Step 2 - Publish Your Quilt or Art Catalog Using Print-on-Demand

Today, we're going to talk about how to publish your quilt catalog. Let's face it, a traditional publishing company is not likely to publish our quilts unless we're as well known as a Nancy Crow, a Ruth B. McDowell, or an Eleanor Burns.

Documenting our quilts and our lives as quilters is important. I'd like for my family generations in the future to know that I stitched a quilt such as Black Barbie. If the actual quilt is no longer available, then having a photograph of it or catalog with the quilt may just be how family in the future knows about the quilt.

Technology, the Internet and online buying have come together in such as way that you can create a book in an affordable way and offer it, if you'd like, online for folks across America and in other countries to purchase.

The technique called "print-on-demand" allows for as few as one copy of a book to be printed once it is purchased online. There are several companies that other quilters have used to publish work using print-on-demand: CreateSpace, Lulu, Blurb are just a few. [I am not employed by these.]

Blurb - Great for photo books (fabulous paper quality), expensive because of the quality, but limited sales distribution as books printed by Blurb are available to purchase only from the Blurb website.

• Create your book interior using Blurb software and templates
• Offers both softcover and hardcover books
• 7 different book sizes for color books
• You set the retail price of your book over the minimum cost Blurb sets given the number of pages in our book.
• Click here to see the quilting books and catalogs others have published on Blurb. Many of the books offer a Preview feature for sampling.

Lulu - founded in 2002, easy to publish for novices.

• Offers Microsoft WORD templates by book size - just start typing!
• Offers both soft covers (perfect bound, saddle stitch, coil bound) and hardcover books (with and without dust jackets)
• 10 different book sizes for color interiors, but just 7 allow for as few as 32 page books
• 2 different paper grades for color: Lulu Standard and Premium
• Covers can be designed using an online "wizard" so you can select from various cover themes, layouts, colors and fonts
• Offers two different distribution options - a free one that gets your book on Amazon and a "global" reach one that makes your book available to online and traditional bookstore worldwide.
• Click here to see some of the quilting books available on Lulu.

CreateSpace - owned by Amazon, easy to publish for novices

• Offers Microsoft WORD templates by book size
• Only paperbacks books are available
• 15 full color book sizes, each allows for as few as 24 pages
• Just one paper option for color books - white paper
• An online Cover Generator allows you to select from various cover themes, layouts, colors and fonts
• Offers two different distribution options - a free one that gets your book on Amazon and an Expanded Distribution Channel choice that makes your book available to online and in traditional bookstores.
• Here's a link to quilting books published via CreateSpace.

I have personally used Lulu and CreateSpace. For this series, I will focus on CreateSpace as they offer full-color paperback book interiors for as few as 24 pages. Additionally, one has access to have your book sold on major online websites.
Were you aware of these print-on-demand sites? Have you used one before? What was your experience like? Enjoy!