I want to make a little book about my family but it’s SO expensive

[nicdigby]

Would there be local interest in the book ...maybe you could rin to 100 copies and sell them. Or keek for future generations as they get older

How ready is it to be printed ?

Theres a publisher called flex press at Birstall

My mother did a reprint of her local history book which cost £500 for 100

But it was already ready for print so cost less

The first edition cost £500O for  500 copies and she had to get it printed in china in 2005

I only want 20 copies and it has living people in it so it won’t be sold to anyone, just for family cousins off the line I have researched.

[nicdigby]

I suspect that if you print too many copies that you will end up with boxes of unsold ones and that the ones you do manage to sell will not cover printing costs.

Have you asked any local printers for advise on bringing cost per volume (for a small run) down? Thinks like what format you present it to them in or having illustrations and photos grouped on page rather than scattered through book could make a difference.

Thank you I will try to find some local printers

[aghadowey]

Sometimes an author takes pre-paid orders (or subscriptions) to a book before printing which means they have a good idea how many copies are needed and subscriptions (pre-paid orders) cover all or most of the costs.

[nicdigby]

Sometimes an author takes pre-paid orders (or subscriptions) to a book before printing which means they have a good idea how many copies are needed and subscriptions (pre-paid orders) cover all or most of the costs.

Ah, I see. Thank you. I will investigate

[Ruskie]

Print out the pages yourself and have someone bind them.

or ...

Do a website or blog instead of a paper copy, then you can easily add to it or make changes as needed.

[brigidmac]

Even if its only for family I still think it might be worth getting 30 or 50 copies so you dont have to get reprints for the next generation .

Understand fully about the living people aspect .

I hope you find a good local printer who can advise
At least you wont have to send of to china to get cheaper printing lots of options these days

[Ian Nelson]

An alternative is to Self-Publish.  It costs for the paper, ink and your time ...  that's all!
Using the Free Authoring program from Spacejock to manage the layout, chapters and word count I then used Microsoft Wordpad and LibreOffice Writer to make the Master copy of my Novella ready for Printing, and Epub submission.
I printed 40 of an intended 100 copies to give a hard copy to all the pub cronies who featured in the story (suitably disguised of course).   I used an £40 all-in-one Canon printer and paper bought from the £ store and a Glossy Photocard for the outside cover and a Pot of Rubbery Paperglue to hold it all together. 
I also submitted it to Smashwords for Global distribution as a Ebook - no cost. I made mine Free for ebook downloads.
Amazon have a deal for you whereby no book is printed until someone orders it - you do the layou though and the Cover Art.
I then made mine into an Audiobook using Audacity ( free as well ).  Audible set a standard for audiobooks ... I'm just cleaning up some odd sounds and it'll be ready for submission.
Here's some info ...
yWriter free from Spacejock, an author and computer program developer
more to follow, cheers, Ian

[Ian Nelson]

anyone wishing to download a FREE copy should go to Smashwords site, note the name change of the principal character from Billy to Bobby

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/kilwinning

find the download link on this page

[louisa maud]

Send a letter to father Christmas !!

Louisa Maud