Print on Demand Publishing

So you think you're the next Dan Brown having written your first draft complete with chapter cliff hangers but having trouble finding a publisher willing to take a chance on you. Used to be you could publish it yourself, but it'll cost you a bit of money and leave you with a thousand books that no one wants to buy.

So, should you shelve your dream? Not any more, not with the latest print-on-demand services that promise to make a published author out of you. And you don't have to spend a cent to get started. Just hop on down to www.lulu.com, or www.wordclay.com. Get a free account, upload your text & pictures, decide the kind of book you want, hardcover, paperback, the kind of binding and away you go. You can sell your books online and they don't cost you because the books are only printed and shipped out on demand when someone buys it. You decide the price of your book and lulu.com takes a 20 percent cut when it's sold.

And it's not just plain old books you can create. There's picturebooks, calenders, children's books, comics, high school yearbooks - and there's a whole load of ideas on what you can do when you visit the sites.

PC Mag has a review of Lulu here, and Wordclay here. Self publishing has never been easier.