Writing is a lonely process, but as writers, we are not alone. There are thousands of us. And we are everywhere, pouring our hearts and souls into the pages of our manuscripts in the hopes of one day becoming published. As a group, we submit hundreds of manuscripts to agents and publishers every week. Our work could fill libraries. But of the hundreds of thousands of manuscripts submitted in the U.S. every year, only 100,000 get to see light of day as actual published books printed by traditional publishers. Of those, only a fraction become best sellers.

So where does that leave the rest of us? Where can we turn? What can we, the unpublished masses, do to make our voices heard?

Print-on-Demand Publishing: "Here There Be Monsters"

For many aspiring writers, an increasingly popular alternative to "traditional” publishing is self-publishing through a POD publisher. POD stands for print-on-demand (or publish-on-demand.) A POD publisher differs from a traditional publisher in that a POD publisher prints books as they are needed, whether that demand is for one, or for one hundred.

However, the very term, "print-on-demand,” evokes a mixed response, one similar to what you might get from the phrase "used car salesman.” Everyone has an opinion, and horror stories abound. But just like when you are looking for a car dealer, when you look for a POD publisher, you need to be careful and do your homework. Here are some questions you need to ask when looking for a company that offers POD services.

How much will they charge others for your book? Let's be brutally honest here. No one is going to pay top dollar for a paperback written by an unknown author. Yes, by "unknown author" I mean you and me. There are just too many other more important things in life to spend money on, like food, shelter, and clothing. If the self-publisher charges too much to your potential customers, you can forget about sales.

Do they require that you pay for a minimum run? Some POD's expect you to buy a certain number of your own book before they will publish your work. There's nothing illegitimate about that; it's just how some of them recoup their publishing costs. You just need to make sure you know what the requirements are before you agree to work with a POD publisher.

Which way does the money flow? Let's keep it simple, the money should flow in the direction of the author. In other words, you should be profiting from your work. True, your writing may be a labor of love, but love don't pay the bills!

Who gets to keep control over your work? Do you get final say on everything? Most things? Nothing? You need to ask.

Do they require a contract? If the POD wants you to sign a contract in which you must give them certain rights regarding your work, be sure to read the fine print. The first book I ever self-published was locked into a seven-year contract with the publisher. BIG mistake.

Are they honest about who they are? Not every POD publisher calls themself a POD publisher. Some POD's try to hide what they are by insisting they are traditional publishers, or that they are "revolutionizing" the publishing industry by their cutting edge method. The traditional publishing industry is not given to revolution. If a POD will not be honest with you about what they are, they will probably not be honest, or fair, with you on anything else. Don't let these warnings discourage you from seeking out a POD. Instead, let them help you go into the POD world with your eyes open. There are legitimate POD's out there. Let me save you a little time and heartache by recommeninding one I used to publish my latest novel Project Vectus. The POD is called Lulu and you can find it at http://www.lulu.com. Rather than go into any kind of sales pitch on their behalf, just go to their site with the questions above and decide for yourself how they measure up.