A Phenomenal Print on Demand Idea for Substackers
Guest Post: by BEN WOESTENBURG
Note: I originally cross-posted this innovative idea with the title An Amazing Deal! It seems many thought it a mere sales pitch — almost no one read it. But this is a truly phenomenal option for Substackers. —Laura
It’s called POD my friends: Print on Demand.
I’ve been looking into the cost of Print On Demand lately, hoping to offer readers the opportunity to purchase a hard copy of my stories, by up-grading to a PAID subscription. Now bear with me here, because this is so simple.
For 100 copies of a 170 page book, it will cost me $2200, (Canadian). In order to meet that goal, I have to have at minimum, 40 PAID subscribers. That’s doable, isn’t it? My idea has always been to print up copies of my novellas and offer them to PAID SUBSCRIBERS. (50 copies brings the price down to $1800. You pay half up front.)
The idea is to print up and offer my stories quarterly, and if not that, maybe 3x’s a year.
I don’t want to ask readers to pay $50-60/year, and just give them one book. 3-4 books a year means you’re “buying” a copy for $12-$16 each. Cheaper than any bookstore. Obviously, the more PAID SUBSCRIBERS I get, the more books I can print up, and the more the price goes down. If it costs $2000 to print up a hundred copies, and say I don’t even have 100 PAID subscribers, I’m going to have a lot of leftovers. That means new PAID subscribers would get that “first edition/first print copy” as well, until I run out.
I’m just shaken’ with anticipation, folks!
I don’t think that it’s unreasonable for me to package and ship the books out myself. (I’m retired and I have the time, don’t I?) I think I’d ask my subscribers to send me a postcard from wherever they live, with their return address on the back...just so I can have something physical.
I’m excited about the idea of making a market for myself by growing my SUBSTACK. I mean really, how cool is that? You can’t buy a hardcover book for less than $40 these days, unless you go to a thrift shop.
I’m offering you a first edition/first printing, obviously Autographed copy, for $5/month, or $50/year.
The more PAID subscribers I get, the more I can offer. A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TIME TRAVEL is waiting in the wings. That would be a 320 page book give or take a couple of pages. THE SHIELD OF LOCKSLEY is already sitting at 60,000 words, and we’re only 1/4 of the way through it. Obviously, these books will cost me more to print up. I would have to have closer to 150 PAID subscribers to be able to afford that!
It’s an investment in the future of publishing, and you can be a part of it.
You can hold the future in your hands for less than the price of a coffee and a donut. (Once a month, for $5.) How often have you pissed that up against the wall? (Sorry ladies, it’s a guy thing.) Wouldn’t you like a copy of THE AFRICAN SONGBOOK: A Tragedy In 5 Acts on your bookshelf? How about ST.FREDA? My shortest story is 7,000 words. My novellas average 15,000-17,000 words. Stephen King’s CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF is 128 pages and costs $12. For that price, I’d be sending you 3 novellas a year. (It’s like the Book of the Month Club!)
UP-GRADE to PAID!
Be the first to sign up, either $5/month, or $50 for the year. Tell me what you think!
Original post on Scribbler:
Certainly an interesting idea, and one I could see having potential for me. I do write a lot of 50 word stories (50 words exactly, the title extra) and as far as I can tell, I can't figure a traditional publisher who would "bite" on that kind of thing. I have a tendency to write short anyway, so writing something 30,000 to 40,000 words would be right up my street. Goodness knows, I could probably make 2 or 3 stories out that length and put them in the same book! Thanks for the brilliant idea!