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I haven't done any self-publishing/POD, but I did look into the various POD
publishers a little while back, and Booklocker.com seemed like the best one
out there (for my needs, anyway). They have a very low setup fee, and offer
a range of other services (and they're an American company). The one
drawback is that I think they only print trade paperbacks, not hardback. If
you decide to look into that route further, you might want to check them
out.
Congrats, and good luck!
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Margulis [mailto:margulisd -at- comcast -dot- net]
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 11:37 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Question on on-demand publishing
Well, the good news is that someone contacted me based on a Google AdWords
listing. Yay!
This fellow is looking for someone to edit/design/typeset his book (me).
Again, yay! The book is a juvenile (target audience 12- to 18-year-olds)
how-to sports book (the author is a coach).
But he says he already has found "a publisher." So I asked him about that,
and he pointed me to a site of a company that looks like it would have been
called a vanity press a few years ago. However, they do actually provide
some services, such as print-on-demand, distribution, accounting, getting an
ISBN for the book, some sort of limited marketing (I question that part),
etc.
My first question, for those of you who have gone the self-publishing route,
is whether it makes sense to use such a service at all, rather than just
finding a print-on-demand vendor and handle the rest of it myself.
My second question is whether you can recommend such a printer (in Southern
California, if location matters).
My third question, if working through a vanity publisher really does make
some sense, is whether you have any experience with or have any knowledge of
Trafford (www.trafford.com); and might there be complications dealing with a
Canadian company?
The answers to these questions will affect how I structure my proposal to
the client, in terms of optional services beyond the editing and design
services; so I'd appreciate any advice you can offer.
This may be just barely brushing the edges of on-topic for techwr-l; feel
free to write me off-list.
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