Hello, I'm new

For Stan Hinton and others: In my opinion, anytime an author's work appears in print form, regardless of source, for a price, and is purchased by the public for whatever reason, (to read it or use as a doorstop) "professionals" be damned. POD is the future and the traditional publishers and agents are about to see their monopoly on the market disrupted. They said at first e-books would not make it, and some POD firms offer books on CDs, so there ... p.s. my first edition will be out soon, POD, and I had to jump through all the hoops with the publisher, query letter, first 3 chapts, manuscript, book cover, etc., It is like insurance policies, the cost should be the least of the worry, you must consider the payout, will the company pay or present you with their loophole to keep from paying? Same with POD, will they print any piece of scatology, or are they publishers who care about what they accept? And what does the contract look like? Lots to consider. ~~~mel

I want to be published but not 100% perfect binding

like your name 'penumbra' - welcome to the madness dude.

Hi Pen, welcome.

Welcome indeed Penumbra! May you enjoy many happy years of posting, discussing and reading with us! Tony Cook, CEO, ABCtales.com

I'm seriously thinking of including some of my web published stories for ABC tales to promote interest in my novels. I have a trilogy called The Kaska Trilogy which consists of Gam, Pmat and Kesht. Also available is The Find, one of two Chronicles of Zusalem just out by iuniverse.com. The 2nd is Pathandu, now at the printer. More information about these can be gleaned from my website at: http://rieserbooks.homestead.com/rieserbooks.html Two of my stories, "Modal Sojourn" and "Cinderfall" are currently exhibited at: scifantastic.tripod.com along with several articles, humorous and serious, but mostly about SF/F. I am currently working on several projects. The Furnace is a fantasy novel that discusses the origins and solution of human spontaneous combustion. Luna Parabella is pure SF and offers a scenario of the moon's colonization. Panacea is my first attempt at mainstream, though with a fantastic premise, namely: What would happen if a man stumbled upon an actual 'thing' that could cure all diseases? I also have articles and interviews at places like wordthunder.com and sffworld.com. I'll be happy to discuss any aspects about writing with any who respond from this forum. My suggestion is, before asking anything specific, look at some of the things I have written so you have an idea who I am and how I think. That would put you three or four steps ahead of my relatives.

Well hello there I think I've seen you around! I love moon colonisation in novels, like Ben Bova's Moonwar etc. I think Baxter also wrote a good one. The title sounds nice too. Sarah

Hi Pen ... I'm new too - just joined last week ... no one to talk to! I'm also a published author, and like you, mostly POD - my book can be found on - www.jacobytebooks.com - called "Chasing the King". It's a very unconventional look at Arthurian legend ... my publisher entered it in the 2000 inaugural Frankfurt E-book Awards, but we all know that no unknown authors even had their books read in that so-called comp... enough of that. My new book hasn't been published yet - but will be with the same guys at Jacobyte: it's called "The Bounty Hunter" and is a sepeculative fantasy. Anyone looking for a great internet publisher can't go wrong taking a peek at Jacobyte Books - they publish nonmainstream as well as standard novels, and I think they also run a monthly poetry comp ... but not sure about that as I'm not a poetry writer, but it's worth a look for anyone who's looking to see their poetry maybe winning something. Hope everyone is having a great time with their writing; and too, if anyone out there needs to talk to about novel writing, I can help. Have 15 years experience. Spin

Whilst meandering betwixt the various threads, I stumbled across this one which has lain unconscious for a while, and thought perhaps I'd play Devil's Advocate while throwing out a question: As we can see by viewing the postings above, there are statements like "published author" thrown in with "POD." Now according to all the agents and publishers to whom I've personally spoken, a author is considered "published" in the professional sense after at least three short stories or one novella or work of greater length is published at the current going professional rate. By that measure, works published on demand or by vanity presses wouldn't count for the said author being "published." I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, but would anyone care to comment or clarify this further? I mean, there are a lot of new writers out there who might fall under this misconception. I've met at least one whose reputation was hurt by her making the claim she was a published author, only to be laughed out of the office of an agent when he found out her book was POD. Stan

Is POD like vanity publishing? I've never heard of it. It sounds like it involves crazy wannabe writers going down to publishers offices with handwritten green ink manuscripts and machine guns but I'm sure that's just my imagination running away with me.

David: I honestly know only what I've been told about POD (Publish on Demand). I know it's a lot like vanity press publishing, in that you pay to get your work in print, but since there're more limited numbers of copies (a few to none) initially run, the cost is less. Basically, you have a publisher, you get an ISBN, and your work is listed on one or more sites and/or with bookstores. When a copy is purchased, you get your cut. Barnes and Noble, for example, offer POD services in the US for $99. The problem I have with it is the same as with vanity. Your work isn't actually being published on its merits, but because you paid to have it in print. Even if the choice is to never see anything I've written on a printed page, that's a route I'd never go.