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Sunday Thoughts
Apr. 19th, 2009 12:04 pmI got an LJ Announcement in my email toay. It seems they've decided to partner with a self-publishing company called Blurb, which they are using to publishthe LiveJournal 10th Anniversary book.
They must have gotten an extremely good deal because, looking at Blurb's prices, what Blurb charges to produce a book is ridiculous. $4.95 for a 0-40-page paperback? No, I don't think so. A 300-paga paperback from Blurb costs $11.95. How is an author supposed to make a profit, charging over that to sell books?
Roman Stuff: I am looking at the Societas Via Romana organization. From the little bit I have seen so far, I like a few things:
1. Their focus is on scholastic study; they encouage their members to write essays about ancient Roman culture. (Whether the members actually write or not, I don't know; nor can I speak for the quality of any essays written.)
2. They want their by-laws to be simplified and few.
3. They modified their entire administrative system when they decided it wasn't working for them. I like that; it shows that the people running the thing are awake--or were at the time of the restrucuring.
I'm sure they have their own internal political squabbles, just as Nova Roma has, but the differences are interesting to me and appealing.
They must have gotten an extremely good deal because, looking at Blurb's prices, what Blurb charges to produce a book is ridiculous. $4.95 for a 0-40-page paperback? No, I don't think so. A 300-paga paperback from Blurb costs $11.95. How is an author supposed to make a profit, charging over that to sell books?
Roman Stuff: I am looking at the Societas Via Romana organization. From the little bit I have seen so far, I like a few things:
1. Their focus is on scholastic study; they encouage their members to write essays about ancient Roman culture. (Whether the members actually write or not, I don't know; nor can I speak for the quality of any essays written.)
2. They want their by-laws to be simplified and few.
3. They modified their entire administrative system when they decided it wasn't working for them. I like that; it shows that the people running the thing are awake--or were at the time of the restrucuring.
I'm sure they have their own internal political squabbles, just as Nova Roma has, but the differences are interesting to me and appealing.
