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Netting a book deal
Don't wait for Random House to give your book the publishing go-ahead.
As publishing houses continue to cut back, lay off and lay low, the Web has stepped in to offer writers other avenues for getting work in print. Whether you’re looking to publish a single copy of your poetry collection or you have sights set on becoming the next Hemingway, these companies offer a way to cut out the middleman.
Lulu.com
How it works: Upload your story and simply print on demand, or up the ante by purchasing a publishing package for $360–$1,360 to cover the cost of everything from editing and design to marketing assistance.
Good for: Aspiring writers looking to attain access to an international market with relative ease. Purchase an ISBN—the number stores use to catalog your book— through Lulu for as little as $49.
Cost: A handy calculator on the site spits out the estimated fee once you enter your book’s specifications (book type, color, size, binding and paper). Prices start around $6 for a 100-page black-and-white paperback, and discounts kick in when you purchase at least 100 copies.
Extra perks: It doesn’t cost a penny to sell a book on the site, plus you keep 80 percent of your chosen price per book.
WEbook.com
How it works: Aptly described by USA Today as “a literary version of American Idol,” WEbook invites authors to post complete or in-progress stories for free on the site for reader responses. In addition, every two months, the participating authors can submit their finished projects to a contest, where readers have two weeks to vote on their favorite. The WEbook staff selects two or three books from the top 10 percent, which they then publish and distribute online.
Good for: Writers who need an incentive-driven kick in the pants to finish a project.
Cost: Nada. If your book is selected for publication and you sign off on the deal, you and WEbook split the profits 50/50.
Extra perks: Whether or not you score a book deal through the site, the endless supply of reader feedback should help you work out the kinks in the copy before submitting a story to another publishing house (or forging ahead on your own).
Blurb.com
How it works: Upload text and image files from your computer or “slurp” them from a blog or online photo-sharing sites like Flickr or Picasa. Using Blurb’s Booksmart software, you customize every aspect of the book’s design—from general layout to background and borders—yourself. A 37-minute tutorial helps you navigate the software.
Good for: With its slick aesthetic and nontraditional book sizes (including 7" x 7" and 10" x 8" versions), Blurb churns out high-quality, low-budget coffee-table creations. Think wedding albums, cookbooks and photo compilations.
Cost: Prices start at $4.95 for a 5" x 8" black-and-white softcover to $54.95 for a 13" x 11" hardcover.
Extra perks: The site comes chock-full of inspiration for book ideas, should you start to flounder in search of creative fodder.
BookSurge.com
How it works: Upload your great American novel, and it’ll take care of everything in-house, from book design to printing to distribution.
Good for: Authors ready to invest in order to get the show on the road.
Cost: Count on plunking down a chunk of change since the option for a one-off copy of your complete book (sans publishing package) doesn’t exist. Popular package deals cost several hundred dollars, such as the Total Design Freedom, which includes a custom-designed cover, interior formatting and ISBN for $799.
Extra perks: As a subsidiary of Amazon, BookSurge tries out a handful of tactics to move its merch, such as the “Buy X, Get Y” program, which pairs established and unknown writers’ books in package deals. Keep in mind that every additional service costs extra.
