Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

print on demand

Is Boutique Book Printing The Future Of Publishing?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

A few years ago I found out about the Espresso Book Machine. This fabulous piece of equipment prints a book in front of your eyes. What they’ve done is taken the print on demand machines kept in the warehouses which spit out books ordered online and made them into retail destination machines.

This is great for so many reasons. If you want to print one book, you can do it. If you are on vacation in Melbourne, Australia and you need a copy of your book, you can go to the one there and have it produced for you. Most of these machines are in university bookstores or independent bookstores, but they are spreading across the globe.

They can publish your book and put it in their program, but that is not the same as being with Ingram or a major distributor. But in these times of fiscal issues for all authors, I’ve been seriously considering using this as a way to have paperback books when I need them and focus on having my future ebooks in multiple formats.

Author Bob Mayer said he was seeing his fiction work sell 99 percent in ebooks and non-fiction 50 percent ebook and 50 percent paperback. There will always be a need and room for the paper books, but I want to cut my expenses. With locations around the world, it also makes any author available internationally without having to ship!

Our mega book store in Portland, Powell’s Books, put in an Espresso Book Machine last year. I chatted on the phone recently with the representative. Excellent customer service and I could actually go down and visit with them in person and then watch my first edition non-fiction book print if I wanted. How cool is that?

Check out the company at www.ondemandbooks.com and check out Powell’s page about it at www.powells.com/bookmachine/

Could this be the future of print on demand book publishing?

So You Want To Know How To Get Published?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

It might be easier to explain how to build an Ark. From scratch. But since a friend asked for a writer friend, let me give this a shot. A long time ago in a galaxy far away before the Internet, traditional publishing lived in New York City and writers tried to get agents who then submitted their work to publishing companies who decided who would get published.

Then along came the Internet in the mid-1980s and web pages and writers were called content providers. (Always hated that title.) A new product called ebooks came into being in the early 2000s and soon a group of rebels (authors and writers) realized they could overcome the Death Star of New York publishing houses and authorpreneurs/publishers were born in the great Indie publishing skirmishes which continue today.

Are you a cookie, cupcake or pie writer?
Are you a cookie, cupcake or pie writer?

So one decision you need to make about getting published is whether you want to be with the traditionals or join the rebels. But wait! Before you make that decision first you need to figure out what kind of author or writer you want to be for the long haul. This is crucial. I wrote a blog post about this very topic in November 2011, so please read it here.     https://kimberlyacook.com/2011/11/01/which-dessert-would-you-choose/

To summarize the post, decide if you are a one book cookie, a two book cupcake or a career pie. Before you publish any book, please decide if this is a career, a hobby or a one time event. It makes a big difference on how you spend your time and book money.

If you want to go the traditional route, research is in order. Check out www.writersdigest.com and check the listings for agents and publishing houses and the genres they accept in the annual Writers Market, both online and in hard copy. If you want to publish a gift book or children’s book, research those markets. There is a real difference between wearing your writer/art cap and your business/marketing helmet. We have to be able to do both jobs when it comes to the world of publishing.

If you decide to go Print On Demand, self publishing or ebook only, read the blogs I list under Writizing Biz for some great advice and folks to follow. There are pirates and scallywags out there who will take a ton of your money and not deliver the finished product you hoped for, so be diligent in your research and ask advice from others. To thine own book and career path be true.

Don’t be a writer unicorn who gets left off the ark by playing silly games. Strap on your business gear and get ready to enter the publishing wars; power to writers and readers!