You’ve just spent the last three years researching and writing 500 pages of literary perfection. From a thrilling first page, it’s packed with drama, intrigue, and has more creativity than a Dr. Seuss book.

The next step is to get this baby published. The problem is no one wants to print your book. Sure, you may think your “Spice Racks of the World” is the next great American novel, but the big publishers don’t agree.

However, there’s local interest. You’ve got everyone excited in your HERBS group (“Helping Everyone Realize the Beauty of Spices”). Your buddies at tubularspices.com have been asking about the book, and want to buy. You’ve got feelers out to local bookstores, and they’ve committed to a few dozen copies. So what can you do when normal publishing methods don’t work? Your book is too specialized for a mainstream audience, and you want something better than the binding services at your local Kinkos. Consider POD.

What is POD?
A printing technology called POD, or “Print On Demand”, is like a high-tech vanity publisher. POD allows anyone to create and order books in most any quantity. You give the POD publisher an electronic form of your book and some money, and they give you a quality printed book, complete with ISBN number. Your book can even be made available at online shops like Amazon.com.

Pros
POD is great where there is a limited but enthusiastic audience for a book. POD also gives you more control over the final draft of your text and art. You get a larger percentage of royalties. In fact, if you’re willing to do the footwork in terms of marketing, selling and distribution, you can purchase books for far under retail costs, resell the books, and keep 100% of the profits.

Cons
Traditional publishers (they give you money for your book) don’t look kindly on POD publishers (you pay to print a book). If you’re ready to be the next Ray Bradbury or Agatha Christie, you’ll be more successful in the long run - and more favored by publishers - if you stay away from POD and get published “the hard way”. Also, POD publishers make cash by taking yours, not from selling books to readers. Their business model cares little about your book’s final appearance or success. This means you’ve got to be careful: Make sure you understand exactly what your final product will look like, because all spelling mistakes will be your fault. (Sometimes proofreading and similar services are offered for an additional cost.)

Do your research. Depending on what you’re printing and what you can afford, different PODs have different advantages. Unlike traditional publishers, PODs vary widely with contracts, minimum orders, free copies and other important aspects.

Go to here for a more detailed article, including links to many POD company reviews, advice and customer experiences.

Karlene asks:

I have been working on getting my book published for over a year now with American Book Publishing. I had already periodically worked on it for 3 years prior to that.  Their design department is working on the cover and I have to come up with a marketing plan? Also, they would like a blurb or two on the back cover? Do you have any suggestions where I can look for solutions.

This is one of the drawbacks of POD and similar companies: You are responsible for much of the work. To find out best ways of doing this, try the following:

1) The nationally-syndicated Diane Rehm Show had a radio broadcast about topics similar to this one. The guests related why they did and didn't want to use POD, self-publishing and traditional publishers. They also specified some of the things they had to do in terms of self-promotion and advertising. Listen to the Diane Rehm Show broadcast (it's the 11:00 show lower on the page, titled "Self Publishing").

2) See the links at the bottom of this article. Also use these same links to research your company extensively before signing anything. There are a lot of unregulated options for POD out there, so the only one watching out for you is you!