Online Printing Companies Make it Easy to Print Your Masterpiece

Getting your book in print is probably the biggest challenge facing the new author. One might well argue that writing a book is hard work and requires diligence and dedication, so of course actually writing the thing is the hard part, and there is merit to that argument. For most writers, however, writing is a passion and despite days when writer’s block holds their creativity hostage, they can’t help but write.

Publishing the result of all that good work is another thing altogether. Most writers spend their working day in solitude and enjoy the quiet, or at least controlled, environment of their work space. Hitting the street to “sell” their work is completely unnatural and uncomfortable for many. Packing up copies of the manuscript and sending it out to every publisher in the market used to be the norm for new writers.

All this effort was followed up by a painful series of rejection letters. A similar process is still available for those who want to go that route. Self-publishing used to mean that you weren’t found worthy by a publisher. Today it has a whole new meaning. One thing it means is that the writer can maintain control of his or her work after the initial printing.

Already successful writers may be much better off with a publisher to deal with all the details of actually producing printed works and marketing them. Once an author has made it big, a small payment for each book that sells is still quite a lot of money. New writers may sell far fewer books, so taking a larger cut of each sale works much better for them.

Lulu Professional Services is one of the many publishers online. Unlike some of the others, though, Lulu offers all of the support services you may need to get your book publishing off the ground. They have editors, designers, and marketers available to assist you on a per task basis, or you can buy a package of services.

There is a huge variety of book styles to choose from, ranging from a small pocket book to a large coffee table book size. You also get to decide whether you want to go with hardcover or paperback. Paperbacks can be perfect bound (like a fat catalog), coil bound (just what it sounds like- your book ends up being similar to a spiral notebook that kids use in school), or saddle stitched, which is more like a booklet finish than a book. The coil bound doesn’t look as sleek, but it does have the advantage of being able to lie open flat on the table. Coil binding works particularly well for manuals and how-to books that you would want to be able to set down without losing your place. Hardback books can have a dust jacket to brighten up the look of them.

The layout of the book and the paper it gets printed on are also choices the author gets to make. Once the book is edited, laid out, and printed, then it’s time for marketing. This is primarily the writer’s responsibility for self published works, but online printing companies that make books also offer help with distribution. Some of the more current methods include Facebook and Twitter campaigns.

The actual book will be for sale on the Lulu.com website so when you go out and promote the book, it is easy to find online. There are certainly advantages to working with a big publishing house, but if that isn’t in the cards for you, look into self publishing; it may be easier and more effective than you thought.