eGaia print on demand
As a publisher, you face a dilemma. How large the print run?
Economies of scale, large print run, only to have books to warehouse.
There is though a more fundamental dilemma.
Book publishing is a risky businesses. That hoped for best-seller may not sell. The majority of books never make a bookshelf in a bookshop, they go to be pulped. Others go to be remaindered, even best sellers are often over supplied and can be found remaindered.
Print on demand solves this. Literally print on demand, could be as small as a single copy of a book.
eGaia, is available print on demand from Fast-Print.
I was curious as to the quality of the book. No problems, well bound, no problem with the printing (though the graphics are too faint), the paper is off white which is easy on the eyes when reading.
The service though from Fast-Print is abysmal.
Fast-Print do not appear to understand the concept of print on demand or the meaning of the word fast. In today’s world of Amazon, unless listed as out of stock, you expect to receive a book within a couple of days of placing an order, anything less is not acceptable. eGaia was ordered to read over Christmas. It did not arrive by Christmas, it had not arrived by the New Year. It finally arrived a couple of days ago, the dispatch note dated the day before that.
This level of piss-poor service is completely unacceptable, for what is claimed to be print on demand.
On eventual receipt of eGaia, Fast-Print and author Gary Alexander were contacted re piss-poor service. Nether had the courtesy to respond. Though Gary Alexander had responded earlier when eGaia failed to arrive and said he would raise with Fast-Print, which may have kicked them into action.
Fast-Print will put together a package for an author, £150 for a paperback, £245 for hardback. This is reasonable, bar coded and ISBN, three copies to author, six copies to the required national libraries.
Note: Two different prices are cited for hardback, £195 and £245, depending where you look on their website.
Fast-Print have a free publishing guide. Available as pdf. Why not e-book format, why not click and download? It is necessary to order. Dispatched immediately? Er, no. All the more perverse when Fast-Print offer e-book publishing. Can also order as a paperback. Print on demand, prompt delivery? Er, no.
Fast-Print charge for converting to various e-book formats. Do not waste money, use leanpub, automatic conversion on download to requested download format.
What royalties Fast-Print, do they have exclusive publishing rights? Nothing said.
Print on demand is not the only means of removing the risk. Publishing an e-book, means there is always a copy to download, no matter how many have been downloaded, and the marginal costs are near zero. If you are being charged over ten pounds for an e-book, you are being ripped off big time. Unbound crowdsource, no book is published until there is a guaranteed market.
- If only authors would …
- Don’t Burn Your Books—Print Is Here to Stay
- Why Don’t Publishers Believe in Author Websites?
- Why bookshops are failing
Tags: books, eGaia, future of publishing, Gary Alexander, Print On Demand Publishing, publishing
Keithpp's Blog 
February 4, 2015 at 11:39 pm |
A month on from requesting free publishing guide …
Not a publisher I will be using or recommending to anyone.
And the electronic version, for which you have to request by e-mail as not available to download, and only available as pdf, not in e-book format, so far not received.