Blurb Can Make You An Author

Well, actually YOU have to do the writing, but Blurb can publish your book on demand. Here’s how they’re trying to reinvent publishing.

$30? Amazing. Most “self-publishing” packages I’ve seen run even higher than the $300 quoted here. A good package with decent services can easily run $1500.

They used to say “freedom of the press was great if you can own the press”… here, for $30, you can at least “rent the press” and get your voice heard.

And there’s something about being a “published author” – even self-published – that carries some clout.

From San Francisco Business Times

San Francisco online book publisher Blurb Inc. has raised $8 million in venture financing to reinvent book publishing.

The two-year-old company lets anyone become an author by making it affordable to publish a book. A pressrun of one copy starts at about $30.

Blurb is operating in a competitive business that includes major players such as iUniverse, which charges almost $300 for a self-published book with no illustrations, graphics or retail distribution. Additional services are available at a higher cost from iUniverse, which is backed by Warburg Pincus and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS).

“Like Ebay, we’re going to create a whole niche cottage industry where anyone can share their domain expertise for commercial gain, fundraisers or pin money,” Gittins said.