QUILLBLOG

Quillblog: The Book

Just think — one day, you could be reading this blog in book form. Wired reports today that “Blurb.com, a self-publishing startup, will invite 600 bloggers this week to test out its new service by creating a free bound copy of their blog.”

Blurb.com CEO Eileen Gittins is keen to cash in on the digital publishing trend and our blog-happy society. “Distribution in the publishing industry is becoming all about making a book discoverable across the web, increasing its visibility to potential readers,” she says. She also says, somewhat frighteningly, that “Blog is just one flavor of content we will slurp.” Yuck.

Either way, what bloggers will get is this: “An 8-by-10 full-color, hardcover book with custom dust jacket costs between $30 and $80 … [and will include features] like extensive customization options, an e-commerce storefront, and forthcoming tagging and metadata add-ons.”

HarperCollins, ever digitally conscious, weighs in — on both sides. Group president Brian Murray says, “The role of a 21st-century publisher is making books available offline and on,” while CEO Jane Friedman says, “self-publishing is little more than a vanity press.”

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