• Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
New posts

jpbhen

Beach Fanatic
Jul 10, 2005
521
86
Seagrove/Cincinnati
kinko's or office depot or staples can do a book that is bound with a comb binder - like a lot of cookbooks have. you could also design and print covers for the books. that's what we did for school projects, pta cookbooks, etc. they work great, look great, and are inexpensive. my sister bought her own small comb binder (you can get supplies at office depot, etc) and writes and binds personalized books for her grandchildren.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
Thank you, but I want a real binding, not a comb binder or similar. My idea was to make something durable that could be passed down for several more generations, which is why I was trying to find an online publisher or local book binder. It's a really cool story and I want to do it justice.

Her autobiography starts w/ my great great grandfather's emigration to the US to avoid military service in Germany pre-WWI (my great great great grandparents tagged along too), includes her childhood activities of making skis out of barrel staves to ski down the sides of indian mounds, her summers homesteading in Montana in a sod house/dugout, and only seeing her husband once a month for 6 years during the depression when he went to Chicago for work to support the family.
 

TreeFrog

Beach Fanatic
Oct 11, 2005
1,798
212
Seagrove
You want a company that the publishing business calls a "vanity press". They are companies that specialize in low-volume private runs of books. They can do proper printings, with paper, type, bindings, etc. to your specs.

I wish I knew one I could recommend. Google and Wikipedia both have lots of links you can use to find one. Good luck.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
The one Kurt posted a link for looks promising, my google searches were coming up with sites for serious authors willing to pony up hundreds and thousands to start the process and many warnings from BBB et al.

I was trying to find someone local so I'll check out Copysystems.

Think sowalgayboi severely overestimates my ability to do something creative without supervision and duct tape :blush:.
 

savvytangerine

Beach Fanatic
Jul 5, 2007
650
35
30-A since before I could walk

Geo

Beach Fanatic
Dec 24, 2006
2,750
2,782
Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Does anyone know of a local business or internet site where I can get a book printed for a reasonable price? It would be approximately 10 copies of a 40 page book - no pictures or color.

My great-grandmother wrote a short autobiography and I thought it would be a great gift for my family if I retyped it/put it in a computer and had it printed & bound. I think I am the only great-grandchild who has ever read it and there is some great stuff in there.

Hi Scooterbug,

Check out booksurge.com

I don't know if they do the vanity publishing but it is a great resource for self publishers...

And pls do share who you decide to go with and the result, lessons learned, etc.

Cheers,
G

P.S. Neat idea!
 

DuneAHH

Beach Fanatic
Thank you, but I want a real binding, not a comb binder or similar. My idea was to make something durable that could be passed down for several more generations, which is why I was trying to find an online publisher or local book binder. It's a really cool story and I want to do it justice.

Her autobiography starts w/ my great great grandfather's emigration to the US to avoid military service in Germany pre-WWI (my great great great grandparents tagged along too), includes her childhood activities of making skis out of barrel staves to ski down the sides of indian mounds, her summers homesteading in Montana in a sod house/dugout, and only seeing her husband once a month for 6 years during the depression when he went to Chicago for work to support the family.

I'm already captivated... I adore family stories & particularly ones that include a homesteading element. I wonder if they were anywhere near the Doig's in Montana(as in Ivan Doig, author of The Whistling Season)?
 

beachmouse

Beach Fanatic
Dec 5, 2004
3,504
741
Bluewater Bay, FL
If you do go through with it, could I suggest that you see if any libraries around where she grew up would be interested in a copy of it. Some of them take an interest in archiving state/local history and welcome those kinds of journals in their collections.
 
New posts


Sign Up for SoWal Newsletter