4 ms·

Why not do print on demand? http://www.lulu.com/publish/ http://www.lulu.com/publish/

mittermayr 13y ago
Thanks for posting this, I know of lulu, but I'm sure others will be happy to learn about it. To address your question: It's a bit like with Indiegogo and Kickstarter. You will have a hard time getting funded if you don't have a good round of friends/supporters that are pushing you up in the first few days. Especially Indiegogo, where a lot of people (including me) quickly realize, it's just a mode to get funding, but it won't attract funding. Lulu is a mode to print a book, but the publishing process involves a whole lot more to reach your audience. I'm not a marketing genius, neither do I have great connections to book stores around the world. But publishing houses have, which is also why they only give you like 7% of the net price of a book and keep the rest. It's also about reputation, which thankfully is shifting a lot now. I remember a few years back, when the first self-printed type of books showed up on Amazon and quality of content was hard to judge (especially for Kindle/ebooks). If this passes the eyes of a publisher, I know that there's likely a market for it - and most buyers (not always the case though) can somewhat rely on the quality of the book. Just a few thoughts. If you're a known person, or know how to market really well, then Lulu would be a kick-ass option.
- mittermayr 13y ago
  Also, two more things that a publisher will give you: - Editor - Layouting done professionally
  - lifeguard 13y ago
    The cost/benefit analyses never pencils out for these services.
- lifeguard 13y ago
  Ah, so you want someone to promote your book. I am no expert, but I have heard publishers are not so useful for unknown artists. You will also be saddled with the cost of producing your books, and buying back the unsold copies in 60 days from brick & motor book stores. I think you would get the most publicity by publishing yourself and spending money on gaming the best seller book lists. There have been stories linked to here on HN about this.

Thanks for posting this, I know of lulu, but I'm sure others will be happy to learn about it. To address your question: It's a bit like with Indiegogo and Kickstarter. You will have a hard time getting funded if you don't have a good round of friends/supporters that are pushing you up in the first few days. Especially Indiegogo, where a lot of people (including me) quickly realize, it's just a mode to get funding, but it won't attract funding. Lulu is a mode to print a book, but the publishing process involves a whole lot more to reach your audience. I'm not a marketing genius, neither do I have great connections to book stores around the world. But publishing houses have, which is also why they only give you like 7% of the net price of a book and keep the rest. It's also about reputation, which thankfully is shifting a lot now. I remember a few years back, when the first self-printed type of books showed up on Amazon and quality of content was hard to judge (especially for Kindle/ebooks). If this passes the eyes of a publisher, I know that there's likely a market for it - and most buyers (not always the case though) can somewhat rely on the quality of the book. Just a few thoughts. If you're a known person, or know how to market really well, then Lulu would be a kick-ass option.

mittermayr 13y ago
Also, two more things that a publisher will give you: - Editor - Layouting done professionally
- lifeguard 13y ago
  The cost/benefit analyses never pencils out for these services.
lifeguard 13y ago
Ah, so you want someone to promote your book. I am no expert, but I have heard publishers are not so useful for unknown artists. You will also be saddled with the cost of producing your books, and buying back the unsold copies in 60 days from brick & motor book stores. I think you would get the most publicity by publishing yourself and spending money on gaming the best seller book lists. There have been stories linked to here on HN about this.