Excellent write up on getting your work published. I've previously used Cafepress before, and recently looked at a few of these as well. I like the setup they have over at Lulu.
this is a fantastic review. I have used Blurb to self publish and agree with the review here, they all have pluses and minuses, The quality of blurb for me has been great for an illustrated book. I found their software was fantastic. I do think LULU stands out as there are both hardcover and softcover options, they use paypal and your book can be listed ob Amazon etc, a limitation of Blurb. I will go with when I re launch my book emergings, you can see it at http://www.theemergingsbook.com/
Well, looks like I no longer have a reason not to write the next big novel! ;-)
Babette
· 9 months ago
This is very helpful. Thank you! I have been working on and off my book for about 3 years now and was trying to see how I could get started or were to end up after I am done. This will help!
DG
· 9 months ago
i agree. great stuff
Stephen Tiano
· 9 months ago
Make sure to go into any self-publishing project with a clear marketing plan. Get your own ISBN(s) if you mean to really be the publisher. And at least think about professional design and production services
raquel
· 3 months ago
Hi .. my name is raquel , and you seem like a guy that knows alot about this stuff ... Im only fourteen , and i am starting my third chapter ... Can you suggest me any ways to help get my book published. Please please ... email me anytime you can .. Thank you for understanding ,
Your Name*
· 9 months ago
Perfect timing for this article I just finished my book and I was wondering where I could go with it.
Digital Printing Dallas
· 9 months ago
I was thinking about using Lulu before, and now you made it more clearer.. thanks by the way..
axgrindr
· 9 months ago
Great list, thanks. We checked out most of these before we went with Createspace and we are really happy with our choice. The book we published has been selling steadily through Amazon and I am looking forward to trying the audio publishing they offer as well. The process on Createspace was very easy and intuitive. It took as three proofs before we got everything just right but the proof they send are very inexpensive. If you want to take a look at the result you can see it here http://tr.im/gVbn
Nice roundup, just wanted to add that for Spanish speakers around the world, there's also www.Bubok.com.
Vikram Rajan
· 9 months ago
Personally, I recommend LightningSource.com to my clients; it's what I used as well. It actually produces less expensive full-color books, plus much less expensive - no minimum print run - for any standard size book - soft cover or hard with jackets.
PLUS - Since it's owned by Ingram, you get full distribution into Amazon, B&N, and local stores.
Having lived with an author trying to get published for ten years, I know a few things about the business. There are two things you cannot DIY if you hope to have any decent number of book sales: Editing and cover design. Hire professional help in those two areas. Everything else you can do yourself. Get an ISBN, find what libraries and universities want to see if you hope to get your work in there, and use standard formats for things like the index if there is one.
Patty
· 9 months ago
Great review on the pros and cons of each service and thanks for throwing in a few newer services! FYI for people who don't want to publish a whole book or prefer a magazine format there is a new beta service called MagCloud (www.magcloud.com).
thom singer
· 9 months ago
It used to be that to have any street credit you needed to have a big New York publishing company behind your book. But those who have noticed that technology has changed the world in the last decade now know that big NY publishers do not hold ALL the cards any more.
A print-on-demand book, micro-publisher, small press, or other self-publishing options now can allow anyone to create a credible book. There are publishers and consultants out there who can assist you for a fee in getting your book into print and distributed (my publishing company, New Year Publishing, is one option)
Unless you are a celebrity, do not believe for one second that a big publisher will get you much more PR (yes, it helps with newspaper reviews, IF the paper will review you...as with 100K - 200K books being published each year there is not that much room for all to get reviews anyway!). Almost every author I have ever talked with says that promoting their book was all up to them.
Writing a book is hard. Promoting your book is 1000 times harder. But do not let this stop you from your dream. I didn't and it changed my life. The NY publishers try to make it seem like there are roadblocks, but not for those who just leap the hurdles.
Sure, I think there are some authors who should go with, and need, the big NY Publishing houses. I also think there are others who are better served by small presss or self-publishing options. Never let anyone tell you one is "bad". The reality is some are just better depending on your goals, situation, needs, desires and topic/genre.
There are so many options for the wanna be author. Do not let anyone tell you that any ONE way is the ONLY way. I know first hand that you can do it if you just do it.
thom
Linda
· 2 months ago
Great imput! Its the kind of information and hope I was looking for! I have been wanting to write for a long time and only recently picked up a pen again. I have ideas mainly for childrens books, what type of books do u write? Thanks, L
Martin Ferro-Thomsen
· 9 months ago
Great post. Some say print is dead but that's hardly the case which the mere existence of so many great services testify to. For anyone still hesitant to take the big step into self-publishing (and self-paying) I'd like to suggest publishing a digital version on Issuu.com first. It's a great way to get a feel for the impact a publication might have - and market it at the same time. Issuu is free and I'm part of the team: http://issuu.com
Atilla Vekony
· 9 months ago
Whichever route you take publishing your book, do not neglect to think about marketing now, even before you've written it. Start with this free book marketing workbook: http://www.wheatmark.com/free-book-marketing-wo... There are tons of things you can (and should) do before you publish!
