MSI Press Blog

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. This week we discuss print on demand (POD). What are the advantages? Disadvantages? Who does it? Should you? 📦 Print-on-Demand: Freedom, Friction, and the Fine Print Print-on-demand (POD) is the indie author’s secret weapon—and sometimes, their surprise nemesis. It’s the promise of publishing without pallets, of reaching readers without warehouses. But like all tools, it works best when you understand its edges. 🟢 The Advantages No upfront printing costs. You don’t have to guess how many books you’ll sell. POD lets you print one copy at a time, only when someone orders it. No inventory management. No boxes in the garage. No shipping l...

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  This week we look at the print on demand option for book printing. Authors generally think that understand POD (after all, it is a simple concept of just-in-time printing, right?), but they often do not. Authors may misinterpret/misunderstand POD in the nature, structure, and realizations of POD. Nature Print-on-Demand is an approach to publishing books as the demand (sales) for them are generated. Digital printing has allowed for the capacity to generate small numbers of books, even individual copies and has facilitated publishing/printing to join the growing numbers of businesses that rely on just-in-time inventory, saving the mas...

  It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic  addresses a widespread misconception by new authors: print runs. Frequently, a new author will ask how many books will be in a print run. Clearly, they have read somewhere or heard somewhere about print runs for offset books. Offset printing is becoming less common though at one time it was the only way to print books; print-on-demand is becoming more common though at one point it was looked down upon as not being the professional way to do things. Let's examine both of these to help understand the concept of "print run." Offset printing: books are printed from physical plates, an older for...