The proverb, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," has never rung louder than in the fine arts. It has become common knowledge that many of our famous authors have had their work rejected by major publishers. Writers such as Ayn Rand, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemmingway, Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham and a host of others have reported multiple rejections before being successfully published. If these incidences were few and far between, the matter could be explained away as pure incompetence, but because it is such a common occurrence, one has to wonder whether publishers and authors live in the same world.

The advent of the self-publishing industry has provided writers with another way to market their work. Formerly referred to as Vanity Presses, the new Print on Demand publishers require only minimal investment and provide a product which is comparable to that of main stream publishers. In addition to producing a quality title, the POD publisher also supplies the author with a ready market through internet distribution. In a matter of days, an unknown writer can have his work displayed around the world. Online book stores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million etc., will carry display ads, reviews and other marketing tools designed to promote the writer's book.

For those who fear rejection, the POD market is a perfect way to get started. If writing for a living is your aim, POD is probably not the best way to become successful. Mainstream book reviewers and critics appear to stay clear of POD titles because it is an easy avenue for inexperienced writers to publish their titles. Once in a while, a POD writer does get recognized and picked up by a major publisher but it is very rare. 

I am one that knew in advance what to do with my titles. I opted to publish on demand because I am a realist as opposed to an idealist. I know that my work is not great. I am no Faulkner or Hemmingway but I enjoy writing and for me, going the route of self publishing accomplished my goal. I have written and self-published seven titles and my work is advertised all over the world. I was lucky and had one of my titles picked up by a far eastern publishing house. I sold the translation rights for $4,000, a tidy sum for a POD author. The idea that a company was willing to pay me that much really inflated my ego. I didn't publish my work with the idea of making a lot of money. However, if it comes to me as a by-product, I will certainly welcome it with open hands.

Peter G. Engelman

Baltimore, MD.