Tedel
· 9 months ago
How well do these services serve international customers? would my first and most important question be. I've tried Lulu.com, but I couldn't manage to use it very successfully from Peru.
Niki1601
· 9 months ago
Brilliant post. I've published a portfolio book as a gift on Blurb and I found it excellent. I've also appreciated a lot the community behind it, with all the tips and tricks.
edstate
· 9 months ago
Too funny... I'm in the middle of publishing a graphic design / poetry book right now, using CreateSpace, actually. And while the turnaround time and quality of my first proof was muy bueno, i'm currently in publishing limbo with my 2nd proof, and final output. CreateSpace offers almost NO customer service. Sure, they have boilerplate emails they send out to "address" questions and issues (essentially a rehash of their FAQ), but if you have an actual "problem", then you're SOL. I was very surprised that it was this bad. In fact, their message boards are riddled with users screaming bloody murder for some snafu or another (that, I'm sure are natural problems) that just aren't being addressed by CreateSpace. They simply refuse to help their customers at all. Radio silence.
So, consider yourself warned.
Graeme
· 9 months ago
Did you know that there is a site in New Zealand called PublishMe with 3000 members working in a self-publishing community, all associated with a publishing company and a printing company. The free membership site offers members absolutely free downloadable e-books on planning, writing, editing and laying up a book as well as some helpful books on selling and publicity. Authors from beyond New Zealand can sell their books there by having them printed in New Zealand - PDF required - softback only. Check it out.
Rodolpho
· 9 months ago
Which one of them I can use to sell books in Brazil in a Portuguese storefront? In other words, which one has multi-language storefronts?
Thanks!
Howard Lopez
· 9 months ago
I was intrigued about "self publishing" and therefore, thought I'd pay a visit.
You may also to suggest to your readership the notion of digitizing their book into audio format and selling that on line as a CD or MP3 file - much like a musician does.
An author can do this economically and efficiently, without agents or distributors etc. and keep the lion share of revenue. - no printing or shipping expense. We use this technology ourselves and can adapt it for writers and authors. Any further questions, please call us 416-410-5252.
Cheers!
sue
· 9 months ago
This post mentions the key difference with WEbook is that on WEbook.com the community picks the best books for publication and WEbook publishes, funds and champions them. It's community-sourced books at its best. WEbook's next vote is the second week of April for writers interested in seeing whether their book is picked.
B.L.
· 9 months ago
I love you. Uh...I mean...great article.
I used iUniverse a couple of years ago to publish my novel. Good to know they've fallen off. haha
Jerry
· 9 months ago
Another one that i use is clickonprint.com.au, it an Australian book producer specialising in coffee table photobooks. They make the little books right up to the large A3 (12x18in) size books . Prices start from $29.95 for a 24pg A4 (8x12in) size photobook in a hand stitched hard cover.
This is tip-of-the-iceberg; there are hundreds of options, each with its own business model. Including setting up your own publishing company, which has many advantages over going with these outfits. I outline the differences in an e-book, "How to Write and Publish a Marketable Book," that's a freebie on direct orders of Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers
Abhaya Agarwal
· 9 months ago
All the mentioned services have slightly differing business models (for authors using them) and it will be interesting to see how they evolve - which one becomes best for which kind of books.
Most of these however primarily serve US market. If you are looking for a presence in Indian market or are based in India, you can consider Pothi.com ( http://pothi.com ). Free publishing with no minimum print run. Disclaimer: I own the company :)
Dominique
· 9 months ago
Neat list. I didn't know that there were so many platforms to publish books. I think I stick with Lulu or cafepress as they seem the most user friendly.
Neal
· 9 months ago
If you have kids that want to experience what it's like to be a published author (hint: it can be a real thrill and a boost to their confidence) Tikatok is a new site providing print on demand services just for them. They can write and share their books online, and even co-author their books with other children around the world.
Hi! Great post, and thank you for including us. I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to let you and your readers know that we also offer a "Publisher Grade" paper option for 5.5 x 8.5" and 8.50 x 11" books which halves the starting price for softcovers. This should bring the cost down to approximately $3.76. If you have any questions, please let us know!
Rob O'Daniel
· 9 months ago
Sure would like to hear if there's any alternatives to Blurb for turning a (Blogger) blog into a book.
We've been trying to use Blurb's BookSmart to convert our Russian Adoption Journal blog into a book. BookSmart is terribly aggravating and doesn't seem to allow you to change the page template of more than one page at a time - which for a nearly 250 page book is quite a pain. But I do think the end result will be quite nice if I can endure the torturous editing process.
