Comparing Book Publishing Applications: Lulu, WeBook, Blurb, and Qoop
January 23rd, 2009
When comparing book applications there's one thing to keep in mind: what's the purpose. Say you've got a manuscript and you want to put it out there, bring it to the world, for that you may want application that can print it, slap an ISBN on it, and send it out for distribution as widely as possible. What if, though, you have a personal project? Or a few poems but not enough for a book? This is why the applications that we've reviewed this week each have a benefit to their own. Read More »
Well known in the self publishing market, Lulu has made a name for itself by offering small print runs and an easy-to-use interface. Simple, clean, and efficient, first time authors will find that Lulu offers more than a chance to publish a novel - it can print photo books, manuals, and calendars. 
Seeing Blurb for the first time, it's hard to ignore the fluid and clean design of the site. From their opening pages to their marketplace with its Flash previews of books, the impression is that Blurb will take good care of your project. 
With a service such as Qoop, users can print a variety of products, ranging from apparel to books. What Qoop offers in book publishing - hard and soft covers, spiral binding, ebooks - is done through a simple upload process. Qoop requires that users have a pdf that is print ready - there is no layout tool with Qoop. Advanced users may find this a quick alternative to the layout process, while users without layout experience are likely to be frustrated by the lack of support. 
Not all publishers take your book as is - there's a new kind of publishing - one that's very web 2.0. Social, interactive, and all online, WeBook brings your friends and the community together to publish. 
Web 2.0 users looking to publish documents online - either to promote their ideas, or share information have found new outlets in online magazine publishing applications. DoXtop is one of these applications, giving users a chance to upload, combine, and find documents within its interface. 
Individuals and businesses alike publish magazine format documents, but as publishing transfers increasingly online, applications such as Issuu, with its strong design sense and intuitive features, have become popular outlets for online magazine publishing. 
