3 ms·

Are the paper books "print on demand" or is there an initial print run like a publishing house would have? Still a good way to prevent waste if the only copies

• ghaff 8y ago
  No idea. I assume it's a decision that Amazon makes based on the numbers. They probably start with on-demand and, if a book is actually selling a lot of copies, they may do a larger print run at a lower unit cost. In any case, it's transparent to the author in my experience.
• TomVDB 8y ago
  AFAIK they are printed on demand when the volumes are low. It's incredibly easy to publish (you're essentially uploading a .pdf file). I assume that tons of books only sell a handful of copies. E.g. the only copies of a book that was written by a family member where those that he bought himself.
• stubish 8y ago
  Publishing houses also do print on demand, as it is cheaper for smaller runs and there is less upfront investment. eg. the first 5000 copies come from a POD supplier, and if things go well they do the sums and consider doing a run of 10-20k with a traditional print setup. On your bookshelf, chances are the 'trade paperback' sized books from the last several years came out of a POD printer (a glorified laser printer, often but not always with integrated cover and binding), and the smaller paperbacks from a traditional press. The POD books still get ordered in batches though, because it is cheaper to order 5000 copies instead of ordering a single copy 5000 times. Or lease a device from Xerox. Single copy POD is really only done through Create Space and their competitors, where customers order them directly from the printer.