A Book??

By -
I have been approached by some adoptive parents with the suggestion of making the Raising Colombian Kids Blog into a book, with the profits going to help fund the charity Friends of Colombian Orphans. Before I spend the hours required to make this a reality, I wanted to know the level of interest in purchasing the book.
I plan to use BLURB.com and the price will vary depending on how many pages I decide to put in the book and the quality of book you'd be interested in purchasing. The costs of self publishing are kind of high -- though there is a 10% discount if you purchase 10 copies or more. How much would people be willing to pay? Which topics would you want in the book? Which things should I leave out? What other things would you want included before publishing?

Here are the prices as quoted on Blurb:
Pages-----Softcover, Hardcover, ImageWrap
20-40 ----US $19.95 US $29.95 US $31.95
41-80 ----US $24.95 US $35.95 US $37.95
81-120 ---US $29.95 US $41.95 US $44.95
121-160 --US $36.95 US $49.95 US $52.95
161-200 -US $43.95 US $56.95 US $60.95
201-240 -US $50.95 US $64.95 US $69.95
241-280 -US $57.95 US $71.95 US $76.95

I will add $10 to the price for the donation to Friends of Colombian Orphans and you will need to pay for shipping. So far I have 6 buyers in Australia (thanks Carina) but what kind of response would I get from people elsewhere?
Making the book will be very time intensive, even though the content is slurped up from the blog by Blurb, you have to order it and place the pictures -- which is another story.
I'll need picture donations as I cannot freely use the FLICKR pictures if I publish the book -- though I am working on getting some permissions. If you have pictures that you would be willing to give me the rights to, or if you are an artist or illustrator and would like to donate a drawing or two please contact me privately.
For more info on the organization for Colombian Orphans -- click here:

http://www.friendsofcolombianorphans.org/#site/mission

Comments

Anonymous said…
Make it into an e-book. You can publish it yourself. Regardless of number of pages, I would not pay more than $25 for any book.

Good luck!!
September 12, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Rebecca said…
I would also like to buy such a book. I think my top limit would also be $25.00.
September 13, 2009 at 3:42 PM
Kit said…
Hey Meli,

I would do some art for it if you want. I'm no professional, but I'm sure I would have no problem getting help from both my instructor, and the other professionals in my class.
September 16, 2009 at 9:12 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Muisca Indigenous Names, from Hunza (Tunja)

By -
In response to this week’s posts on names, I have received several e-mails asking about the names of famous Colombians and their stories and about Indigenous names. I plan to spend the next three days sharing some of them. Also, I will continue to post more in the future and you will be able to find them all by clicking on the NAMES link the LABELS section to the right of the blog. Name: AQUIMÍN ( pronounced: ah key MEAN) or AQUIMINZAQUE (pronounced: ah key mean ZAH kay) When the Spanish arrived on the plains of Bogotá, 1536, they found a great nation. In fact, it was the third largest group of indigenous inhabitants in America. They called themselves the Muiscas , which meant ‘the people’. Their language was called Chibcha . The Muiscas were not a united group, but rather a collection of city states. The majority of the power was held by two main cities – what today are called Bogotá and Tunja (in Boyacá). These two cities were mortal enemies and each enlisted the loy
Read more

Popular Colombian Names

By -
Recently, I was asked to write a post on Colombian names, and popular Colombian names. I had a hard time finding a list, but eventually I did find one. According to I.N.E. - Instituto Nacional de Estadística, -- unfortunately, when I found this it doesn't say the year -- the most common Colombian boys names across all ages are: 1 JUAN CARLOS 2 CARLOS ALBERTO 3 ALEXANDER 4 ANDRES FELIPE 5 LUIS FERNANDO 6 DIEGO FERNANDO 7 JHON JAIRO 8 CARLOS ANDRES 9 ALEJANDRO 10 JUAN DAVID The girls are: 1 SANDRA MILENA 2 LUZ MARINA 3 CAROLINA 4 PAULA ANDREA 5 CLAUDIA PATRICIA 6 MARIA EUGENIA 7 PAOLA ANDREA 8 DANIELA 9 LILIANA 10 MARTHA CECILIA Just as here, names go through ebb and flow. Fourteen years ago when we were married, I attended several baby baptisms and met numerous friends of my husband. At the time, it seemed like everyone was naming their kid Juan CAMILO (boy) or Maria CAMILA (girl). I met dozens of them. Then, about 7 years later, I heard tons of SANTIAGO, JULIAN, SEBASTIAN and FE
Read more

La Madremonte

By -
Image
The myth of the Madremonte (Mother Mountain), and I do say myth though many campesinos in Colombia believe in her today, has it's roots in the indigenous cultures of Colombia and is known throughout much of Colombia including Antioquia, Caldas, Arauca, Caqueta, Amazonas, Guainia, and perhaps more departments. The Madremonte looks like a large woman. She has large, bony hands, large teeth and Betty Davis Eyes -- which on closer examination glow. Her body is covered in leaves and moss. Her hair is a tangled mess of plants and moss which often covers her face. She lives in the mountains and jungles, (in Antioquia and Caldas she lives in swamps where streams are born. People who claim to have seen her, usually report to have done so near thickets and bushes in jungle like areas. Others report having heard her bloodcurdling screams and groans on stormy nights. She rules the winds, the rains, and all the vegetation, and her role is to protect nature. She punishes those who invad
Read more