The following are links to some services that I either have used or am interested in using. I'll add more details to these listings as I use the services more.
This is a link to the Lulu.com forums. When you want to get the lowdown on a particular service, it's usually best to dive into their forums (if avaliable), and see what the users themselves are saying.
*UPDATE: They recently changed the layout of the forums to a pretty non-standard forum interface that is more integrated into the main Lulu site. Personally I don't care for it but check it out anyway.
A lot of helpful info from users, but I do wish that Blurb would use a "standard" forum setup similar to Lulu. Something along the lines of vBulletin, phpBB or Invision forums.
These offerings are so ubiquitous on the web most people are already familiar with how to use them, and the features usually make the costs (if any) worth it.
A link to the CreateSpace forums. This company is apparently a subsidiary of Amazon.com, so you can reap the benefit of getting into their distribution system for free.
I've yet to fully investigate this one, but I'll be keeping track of it since I have an upcoming project be printed.
This is another one that popped up on my radar as I was searching for a printer for an upcoming project.
They seem to specialize in cookbooks and printing your blogs and such. I'll probably investigate further, but I could not find a user forum, and that usually will cause me to be wary or avoid a web service.
Another subsidiary of Amazon.com. This one offers some truly compelling promotional tools.
Most notable is the "Buy X, Get Y Program" for $1,000/month. in this offering, they "pair up" your book with a top-selling book on Amazon. So they'll throw in some added value for shoppers who pick up both books.
$1,000 could turn out to be a wise investment for this service! Definitely worth checking out.
Though not specifically for the print on demand crowd, this website offers warnings about those literary agencies and publishers who would prey on aspiring authors.
It's worth a read just so you can be warned about some of the various scams out there.
This is a website that deals specifically with reviewing self-publishing and print-on-demand books and services. There appears to be several writers, and you can submit your work to them to be reviewed. It looks like a great place to start on a hunt for info or a good read.
For all you comic book creators out there. They actually have a print-on-demand comic book service. It looks like it's going strong. I'll have to order something and check out the quality.
Links