Print-on-demand services

Self-publishing and its relative, vanity publishing, have unfavourable reputations.

Vanity publishing has long been looked down upon as a refuge for aspirational authors who don’t have what it takes to make it in the ‘real world’.

Vanity publishing is possibly one of the few industries whose reputation lags behind that of estate agents.

But the real world is changing rapidly, and with the rise of print-on-demand technology, there has never been a better time to get yourself published. Digital presses designed for short-run, personalised output are making it possible to produce single copies of books at an affordable price.

All kinds of people are taking advantage of this trend – from budding authors unable to convince publishers of the merits of their work, to people simply wanting to produce an affordable a genealogy, memoir or photo album as a memento for family members and friends.

A new industry is emerging to serve this market. There is only a handful of self-publishing companies using print on demand. Of these, Lulu.com may be the only one that has harnessed the economies to offer a web application that is accessible to everyone.

Lulu.com was launched by Red Hat Linux founder and former CEO Bob Young. An open source evangelist, Young had a frustrating experience publishing his first book and decided there must be a better way. He set up Lulu, whose UK site was launched in August 2005. Lulu.com also publishes music and videos and is an online seller, providing a marketplace for your published work. Each product is printed as it is ordered, so you only pay to produce books that have already been sold.

Unlike most other self-publishing companies, Lulu.com expects you to do most of the work. You provide your finished book written, edited, laid out and proofread, complete with cover artwork and, as they say in the jargon, press-ready. If that sounds like a lot of work involving things you don’t know much about, don’t worry – it’s less difficult than you might think. In this feature, we’ll get you started on the road to becoming a successful self-publisher.

First steps to production
Whether you’re considering publishing a book for commercial gain, or just want a few copies to give to friends and family, the production process is essentially the same.

Inevitably, there are several tasks that you’ll need outside help with. It’s tempting when working on a tight budget to think that you can do some or all of these things yourself. If you wrote the book, what’s so difficult about copy-editing, or even cover design, that you can’t undertake those as well?

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