In this day of self-publishing services partnering with, ebook vendors and vending machines that print books, it is not hard to envision a day when machines would control it all. But then you run across a site like Lulu.com’s new service and realize that day is a long long way off.
They have a new Title Scorer where wannabe best-selling authors can thow their titles up and “to the scientific test and find out whether it has what it takes for bestseller success.”
I thought it a cool idea. Then I typed in “Of Mice and Men”, which in it’s infinite wisdom cranked out the following result:
Oh well. Humans (1) Machines (0)
So tonight, I raise my glass to all you editors, AQ folks and authors who actually think about these things while discerning what will resonate with your readers.
Public Domain Reprints is a brand-spanking new non-profit has streamlined the next evolutionary step in book publishing. Basically you surf the net for any public domain title. The site says they have some 2 million books ready to print.
Once you have found your book, you submit it to Public Domain Reprints and they handle the hassle of submitting, typesetting, etc. with some online service like LuLu.com. Then you get your book, at cost (plus a $1 fee),in the mail. That’s it.
The cost “classic editions” is about to plummit. The only real value a publisher can now add to a book that’s been around forever is text design and cover design (though some may think a new ‘foreword’ or ‘introduction’ would be of value) . So it’ll be interesting to see what that is worth.
Would someone pay extra to have a better designed book? Or when it comes to the printing of the oldies, is it just the content (at the cheapest price) that they are after?
{via blogoscoped}
Books, Publishing and Birmingham
