Blurb is an online application which can be used to design and print your books in professional looking formats. Although it’s possible to create an eBook, creating a physical book normally requires a substantial investment. That’s where Blurb comes in, they offer to produce books very cheaply, in fact each book can cost as little as $4.95 each (not excluding shipping). By doing this you are able to order a single book, this would not normally be possible anywhere else. The prices quoted include the printing of the Blurb logo on the book itself, if you wish to omit this then you will have to pay a slightly more expensive fee. Book smart is the designing software this can be downloaded for free, and you only have to pay should you want to print your book. The initial service was launched in mid 2006 as a way to turn your blog into a book. It has been expanded over the years and in 2007 additional features were added to allow people to collaborate when working on a book. There are a few other similar websites; however this one focuses more around making photo books. There aren’t that many competitors of this site. Blurb will also post the books internationally to any address in the world if required. Using blurb is very easy, to actually design your book you need to download a piece of software known as book smart. This is a very easy to use application where you can design and lay out your book. There are tutorials that show you how to use the application to do various different tasks and most things are very easy. It’s slightly more complicated if you want to create custom designs rather than using templates, but still possible. Creating a book is as simple as adding your photos text and artwork and then laying everything out. Registering for an account is fairly easy; you only need your name, email address and a password. There is a confirmation email that you will need to click a link in to fully activate your account. As soon as you’ve registered you are directed to download book smart software so that you can start designing your own book. It’s worth noting that book smart software is only available on Mac and PC, if you’re running Linux then you’re out of luck. Using the application itself and registering are both completely free; you do however need to pay if you want to order any of your books. Prices start at $4.95 excluding shipping for a small text book and increase depending on the type of book you want to print Photo books and landscape format books are more expensive. Blurb will ship the books internationally, but this is not included in the cost. Blurb is ideal for anyone wanting to get a book into print; they can print both text books and photo books. It’s ideal for average people that only want to print one or two books. The minimum order is just a single book which makes it a very useful site to know.

• Design your book with free software
• Print your book by ordering online – As few as 1 book needs ordering
• Books created are of bookstore quality
• Free to register and design books
• Use the site to promote your books
• Print your books with or without the Blurb Logo

http://www.blurb.com/