Making Books with Blurb

I am going to write about this fantastic service I used recently, and not because I was solicited to do so. I WISH I was solicited--it would have saved me at least $40. But I'm happy to report that I came across and utilized the services of www.blurb.com all of my own volition, and it was worth every penny.

As my husband's birthday present, I compiled most of the blog posts I've ever written that have concerned him and I made a book. A real, honest-to-goodness, hardcover book. It had a shiny jacket and everything. Using my words and my photos (okay, mostly Lauren's photos), I designed the cover and laid out all the pages. The final result was a bound production that would not look out of place on the most discerning of coffee tables.

I gave it to my husband and he got a chuckle. "Still trying to turn me into a reader, huh?" he asked. "Good idea--ease me into it with a short book, all about me."

The 8 x 10 inch hardcover was $29.95 for 40 pages. The cost of shipping and handling was approximately $10 more. The quality was fantastic. I fully expect this chronicle of my husband's first two years of fatherhood to be a memento for generations to come.

I created the book using a free Blurb program that was easy to download and navigate.  Since it's not difficult to confuse me, that's saying a lot.

The whole experience was so exceptional that I already have plans for my next Blurb book, which will take the form of my thoughts on motherhood, to be given as a gift to my own mom and mother-in-law for that May holiday in their honor.

It's exactly what my mother has been waiting for all these years. What she wants for Mother's Day--she says, each time--is good children, and maybe something homemade.

Comments

[Fairly Odd Mother]

Oh, this is awesome. I've been trying to find something like this for my husband's 40th birthday and may still be able to use this! Thanks.

[LifeAsIKnowIt]

Very cool! I love the picture on the cover!

[slouching mom]

i know about blurb, and I've been keeping it in the back of my mind for publishing a subgroup of posts.

thanks for the recommendation.

[Paula]

Your book looks great!

I checked Blurb out and am pretty excited about the service. I may even use it once I get my own machine. I wish, though, that we weren't confined to their templates. I'd love to just send them a bunch of PDF's so I could do my own design. Doesn't seem to be an option yet though. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Chris]

It was a pretty cool present. That wife of mine can be pretty creative when she puts her mind to it.