Not all books are loved.

Millions of books are “pulped” each year. That means they become landfill.

In America alone, an estimated 10 million trees are logged each year to print books that ultimately end up in landfill, according to an independent small publisher, TCK.com.

Why? That is the way the traditional publishing industry has always done it. It is cheaper to for trad publishers to overprint (more than estimated demand) and then pulp millions of books. It’s all about “economies of scale”.

Which bring me to tip #8 in my series, 10 Fabulous Reasons to Self-Publish your book.

Tip# 8 is Reduce waste and costs by self-publishing.

Self-publishing uses short-run digital printing. That is printing jargon that means you can print small quantities. You can print one, 10, 50 or 200 copies.

You can print a book when someone wants to buy it and ship it to them straight from your printer. No storage. No waste. Sustainable.

If you think there is a demand for 1000 copies or more of your book, it’s time to consider using traditional offset printers.

But remember, you might need a whole room to store your books. Only print a lot of books if you think you can sell them quickly.

Self-publishing using short-run digital printers is publishing for the modern world. Using print on demand, you can print only as many as you sell. That is cool.