I'll make my own book, thanks!

First, understand the difference between self-publishing with companies like Lulu versus print-on-demand ones like Blog2Print and Blurb, which can "slurp" a blog into a design template.

Blogger Marie Javins scored a traditional book deal – Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik – but still experiments with DIY options to chronicle recent entries. She reports: "It slurped just fine but if you want to make any photos decent resolution (300 dpi for paper), then you have to replace the blog ones and that takes time and effort. So my slurp is still sitting on my computer, where it has for a few years. I take it out once in a while and work on it, but the software is buggy and slow and I lose interest quickly."

Javins – who has professional graphic-design expertise – concludes: "I think the better choice might be to sort out how you can use InDesign with the blog slurp."

Before you agree to $99–900 worth of fees, look into:
* Up-front costs?
* Royalties?
* Setup fees?
* Who holds the ISSN?
* Minimum orders?
* Storage expenses?
* Cost breakdowns per unit?
* Reprint rights?
* Quality of work?
* Ease/difficulty of production?
* Site security?
* Customer service?
* Shipping costs?
* Distribution networks?

Learn more via The Northwest Independent Editors Guild meeting notes on Self Publishing, Book Publishers NW and classes by Sheryn Hara.