Publishing is probably one of the most exciting ways to make money ever. Over the years, many people have made millions in publishing. But publishing always used to be difficult and expensive to get started in.
Today though modern technology means that you can start making money with your own publishing business more easily than you ever thought possible.
Publish For Profit With Print On Demand
In this report I’ll outline an easy way to get started in publishing – POD or print on demand publishing. It’s an interesting alternative to that other great self-publishing opportunity – Amazon Kindle.
What is POD publishing?
Print on demand or POD publishing is a way in which you can publish a book without having to have copies printed in advance. You compile your book in the normal way but you don’t have many or even any copies printed. Instead a POD printing service will print and ship copies only as and when they are needed.
The great advantage of POD publishing is that you don’t need to shell out for printing up front. So there’s no massive capital investment and no loss if your books don’t sell. It’s ideal for small entrepreneurs looking to get started in self-publishing.
What can you publish on POD?
With POD you can publish more or less what you like. You have complete editorial control. You can publish fiction such as your own novel or short stories or non-fiction, such as a ‘how to’ book or guide.
Tip. Do your market research. Look at the newspaper bestseller lists and at the book sales rankings on Amazon. They’re great free tools which will give you some idea as to whether buyers will be interested in buying the book you’re thinking of publishing.
POD self publishing is especially good for niche subjects. That is, publishing on small-interest or unusual subjects that aren’t big enough for a big publisher to handle, but which can still make money for you.
How does POD publishing work?
You create your book in exactly the same way as any other book. You can write your book yourself, team up with a writer to write it, or even self-publish copyright free public domain material.
Once your book is finished you upload it as an electronic file (often as an Adobe PDF) to your chosen POD printing service who will hold it on their servers. There are quite a few POD printing services around now. One you might like to try is Lulu at www.lulu.com, but there are others.
Customers who want to buy your book order it from you, a bookshop or on the Internet in the usual way. Then the POD printing service instantly prints the required copies and ships your book directly to the customer. POD printing services are normally fast and efficient and can sometimes print and ship your books within just a few hours of receiving orders.
This is important: POD printing services aren’t publishers in the usual sense of the word. They don’t normally do any sales or marketing for your book as a conventional publisher would. (Although a few POD publishers can arrange these services at extra cost it’s usually optional.)
Where can you sell your books?
You can sell your POD self published book in exactly the same way as you would sell a ‘normal’ printed book – except that you don’t have to print thousands of copies in advance. You can find bookshops to sell your book, or you can set up your own website, or – and here’s probably the best way – you can get your book sold worldwide on Amazon using their Amazon Advantage publishing system. Find out more here: advantage.amazon.co.uk/gp/vendor/public/join
How much money could you make from POD publishing?
How much money you’ll make from this kind of opportunity of course depends on how many copies you can sell. There are POD printing services who can print and ship books as they’re ordered for as little as £2 a copy. With most books selling in the £10-£15 price range, even after allowing for other expenses and overheads, you can see the clear potential to make money from selling even just a few thousand books.
And, who knows, your POD published book could even become a best seller!