P.O.D. JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED

Let me give you a situation:

You are the poor author who has submitted his master sci-fi fantasy work: "Attack of the Bodacious Bikini Babes from Planet Playtex," (it's going to be a trilogy, don' t you know), to every publisher willing to accept unsolicited manuscripts (yes, all four of them). Your valiant efforts have garnered a cold, wet place on the bottom of a "slush pile" but little more. So, you decide to go with a small press, even a micropress, and meet with the same disinterest in your work. Ah, but you could self publish the book yourself! Yes, that is undoubtedly the answer...A quick web-surf through "shark" infested waters finds you a slick subsidy publisher ready to take your money or maybe you just do it over at LULU.COM for free + the $150 to get distribution to Amazon.

Now, your masterpiece is ready (word used extremely loosely) and sent out into the marketplace. You set up a free website on a well-worn uninteresting template, find a few bloggers willing to review the book and sit back in your easy chair to refresh your amazon ranking page every five minutes and wait for the money and fans to roll in.... A nice fantasy (more reality than we'd like to admit).

The truth of the matter folks, if you take a gander at the featured photo, is that we find ourselves in rather a "LURCH" in the publishing industry. We put on our best suit and tie and look to the publishing industry with a longing to be accepted and loved. But the industry sees, time and time again, a freakish, monstrosity of bad, poorly edited writing, very distasteful, unprofessional book covers and sloppy interior design. We POD review bloggers like myself, PODCRITIC and others are willing to wade through the morasse sent our way hoping to find the precious few gems among many lumps of coal. And with the purpose of pushing POD authors and presses to step up to the plate and put forth the best possible writing and book production they can.

Take a look at that picture again, folks. This is how the industry you want to be a part of perceives you and your books. Only you can change that perception, but it will take a serious concerted effort on the part of authors and small presses alike to do it. As my friend PODCRITIC has stated, "this is your industry and it's up to you to build it up." The large trade publishers have no incentive to help you...if you want them to take notice, then give them something worth the effort.