Self-publishing a print version of our eBooks: Part 10 Self-publishing Approach

Introduction

Self-publishing a print version of our eBooks, while a long-term goal (it always appeared in our annual goals), has never been a top priority. This is because our eBooks have 20-30 photographs in each book (especially recently) and diagrams at times; and therefore, we considered the cost would be prohibitive to both produce and to the reader. Furthermore, we needed a suitable self-publishing platform; and availability of the print-on-demand option was essential.

Blurb

However, while discussing this issue at a conference in Brisbane, I was alerted (by Joanna Penn) to the potential for self-publishing a print version of our eBooks with Blurb. After investigating Blurb’s process, formats, and associated pricing, we decided to self-publish a print version of our eBook – Six Days in Prague. We chose the Trade Book format and we are very happy with the result.

We consider that Blurb offers:

print-on-demand
a range of formats; we chose the Trade Book format
a competitive price for our type of book and chosen format
complete control over the book layout
online and offline book preparation software
online selling and payment infrastructure (this is often undervalued or taken for granted)
PDF distribution

Our experience is described more fully in – The story of our first printed travel book.

Our eBook self-publishing approach - Part 1
Our eBook: Six Days in Prague can be found on:

Amazon (Kindle US), Amazon (Kindle UK), Amazon (Kindle AU), and Amazon (Kindle CA)

Smashwords (EPUB), Smashwords also distributes to Oyster, Scribd, Yuzu, Blio and Inktera (formerly Page Foundry) and reaches OverDrive (world’s largest library ebook platform serving 20,000+ libraries), Baker & Taylor Axis 360, Gardners (Askews & Holts and Browns Books for Students), and Odilo (2,100 public libraries in North America, South America and Europe)
Kobo; Apple iTunes; Barnes and Noble

Note: Also available in print and PDF format from Blurb Bookstore

Other opportunities to self-publish a print version of our eBooks

As mentioned previously, we do not concentrate on self-publishing a print version of our eBooks. Our focus is eBooks. Therefore, our knowledge of alternatives to Blurb is rather scant.

Here are a few articles about print-on-demand:

It is worth noting that Blurb provides the opportunity to distribute via Ingram Spark. We have so much more to explore about Blurb that we’ll stick with them for the moment. The initial experience has encouraged us, and we’ll consider self-publishing a print version of our eBooks again in the future.

Conclusion

It is worth noting that Blurb provides the opportunity to distribute via Ingram Spark. We have so much more to explore about Blurb that we’ll stick with them for the moment. The initial experience has encouraged us, and we’ll consider self-publishing a print version of our eBooks again in the future.