Introduction

With the advent of the digital printing press the whole world of publishing began to change. But how much of that change is real and how much is hype? Are people really writing books, setting them up for print for a few hundred dollars, printing them as the orders come in and then selling them? Or are they going into POD all starry-eyed, thinking that at last the playing field has been leveled, only to find that the game is rigged? Who are the different players? What companies offer the best deals? Who is the most likely to help you do what you really want to do: tell your story to lots and lots of people and maybe make some money doing it?

We're here to answer these and all the other questions you have about POD and self publishing, starting with simple questions about subsidy press vs. vanity press vs. POD vs. self-publishing moving onto more difficult questions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of different POD companies, and then getting into the really hard questions dealing with distribution, returns, big publishers, and bookstores. POD has a lot going for it, and has made it possible for writers with little capital to take a chance on themselves that they'd never take if the stakes were higher.

But it also has a little-discussed dark side that needs airing so that if and when you do make the decision to do your book through POD, you'll pick the method and the company that will  work best for you.  The purpose of self-publishing.org is to explore POD thoroughly, both the pros and the cons. We intend to explode the myths of POD and to expose its underbelly. We're not holding back; no one and nothing is sacred. If you like your daydreams and don't want to know how the business works then bypass this page, but if you want to be informed, to make sure you make the right choice in deciding on a POD publisher, then stick around. We've got quite a story to tell...