Blurb Launches Beautiful ebooks for the iPad

London, UK — October 18, 2011 — Blurb, the creative publishing platform, today announced their first step into the ebook market with ebooks for Apple’s iPad® and iPhone®.  Not only are the Blurb ebooks truly optimised to display images and text beautifully, they are created using Blurb’s easy-to-use bookmaking tools, Bookify™ and BookSmart®.  Moreover, any book previously created with these tools can now be produced as an ebook, automatically, with a click of a button.

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Until now most self-published authors wanting to create a visually rich ebook had to hire a software developer to produce it, costing hundreds if not thousands of dollars and taking many weeks. With Blurb’s new ebook offering, the file conversion happens automatically in moments, and costs just £1.49($2.35US) per download, saving Blurb authors considerable time, money and frustration.

“This is not just an ebook offering, it’s way more than that. Blurb now lets authors create their book once and then output their book to either print or ebook formats, from the same file, quickly and automatically. Fans and customers can then buy whichever version they prefer at the Blurb bookstore. That’s game-changing. Plus there’s more to come.” said Eileen Gittins, Founder and CEO.

Blurb ebooks include all the design and interaction benefits of Apple iOS® technology: two-page spreads, pinch and zoom capabilities and uncompressed images, providing a stunningly rich visual experience, with no quality compromise.

Like all Blurb books, ebooks can be listed for sale at the Blurb bookstore. Authors can set their own price and keep 100% of the mark-up from sales.

More information about ebooks can be found at: http://www.blurb.com/ebook

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About Blurb®

Blurb® is a creative publishing and marketing platform that unleashes the creative genius inside everyone. Blurb’s platform makes it easy to design, publish, market and sell professional-quality books, using the Blurb Bookify™ online bookmaking tool, Blurb’s free, award-winning Blurb BookSmart® app or by using Blurb’s PDF to Book workflow. Blurb’s bookstore and online marketing tools enable customers to market and sell their books, and keep 100% of their profit. Blurb’s social and community features allow customers to create and share Blurb books among friends and colleagues with ease.

Blurb was founded by Eileen Gittins in 2005, and includes a team of design, Internet and media veterans who share a passion for helping people bring their stories to life. In 2010, Blurb shipped just under 1.4 million books to more than 70 countries and territories. In 2010, Blurb was ranked the fastest growing media company on the Inc. 500. Blurb is based in San Francisco with offices in London. For more info, visit www.blurb.com.

Blurb Calls For Entries – Photo Book Now 2011 Competition

photography book now 2010 winner Blurb Calls For Entries   Photo Book Now 2011 Competition picturesToday, Blurb announced the call for entries for the Photography Book Now (PBN) competition 2011.

Now in its fourth year and featuring a $25,000 grand prize, this international-juried competition, presented by Blurb, celebrates the very best in self-published photography books and the photographers behind them.

For the first time, the competition will also celebrate up-and-coming talent with a Student category to add to the established Fine Art, Documentary and Travel categories.

Hewlett Packard returns as the sponsor of the $25,000 grand prize and Adobe will be supplying $5,000 to each of the four category winners.

Self Publish Your Photography Book

With the end of the year fast approaching, it is a great time to reflect on goals accomplished for 2009 and also, setting new ones for 2010…I receive a lot of email about how to self publish a photography book. Publishing your own photography book can be a great marketing tool, but also a way to generate additional income from your favorite photos.

Before the explosion of desktop publishing and online printers, the cost of printing your own book was cost prohibitive for most of us. The process involved finding a publishing house, creating/sending a proposal for your intended book, along with several photos. In most cases, lesser known photographers were quickly rejected. If you were lucky enough to land a deal, a small upfront payment barely covered the completion of the project and royalties from sales were non-existent.

With the advent of print-on-demand or self-publishing companies, the options for photographers have increased dramatically. The process has been greatly streamlined and anyone knowledgeable in basic computer skills can easily layout and create their own book …with no upfront costs. The cost of printing your book is based on the options you select, i.e., size, cover type, etc, and by the total number of pages. Self-publishing sites combine easy publishing tools, the ability to set your own prices, and custom storefronts.

Overall, the ability to create your own book is the easiest part, with marketing being the key to your success. The ability to drive traffic to your product is the hardest part of process. Check out these resources for marketing your self published book.

Affiliate Programs for Lulu Creators – How to create your own affiliate program to sell more of your Lulu books, music, and digital media Self Publish Your Photography Book pictures

Book Marketing DeMystified: Enjoy Discovering the Optimal Way to Sell Your Self-Published Book, Practical advice from the inventor of print-on-demand (POD) publishing Self Publish Your Photography Book pictures

Self-Publishing with Amazon’s CreateSpace: A Resource Guide for the Author Considering Self-Publishing Self Publish Your Photography Book pictures

Print-on-Demand Book Publishing: A New Approach To Printing And Marketing Books For Publishers And Self-Publishing Authors Self Publish Your Photography Book pictures

Here are a list of the top self publishing sites. Best of luck.

Lulu.com
Lets you publish and sell print-on-demand books and e-books, online music and images, custom calendars and books

BookSurge.com
BookSurge and CreateSpace, now uniting on the CreateSpace platform, offer you more publishing options than ever before. Whether you have ready-to-print PDF book files or a manuscript in need of professional editing and book design support, we can help you effectively publish, market and sell your book.

InstantPublisher.com
Instantpublisher has helped turn 1000′s of Author’s dreams into reality over the past 9 years with quick affordable service, friendly customer representatives, many different printing options to choose from and easy to follow step by step instructions.

Blurb.com
Blurb lets you self publish your own photo book, cookbook, portfolio, and more with free software.

CafePress.com
Create and sell your own designs, photos and images on a wide variety of customizable products with zero upfront costs and zero inventory investment.