Hi, I'm new to the list and have been enjoying all of the posts these last few months. I'm very interested in publishing my own book in the near future and was hoping to find direction. I'd like to keep it small maybe 6X9 or 8X11, not looking for the best quality money can buy but would like to produce something worthwhile, similar to LensWork Quarterly. Anybody out there with ideas and experience? Thanks, Ernst

-- Ernst-Ulrich Schafer (zone88@olypen.com), October 07, 1999

Answers

Ernst...you don't even need a will to do it...just money and lots of it. Any commercial color press will take on this task and do it to your satifaction and print as many copies as you wish as long as you have the scratch. Duping the quality of Lenswork will cost a premium and all you'd need to do is find out who presses lenswork and go to them with deep pockets. I'm not speaking from experience and have no desire to make a book.

-- trib (linhof6@hotmail.com), October 07, 1999.

Why not publish a bound portfolio? You can do that yourself, and the expense will probably be the lowest, and the quality will be the highest. It'll just take, ah, lots time....

-- Brian C. Miller (briancm@ioconcepts.com), October 07, 1999.

Ernst,

"The Self-Publishing Manual" by Dan Poynter is the book for you. Subtitled "How to write, print, and sell your own book", he covers the entire process thoroughly and clearly.

I am using his manual to write my own book and all of the answers to my many questions seem to be there, so far. I have highlighted text and made notes on almost every page. I was introduced to Poynter's book by a co-worker who successfully used his system to write his own non-fiction book.

Poynter covers organizing, writing, book size, covers (you can't judge a book by its cover, but covers sell books), printers, how to get quotes, marketing, editing, prepress, promoting yourself and your book, typestyles, on and on, more and more valuable information to see you through to the end of the process.

Btw- Apparently there are only a handful of printers who specialize in printing small run books. The costs are more reasonable than I anticipated, but I am not doing a book with a lot of photos in it.

Poynter's website is WWW.parapublishing.com. Click on the book publishing button. The other button will make more sense once you learn more about Dan. He also has a free newsletter online. There is a lot of information on his website and in my estimation his book is well worth the $20.

Good Luck, Rick

-- Rick Stiles (rstiles@ghg.net), October 07, 1999.

I guess what I'm really looking for is a print company that does small runs. I'm thinking maybe 100 photos, 100 books printed, hard bound and of good quality. Thanks again, Ernst

-- Ernst-Ulrich Schafer (zone88@olypen.com), October 08, 1999.

If you a looking for a printer, you might want one on your own country, which is...?

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), October 08, 1999.

Most others have kindly outlined the cold economic facts.You can further cut costs by doing your own text design and layout.Adobe Pagemaker helps enormously here. Otherwise,you'll have to settle for their design at their prices.

-- Gary Watson (cg.watson@sympatico.ca), October 08, 1999.

Ernst-Ulrich... 100 is a very small amount. Even 1000 is a little print. In conventional prints the cost will be about the same for 100 or 1000 pieces - the latter takes a little more paper, but the time needed is the same. Hardbound doubles the cost per piece, so there you'll save money.

100 is reasonable amount only in modern digital "book on demand"-type prints. I'll second that then you have to do the layout and maybe scanning yourself, digital printing is unexpensive only if you deliver PageMaker or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files to the print - and then it is not so important where the printhouse is, it can be in other coutry as well. Maybe it is reasonable to have the printing and binding done in different places, too.

Sakari

-- Sakari Mdkeld (sakari.makela@koulut.vantaa.fi), October 12, 1999.