Ken
· 9 months ago
This is nice! I knew cafe press only. Thanks.
malexandria
· 9 months ago
I just published our first book "Tell Us Who You Are - The EclipseMagazine.com Interviews," using Amazon's book surge. It cost a pretty penny, I'm very happy with the professional looking results. I went with them because they promised more hand holding throughout the process. In actuality, I don't feel like they really provided a lot of extra help for the high price they charged. It seemed like I still did all of the work - getting the book edited, formatting, creating the cover, they provided no real customization of the Amazon sales page. I have to do my own Kindle layout as well. So I'm a little disappointed. But like I said the book turned out really well. So for my first fiction book, I think I'm going to go with one of these services. Check out my book at http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Who-You-Are-EclipseM...
Great comparison. I like Create Space; I am even more confident in Amazon now that I've seen such a broad review of other options. My book with be out soon and available through Amazon and at www.sugarfreecoaching.com. For creating online versions try www.issuu.com; it's very user friendly and a nice finished product.
Frank
· 9 months ago
I am still in the process of writing a 400-page book using blurb. It is a nightmare and I have to warn everybody not to use this. It may be nice for a picture book (it is good with pictures), but when you have a few hundred pages with various fonts and indented text it simply cannot handle that. The program hangs itself up totally unexpectedly on many occasions. If you delete one character somewhere in the beginning of a chapter containing indented text further on, it totally screws up the formatting and you can start all over again.
larry Gassan
· 9 months ago
I've used blurb, using my own design—it takes more work.
The easiest thing in the world is to find someone who will print your book for you. The hardest thing in the world is to find someone who will buy the book from you. Getting on Amazon is easy, selling books on Amazon? (Your lucky if you sell one a month, and if you don't they drop you.). Who will find your book among the millions listed, and why would they buy and spend time with a new author nobody's ever heard of; would you? have you? If your plan is to try radio guest interviews - good luck. They get hundreds of requests from authors a week and once they've past your topic they won't repeat. I could go on and on - get real - unless you know EXACTLY how you plan to sell 100 books, 200 books, 1000 books etc.etc.etc. forget starting the book. It usually takes an average author a year to write a book. That's an awful lot of time to spend in order for your ego to enjoy one bound volume on a dusty shelf that you can point to once in a while when a buddy drops by. Your not a writer if you have no audiance. Spend your time testing (not planning) your sales approach. If you nail that, then write your book. Last word: beware of people who promise to sell your book for you, you're gonna cry like a baby when you hear them say "Well, we tried.". Put your money behind your own efforts. Most books fail, that's why its so hard to find a publisher, agent, etc. And that's why most publishers stick with known writers, they (and their wife and kids)can't afford the money losses on new spec.want-a-be's. Are you willing to put serious money and time behind what you write, then don't ask them to unless you are out-of-the-ball-park sensational..
Michael Van Den Reym
· 8 months ago
Hi, nice article. I just would like to suggest our website wwaow.com, as the website didn't get mentioned in this article. We're an online publisher located in Belgium but we have divisions in countries like the United States, Italy, Latvia, Poland. With wwaow it's possible to upload your own book with an easy wizard, to sell your book in the book store or publish a private book. No start-up cost or conditions. Only requirement is buying 5 copies of your book yourself, but this requirement will be removed in the next month.
With our service, it's also possible to make personalized agendas or meeting books and we're continously trying to add new wizards and features on the website.
jessica
· 7 months ago
hey yeah i am a 13 year old girl and i love to write what would be your advice to me. I want to write a book.
Heather
· 7 months ago
You have done a very nice job of providing an overview for would-be print-on-demand publishers. When printing my titles, I went with CreateSpace. They don't hit you will a bunch of pricey fees up-front, which is nice.
Simon Turner
· 7 months ago
I have used both Blurb and Lulu thus far, and they are both excellent. The quality, ease of use and turn-around time is awesome.
Ola galera, como vai essa força? Acho que vocês estão falando isso por que ainda não viu o site que eu vi de uma olhada www.tvhd.com.br aposto que você também vão mudar de idéia como eu !!!
yudi
· 6 months ago
Another one to add to the list is 48 hour books. I haven't used them myself but have heard very good things about them.
Omar
· 6 months ago
A lot of options. I have to narrow it down and do research. Do you know anything about www.scribd.com?
i want to publish my online book. this is a great resource for me really thanks. webook. and cafepress is a very good website for me. i think 2.xlibris. is a book publishing company
maddie
· 4 months ago
which one is the best?
Storme
· 3 months ago
I don't really think this is going to help someone by the likes of me because I am not looking to publish an eBook or self-publishing on my own computer. If you really want my opinion, you should rename this site to "Self-Publishing eBooks or Using Your Own Computer"!!!!
