"Book of the movie": DIY personal history publishing

Increasingly, clients are asking us to create books using the old photographs we have restored and the narration and captions we have used in their video biographies. The end product, a kind of "book of the movie", is usually delivered alongside the personal history documentary which we created. There are now a host of self-publishing options including Blurb, Lulu, iUniverse, Snapfish, Asuka, WeBook, Qoop - and many others. Maybe you have thought of using one of these services, but haven't yet.

What are you waiting for? It's a blast!

I must admit that I have only got as far as Blurb. But over a number of projects they've given me no reason to shop around. You download their free software, select your template, import images and text, move things around a bit and presto! It's a book!! You upload it to Blurb (a very tidy site), select the "private" or "public" option, and order as many soft or hard copies as you need (around $10 paperback - $60 hardcover). Turn around time is between 1 and 2 weeks. You can send links to family and friends who can preview the first 15 pages and order their own copies.

Quality? Actually, very high. Not quite a high-end art book but very nice all the same.

Now, I have heard many people say Lulu is better (it's been around longer). And I have experienced a number of glitches and crashes with Blurb which can be frustrating, as is its slowness (reason: it's always auto-saving so relax, you never lose anything). And Blurb is constantly updating their service (e.g. you can now upload PDFs).

So, if you are curious - and if you have the stamina for what can be a fairly fiddly job - you may well be as pleased as I (and my clients) have been with DIY personal history publishing.

Jane Lehmann-Shafron co-founded Your Story Here Video Biography, a documentary production company that specializes in video biography and family history documentary. Based in Orange County CA, her award-winning films have been featured in festivals in the United States and Canada. She can be contacted on 949 742-2755 or through her website.