Chat Room: Why Are Publishers So Scared?

Unfortunately, the same problems that undermined e-books are preventing print-on-demand from becoming the great publishing tool it could be. The reason for this is that major publishers are terrified of having their products pirated and available for free on the Internet. So print-on-demand, which has been around for about five years now, has never taken off.

There are other stumbling blocks, too. Since print-on-demand books are often generated by laser printers on mediocre paper—and bound with inexpensive cardboard covers—they've looked unattractive.

But that's slowly beginning to change. Laser-printer technology is now more sophisticated, better paper is often used in the production of POD books, and binding technology has progressed to the point where publishers can now offer quality covers.

Small publishers, as well as enterprising teens and parents, are taking advantage of print-on-demand—and it's paying off. For example, during the past year, Eragon by 19-year-old author Christopher Paolini has become a big hit among readers of young adult fantasy novels. Paolini, who was homeschooled, started writing the book when he was just 15. His family self-published the novel last year and it sold so well through online bookstores that it was purchased by Knopf and published in August. Since then, the novel has received positive reviews from everyone from SLJ to the New York Times Book Review.

Another print-on-demand title that's received strong attention is Carly Heyman's My eXtra Special Brother, which was published in March by the Fragile X Association of Georgia. A year ago, when Heyman was 16, she was encouraged by her high school English teacher to write about what it was like to have an older brother with Fragile X syndrome, a leading cause of inherited mental retardation. Heyman's personal account—aimed at siblings of young people with disabilities—attracted many readers, especially in the Atlanta area, where she lives. And soon Heyman was interviewed by CNN and the BBC. Brother, available for about $12 on Amazon's and Barnes & Noble's Web sites, has sold about 2,000 copies, says Heyman's mother, Gail.

LightningSource (www.lightningsource.com), a division of the book distributor Ingram and one of the nation's largest printers of POD books, prints Heyman's book and many others. The Tennessee–based company generates about 500,000 POD books each month—in batches as small as a dozen copies of a single title. "POD is great for any low-demand title—anything that sells fewer than 1,000 copies per year," says Larry Brewster, the company's senior vice president of strategy and business development.

But few industry analysts share Brewster's enthusiasm. Ken Umbach, a library and publishing consultant who was for many years affiliated with the California State Library, says that because of current copyright restrictions—many prominent authors, for example, forbid their books to be published in printable electronic formats—it's unlikely that major book publishers will embrace print-on-demand anytime soon. And that's a shame. It's time for electronically fearful publishers to lighten up and provide the titles that many librarians are demanding—even the books that are only slightly in demand.