Editio Self-Publishing discussion

Hi all! I was wondering what printer you may had used when self publishing your book?
The printer I currently use has kinda made me want to look elsewhere. I am trying to find a place that provides professional looking books, and at a reasonable price. Some places I look at try charging anywhere from 8-12$ per book. That is far beyond my price budget.

So, who do all of you out there use? ANY suggestions would be amazing! Anything besides create space or lulu.com would be great too.

Try submitting your manuscript to a Christian publishing Co. See if they will pick you up. If so, they will save alot of money and time.

Are you looking for Print On Demand services? If so, I've used CreateSpace (an Amazon subsidiary). Others here have used Lulu and Lightning Source. I'm ridiculously cheap, so I didn't pay much to set my book up for printing at CreateSpace. I did pay to receive a proof copy, but that was all.

I am trying to avoid places like createspace and lulu. I mainly want to avoid them because they put their logos on the books they print. That will possibly harm my ability to get into bookstores later on. Are there any other places you might be able to recommend?

I've had numerous books printed through Create Space and as far as I am aware, the only time they add their information is if you use one of their ISBN#.
Where did you hear that they add their "logo" to books they print?

I heard it from people who were using Lulu.com. I also heard it from websites who discouraged using createspace and Lulu.com when it came towards distribution to bookstores they said bookstores wouldn't want to house a book made through them.

Since I am use my own ISBN and copyright etc. etc., maybe that means I can use them! It is mainly because the logo I didn't want to use them. Other factors will be when I need to do print on demand and distribution throughout bookstores. But that is something I think I might not need to worry about for a little while.

Any other places people could recommend would be great :)

The main POD company out there right now is Amazon's Crate Space. If you want to do a print run, then you have other options open. I don't know of a POD printer that distributes to places like B&N except CS.
Btw, I have been following multiple lists, groups and blogs on self publishing for months now. One big thing that is to be avoided is having your cover printed glossy. I've heard a mat cover is the better choice. CS does now offer that option.
My suggestion would be to try them, get one book printed for yourself and see if you like them. I've heard from others that they thought the print quality was terrible, but that has not been my experience. I've been using them for over 10 years now.

Jennifer wrote: "I am trying to avoid places like createspace and lulu. I mainly want to avoid them because they put their logos on the books they print. That will possibly harm my ability to get into bookstores la..."

Hi Jennifer,

When you are setting up your book's cover on createspace it gives you the option to remove their logo or keep it. I always remove it.

I've had very good success with createspace. It is 100% free to use (by free I mean no start up or submission cost). They now have a digital proof that allows you to view your book as it will be printed from front to back. You can look at each page right from your computer. This saves you time and money by not having to order a physical proof copy.

Createspace also gives you your very own profile page that you can set up like a store. You can also offer discounts like Smashwords.

I hope this info helps you.

Belinda :)

I've published three books with CreateSpace as my printer and their logo isn't on any of them, you don't have anything to worry about. :)

Belinda wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I am trying to avoid places like createspace and lulu. I mainly want to avoid them because they put their logos on the books they print. That will possibly harm my ability to get i..."

The same applies to Lulu you can remove the logo in the cover editor especially when creating a one piece upload

Personally I have stopped producing physical editions for my latest two books. It is a lot of effort for little return

I've used both CreateSpace and Lightning Source International (now Ingram Spark for indie authors).

With CreateSpace, if you are producing your own cover and interior files, and using your own ISBN, then the CreateSpace brand/logo is nowhere to be found.

With Ingram Spark you only have the option to produce your own files.

Quality is mixed with POD because the machines are printing several books at a time; with a local printer your book is getting more personal attention. Also, CS subcontract. My latest book order was printed in California, not at CS in S.C.

However, CS are good about replacing substandard books, but never order so close to an event that you don't have time to get them replaced if defective.

Bookstores are reluctant to stock CS titles because the book is only made available to them if you use Expanded Distribution. ED is subcontracted to Lightning Source/Ingram. CS takes a 15% cut of any book sold through ED; Ingram then take their 15% cut, so by the time it reaches the bookseller the discount is only 25% - 30% and they need 40% to sell. Also, all CS titles are sold non-returnable, and booksellers prefer returnable.

If you want to get onto indie booksellers' shelves you usually need to distribute to them directly.

Thanks for the inside scoop MA.

Meant to also say that I've never been disappointed with a print order from Createspace. I'm totally impressed with their service.

I've been using Createspace, and I think they were the best POD company to go with for my first few books. CS is free and easy to use. But, now that I have a few books out and am more familiar with the process I think I'm going to look into Ingram Spark for the next one.

Lauryn wrote: "I've been using Createspace, and I think they were the best POD company to go with for my first few books. CS is free and easy to use. But, now that I have a few books out and am more familiar with..."

You can use both. What I do is input first into CS and get my proof there; make any necessary changes before I input into LS (Ingram Spark); proof again with LS. Note that the cover spine width will differ between the two companies so you must download a cover template from both companies and adjust accordingly. Note that using both companies only works if you do NOT use CS's Expanded Distribution.

Philip wrote: "Belinda wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I am trying to avoid places like createspace and lulu. I mainly want to avoid them because they put their logos on the books they print. That will possibly harm my ..."

I have re-thought my policy and now have paperback editions of all my books - all on Lulu which also means via Amazon and others