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The POD Diary – May 12th, 2008

Shannon Yarbrough — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:16:27 +0000

Due to the lack of interest in the Success Stories feature I had created last month, and at an attempt to keep things fresh and interesting here at the LLBR site, I have replaced that tab with something I’m calling the POD Diary.

Last year, I completed my second novel which I am currently working on publishing with Lulu. I decided to record my experience which can hopefully be used as a resource for other writers, or be read as a boring soap opera as I work on polishing my book for publication. However you choose to see it.

Right now I’m in the editing and book cover creation stages and have invested just over $200 dollars of my own money. I hope you will check out this new tab and feel free to ask questions or offer feedback as I go through this process.

Words from the Inside

Shannon Yarbrough — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:45:49 +0000

Mark, a Lulu engineer, has been making the rounds, recently commenting on my previous post and also commenting on Veinglory’s recent remarks concerning Lulu over at Podpeep. Excellent thoughts from Veinglory, an avid Lulu reader and supporter. My sentiments exactly! Although Mark admits he doesn’t have much information about the recent Amazon debacle, he assured us that Lulu is currently working on improving their online bookstore search systems and more. Mark says, “There’s always a lot going on, but we’re trying to improve the experience for everyone.”

Thanks, Mark!

Newsworthy POD Updates

Shannon Yarbrough — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:53:43 +0000

As March draws to a close, I’d like to thank the 1,000+ visitors who have visited the site during its first month. I’d like to thank the four authors who’ve been reviewed thus far: thank you for producing, writing, composing, and editing such great work that beats the POD stigma. And thanks to those who’ve asked to be reviewed. I’ll be getting to more of you come April, I promise.

Here are some other announcements from around the www concerning POD which I’d like to bring to your attention if you haven’t heard or read about them already…

iUniverse and Authorhouse are getting married on April 1st. Susan Driscoll’s most recent post promises publishing will never be the same.

iUBR is opening its review submissions to a wider range of POD publishers instead of just reviewing books from iU. More news to follow on that, although Floyd has informed me via email that he’s leaving the Lulu’s to me. Good luck to Floyd and his review staff. We look forward to the reviews to come.

None May Say, another POD review site, is back after almost a ten month hiatus. Welcome back Devon Kappa!

Veinglory over at PODPeep was recently approached by a traditional publishing company seeking reviews. This post inspired some thoughtful commentary. Some seem to be in favor of blurring the lines between POD and Traditional. Some weren’t. I’m torn myself. I’d like to think this could be the beginning of something beautiful for the POD world. The snobby writer in me says, “Let them eat my query drafts and rejection letters!”

PODdy Mouth II is entertaining us with some boring basketball-like championship game where all the POD publishers are the players. It’s all drab skits of marketing information, publication packages, and pricing but fun to read in the voice of Howard Cosell. There’s a sports bracket and everything. Commentary recently compared it to the large amount of U.S. credit card debt. No wonder I fell asleep in Economics class. My teacher was also a basketball coach. Loads of information as always though for the writer overwhelmed with the POD possibilities. Check it out!

That’s about it! I have two reviews lined up for early April, so check back soon. I’d love to see the “Pick Me!” page grow even more. Lulu authors, let’s hear from you!