Have You Ever Wanted to Author Your Own Book?

by Bruce Simmons

So the other day I was wondering about producing a book of things... I take a lot of pictures. In a lot, I mean in around 10,000 pictures a year. Out of those 10,000, I probably have some gems that I'd like to make into a table top book or some such outlet for me to share them in.

In my quest I came across an article that talked about a few sites that help the regular Joe like myself create books and things, if perse, I don't have the right printers, book binders, etc..

The site Blurb, with it's software download, will let you produce bookstore quality books, and according to the article, can lead you through very professional processes to create your masterpiece. Follow the directions and suggestions.. that was the advice.

Blurb could be considered expensive, and the less expensive option would be the site, LuLu. According to the newspaper article I read, LuLu could cost only about $7 a book, as LuLu is really established as a site to authors looking to sell their work.

If you want a powerhouse of an assistant, there's Xlibris. Xlibris is a 'Strategic Partner of Random House Ventures'.

If you're looking for photographic help, there's places like ShutterFly, who claims to be the #1 site on the web and seems to be associated with Target stores.

If you're looking to create your own custom coffee mugs or T-shirts, Cafepress and Zazzle were mentioned in the article I was perusing.

After reading the article the old fashion way, in a newspaper, and rather than quoting all the information, I looked around on the internet and found the article by Dan Fost online.. at the San Francisco Chronicle's newspaper website, SFGate.com. Check it out because they have some good perspectives and the author went through the blurb process creating a book for himself.

Of course, there are other ways to create your own productions, but some of these sites provide you with everything in as much as supplies and output, but you still need to apply the elbow grease, no matter what process you choose.

Me, I've got a lot of picturs to go through before I even think of creating that book I dream of.
A small number of these pics I posted over on my website at BruceSimmons.org

Enjoy.

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