A Cautionary Tale about POD By Joanne Gail Johnson PORT-OF-SPAIN: In the Caribbean, we struggle, like other people around the globe, for increased media autonomy and international participation on our own terms. A long, long, long time ago, before I was a published author, when my childhood love of books was being nourished in Trinidad on the imported imaginings of Dr. Seuss rhyme and Enid Blyton's Famous Five, I knew that I would one day publish children's books that reflect life in the Caribbean. With the advent of the internet, and increasing market acceptance of print-on-demand, that dream is now an accessible reality. As a consequence, this year I decided to launch an independent imprint, Meaningful Books. (read on ...)

Bonus Material: Is Xlibris Profiting More from Selling Publicity than Printing? By Edward Nawotka As part of the compensation for her troubles with Xlibris (outlined in our feature article), Joanne Gail Johnson was offered what appeared to be a generous marketing plan, including an offer to send press releases to 100 media outlets (valued at $349) and promoting the book to 100 Web sites (valued at $299). But Johnson felt this was little more than an "inflated promise." She told Publishing Perspectives that when she originally started working with Xlibris she was delivered a press release that merely combined a synopsis of the book drawn from the flap copy and an essay she'd submitted about the book for promotion on the Xlibris web site (read on ...)