Here is the answer I received back from Bruce Eckel's publisher. Bruce is
at www.mindview.net.
Dru
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 20:28:22 -0800
From: Daniel Will-Harris
If you're technically proficient with making PDFs, then there's also
www.lightningsource.com which is designed for publishers. It's less
expensive than Lulu, but has some upfront costs (around $150 once you get
it into the Ingram system so it's on Amazon and B&H etc, though LuLu charges
about the same if you want that distribution package).
Lulu works well and is simple. The only problem I had involved the cover,
because I designed a "wraparound" cover. This must be in PDF and it must
meet their size requirements exactly, which proved impossible without
searching their newsgroups for info on (you set the page size under
windows/printers for Acrobat, so the size is right there, something you
couldn't possibly figure out otherwise, since no other service I know of
works this way).
But, once that was figured out, their system worked well. Easy to upload.
They allowed many changes and let you print one-off samples before you go
final.
The print quality is EXCELLENT, far better than low-cost "short run"
(meaning around 100 or more) printers. Printing is done by Lightning Source,
which is , as I said, the professional system publishers use.
Lulu also handles order taking, etc, even without the distribution package
through Amazon (though that's recommended if you want to sell more).
- what should I be aware of before trying print-on-demand?
That there's trial-and-error like everything else. You need to be able to
create clean PDFs with embedded fonts.
- are there major differences between various print-on-demand
suppliers or are they all about equal?
I've used Lightning Source and Lulu. Lulu has it all down to an automated
science--if your files fit their requirements exactly.LS is less expensive
but requires more work from you.
- Bruce seems happy with what you do for him though I'm not sure what
that is. Could you please elaborate?
I design his book covers and interiors. I create templates in Word so that
he can format and print his book to PDF directly from word, which saves
time, money, and prevents errors translating it to a page layout program.
- Are you involved at all with the model of going through a regular
publisher that negotiates a free e-book? If so, I'm dying to
know how one convinces a publisher to do that :-)
I have had many books published by traditional publishers, but none with
free e-books, so I have no advice there. I've read somewhere that giving the
book away digitally increases sales, because people who want it want to it
printed so they can carry it. You'd have to search Google for specifics on
that. I think publishers would want facts.
Most publishers are now happy to give away one or more chapters, but most
are still afraid of giving away the whole enchilada (or burrito).
Please let me know if I can answer any other questions or help you with your
print-on-demand books in the future!
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