I'm a professional member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and the Horror Writers Association. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not sure I understand what really qualifies a "professional," making that person different from an "Affiliate" member. Yes, I know the rules stipulating qualifications, but in an Affiliate member writers, and publishes, and quite often does as well financially as a Professional member, then isn't the Affiliate a Professional?
But I'm not here 
to talk about that. Recently, the famous publishing house Harlequin purchased a "pay for print" business. These are quite common today. Amazon has one, Ingram (the book wholesaler) has one, and there are myriad others. These businesses basically charge writers to print their books. I'm not using "publish books" because that is a little bit different.
Originally, Harlequin had their name associated with this business, which mislead some new writers into believing their manuscripts had been accepted by Harlequin. Not true. First, Harlequin doesn't charge writers, and next one is more or less printing while the other is publishing.
In turn, the HWA (Horror Writers), SFWA (not defining the rest of them), RWA, MWA, and most every other organization for writers which included "WA" in their initials protested and removed Harlequin from their list of "approved" publishers (notice that last word).
In turn, Harlequin changed the name of the business to Dellarte Press. This satisfied no one, so the protests continue.
If you're not keeping-up with these things, you might wonder what why this is important. It is important because there is a difference between being published and being printed. At first, most people think it has to do with the pay - the author being paid. Well, that is part of it. Although most authors don't get much pay to begin with. And others would argue it has to do with the writer paying to have the book printed. Partly the issue as well. Publishers don't charge - at least not yet.
But in the end, if a writer pays to have a book printed and it sells a million copies, does it matter? Probably not - except that million selling author isn't a Professional according to most places with WA in its initials.
What is important is the spectacularly poor odds of that book selling more than 200 copies. The cause isn't a lack of editor, or because the writer paid to have it printed. The most overwhelming issue is the lack of distribution. Or to put it another way, a book in a box in someone's basement isn't selling to anyone. Neither is a book in a box in someone's warehouse.
Let me offer an example. Think of a book title you've never heard of. I'll wait. :)
Of course, coming up with the name of a book that you don't know and no one else knows is very difficult. Now imagine a reader saying spontaneously, "Hey, I want ..." and she blurts out the name of a book of which she's never heard.
Probably isn't going to happen.
This is the problem with most of this "pay for print" houses. They offer you "distribution," for an extra fee, and then they list the book with wholesalers. This means, if someone knows the name, and wants the book, he or she can contact the wholesaler and purchase it. That isn't really distribution. The book is basically available for those who know and want it.
Of course, Amazon will stock one or two, on consignment. Even so, finding the title on Amazon requires someone to type in the name - Amazon won't promote it unless the writer pays for that as well. And most likely, the promotion will go unseen by the vast majority.
So, how do bookstores get books if not from wholesalers? Bookstores do use wholesalers. But they have to know the name of the book as well. And they need a reason to buy it. Stores have budgets. If one has $100.00 to spend on books, is the best investment in a title no one has heard of, or a very popular title? Shelf space and cost often prevent books from appearing in bookstores. Of course, never having heard of them hinders it as well.
This begs the question, how does the industry know what is popular? Simple answer: Nielsen Bookscan. Yes, the same people who bring you television ratings does it for writers as well. With the tapping of a few keys, a book buyer for a large chain can look-up you name and the history of every book you've sold - including publisher, and demographics. Of course, this system is only as accurate as the numbers received. Any writer who sells a book directly to someone at a convention doesn't have this number added into Nielsen.
Nonetheless, Nielsen does determine the fate of many writers. Publishers use it as well - except those that charge to print a writer's book. They have nothing to lose. But book buyers for large chains do have something to lose - their jobs. Or at least the stores money. As a result, there is little incentive for a large chain to risk money on writers with small or no sales records.
Here is where the distributor enters. Before you cry-out about how unfair the Nielsen system is, know that distributors use it as well. And it leaves one wondering: How does a writer get a Nielsen rating if the books are never sold in stores that provide numbers to Nielsen. The answer is, they don't.
The good news is most publishers are willing to take risks on new authors. And most publishers use distributors or own their own distribution system. This means someone is going to bookstores, chain stores, wholesalers, and all manner of places, asking buyers to purchase titles. Yes, the Nielsen debate rages in these negotiations, but having a person sitting face to face with a book buyer or store owner or wholesale buyer helps in creating awareness of the title. It is no longer a game of "guess the name." Now the name is there, with a sheet describing the book, with a cover image, along with how the author is going to work herself to death going from city to city to promote the title if only the store buys it. (Oh, and use the Internet to promote it as well).
While the book might be turned down, at least it has a fighting chance.
All of this boils down to getting the book in front of the people who need to know about it. While places like Dellarte Press promise the above, mostly what the writer gets is a list of wholesaler names - and how many writers, new or experienced, know the name of wholesalers and distributors, or know the difference in their function? When the writer is told the book "will be available to all bookstores, and online shops, through Ingram or Baker & Taylor," how can a new author know this means the book, at best, will sit in a box on a shelf in a warehouse. At worst, it will only be a name on a list of a few million other titles.
For this reason, and others, the -WA organizations listed above are protesting.
Alas, there is another side to this tale. The "pay for print" industry is a multi-million dollar profit boom. With technology creating more writers by the day (probably more writers than readers if that makes sense), and the ease of "printing on demand," why would Harlequin or any other such business stop? Will all of the writer associations cause them to close or sell a growing business? Doubtful.
Lastly, while I am warning writers about places that charge to print a book, and for editing, and for cover art, and for making the title available for wholesale, I'm not saying that such places are foul. In some instances, they can take advantage of a person who doesn't understand the industry. But in other cases, a small number, they have produced popular titles, or at least titles that "pay the author" publishers have purchased and re-printed. Like any other business, and while writing is a craft and an art, it is a business when it involves money, be aware of the industry and how it operates.
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