Friday, July 14, 2006

A quick feasibility study . . .

I think I'm going to go ahead with self-publishing a print-on-demand collection of short-stories. Since there's no overhead on my part, I've got nothing to lose and, at least potentially, some readers (and conventional publishers?) to gain.

My question to readers of this blog: Given the opportunity, would you purchase a science fiction trade paperback from Lulu? I haven't looked at the site in great detail yet, but I don't think the cost of the book should exceed $15 or so.

As far as the content of the stories goes, expect many of the themes that occupy me here at Posthuman Blues: environmental disaster, artificial intelligence and alien visitation. Some stories will be previously published; others will be salvaged from "exclusive" never-before-seen content. (And before you ask, no, I haven't decided on a title.)
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7 comments:

JohnFen said...

I don't see why I wouldn't, although I have never done so before. On the other hand, there was a day when I bought all my new music in a physical music store. Nowadays I buy most of direct from the artists, and the remainder from Amazon et al. I haven't set foot in a music store in years. One of the reasons is that I feel happier when I'm giving the money to (or close to) the actual artists involved.

I expect that books would be the same sort of deal, at least once the pricing for on-demand stuff comes down a bit more.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying yes, I would buy such a book.

12:16 AM
platts42 said...

I'll buy one.

7:33 PM
Mac said...

I've got a few "taster" stories here:

http://www.mactonnies.com/other.html

9:08 PM
Mac said...

Andy--

Excellent point. I guess I hope to cross the digital divide, if only slightly. Since the book will be, in a way, an advertisement for myself, it would be cool if it didn't require a computer to be read.

7:31 PM
Kyle said...

Mac -

To put it simply, real books RULE. During power outages it's cool to light a candle and curl up with a book...none of the usual distractions. I can't do that on my PC. I don't own a laptop or PDA.

PDFs ARE very cool as a distribution means for e-books, but there are often restrictions on where (on what device) they can be read.

Anne and I own over a thousand books between us, and are always re-reading them. Plus, we each have several hundred PDF e-Books on our respective PCs.

Anne (an IT professional) dislikes reading them on the PC, but they are mostly work-related and unavailable in other formats. I like reading on my flat-screen ok, but it certainly pales compared to the portability, convenience, and tactile ergonomics of the good old book. If only they can figure out a way to not kill trees in the process... :)

At any rate, I'll be happy to purchase your anthology. I might even get Anne to publish her extensive body of erotic fiction this way. There's some good stuff in there...Lulu looks like a perfect solution.

Kyle
UFOReflections.blogspot.com

12:12 AM
Mac said...

"I'm cuckoo for Lulu!" (tm)

(Thanks for the feedback, everybody.)

12:17 AM
Marti said...

OK, I am w-a-y late (what else is new?)

When you publish through Lulu, a downloadable version is automatically included.

I finally got my PDF edited for the 800th time, and set up my storefront. I can't buy the ISBN yet, 'cause they raised the price from $39 to $99, but I can sell it through Lulu.

If you need any pointers, I've made every mistake possible, be happy to share what NOT to do with you - LOL

My storefront is at:
http://www.lulu.com/martilawrence

6:53 PM

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