If I know anything about publishing and writing and books, it's only because I've learned from giants.

At Potlatch last weekend I ran into an Author (anonymous here because I don't remember his name) who had a fairly large inventory of novels he was not submitting on his agents' advice. His agent's theory was that publishers might buy his novels now at the same price they bought his first, but if his first (not yet published, but bought, and out "soon") does well he could sell the current novels for more money. All that sounds reasonable, but it seems that a prolific author could definintely write 4-6 novels a year while the Big Publishers could only consume 1 or 2. It seems to me that PoD could be a way for a reader like me who liked the 1 or 2 novels from that Author to get at those 3-4/yr excess novels...

Jane Yolen

I've heard of that issue mainly with musical artists before. Like Tori Amos, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Prince (who are all blinking at each other confusedly at the realization of being in the same sentence together): all apparently produce dozens more tracks than their labels are ever ready to print a CD of. But now, iTunes, MySpace, and digital distribution are making it so they can release tracks on their own via the Internet. Sometimes new stuff, sometimes alternate versions of fan favorites.

Sometimes, admittedly, stuff that should never be heard?

(I like hearing them, and seeing "process")

I actually recently went with PoD. I went through Lulu for a short story collection. Mainly because, after careful consideration, I realized I wasn't sure I actually fit into the short marketplace.

It's only been a couple weeks, but I've already learned from the experience.

Interestingly, I wrote to PoD-dy Mouth last week, because I thought she would be interested in the way I'm distributing content (it's kinda like iTunes. Individual downloads, some of which are free, others of which are actually viewable on iPods, all of which are viewable on portable devices).

I'm sorry she left before I got to talk further with her.

But I understand her position.

My first thought, on reading it (just before Jim posted this, in fact), was: "Oh, darn. But good for her. She gets to write more, now."

Didn't quite work out that way, and Brand and his pals were still publishing editions of the Catalog twenty years later. (I believe they have stopped now.)

Still, nothing is stopping anyone else from picking up the Girl on Demand gauntlet, and starting another site that reviews good POD books.