Barnes and Noble Does Printing

The major book company, Barnes and Noble, announced that they will be offering book printing service, similar to the one that Amazon offers, for authors who choose to self publish, rather than go through the process of getting a large company to do it for them.

This service will allow authors to order a specific number of print copies of their work, offering different formats (hardcover or paperback) and different kinds of paper (among other options). An article on thenextweb.com talks about how the service doesn’t have any “minimum order requirements” and that the service is great for making “limited-run copies for gifts or promotional purposes.”

The article also gives an example, including sample price, for printing a paperback book with Barnes and Noble’s new service. When looking at the example it’s easy to see that there’s a huge difference between the price for a black and white book compared to one printed in full color (roughly $36 in total for one book). This is understanble since color is harder to create than black and white, resulting in color costing more. Another article with an example comes from digitaltrends.com that provides how much a full color hardcover book costs. Both examples use the sample quick quote from the bottom of the service’s home page for the costs they are getting, which explains why the costs differ so greatly. I’ve checked out the quick quote section and no matter what the price/cost per book changes with the features you pick. For example something as small as a mass market paperback of a book might cost anywhere between $2.50 and $16.00 per book. Whereas something as large as a coffee table book might cost anywhere between $4.25 and $17.75. The same article from digitaltrends.com also provides some information on some of the other services offered, alongside the printing, to budding authors who need the help, but don’t want to spend too much money. However, these added services don’t come cheap. For example a cover design costs around $499 and editing can cost anywhere from $.37 to $.81 per word. They also offer two unique packages, which cost anywhere from $999 (black & white bookend package) to $2,199 (color shelf-starter package). While Barnes and Noble’s design is more direct and the prices are more arranged, Amazon’s book printing service is less direct and more geared towards the UK (they do list some international prices, but only those for the US and Japan). Between the two Barnes and Noble seems cheaper and more user friendly than Amazon’s, making the choice fairly easy just by looking at price/cost per book alone.

A third article from geekwire.com talks more in depth about the differences in book printing service offered by Barnes and Noble and the one offered by Amazon. The article talks about how Barnes and Noble is using this to attract people to their services since they seem to be one of the largest competitors with Amazon, at least where books are concerned and the changing technology that effects books, readers, and authors alike. The article also talks about how the announcement has come at a good time since it is currently National Novel Writing Month (Nano Wrimo), where many writers do their best to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, and how with this new service being provided by Barnes and Noble there are other options out there for those writers doing Nano Wrimo who want to self-publish their writing from the course of the month. I couldn’t agree more. The more services like this out there (even if they’re not as big as the ones offered by Barnes and Noble or Amazon) the more options writers participating in Nano Wrimo have if they want to publish their novel at the end of the month.

A fourth (and last) article on Barnes and Noble’s newest service is from electronista.com that talks about the workings behind the service in general. The article talks about how the “Nook Press Print is said to be created as an easy-to-use method of self-publishing” and how “Nook Press Print is only for personal use.” The fact that this article points this out is good, because it shows one of the advantages that Barnes and Noble’s book publishing service has over that of Amazon. With Amazon their book publishing service is geared towards not only publishing for personal use, but also for business among other reasons. This brings with it a more personal touch, since with Barnes and Noble the author is the one picking out the format for the ‘on-paper’ printed book.

Is Barnes and Noble’s new service successful? I think it is. The price/cost per book published is relatively cheap. There are other services offered and, even though they aren’t as cheap, they are still useful for anyone with enough money who needs help with certain aspects before publishing their book. They even make it personal, allowing the author/s to pick out how they want their book to look, but also add their own cover and customize the spine for their book. This is also a service that’s perfect for any Nano Wrimo participants who are thinking of publishing the novel they’re working on for the month.