Andrea
· 3 months ago
Storme, you need to get over yourself! Just because YOU don't understand this technology, that doesn't mean you need to post negative comments! This isn't JUST about eBooks!!! Some people actually WANT to use their own computer to self-publish. That's why it's called SELF-publishing! Even YOU shoule understand that, even if you ARE so up yourself you can barely freakin' walk!! Like I said, get over yourself.
I reckon this is a great idea and was just wondering which one was best?? Gracias Ciao! Andrea
paramendra
· 3 months ago
It might be the Amazon brand name, but CreateSpace looks interesting.
Sunil Bhaskaran
· 2 months ago
Thank you. This is useful stuff!
vishalkumar
· 2 months ago
I would like to comment on a book composed by me-dealing with an ancient and supernatural love story. "IF THERE WAS REALLY SOMETHING, IT WAS THE TRUE LOVE BEFORE WHICH EVEN THE ALMIGHTY BOWED, EVEN THE DESTINY TOOK A TURN AND EVEN THE NATURE BROKE IT'S LAWS." THE CREATION consists of a number of poems along with non-poetic texts together narrating an ancient emotional story.
All Comments
Props!
W.D.
http://www.lebseodesign.com
We checked out most of these before we went with Createspace and we are really happy with our choice. The book we published has been selling steadily through Amazon and I am looking forward to trying the audio publishing they offer as well.
The process on Createspace was very easy and intuitive. It took as three proofs before we got everything just right but the proof they send are very inexpensive.
If you want to take a look at the result you can see it here http://tr.im/gVbn
http://www.cinnamonteal.in
PLUS - Since it's owned by Ingram, you get full distribution into Amazon, B&N, and local stores.
~ Vikram Rajan
http://www.PracticeMarketingAdvisors.com
A print-on-demand book, micro-publisher, small press, or other self-publishing options now can allow anyone to create a credible book. There are publishers and consultants out there who can assist you for a fee in getting your book into print and distributed (my publishing company, New Year Publishing, is one option)
Unless you are a celebrity, do not believe for one second that a big publisher will get you much more PR (yes, it helps with newspaper reviews, IF the paper will review you...as with 100K - 200K books being published each year there is not that much room for all to get reviews anyway!). Almost every author I have ever talked with says that promoting their book was all up to them.
Writing a book is hard. Promoting your book is 1000 times harder. But do not let this stop you from your dream. I didn't and it changed my life. The NY publishers try to make it seem like there are roadblocks, but not for those who just leap the hurdles.
Sure, I think there are some authors who should go with, and need, the big NY Publishing houses. I also think there are others who are better served by small presss or self-publishing options. Never let anyone tell you one is "bad". The reality is some are just better depending on your goals, situation, needs, desires and topic/genre.
There are so many options for the wanna be author. Do not let anyone tell you that any ONE way is the ONLY way. I know first hand that you can do it if you just do it.
thom
Thanks, L
So, consider yourself warned.
Thanks!
You may also to suggest to your readership the notion of digitizing their book into audio format and selling that on line as a CD or MP3 file - much like a musician does.
An author can do this economically and efficiently, without agents or distributors etc. and keep the lion share of revenue. - no printing or shipping expense. We use this technology ourselves and can adapt it for writers and authors. Any further questions, please call us 416-410-5252.
Cheers!
I used iUniverse a couple of years ago to publish my novel. Good to know they've fallen off. haha
Most of these however primarily serve US market. If you are looking for a presence in Indian market or are based in India, you can consider Pothi.com ( http://pothi.com ). Free publishing with no minimum print run. Disclaimer: I own the company :)
www.tikatok.com
We've been trying to use Blurb's BookSmart to convert our Russian Adoption Journal blog into a book. BookSmart is terribly aggravating and doesn't seem to allow you to change the page template of more than one page at a time - which for a nearly 250 page book is quite a pain. But I do think the end result will be quite nice if I can endure the torturous editing process.
http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Who-You-Are-EclipseM...
Michelle
http://www.eclipsemagazine.com
Here's my book: LA1980: a photo memoir
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/555505
cheers!
With our service, it's also possible to make personalized agendas or meeting books and we're continously trying to add new wizards and features on the website.
Ola galera, como vai essa força?
Acho que vocês estão falando isso por que ainda não viu o site que eu vi
de uma olhada www.tvhd.com.br aposto que você também
vão mudar de idéia como eu !!!
Thanks
Even YOU shoule understand that, even if you ARE so up yourself you can barely freakin' walk!!
Like I said, get over yourself.
I reckon this is a great idea and was just wondering which one was best??
Gracias
Ciao!
Andrea
THE CREATION consists of a number of poems along with non-poetic texts together narrating an ancient emotional story.