Publish on Demand

Publish on demand (POD) has been a new service that has arisen with the Internet. It relies largely upon digital printing technology in place of conventional printing methods to produce a book which is then bound in a conventional manner. They are able to produce smaller runs of texts faster, "on demand" and are seen therefore as more flexible than conventional publishing. In principle they can produce texts more cheaply at lower threshold costs for setting up, though this savings is not always passed on to the potential customer or realized by the writer. They have achieved some success, taking much of the market of first-time writers from traditional publishers who have turned away from new writers due to increasing risks associated with rising costs and falling profits. The quality of POD books seem to me to be compromised primarily due to a lack of editing services and limited flexibility in publishing and binding compared to conventional publishing, but they appear to be on the rise and a thing for the future.

Costs for production of a POD text tend to be relatively low compared to the conventional vanity or self-publishing avenues, and they are a preferable alternative for first-time writers who want to get their works out fast but at least expense and least hassle.