POD PEOPLE - Beating the Print-on-Demand Stigma by Jeremy Robinson
142 pages, Lulu. $14.99
Reviewed By Mike Attebery
Jeremy Robinson penned the previously reviewed “Didymus Contingency,” which remains the bestselling fiction book published through Lulu. Therefore, his book detailing the nuts and bolts of self-publishing and marketing your book to overcome the naysayers, is the perfect first non-fiction title to review for Digital Dust Jacket.
At 142 pages, the book is thin, but it fits in quite a lot. Broken down according to the print on demand process, it starts with a common sense reality check. Namely: don’t self-publish if you expect to strike it rich overnight. The first section “Why POD?” discusses money, gaining publishing experience, and the possible exposure to be gained in having a book out in the marketplace. The second section, “Are you ready?” delves into a more traditional writing and publishing discussion, including developing your craft and some advice on writing development and writing groups. The third section, “What comes next?” can really apply to all writers, whether self-published or not, and breaks down many of the necessary steps in spreading the word about a book, whether it be a title published through Lulu or one put out by Scribner, Random House, or any of the major publishing houses. This section will likely be eye-opening for publishing newcomers, but may seem all too familiar to those who have already spent time out in the publishing world trenches hunting down blurbs and trying to get their work reviewed in the media.
The Fourth section is where this book becomes more useful for POD writers who wish to market their books as best they can. With discussions of word of mouth marketing, book signings, tactics for creating an online presence, the use of blogs, email, mailing lists, press releases, awards and contests, Robinson shows some of the easiest and most effective ways to help your title make some waves. Again, much of this can be found in other titles, but his success in the POD realm certainly lends his comments and advice added credibility. The next section is really the other half of the book marketing process in today’s writing world: How to market you stuff on Amazon. In a quick discussion of tags, lists, guides, reviewing other works, category listings, and all the other Amazon sales tools, Robinson shows what tactics he found effective,and which ones might not be worth your time. He also emphasizes a point I think it quite important. Many are blinded by the idea of getting a title on Amazon, but really, it’s not all that exclusive a club, and you’re still gonna have to work to make your book stand out and actually sell. Oh, and actually ripping some of your money out of Jeff Bezos’ hands can be a lot tougher than you would expect. One point I’d really like to add (and one which Robinson doesn’t even touch upon): If you have a website setup that links to your books on Amazon, and you do not have an Amazon Associates account set up for referral payments, you are literally giving money away to that corporate monolith in Seattle. This is where I think Robinson’s book may show a few weaknesses, as well as signs that it’s due for an update.
The final sections offer tips on design, making your book look as professional as possible, “cover no-nos,” and thoughts on making the interior layout look like a traditionally published book. Other topics include scams and a list of POD publishers (one which really needs to be updated).
Overall, this is an interesting tome for newbies. As a self-published author, I certainly found some of his advice helpful, and many of his Amazon tricks were news to me at the time I originally read this book. Like I said, I do feel that POD PEOPLE is due for an update. Aside from failing to mention Amazon Associates referrals, Robinson could also stand to mention CreateSpace as a publishing option, and one that makes a great deal of sense for authors who wish to offer their readers the convenience of buying a book through Amazon, while still making a little more money on each sale. In short, if you’re publishing you book via Lulu, you should really consider publishing it through the Amazon-owned CreateSpace as well. The CreateSpace listing will supersede the Lulu listing on the online retailer's site, and if you go for the Pro option (which you should!) you will make substantially more money as Lulu’s cut of the retail price is lopped out of the mix and mostly handed over to you. Also, having ordered many of my own titles through Amazon already, and noticing the difference in the printed products, particularly the covers (which I feel actually look more professional than those printed on Lulu -- it’s the texture!), I already suspect that the editions Amazon mails out for Lulu listings, and the ones they send out for CreateSpace listings, are all but identical, so you really should take advantage of any opportunity to keep more of the money for yourself.
