Goblin Tales, Print Edition

A handful of people asked whether they would be able to get a print edition of Goblin Tales [Amazon | B&N]. Had I known at the time how long it would take to get the manuscript properly typeset, to create a full-wrap cover, to get my test proof copy in the mail, to go back and completely redo the typesetting–

Fortunately, I didn’t know! And I’m happy to announce that over the weekend, the USPS delivered the following to my door:

It’s roughly mass market sized (about 2-3 millimeters larger), 132 pages, and is priced at $7.99 through Lulu.

Interesting note: with most commercial publishers, the actual printing/paper doesn’t make up a significant portion of a book’s cost, due in part to the large print runs. But that’s not the case with a print-on-demand service. Despite the higher cover price, I end up making significantly less on the print edition: about $.50 vs. $2 for the e-book.

On the other hand, I admit to being a bit old-school, and I like having a book I can add to my ego shelf 🙂

I also just really like the look of the typeset page.

I’m working on enabling the download feature at Lulu, which would let people purchase a PDF file. That should eventually be available for $2.99, but I don’t know when Lulu will update the product page with the download info.

Lulu also has the PDF file for sale, which can be downloaded for $2.99.

I’m still waiting for Kobo to add the e-book to their site, and I’m continuing to talk to Wizard’s Tower about distribution. But for those who wanted a printed version of the book, it’s all yours. There’s even a coupon code: enter SPRINGREAD at checkout and you should get 20% off if you order by March 31.

My thanks to typesetting guru barbarienne, and everyone else who helped out with suggestions and feedback.

If anyone has questions about the process, I’m happy to share.