Subject: [WSFA] Re: POD service
From: sjvn01 <sjvn01 at gmail.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:24:12 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

On Sun, 2007-04-29 at 17:13 -0400, Stan wrote:
>
> I've had a couple of friends tell me they are investigating Lulu POD.
>
> http://www.lulu.com/
>
> They are one of the ones with links to Amazon and seem to offer a wide
> range
> of options. Every format from Comics, through trade paperbacks to
> coffee-table hardbounds are available.

First let me open by saying that I know Bob Young, the CEO and founder
well, and I like him. That said, they do Good work.
>
> Two very real problems with these efforts are the lack of an editor
> and the
> realities of self-promotion.

The self-promotion tends to be the real killer. If you really want to
make sales, you'd better be darn good at marketing. You can always find
a good copy editor, finding someone who knows how to markets books is
another matter entirely.
>

>
> A very good friend publishes romantica for several, different
> webfirms. She
> has 30 novels to her credit at the moment and does a dog-and-pony show
> at
> five or six cons a year. She's making a living, but is NOT rich and
> is
> constantly under the gun to produce the next tale and hunt down the
> next
> check.
>
In short, she's living the normal life of a writer. To get the dream
life of a writer requires a well-off spouse and/or a couple of visits to
the NYT best seller's list. Darn it!

Steven

--
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols      sjvn at vna1.com
Editor, Linux & Open Source    Ziff Davis Internet
http://www.linux-watch.com     http://www.desktoplinux.com
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