I've started writing adventures and published my first in pdf form on DriveThru last May.  December I did a pdf of ten one page side quests with facing page maps.  Since I now know I love doing this on the side (I'm a full time science teacher otherwise), and am in it for the long haul, I want to get into print on demand.

I'm currently publishing on DriveThru:  https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/24813/wicked-cool-games


Products:

Everything I made or that's in the process of being written now is under 64 pages.  Softcover seems appropriate.  Black and white or standard color (not premium) make the most sense.


Goals:

1. I want to bring hard copies of my stuff to cons - NOT run a sales booth, but have a few copies if people like the play test I run.

2. I want an online sales option to be print on demand.


Specs:

1. Good quality or better - not cheap that will fall apart.

2. Likely 8.5 x 11 or 6 x 9 inches.

3. Fair price for the consumer that is buying from an unknown who is building a customer base. (I don't have a YouTube channel to push my stuff and can only do part time marketing on FB and forums so far - I'm slowly building a mailing list on DriveThru).

I'm not getting rich, this is a labor of love, but I'd love to make coffee, beer, and RPG money.


I will go with DriveThru first since that's where I currently sell, but looking down the line as well for getting some stuff for Cons -

A. What companies would you recommend and why?

B. Any companies that I should avoid - and why?

Thanks.

Lulu?

I'd second Lulu, I've had good experience working with them on professional manuals in the past.

The main thing I know of to watch out for is where they are actually doing the printing, and what shipping costs might be like.

If your customers are primarily European, a company that prints in the US might cause your customers to pay high shipping costs.

Other print on demand places may have print shops in both North America and Europe.

Dumb-le post.

If you'd like to make a small run, I recommend Mixam.  Quality!  Excellent customer service, too.

Lulu is easy-peasy, good quality, and quick, but a little pricier. KDP does everything I want it to. There are other options which I am sure are fine.

Quote from: pawsplay on January 25, 2024, 02:30:31 PM
Lulu is easy-peasy, good quality, and quick, but a little pricier. KDP does everything I want it to. There are other options which I am sure are fine.

I'll take the pricier over the huge cut places like Drive-thru take from every sale.

Quote from: Omega on January 26, 2024, 04:29:52 PM

Quote from: pawsplay on January 25, 2024, 02:30:31 PM
Lulu is easy-peasy, good quality, and quick, but a little pricier. KDP does everything I want it to. There are other options which I am sure are fine.

I'll take the pricier over the huge cut places like Drive-thru take from every sale.

As long as you charge enough they'll let you sell direct.

Quote from: Vic99 on January 24, 2024, 05:47:34 PM
I've started writing adventures and published my first in pdf form on DriveThru last May.  December I did a pdf of ten one page side quests with facing page maps.  Since I now know I love doing this on the side (I'm a full time science teacher otherwise), and am in it for the long haul, I want to get into print on demand.

I'm currently publishing on DriveThru:  https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/24813/wicked-cool-games


Products:

Everything I made or that's in the process of being written now is under 64 pages.  Softcover seems appropriate.  Black and white or standard color (not premium) make the most sense.


Goals:

1. I want to bring hard copies of my stuff to cons - NOT run a sales booth, but have a few copies if people like the play test I run.

2. I want an online sales option to be print on demand.


Specs:

1. Good quality or better - not cheap that will fall apart.

2. Likely 8.5 x 11 or 6 x 9 inches.

3. Fair price for the consumer that is buying from an unknown who is building a customer base. (I don't have a YouTube channel to push my stuff and can only do part time marketing on FB and forums so far - I'm slowly building a mailing list on DriveThru).

I'm not getting rich, this is a labor of love, but I'd love to make coffee, beer, and RPG money.


I will go with DriveThru first since that's where I currently sell, but looking down the line as well for getting some stuff for Cons -

A. What companies would you recommend and why?

B. Any companies that I should avoid - and why?

Thanks.

You'll need to find places to advertise to sell your wares.  Going the influencer route or conventions might work as does the good ole fashioned facebook ads.  The benefit of drivethrough is you are in a large market with a lot of players.  You could also build VTT versions of your projects and get free advertising there as people buy your goods and you have link backs to your web site and discord for support.

Big Geek Emporium is like Drive Thru without the fascism and wokeness.  You have to promote harder, but they do the same thing DriveThru does and offers print-on-demand services.

I guess that's something I should mention about Lulu. I was very happy with the printing and so forth. But there is essentially no discoverability at all. You will have to do your own marketing 100%, there is not even a scroll of recent books or anything. Something to consider.

Quote from: Lurkndog on January 24, 2024, 07:43:53 PM
I'd second Lulu, I've had good experience working with them on professional manuals in the past.

The main thing I know of to watch out for is where they are actually doing the printing, and what shipping costs might be like.

If your customers are primarily European, a company that prints in the US might cause your customers to pay high shipping costs.

Other print on demand places may have print shops in both North America and Europe.

For Lulu: Options given are saddle stitch, paperback, hardcover, and linen wrap.

Any recommendations for a 40 page book? Thinking 6 x 9 or 8.5 x 11. Thanks.

This is a useful topic though I have little to contribute.  Please continue!

Quote from: pawsplay on January 26, 2024, 04:31:15 PM

Quote from: Omega on January 26, 2024, 04:29:52 PM

Quote from: pawsplay on January 25, 2024, 02:30:31 PM
Lulu is easy-peasy, good quality, and quick, but a little pricier. KDP does everything I want it to. There are other options which I am sure are fine.

I'll take the pricier over the huge cut places like Drive-thru take from every sale.

As long as you charge enough they'll let you sell direct.

It gets too expensive. Your book ends up costing more to print than most people are willing to buy just because you have to increase the price to make any sort of profit. I know. I was looking to do some books through them and then ran into the whole 30% cut they take, on top of the print costs. Theres ways to mitigate it a little to be sure. But its still ramping the cost up one way or another.

But that is a problem you face too going self direct. Except you can cut out the middleman and keep that 30%. Which is what I did.

Quote from: pawsplay on January 27, 2024, 09:26:50 PM
I guess that's something I should mention about Lulu. I was very happy with the printing and so forth. But there is essentially no discoverability at all. You will have to do your own marketing 100%, there is not even a scroll of recent books or anything. Something to consider.

+10 quatloos

I've found and purchased books for Lulu before.  Absolutely no problems with the books, or the shipping or the authors.
They appear to have tons of assistance if you are an author.

BUT their site sucks.  Like, it really sucks bad, I cant even find the book I purchased from them last year !!  I has to be in there somewhere, right ??  Searching by author seems to turn up just random books.  I'm baffled.