tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Aug 8, 2020 7:46:56 GMT
Am not in the office, can't remember my password, so posting as guest - sorry. After Lulu has sent me all 13 PDFs for my huge photo books, I re-sized them for the smaller square size available at mybestseller dot co dot uk.
Very happy with them - both the new versions (smaller [bit sad, alas...] but more affordable, and the ease of operation of their system). Size choice is basic but sufficient - paper choice is also basic (but Lulu is very basic at the moment). Mybestseller (likewise bookmundo dot de, and sweek dot com) have a simple cover designer, but since I prefer to make my own PDF, I have barely looked at it.
And most of all, very helpful 'real person' email contact.
Also, choice of ISBN - or not, and most of all, fuss-free paypal. With ISBN you get the usual industry distribution channels...
They are a self publishing company worth a look.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2020 6:17:59 GMT
I wanted to use mybestseller tasmanianartist but my book for children didn't have enough pages! This does look like a good company.
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Aug 9, 2020 6:51:01 GMT
I wanted to use mybestseller tasmanianartist but my book for children didn't have enough pages! This does look like a good company. Yes, the minimum number of pages is larger than with Lulu.com - I've struck it twice, but in my case there was an easy workaround - both times I was able to incorporate additional material that had surfaced between the 'now' and the first publishing with Lulu. But it is something to keep in mind - here their list: (quote from one of their email replies) ......
Minimum Page Numbers I pulled the following text from our help centre:
Hardcover:
Cream paper (bookwove): 49 pages
White paper: 79 pages
Semi-gloss white paper: 98 pages
Paperback:
Cream paper (bookwove): 57 pages
White paper: 40 pages
Semi-gloss white paper: 43 page
But I think the landscape trim of the paperback wants 47 pages of semi-gloss white.
I'm working on getting to know their various shipping modes and costs (between labels - a small paperback as a test) bookmundo would charge DHL Euro30, sweek would charge just under Euro5 (!) for PostNL (I don't know yet whether that is within the Netherlands only, or actually from the NL to Australia, as I've given my Australian address), and the shipping from the UK to Australia would be around 13Pound with 'Royal Mail' ... I have yet to establish whether any of it is tracking, as I won't order 'non-tracking' to Tasmania ... bad 'losing mail' statistics here ...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2020 7:02:00 GMT
Thanks tasmanianartist. That is useful information. I checked out other self-publishing sites but in the end made my book in Lulu. However it took me a while to get my all-in-one cover right. The rest was straight forward. I am pleased with the proof copy.
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Aug 18, 2020 8:52:34 GMT
Following up on the shipping query: "All international shipments are tracked shipments using UPS." ... Now I'll wait to receive my order, then I can report on the actual physical printed quality ... shipping is slow because of current virus situations everywhere.
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Post by benziger on Aug 23, 2020 8:29:37 GMT
shipping is slow because of current virus situations everywhere. I wouldn't put everything on SARS2. My food processor I ordered 7 days ago has been ready for pickup two houses away for 5 days. But the pickup code hasn't been emailed to me yet. And the self-service tracking link leads to the national post office, although the package had been delivered to the neighbourhood store by a private courier. The virus is always a good excuse today, even if something is perhaps simply wrongly implemented. |
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Post by And still Kevin 2024 on Aug 23, 2020 23:48:12 GMT
Well indeed. Just like computers were invented as something to place blame on.
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Aug 28, 2020 7:07:06 GMT
Quite so ... :-) ... the package is now in Botany, Sydney, via Koeln, Germany. Should have it next week. ... A week ago we had a package delivered to us - a book - meant for 19 xxx Street, but we are 19 yyy Street - just around the corner. The postie has been delivering regular packages to us, which, to him, obviously means all packages to 19 ... Street anywhere around here must by default belong to us. :-) ... as it so happens, we have just made good friends with people who have similar interests in photography and nature. Quite funny really ...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2020 8:46:37 GMT
Quite so ... :-) ... the package is now in Botany, Sydney, via Koeln, Germany. Should have it next week. ... A week ago we had a package delivered to us - a book - meant for 19 xxx Street, but we are 19 yyy Street - just around the corner. The postie has been delivering regular packages to us, which, to him, obviously means all packages to 19 ... Street anywhere around here must by default belong to us. :-) ... as it so happens, we have just made good friends with people who have similar interests in photography and nature. Quite funny really ... That is one strange postman! Are all postman so individualistic? Our postman certainly is. One day he put our package in our green bin (supplied by the council for garden waste) as we wern't home. I'm so glad I met him and he told me, because later that day my husband was going to do some branch cutting and the parcel would have been completely buried. He said he'd put a note through the door but it must have accidentally been thrown away because we never found it. Our "postie" is quite a character, he helps many of the older people on his route, often doing their gardening or other chores for them. |
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Sept 2, 2020 2:39:42 GMT
Posties can be odd-balls indeed! --- Parcel has arrived with 4 books from mybestseller.co.uk. Quality <tick>, crisp colour print <tick>, good solid binding both HC and PPB <tick>. Nice feel to the colour paper in the photo books, nice feel to the b/w paper in the small novel. Size of the photo books should perhaps be 'upped' a little as 20cm x 20cm is a little 'unremarkable' (This is personal opinion only, as I absolutely adore my uber-gigantic 30cm x 30cm photo books from Lulu - the ones Lulu tossed out).
