Blurb.com vs the traditional press. August 31, 2006
Posted by organicresearcher in Blogging, Books, Organic, Research, wordpress.trackback
Wired is carrying a typically excellent article on the fusion of self-publising and the vanity press. Sites such as Blurb.com, Lulu and iUniverse would appear to offer anyone the chance to get themselves into print, or at least anyone with a few hundred dollars and a Mac/PC.
I feel genuinely unsure about this phenomena, as I spend a considerable part of my working life being frustrated about not being able to publish and so cutting through to the public is an obvious temptation. Yet when I break down the frustrations of what I write and which is turned down then I think that these are offering vanity publishing. In most research peer-review is essential, if your peers think it is fatally flawed then you should n’t trouble anyone else with it, and to be fair most of the time they are right. Publishers on the otherhand seem to be very cautious, convinced that there is not a market for work which I am convinced there is one - but they are putting up the cash. Their insistence on an international audience and a long shelf life is not the be-all and end-all of publishing, what makes money or they think will make money is not the same as what is worthy of being published. But if we all just published without editorial control then there could be a sea of rubbish crowding out the quality.
So I remain in an ambiguous state of mind with regard to it. That of course may change if I get another publishing deal or go for broke and publish myself next time.
Nice Post!
I think the comparison with vanity press is valid to a degree for iUniverse and its ilk, not that it is a negative association in my view. There is an important role for vanity presses that are honest about what they do.
I would suggest that the Blurb phenomenon is slightly different as they are targteing low runs of high quality books (ie really gift books with a production run of perhaps one or two units). You just need to look at their prices to see that. Maybe this will change with the new blog book idea but I see them more as a way of ensuring access to print for people becoming more used to easy self expression and publishing. It is still self publishing but of a changed nature!
Eoin
[...] Wired.com ponders Blurb, self-publishing & blogs A very nice post on the Organic Researcher pointed me to a Wired.com article on Blurb.com the self-publishing outfit that I have linked to several times before. The basis for the story is their new plan to introduce a blogbook. [...]
[...] Blurb.com vs the traditional press. [...]
[...] So there has been some incredible chat recently on Self-Publishing. Read the Blurberati Blog for the skinny on what is going on in the world of innovative self publishing facilitators. Read Wired.com for industry reaction and read Organic Research (2 different posts) for some illuminating consideration. Marginal Revolution is sceptical (like all good economists I say) and finally for something COMPLETELY different. [...]
[...] Blurb gets Book Smart Wired.com wrote up Blurb yesterday. Blurb.com, a self-publishing startup, will invite 600 bloggers this week to test out its new service by creating a free bound copy of their blog. It’s a fresh shot across the bow to traditional publishers … And then Eoin and Organic Researcher pondered the Wired article. [...]