ABC Book Update (You Can Purchase It Here at the Blog)

Not too long ago, I blogged about how I'd finished my ABC Book and had it printed up using a Shutterfly-like site called Mixbook.  I ordered a copy through them to see how it turned out, and I was thoroughly pleased with the quality (the illustrations copied beautifully).  But with the cost?  Not so much.  The regular price for one paperback copy of this 8 and 1/2 by 11-inch book was almost $70!  And even with an online 40% off coupon, it was still prohibitively expensive.

On that blog post, I shared a Mixbook link for those interested in purchasing a copy, realizing that there wasn't much of a chance that anyone would be willing to shell out that kind of money for a children's picture book--and I include myself when I say that!  I want to get copies for all my gang, and I really was hoping to figure out a way to do it so it wouldn't break the bank.  Even running off copies of the illustrations at home and putting them in a presentation binder wasn't the answer, because at 50 pages long (longer than the average children's picture book), I found it used up too much computer ink--and that stuff is expensive!

So I decided to do a little detective work.  And I stumbled upon another site where I could get the book formatted to be sold in both paperback and hardcover versions, at a much more reasonable price.  This site is called bookemon.com, and it appears to be the answer I was hoping for.  (They even have an option for purchasing an ISBN number so the book can be sold on Amazon for profit, but I don't think that's the route I'm meant to go with this project.)

Through bookemon, paperback copies of my ABC Book sell for $26.39 each (they are printed on demand and I don't believe I earn any royalties from sales).  That's still a lot of money--but it's the best price I could find in my travels throughout the Internet.  I was anxious to share a "Buy now" link for the book here at the blog, for anyone who might be interested; but before I did, I wanted to check out the quality of the finished product.  It looked okay on the computer screen; I just wanted to make sure it looked okay on paper, too.

I ordered a copy at a very slightly reduced "author's rate," and today I received it via UPS.  Although the color quality was slightly less vibrant than the Mixbook version, overall I was quite pleased and deemed it worth sharing here at String of Pearls.  If you're interested in looking through the online copy or purchasing a print copy (in either paperback or hardcover), you can just click on that link on the sidebar of my home page, over there on the right, and it'll take you to the site.  (Also, feel free to hit the "Share" button if the spirit moves you!)

God bless you for stopping by!  And I hope you're having a relaxing summer (with lots of beach--or poolside--reading, which is one my favorite guilty pleasures!).

**A little addendum to this post, added a day later: full disclosure--much to my surprise, I have learned that I will earn a dollar for each copy sold.  (Several copies have been purchased from the site already.)  I had no idea. I thought I had to get an ISBN and make it available on Amazon to make any profits from sales.  What a bonus!