I have not been on the board for the last few months as I have been busy writing a book on the history of my village. I have self-published it through Lulu.com with a system known as ‘print on demand’ POD. I thought I would share my experience with you all as it strikes me that it is perfect for those wishing to write and publish their family history.
First of all, I was pleasantly surprised as to how straight-forward it was, and this is the best piece of news: very cheap!
Through Lulu.com it is possible to publish a book with 100 pages, a glossy colour cover, black and white photographs and diagrams in the interior, all for only around £3.30 (ex. p.p.). There are no other expenses involved. No up-front fees, in fact, no fees whatsoever. Once you press the ‘go to print’ link, you can buy just one book if you want, or 1000s. You can restrict access to the book so that you control its distribution. Even to the extent that only you can buy a copy or copies. If you want to publish the book on Amazon and the like, you open up the access and Lulu.com will provide an ISBN.
The basic procedure to use a word processing software such as Word to write your book. Lulu can provide templates to ensure the margins and formatting are correct (you can set these yourself if you are good at Word). Next, insert the photographs into the Word document (make sure they are of the correct quality). If you are aiming to sell the book, other formatting rules apply, such as page numbering, contents and copyright pages, and ensuring the ISBN appears in certain places in the book.
Once your book is finished, load it up on Lulu and they convert it to a pdf. This pdf is used to print your book. As for the cover, you can design your own or use their selection of covers. Once you are happy that the pdf and its contents look good, and the cover is right, you order and pay for a ‘proof copy’ to check it. If there are mistakes, you edit your Word document and upload it again for the same process.
When you are satisfied with the proof, then go to press! You can then order copies from Lulu – 1 or 1000’s. If you want the book to appear on Amazon, etc., then click another link, set the price (the booksellers take a large slice of the price!), and the details of the book will appear on those websites some 6-8 weeks later (after the layout and format it has been checked to ensure it complies with distribution standards).
There’s plenty of advice on their website, and there are other self-publishing companies such as createspace and lightningsource (I do not know if there are costs involved with these websites), and plenty of self-publishing advice websites, so have a look around - it will be worthwhile.
My next step will be to learn about publishing ebooks.
Hope this helps anyone who would like to publish their family story, but were unsure as to how to start or had no idea of the costs involved.
Phil
P.S. Just when you thought: ‘he’s forgotten the advert’.
Kelvedon Hatch, 1840 – 1920: A Guided Tour by Phil George
ISBN 978-1-291-81768-3 £7.99
128 pages, 77 black and white photographs, 11 maps and diagrams
First of all, I was pleasantly surprised as to how straight-forward it was, and this is the best piece of news: very cheap!
Through Lulu.com it is possible to publish a book with 100 pages, a glossy colour cover, black and white photographs and diagrams in the interior, all for only around £3.30 (ex. p.p.). There are no other expenses involved. No up-front fees, in fact, no fees whatsoever. Once you press the ‘go to print’ link, you can buy just one book if you want, or 1000s. You can restrict access to the book so that you control its distribution. Even to the extent that only you can buy a copy or copies. If you want to publish the book on Amazon and the like, you open up the access and Lulu.com will provide an ISBN.
The basic procedure to use a word processing software such as Word to write your book. Lulu can provide templates to ensure the margins and formatting are correct (you can set these yourself if you are good at Word). Next, insert the photographs into the Word document (make sure they are of the correct quality). If you are aiming to sell the book, other formatting rules apply, such as page numbering, contents and copyright pages, and ensuring the ISBN appears in certain places in the book.
Once your book is finished, load it up on Lulu and they convert it to a pdf. This pdf is used to print your book. As for the cover, you can design your own or use their selection of covers. Once you are happy that the pdf and its contents look good, and the cover is right, you order and pay for a ‘proof copy’ to check it. If there are mistakes, you edit your Word document and upload it again for the same process.
When you are satisfied with the proof, then go to press! You can then order copies from Lulu – 1 or 1000’s. If you want the book to appear on Amazon, etc., then click another link, set the price (the booksellers take a large slice of the price!), and the details of the book will appear on those websites some 6-8 weeks later (after the layout and format it has been checked to ensure it complies with distribution standards).
There’s plenty of advice on their website, and there are other self-publishing companies such as createspace and lightningsource (I do not know if there are costs involved with these websites), and plenty of self-publishing advice websites, so have a look around - it will be worthwhile.
My next step will be to learn about publishing ebooks.
Hope this helps anyone who would like to publish their family story, but were unsure as to how to start or had no idea of the costs involved.
Phil
P.S. Just when you thought: ‘he’s forgotten the advert’.
Kelvedon Hatch, 1840 – 1920: A Guided Tour by Phil George
ISBN 978-1-291-81768-3 £7.99
128 pages, 77 black and white photographs, 11 maps and diagrams
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