Writers Kick-start Career with Print-on-Demand

June 29, 2012

On a recent Sunday afternoon, there was a steady stream of visitors to a house in Alexandria, Virginia, where John Saul signed copies of his first published book, "Candle in the Window."

“It is a collection of verse that I have compiled over the last 40 years," Saul says. "There are 66 selections in the book. They range from humor to children to love and romance, kind of [a] large range of things.”

When the local housing market collapsed a few years ago, the 64-year-old former construction manager felt the time was right to share his passion for writing with the world. Unfortunately for him, the traditional publishing industry didn't agree.

“After you get a dozen or so rejection letters from typical publishers, well-known publishers, print publishers, you get kind of frustrated," Saul says. "You wonder, 'Is this not worth doing?' You kind of question yourself.”

Last year, Saul tried a different approach; he self-published his collection online as an e-book.

“It is surprising, the reaction I have gotten from online, because people all over the world can look at it, and read it, and judge for themselves," he says. "The sales online have been tremendous.”

But not everyone likes electronic books.

"I got a lot of requests from people that wanted to read a book in their hand and not through an e-reader," Saul says. "So I kind of wanted to appease those people.”