self-publishing

The Production Revolution Isn’t For All: Time

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Self-publishing.  Webcomics.  Game design tools.  Art programs.

Give yourself an hour and you can find the tools to let most anyone with some skill be a media creator.  You can make books, games, etc. that you could never dream of years ago, and get them to a waiting audience.

Now of course you know I've been a bit cynical that this explosion of tools will also mean a creative renaissance, a kind of "Production Revolution" of media.  My own research, my own experience, has been very informative, so let me put it straight:

All these tools may mean that there's a chance for more people to get out their dream comic/video/game/book/movie and so on.  But there are still many barriers to their chances to do this.  These are not barriers of distribution or technology (which are changing).  These are personal barriers.

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Self Publishing: Everything Old Is New Again

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In the last year it seems everyone and their brother is into self-publishing.  Sure, it started with Lulu.com cornering the market, but Amazon got in on the game, Harlequin has their venture, and it seems every month or three there's some new endeavor out there.  With so many self-publishing options it seems like a new age of print material, both electronic and physical.

I'm all for self-publishing; indeed, I am self-published.  However I can't say it's exactly new.  We've had self-publishing for years, we've had unrestricted access to eyeballs for any author for well over a decade.

We called it the World Wide Web.

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Review: Lulu.com

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PROS:
* Helpful wizard-like publishing tools let you get out a book pretty easily.
* Many, many options and extras.
* Print quality is decent to excellent.

CONS:
* Site arrangement is not the most helpful – clearly shows signs of continual growth.
* Help is plentiful, but not always clear.

SUMMARY: Lulu.com lets you create your own books, calendars, CD's, and more – as well as sell them.  What's not to love?

So finally, my review of Lulu.com.  I held off as I was trying out several different features and processes, and wanted to be able to give a comprehensive review of everything.

This is that review.

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