back to being a member.

I have been a member of many different sites over the years - some on complimentary health, some on various aspects of religion, and some on writing, but the writing ones have been by far the most useful in terms of the contacts I have made, not to mention the support, from like minded individuals, so from my point of view, yes it has been worth the time and the effort involved, but whether it will be for you depends upon your motives.

For the benefit of those who do not know (and have been living on Mars), a social network is an Internet based community where you can communicate with others on various different issues. In order to join, you must open an account and agree to abide by certain rules, which vary from board to board, some for example frown on advertising, so it is best for the would be writer to steer clear of these. Some are okay with advertising, as long as you are an active member and are not joining just for this purpose, posting once and then disappearing.

When you open an account, you need to fill in what is termed as your profile - this is fairly standard stuff about who you are and what you do for a living, and the usual common sense rules regarding the posting of personal information apply. You also have the option to display a picture of yourself, or to choose an avatar in the form of a picture that you want to represent the real you - a cartoon character perhaps, or a picture of your favourite place. It is easy to do with almost anyone with basic skills and takes less than five minutes to do.

The big question is though - will joining these sites translate to valuable sales - it is impossible to say, but I personally have sold at least twenty books through the various sites I am member of, many of which have been outside of the UK.

Larry Barkan says that the best way to think of these forums as a date with prospective readers, by introducing them to your work, and hopefully persuading them to buy, and I must say that I like this analogy. After all, if people can meet their partners online then why not form a partnership with an author in the same way and the author with their readers?

I don't think that these sites will ever take the place of bonafide face to face contact, but they are and will become increasingly important in the modern world, and are the best way I have found to reach out to those outside of your immediate area. If people use the Internet to find information on television sets and holidays, then why not use it to find information on books?

These sites offer many advantages, which the wise author will choose to utilise not least of all the opportunity to meet others of like mind and share experiences. You can use these communities in order to help promote your work, by asking members to write reviews, or post on other sites publicising book signings and talks etc, knowing that such posts also attract the attention of search engines. You can also link to your own site and any blogs that you have.

The downside is that these sites can become addictive and a substitute for real life, if you are not careful you can end up spending hours on them and not writing at all. An hour a day seems a sensible time limit for me - spread between all the various sites that you may or may not choose to join.

I am member of several, visiting some every day and others just occasionally. The ones that I particularly recommend are as follows:

http://www.mywriterscircle.com/index.php?board=1.0

This is an international community of writers from around the world, with boards on both fiction and non-fiction.

http://www.writersnews.co.uk/writers_talkback/

This is the forum linked to the British based Writers News magazine, with mostly British members, but some from overseas.

http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/

This site as the name suggests, is aimed more at readers than writers, but they are a friendly bunch who welcome writers (especially fiction) from all around the world, so long as they actively take part in the community and are not there just to promote your work.

Some facts about distribution

Distribution is possibly the most misunderstood term in publishing, and one which is particularly misunderstood by self publishers, especially those who choose print on demand. Certain of the less scrupulous companies play on this by advertising that books published by them will be distributed by such and such companies and available through up to 10,000 retail outlets. This is a myth that the wise self publisher will see through. Education and self responsibility are as always the key.

Most print on demand providers offer distribution in the UK through Bertrams and Gardners and in the US through Ingrams and Baker and Taylor. What this means in practical terms is that the publisher has accounts with each of these distributors to supply their books to the retail trade - it does not mean that the books will be on the shelves, but simply listed on a database to which retailers have access. The aforementioned retailers, who also have accounts with these distributors, can then order the books.

This is well and good, but what the majority of self publishers do not realise is that unlike the major publishers, who bring out hundreds or even thousands of books each year, self publishers books do not have access to sales reps that hawk the books around the stores, neither will they in the majority of cases, be warehoused, but sold as what are termed "special orders", i.e. books are supplied by the publisher to the distributor on an ad hoc basis as and when required rather than being kept in stock. This is largely because such books tend to sell in very small numbers, but also because print on demand companies in the main cannot accommodate the risk of returns, not to mention, stretch to the extra discount that would be required.

The true definition of distribution is not that the book is simply listed on a database, but that that it is offered alongside other titles on a seasonal list of titles prepared by the distributor to be presented to retailers about six months prior to publication. Because of the short lead times (it takes an average of three months for a typical print on demand book to go through the various processes of publication) for most print on demand books, this is impossible, not withstanding the reasons already mentioned above.

The distributor will of course require a discount for providing such services (they are after all in business to make money, just like you are). Such discounts are not negotiable and are typically between 40 and 60 percent depending upon the level of service requested.

It is crucial that the self publisher understands and gets to grips with the supply chain if they are to have any level of success at all and there is no excuse for ignorance - it is definitely not bliss. Ignore this advice at your peril.

Life before writing

There is an interesting article today on The Guardian Book Blog bemoaning the fact that so few modern authors seem to have a life before they began to write. They cite the case of JG Ballard who died recently after a long battle with cancer.

I am not familiar with Ballard's work but the article states that there was a stark contrast between the suburban world of Shepperton (not that far from us) where he lived for 50 years and the darkness of his writing. Ballard seems to have led an interesting life. He survived the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, a city I was priviliged to visit in 1986, life as a prisoner of war and in the Canadian armed forces, and worked among other things, as an enclyclopedia salesman and as a porter in Covent Garden.

Contrast this with the life of the average modern writer - go to university, read English, start writing first novel, have a few peices published in various magazines, move to London or some other city, write a few more pieces and eventually get published - and sell if you are lucky, around 300 copies.

Is it really like this though - it certainly hasn't been for me, and when I think about it, I did and continue to have a pretty interesting life long before I became a published author. I may not have lived in war zones or served in the armed forces, but I have survived years of school bullying, the death of both parents (my father at the age of 15), several redundancies and changes of career, and a 12 year relationship with a borderline transsexual. I have also travelled half way round the world on my own. My jobs have included travel agent, supermarket cashier, and complimentary therapist, among others. You cannot do any of those three jobs wthout learning a thing or two about human nature.

I left school aged 17 with three O'Levels to my name (admittedly two of which were in English - in those days an O'Level meant something, and anything less than a Grade C was not considered a pass). There is no university degree for me (although I have done several part time course with Birkbeck), and no home in London, which is the last place I would want to live. Neither is there a first novel, since I write non fiction, but there have been a few pieces in various magazines (mostly unpaid). And just for the record, the one book I have published has sold a lot more than 300 copies, because of my own hard work.

If this is indeed a portrait of the average modern writer, then I am way off the mark. It goes to underline the importance though of having a past and a life and how we can use those experiences both good and bad to help our writing. It is about seeing the value in all things. Those experiences have shaped me into the person that I am, and are reflected in the way that I write, which mirrors my own life, in all its glory. I would not have it any other way.