Has anyone used a publishing service after creating books??

[SRHaadsmaSvensson]

I finally finished 4 books (one for each grandparent). The PDF files are excellent for most of my family however many want to have hardcopies, including myself! I have looked into Lulu and ran into issues while converting the file. It seems it doesn't like PDFs created on a MAC. Any other ideas or ways to get it published/printed at a reasonable cost??

Sue

[Charles Bourland]

I had the same problem and the problem as you know is that PDF does not protect pictures vs text well. If you are willing to sacrifice a little text here and there, go ahead with PDF. It isn't awful, just not perfect. What I did do on the side of perfection was find someone, in my case at a University, who had and was experienced on Adobe Pro and paid them to convert the file. It was not a big deal.

[edohmann]

I haven't actually used them yet, but I'm planning to use BookBaby for my book project very soon.

You might try using Print -> PDF -> Save As PDF to generate your PDF files rather than directly saving them as a PDF from an app like Word.

[Sandy H]

I have used Blurb before without any problems on a Mac. It’s been a while, though, but check them out.

Just another thought for you; I am using a thermal binding machine with linen clear covers and a laser jet printer. It’s not as nice as a book, but when I do a lot of different books for people, it’s sure helpful to me. They do offer hardback thermal book covers, but those can get expensive too.

I also make smaller “booklets” for reunions, gifts, etc..

Sandy

[SRHaadsmaSvensson]

thanks all, appreciate the advice

[karen lon]

I "googled" to find a publishing company in my area that specialized in family memoirs. Am happy with this publisher, but can be expensive. After showing her my first draft, she said that the design service for layout with about 40 pictures in about 40 pages at 6" x 9" format with hard cover would be $75 an hour. Final cost to me was $550 plus tax. The actual printing of the book is expected to be about $38 for each copy. She accepted over 4 drafts because every time I proofread the document I found more spelling or punctuation errors. I can't believe I didn't catch them all the first time. I think she was generous with accepting that and thus I am glad I was working with a local person. A company I found on the internet called Family Heritage gave a lower estimate, but I was worried about the lack of personal contact. BTW - this is a historical book where I did research on the times each ancestor lived. It was NOT simply produced by clicking a few buttons on my Reunion 12 program.