Stop the POD presses!

Are you a crime novelist? Well, here is a contest (a real one, unlike the Sobol nonsense) that can get you a direct book deal with Regan Books (that’s HarperCollins for those of you new to the scene).

Court TV is hosting the “Next Great Crime Writer Contest”, where not only are the judges accomplished writers (i.e. Lisa Scottoline) but also Judith Regan herself.

Best of all, the public is going to help determine winners by voting on the site. So no more complaining about the publishing industry snubbing you.

And what do you know: It’s free.

This is a must see if you are an aspiring crime writer.

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Also - thanks for the hammering on my posting of "Lulu, an embarrassing zero" regarding the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards. I did overlook the fact that many (if not most) Lulu authors use their own "imprint" to publish their books. And now I have been notified that at least two Lulu books listed were finalists under different publisher names. So it just goes to show that, as always, Lulu produces some fine books (as I have mentioned so many times previously).

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Also, Publishers Weekly reports that Lightning Source (where the far majority of POD titles are printed) is installing 15 new Oce presses, which will improve capacity up to 3 million books monthly. Speeding things up is much needed!

In addition, PW has a little talk back feature going about the "Value of POD"--and we all know where this is going. Though, surprisingly, there has been a lot of positive feedback so far.