Is there a mass market publishing company online (how Lulu.com is a print on demand publishing company)?

Question

I want to look into mass market instead of POD and I'm wondering is there a company online that does it? And you can do it right from your computer like Lulu. Thank you.

Answer 1

No there isn't, unless you want to pay for a lot of copies of the book up front, any self publisher is going to be basically POD. I just read an article yesterday in a local newspaper about a local housewife who mortgaged her house and spent 60 THOUSAND dollars publishing and marketing her own children's book. A year later, she hasn't made back one tenth of her money and hasn't even covered the interest on the mortgage. A mass market situation would leave YOU to promote, sell and distribute the books yourself. It is a black hole, as this lady would tell you.
At least with POD, you don't have that huge layout of money.

This is my advice for all writers considering vanity publishing - and let's call it what it truly is - vanity publishing. If you believe in yourself and your book, you owe the two of you (you and the book) at least a year to 18 months trying traditional publishing before you give up and go vanity. The average vanity published book sells 100 copies or less. Don't you think your work deserves more than that? Spend some time at the library with Literary Marketplace and give the traditional world a try before you give up and enter the black hole of vanity publishing. Pax- C