Book Publishing Software Choices
Getting your own book published can cost you a small fortune, especially if you only want a few copies. But with the new book publishing software, anyone can order high-quality, softbound or hard cover books that you can design on your own or, for a little more money, have professionally designed for you. Apple was one of the first to fully integrate this software into photo software with iPhoto, but other companies such as SnapFish and Blurb allow you greater control with sometimes better pricing.
How they work
All of the software allows you to choose from several built-in templates or to create your own book from scratch. The next step usually involves choosing the photos you want in your book and then adding your copy that you can either type in from scratch or copy and paste from your word processing program. You then upload your completed project, fill out a form with shipping and payment info, and then you wait several days while your book is printed and bound. With this type of on-demand printing, you can order as few as one copy of your book, or several to share with friends and family.
|
Apple Photo Books Apple created the easy-to-use on-demand printing by incorporating book ordering into iPhoto on the Mac. With iPhoto, you simply create an album of photos from your library and click the “order book” icon in the software. iPhoto then steps you through the book creating process allowing you to enter captions, type stories, choose colors, and layout your pages. At the end you can choose the size of your finished book and whether it will be a soft cover book or a hard cover masterpiece complete with dust jacket. Apple pricing for a hard cover book is $29.99 for an 8.5” x 11” book with 10 pages. Apple only offers software for the Mac. Blurb Blurb creates books using their own book publishing software named BookSmart. It is available for Mac and Windows PC. Blurb software allows you to choose the size of your book and then steps you through building your book by selecting a template, colors, text, and photos. You can work on a project and save it as you go along. You can build your book over the course of several days or weeks. When you are finally finished, you simply use the BookSmart software to upload your project to Blurb. Pricing for a hard cover book is $29.95 for an 8” x 10” book with 20-40 pages, so this option is far cheaper than Apple’s. SnapFish SnapFish is a book publishing service offered by HP and can be the least expensive of the three. Pricing for a hard cover book is $29.99 for an 8” x 10” book with 20-150 pages, so this option is far cheaper than Apple’s or Blurb’s. Their software is web-based so you can run it from any computer with internet access. All of your project files are stored on HP’s servers. This allows you to work on it from anywhere. |
Houston, Nederland, Chicago Heights, Gardendale, Hamilton, Bay St. Louis, Ada, Frankfort, San Gabriel, Norwalk, Bradley, Meadville, Santa Fe Springs, Sterling, Alabama, New Mexico, Pine Hill, Plainfield, Carpinteria, Arizona, Arkansas, San Buenaventura (Ventura), North Charleston, Lafayette, New Brighton, Eunice, Rocky River, Westfield, Savage, Chanhassen, Schaumburg, Garner, Coronado, Kingsville, Truckee, Goleta, Dobbs Ferry, Santee, Valparaiso, Arlington, Central Falls, Brookfield, Massachusetts, Belton, Yakima, Niles, Macon, Utah, Owosso, Bozeman, Issaquah, Clayton, Centennial, Salina, Virginia, Grand Forks, Huntington Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Sunrise, California, Haltom City, Texas, Clinton, Wilmette, Idaho, Newark, Oklahoma City, Aberdeen, Seymour, Vineland, Dothan, Lompoc, Twinsburg, Chickasha, Arvin, Eden, Grafton, Campbellsville, Lodi, Grand Island, Gresham, Huntington Park, Joplin, Marshalltown, Franklin Lakes, Tacoma, American Fork, Manchester, Jamestown, San Rafael, Altus
Writing and Self-Publishing a Business BookBy Jeff McRitchie Self-Publishing - Can You Make a Profit?By Rebecca Emrich |