Notice from Writer Beware
I just got this from Writer Beware and it's not good at all. Chronicle Books is going to start referring submissions to a self-publishing service in return for a cut of the money. This is wrong in so many ways. The only good thing about this is that they're being open about the deal, which gives us the chance to cry foul.
The service in question, Blurb, has to have some of the highest prices I've seen, with a single copy of an 8x10 trade paperback coming in at $59.95 a copy for a 300 page book. Yes that's right $59.95 per copy with a 10% author discount on any purchase up to 199 copies. If you buy 200 to 400 copies the discount increases to a princely 15%. It makes PublishAmerica seem positively cheap, and like PA Blurb doesn't charge any setup fees.
I'm going to recommend that anyone who has been thinking of submitting to Chronicle reconsider that decision. This is something that needs to be stopped before it starts.
Self-publishing has its place (primarily for specialized non-fiction) but it's a path that should be taken deliberately, not something that should be foisted on people trying to publish conventionally.
The service in question, Blurb, has to have some of the highest prices I've seen, with a single copy of an 8x10 trade paperback coming in at $59.95 a copy for a 300 page book. Yes that's right $59.95 per copy with a 10% author discount on any purchase up to 199 copies. If you buy 200 to 400 copies the discount increases to a princely 15%. It makes PublishAmerica seem positively cheap, and like PA Blurb doesn't charge any setup fees.
I'm going to recommend that anyone who has been thinking of submitting to Chronicle reconsider that decision. This is something that needs to be stopped before it starts.
Self-publishing has its place (primarily for specialized non-fiction) but it's a path that should be taken deliberately, not something that should be foisted on people trying to publish conventionally.