What is POD?
POD stands for Print On Demand, a digital printing technology that allows you to print one book at a time, or a very low quantity of books. Basically, it’s a high-quality, high-speed copier.

I thought POD referred to an online publisher that I could take my book to . . .
A POD publisher uses the POD printing technology to print one copy of your book at a time. In addition, they offer other services that vary from program to program. Some of them put their imprint on your book, and some of them allow you to publish under your own company name. They offer various design services based on templates. You receive a percentage of the sales of your books. They take care of some aspects of book production that an author may not want to do themselves. In my opinion, though, it is very difficult to make a profit when you enter into an agreement with an online POD publisher. Books produced by POD publishers are not respected in the book industry, and they won’t be reviewed by media reviewers.

Isn’t that what self-publishing is, though?
Authors have been self-publishing for a long time. (Virginia Woolf was a self-publisher). You can self-publish by creating your own team and staying in control of all aspects of the production process. In addition to an editor (which you would also need if you went with a POD publisher) you would hire designers for the cover & interior, possibly an illustrator, a proofreader, and an indexer (if needed). You would pay for the printing (your designers could help you choose a good printer). When you hire professional book designers, your book will look as good if not better than those produced by the big publishers. Although you would need money up front to produce your book, you would reap 100% of the profits. The authors I’ve worked with usually cover their production costs with the first print run, and start making a profit after the first reprint.

Can I use a POD printer if I self-publish this way?
Absolutely! There are many excellent POD printers to choose from. The technology has evolved so that the quality is excellent. Most people can’t tell the difference between a POD-printed book and an offset-printed book. The type is crisp and clean, the paper is good, and the full-color cover looks great. Books produced this way are respected in the industry, and media reviewers will review them. You could print a low quantity of books (maybe 25, 100, or 250, or whatever) and reprint as you needed. This way you’d have no storage costs.

What about marketing?
Either way, you’re in charge of marketing your book. The POD publisher may offer some distribution assistance in their package, but they aren’t going to sell your book for you. In fact, even if a small press or publishing company took your book, you’d still have to do a lot of the marketing. If you join PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, at http://www.pma-online.org/ you will have access to affordable cooperative marketing programs and distribution assistance to help you get into bookstores. You’ll also have many other member benefits and can share info & networking with other self-publishers. An excellent resource for step-by-step info on book publishing and marketing is Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual and his website at http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/