Robinson writes in a candid and straightforward manner. He admits his own mistakes in creating and marketing previous books as well as POD PEOPLE itself. Copyediting and layout are vital, vital if you want readers to take you seriously. My overall feeling is that he has a lot of experience to share, but much of this advice can now be found online for free via other authors and sites. Robinson should update this, give it a newer, more professional looking cover (honestly, the current cover is AWFUL!) and there are a lot of new outlets, namely Facebook, Twitter, Google/Facebook ads, and youtube promotional videos, that he himself utilizes heavily in promoting his more recent fiction releases, and their mention would really serve to beef up the content of this book, while make it a much more valuable source of information for authors interested in entering the POD realm. In summary, the book does a great job detailing much of what brings about the Stigma of POD publishing, but unfortunately, a few of this book’s design qualities and deficiencies, namely the previously mentioned cover art, the lack of a barcode, and the thin, somewhat overpriced nature of the book itself, highlight some of the problems Robinson points out in the book itself. This one is due for an update, but you can buy your copy here.
The Didymus Contingency by Jeremy Robinson
02/05/09 19:00 Filed in: Independent | Self-Published
289 pages, Lulu. $18.00
Reviewed By Stephanie Attebery
Our latest review tackles the #1 fiction title published through Lulu.
“Tom’s head ached as he thought that Megan was killed because he went back in time…but he only went back in time because Megan had been killed!”
This is the kind of mind-bending twist readers encounter throughout Jeremy Robinson’s novel, The Didymus Contingency.
The story starts with a sweeping rush, in the remote African brush. We are introduced to Tom, the protagonist, who witnesses his wife’s murder by a band of lawless Zambian men because of her religious convictions. Then we quickly flash forward 20 years to present-day Tom, never-remarried, bitter and fiercely agnostic. His longtime research partner is David, a Christian who shares Toms’ Jewish-Isreali upbringing, but not his lack of belief in God. The two men are scientists who work on a top-secret project at the high-tech research company LightTech in an underground lab beneath the Arizona desert. And they have just secretly cracked the code to time-travel.
David and Tom take advantage of their discovery by orchestrating a controlled event which will enable their future selves to send high tech devices back in time... to themselves, thereby allowing their earlier selves to use devices they have perfected since their current research breakthrough. Those devices are watches that can dial the wearer (plus one carry-on item) back to virtually any time and location with just a few easy button taps.
Shortly after their discovery, and during a drunken rage-filled discussion about Megan’s murder, Tom impulsively decides to disprove the notion of Jesus, son of God, and jumps back in time to witness the death of Jesus, believing that Jesus will not rise after a few days as the story goes. Actually, Tom arrives in the past, around 2 years before the persecution of Christ, in order to befriend him and his disciples and travel with him to observe his “trickery”. Following close on Tom’s heels into the distant past is David, who fears that Tom’s poor choice will cause the very fabric of humanity to unravel.
What makes this story so interesting is the fact that David knows the Bible in and out, and Tom knows virtually nothing of the story, so while David sits back and observes the events that occur through a spoiler’s eyes, Tom is constantly unsure of what will happen next. The differing but parallel vantage points allow both Bible-buffs and the Bible-ignorant to be engaged readers.
At least one of the characters in every time period in this story is troubled by the same band of demons, know as “Legion,” who jumps from one victim to the next. Legion weaves in and out of the story, at various times possessing a role in the actions of the characters, from the lawless Zambian men who “murder” Megan, to the biblical troubles of Samuel, a man who is sentenced to death by the Romans for some recent strange behavior, to the bootlicking toady researcher, Spencer, who attempts to turn the scientists’ urgent travels into a ladder-stepping career move for himself. Robinson illustrates Legion creatively by writing Legion’s dialog as that of a gaggle of arguing demons competing for speaking-time in whatever body they are possessing at the moment.
The romance between David and Sally, his hard-ass boss, could have been cut out of the story all together. It would have been nice to get to know more about Megan, Tom’s first wife, and the catalyst for all adventure travels in this book, but Robinson is interested in keeping the reader’s heart rate up and there just is no time for that kind of “warm-up” development.
Some nice touches: Robinson’s descriptions of the un-potable water in ancient times and the citizens’ obvious preference for wine. The health of a diet without preservatives, along with plenty of walking, eventually finds the two middle-aged men in the best shape of their lives! But the characters still crave their modern American diet, and make occasional trips back to their present time to consume American beer and BBQ at their favorite desert haunt.
Didymus is an entertaining, thought provoking work that encourages the reader to think about the affect that some individuals have on the world, and the importance of religion, whether you possess faith in it or not, on every life and culture. The writing is exciting, though there are a few mistakes in the text (This was Robinson’s first published book.), but overall, this is an entertaining, enlightening read, one that readers will no doubt compare quite favorably to Michael Crichton’s classic tech-thrillers.
The book is also available in a variety of others editions on Amazon.