Thinking Out Loud. Print on Demand Paperbacks.

by Louis Bertrand Shalako

c2010

All Rights Reserved


My mother asked me on the phone, 'Do you remember where you were a yaer ago?"

"No," I replied. (End of story.)

I am still having trouble figuring out what is happening to my two uploads at Google Books.com. I will let them sit for a day or two and then have another look. If the interface is impenetrable, and if I cannot figure out how to read their minds, I will simply delete the account.

Today I am researching a number of options for 2011.

These include Createspace, Lulu.com, and Lulu e-books. Planet Ebook may have a way to upload. Then there is iUniverse and some others.

For some reason I got hung up on Borders. Maybe it was the US bank account thing, I will try to iron that out.

The basic premise with publishing print on demand paperbacks is that people may be more inclined to purchase one if they get something more tangible than an e-book.

It's like Hollywood movies, people don't have a problem paying for a DVD in a nice package from a store, but often the same people don't see a problem downloading a pirated video for free. Essentially a stream of data seems 'worthless,' and yet they are more than happy to pay for packaging! They have been well-educated by the media, or so it would seem. Lately I noticed that they are shrink-wrapping cucumbers. Next it will be individual green beans or something...for our convenience.

One of the things that strikes me about Createspace is that the approx 5.25 x 7-something inch books are more expensive than the 6 x 9 inch books. That bothers me for some reason. All those old Robert A. Heinlein pulps were that pocketbook size, and Dick Francis, and Alistair Maclean...so that's why I want it too!

What the hell, it's my money and my ego at stake here.

I guess if I go ahead with this, it's better not to go charging in without doing the research. But it would be nice to provide paperbacks one way or another.

That leads to the question of which book to do first, one already published as an e-book, or a new title? It would take a few days maybe, to make a nice Pdf of 'The Case of the Curious Killers,' or whatever format is required for whatever platform.

It would take two months to rewrite and format a new title, perhaps 'Shape-shifters.'

I'll get a little drunk one of these nights and just decide!

In this case, the preview capability of Myebook.com will come in handy. It would be nice if I knew a little more of the jargon.

Other than that, it's not necessary to decide right away. In cases of doubt, I simply revert back to the no-cost option.

By the end of 2011, I will probably have two more titles published, at least one POD paperback to market, and with a little luck and a lot of hard work, I will write at the very least another collection of stories and hopefully, another novel.

Tommorrow I need to take a tape measure, a pen and a notepad and go to a bookstore...okay, so I used to be a carpenter, but I want to look at their prices, and sizes, and things like that. Steal a few ideas for covers...things like that.


UPDATE: These blog entries seem pretty organic, in that they keep growing. Okay, let's follow this through logically: Lulu publishes e-books. So why not upload four e-books to that site? It's another platform, it takes advantage of traffic through their site, and gains visibility and exposure. That follows logically enough on my 'everything for free' business model. And, why not publish POD if it is indeed free 'until you sell?'

Don't go by what I say--I am so often wrong. Read the stuff and make up your own mind. As stated in a previous post, 'what a difference a year will make.'

All of this seems dreadfully important right now. Just 'thinking out loud,' I could live with the cover art in terms of a paperback 'Core Values.' I just happen to have a Pdf which requires some small modifications...huh. Huh. (Huh!)

Well, what do you know?