rebecca's pocket

» Publisher Chronicle Books has signed a "mutual-referral" deal with self-publisher Blurb. Chronicle will refer rejected manuscripts to Blurb (where authors would pay to have their own work published), in exchange for which Blurb will pay Chronicle a commission on those books' sales. "We'd love to be the Sundance Film Festival of the book world." Blurb CEO Eileen Gittin.

I don't know, this sounds like a fine deal for both publishers but no deal at all for the authors. A 100 page 6x9 inch, black and white book, perfect bound paperback costs $6.53 at Lulu. At Blurb, you'll pay $21.95 for a 100 page paperback. However, Kevin Kelly does recommend Blurb for photobooks (and Lulu for everything else).