Publishing in China

For many literature aficionados  in China, getting your  own written work printed is that unattainable dream when there is no publishing house willing to print it or if you don’t have a large amount of money to pay for the printing fee.

 

But now it’s time for people whose work are being hoarded in people’s offices to see the bright light of day in the incarnation of a book. Recently in China, we’ve come across many websites the list their services to help people print their own books and written works for only a small cost.

 

It’s possible due to Technology

 

In the year 2005, the market for the regular publishing industry was saturated in most Western countries. Almost  9out of 10 newly opened publishing businesses would soon go bankrupt. As a result, as a new industry, instant printing of self published books was to be invented as an niche industry.

Many publishers in the USA were purchasing equipment to be able to rapidly print a small quantity of work. And to be able to attract more business, they also begun to accept orders online from international web users who wanted their work printed. There were no imposed limits on the number of books that one could print.

 

In 2006, this service has been spotted in Japan with a lower cost and an improved service. Furthermore, people could participate in the printing process because it required just a few steps. They could just type in the book’s name, select the print material and dimensions, and then 4 or 5t days later, they would get their own books in the mail.

 

The self-publishing trend soon came to China in 2008. Many Chinese sites and businesses began to imitate their foreign competitors, ultimately receiving a favorable review from people of china. One website that has been regarded of highly of in China even exclaims on their website that “any person can be a writer and every book of theirs could get published.”

 

According to the creator of this website, only a few weeks after its creation, the website had printed over 40 types of books for its buyers and had more than 400 registered customers. Now, the website gets over 100 orders each month, making a profit of over $3,149 per month.

 

“Printing your own book is quite easy. All you have to do is send your work to us and choose the kind of design you prefer. Then you can get your work back in 3days, printed as a book” said the founder.

 

Previously, many publishers adopted the offset printing method which means that there needs to be a lower limit for the amount of books printed. If the number was not high enough, the book could not be printed. But now most websites provide digital printing. Even if a customer only wants to print one book, this printing technique can meet the request.

 

“The results of the two printing techniques are almost the same, and the digital one may even have a better visual effect,” said the founder of the website. The price for a 100-page book is 28 yuan (US$4.4), and the website can make about 20 yuan (US$3.1) from each book like this.

 

Printing personal histories

 

“I feel happy when I hold a book which was solely printed for me and my family,” said Gin Mei, a Woman in Beijing who just got her book. “This book has stories about my son and me, and I want to have it as a memory,” added she.

 

She only printed 10 books and sent them to friends and family members as a gift. “This book is for my daughter. In ten years, I plan to send a new book for her showing her changes over the years,” smiled Ming.

 

There are a lot people out there like Chin. They want to print their materials to commemorate or memorize a certain period of time or experience. Parents get publications printed for their kids to let them know more about their ancestors; couples print books for each other to strengthen their love; and students print books to maintain their school experiences alive.

 

Problems in sight

 

As more and more people are learning about these websites and how to publish an eBook, some problems have begun to occur. Because books published by these websites do not need to be examined and verified, some people use this channel to print illegal work.

 

As these websites cannot easily check materials that they are being sent to print, some people have illegal books printed via these websites and they then go a head and copy these books to sell. “Books printed by such websites do not have a the publication identification number which means that they cannot be sold. It is alright if they are being used for a personal use, but  it has not been approved for sale,” said people familiar with the matter from theCECA; the China Electronic Commerce Association.

 

The country is stepping up its measures to regulate the industry of printing self published books and some of the chinese websites have been closed completely for printing illegal books.

 

“The future for this industry is huge, but without standard and regulations, it will not operate in a good manner,” said an industry informer.