BookBaby vs. Blurb

Your words, your way.

Blurb is a niche self-publisher with a specialty in full-color photo books. When it comes to text placements and layout options, they fall short of the knowledge and expertise that we have at BookBaby. Of course, BookBaby does print full-color photo books, but we do so much more than that. From creating the perfect cover and interior formatting to converting your printed book into an eBook, it’s all available through BookBaby’s comprehensive services.

It's all under one roof.

While Blurb does supply authors with a free design tool, they don’t have an in-house design team. You’re an author, not a designer. You shouldn’t have to DIY it, and we make the process much easier by providing authors with access to book cover designers, page layout experts, and more. Put simply, we’ll do it all FOR you.

More control. Higher payouts.

Blurb partners with IngramSpark, which pays 45-70% of the listing price for printed titles in their book distribution network and only 40% for eBooks.

BookBaby offers Bookshop™, a free online storefront for authors to sell eBooks, audiobooks, and printed books (via Print On Demand) direct to readers. With Bookshop™, you earn 85% of your eBook sales, and printed books can earn up to 3X more than competing retailers. Best of all, you have total control of your very own storefront to help you showcase and sell your work.

Are you SURE you changed that typo?

IngramSpark (Blurb’s partner) uses a fully automated system that directly uploads your files to their printing press. Sounds cool, right? But what if there are errors that need to be addressed before going to print? That can lead to printed books with errors, forcing you to pay double what you expected when you have to re-run them.

All BookBaby book designers are experienced in prepress. They get it right the first time, personally inspecting each and every one of your files to make sure they meet the technical requirements for quality, error-free book printing.