Print On Demand Question

[ozma914]

Does anyone have any recommendations, experiences, or other comments about Print on Demand companies? My history of the Albion Fire Department can't go through traditional publishers, because the subject matter is too narrow. (Which I don't understand, because hey -- what person in, say, Rome or Moscow wouldn't want to read about small town Indiana history?)

I thought I'd decided on which POD company I wanted to use, but now I'm not so certain. I need one that can handle some of the setup chores that are beyond me (Emily can handle a lot of computer type stuff, but I don't want to overwork her). However -- and this might come as a shock -- I don't want to get taken to the cleaners, and the budget is limited. Suggestions?

Comments

[graycardinal]

I have not had occasion to use a POD company to date, but the majority of the folks I know who've done POD projects have used lulu.com.

However, I have one other suggestion. If you have not looked into Arcadia Publishing, you might investigate them. They specialize in publishing illustrated local history books for just about any value of "local" you care to name, right down to individual neighborhoods in larger cities. I haven't worked with them, so I don't know whether they are best classified as a traditional publisher vs. a POD/self-publishing house, but I do know one writer who has published with them, and have seen a number of their titles focusing on various communities of local interest to me. The one thing to keep in mind about Arcadia is that they specifically like to include a high proportion of historical photos in their books.

[ozma914]

Lulu.com seems to be one of the most popular, and I haven't heard any complaints about quality. I'll look into Arcadia Publishing -- illustrated local history books pretty much describes my project!