A Novel Idea

Thing 19: Exploring a Web 2.0 award winning site.

I looked at many of the winning sites. Some, like craigslist and librarything, I am already familiar with. I chose to explore Lulu, a self-publishing company. With Lulu, any little person out there can upload their manuscript and have it published, for a fee.

I don't have an inclination to pen a novel, but I have been wondering how to distribute all the family history I've been compiling to my relatives across the country. I discovered that I can upload files to Lulu and they will print me a paperback copy for about $6, depending on how many copies I order.

If I wanted to I could also use the 'selling' features of the site to market my book to the world. Not that my family is THAT interesting, but it is good to know. You can also make photo books. Plug your digital photos into their templates and Voila! you have a wedding album, baby album, etc.

In classic 2.0 form, they also provide a 'connect' section where you can interact with other authors on their forums.

I did a little wikipedia search on Lulu and found some helpful information. For instance, they don't provide much support - they really specialize in simply printing your prepared manuscript/photos. Now, in the days of color printers and helpful copy centers at the big box office supply stores, etc. do I really need Lulu? Me, maybe not. My family will probably be happy with a less professional binding of our history.

But, it is good to know that if I ever want to publish, and I don't want to bother with that fussy detail of a professional editor, Lulu is there for me.