I can’t go into it much as the idea is still in the planning stages.
I have a very specific look for the final product.
Something in the range of as thick as a notebook though about half the size. A very tight spiral binding (think very very tight). And every page laminated.
Should I publish it myself? Pros? Cons? Cost? Is it even possible with my specs?
If I don’t publish it myself how should I go about doing it?
I’ll post more info eventually… I’m just feeling around for ideas on how this could be done.
Why do you want to publish a book? Is this something you intend for yourself and family and friends? Or are you hoping to sell it to a wider audience and turn a profit?
Actually printing the books is the easy part. Much harder is getting it into bookstores.
I strongly recommend Lulu - it’s amazing how well they can do a book that’s as good of quality as what you’d buy at Barnes and Noble.* But you do still need to read a bit and preferably get some help from experienced people before you “go to print”. The process is easy overall, but there are a few quirks.
We had a book published based on contributions made by my message board members called “The UnaBook”. As reported to me, 100% of the 30+ people who bought it were happy with the quality.
I’m looking to hit a niche somewhere in the “how to” section among a very specific target group…
So if it takes off I’m hoping it would be a series of books.
And the really really necessary part is that the final product be waterproof. Fully laminated, spiral bound. I havn’t fully looked through the lulu site to see if it has that option… Without that the books wouldn’t really be useful.
I’ve not seen fully-laminated as an option. It’s possible I’m not clicking on the right things…but I’ve not even heard of that. I suppose you could get it printed and then unbind the copies, laminate them, then re-bind, but good grief, that would be a lot of work. Good luck in your search for a solution.
I know you can get laminated books as I’ve seen them for use at the swimming pool, almost the same way you want your book. I don’t know where they were printed at, but it can be done.
Go to a big bookstore and check in the children’s section. There are a large number of bath books that are meant for children to read in bathtubs. They usually do have a ring binding although most are on much heavier stock than regular paper so that small hands can more easily turn them. Check to see if they list their printers.
Or just go to your local print shops. Describe what you want. They’ll tell you who does it, or find someone out of town if it’s that much of a specialty item.
It will probably be extremely expensive for a small run of books, though. The cost of printing specialty items, along with the impossibility of getting them in bookstores unless done through a standard publisher, are high obstacles to overcome.
Some hiking and orienteering maps and route cards, etc. are either plastic or laminate so you can use them in bad weather - not sure I’ve seen any spiral bound, though.
Hmm… maybe I could do something else about the binding… Does anyone have any ideas about where I could get something like the laminate or plastic pages like Meurglys is talking about?