My only point of contention is (and that's not an isolated case - many printing stations of Lulu connection were just as bad) ... the packaging. Large double fold-over cardboard, with 4 different-sized lightweight books inside that weren't tied down with shrink wrap ... now they look like second-hand books with the corners banged up, scratched from the slipping and sliding, and dented from each other's spine edges and corners.
I'm awaiting reply to my packaging complaint with 15 photos.
I'll keep you posted.
I repeat - books as good as any Lulu produced, in some instances even better - with the packaging by the English printer the only complaint.
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Sept 2, 2020 7:45:16 GMT
Received reply from Mybestseller.co.uk re books damaged in transit because of inadequate packaging - replacement is on its way. I'm pleased they responded so swiftly. Here's hoping they address the packaging issues - mind you, going by the packaging issues with Lulu's various printers, I'd say that's a question of economics of each printing station. Not everyone thinks shrink wrap is warranted to protect a product that's still generally more expensive than traditional publishing in many cases, and of value to the recipient.
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Sept 2, 2020 8:51:58 GMT
Here is why I like Mybestseller.co.uk or Bookmundo.de or Sweek.com (all three are labels of the Dutch POD publisher Mijnbestseller.nl). Quote of reply email:
"Hi Marlies,
I completely agree and have raised the point with our printing partner as well. It's a complete waste and useless strain on the environment to ship package halfway across the world with inadequate packaging.
Best regards,"
Isn't this how dialogue between business partners across cyberspace, and half a world apart, ought to progress? Not endless unmonitored, automated reply emails that have no merit.
That's it for me - I've gone through the process of adjusting Lulu PDFs, and found Mybestseller much easier to fathom and operate, personal attention along the way, trackable, affordable shipping, immediate response to problems. I'm staying with them.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2020 13:20:53 GMT
"I absolutely adore my uber-gigantic 30cm x 30cm photo books from Lulu - the ones Lulu tossed out."
GOOD LUCK with Mybestseller Tasmanianartist, but I hope you had ordered those Photo books you made in Lulu before they so scandalously threw them out.
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Post by And still Kevin 2024 on Sept 10, 2020 16:22:15 GMT
I wanted to use mybestseller tasmanianartist but my book for children didn't have enough pages! This does look like a good company.
There's ways of 'cheating' to increase page count. (Although it does lead to a more expensive book though!)
A Title page, blank on the following side. Ditto a Copyright page. Possibly a Preface page. Only use the righthand pages when possible. Larger text, to use more pages, (but following on to the following page) useful for kid's books. If your large images have text included in the art, separate that text and have it the opposite page. An Also By page or two, often at the back. Pages for POD often have to be divisible by four, if you pages don't do that they will be added, thus, increasing the page count you are aware of. If your book is, say, A4, reduce it to A5, if you have a lot of text.
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Post by tasmanianartistNotLoggedIn on Sept 28, 2020 4:55:06 GMT
Just checking in after quite a spell. Am quite happy with the books from Mybestseller.co.uk - methinks they need a different printer/supplier tho, as the one they are using now does not see sense in packing the books safely enough to survive a trip around the world through hands that toss packets here there and everywhere. For one book (out of the first test order of 4) they need to send a replacement for the second time - the first replacement looks like it's been used as a place-mat for breakfast, with edges knocked by the slip-sliding inside the loose cardboard fold box - so the printer needs to pull out a finger somewhere to do with packaging. Can't fault the actual software/system - quite robust, and tells you exactly what it wants without stalling. Pound Sterling and Euros are not compatible at present with the Australian Dollar, so I'm a little on the backfoot regarding pricing - but it all depends on where the market/readers are situated. Personal assistance from the Dutch guys is still superb. Indeed, larika - I did order a copy of all of my Uber-sized photo and art books - unfortunately, Mybestseller has a much smaller square size (7.87x7.87") - any new photo books will have to be designed 'down' to that size. Their largest hardcover is 8.27 x 10.98", which is taller than wide, and not exactly to my excentric square-book taste. On Lulu, I have 'restored' a limited number of titles that I keep just for my own use 'private', or on 'direct link' as the latter is a favourite of mine for various personal reasons - I'll never forgive them for tossing out my Uber-sized photo books ... Spring is here in Tasmania, so I'll sign off now for the season (I suspect) as my roses, cyclamen, waratahs, ferns and fuchsias are keeping me as busy as ... So long for now ... |
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