pyxlin' your blook

I found pyxlin at a post called "pyxlin vs blurb" when I was researching Blurb. Since then I've been in communication with the folks at FamilyLearn who created the blog-to-blook solution called pyxlin. Caution: pyxlin is proprietary in the sense that the LJ Book solution was - you need a pyxlin journal in order for this work. When I queried them about that, I got this reply:

For the same reason that pyxlin is developing a MS Word Import, we are planning to create a blog import for the purpose of easily sucking your personal journals and diaries from their blog form, and then converting them into readable books for your posterity.

So far so good. They even have plans for "a variety of technical mash-ups to help you bring together your journal. Pyxlin will be released with the ability to drop your flickr' photos right into your journal. Later pyxlin also has plans to include photobucket and smugmug's api's as well." [I don't know what any of those are, but oh well.]

Private vs. Public

Since pyxlin makes a very big deal about keeping private journals private AND they want you to start and end with pyxlin, they charge you for it. It's only $30 a year, but still ... why would you?

What sets pyxlin apart, besides the issue of privacy, is pyxlin's emphasis on personal in the phrase "personal journals."

... if your blog is more personal and is just for you, your family, and your posterity (e.g., daily experiences, lessons, family tree, and your personal stories), then you will probably be more interested in publishing with pyxlin.

I can't disagree that a lot of blooks are intended primarily for family and friends. Two which come to mind are Jim Buie's biography of his mother, Teacher of Our Town: Lillian Secrest Buie, and Clive Lincoln's biography of his brother-in-law, An Honourable Gentleman: Kenneth John Sutton 1925-2002.

I think pyxlin is on to something, particularly with senior citizens who are concerned about what they will leave behind them. I also know of a blog by a fellow who is engaged to be married soon. He's been writing for the last six months about the engagement, will write about the wedding and the first year, then hopefully publish. While I wish him well, I don't think that there will be much of a market for his blook.

Print Quality

This focus on the personal accounts for the company's emphasis on blook quality. As Jeff Harmon put it:

Pyxlin will offer a cheap publishing option like Lulu and Blurb. But we are planning to focus on the higher standard of quality of library certified books. Most pyxlin journals will need to be built to last longer than bookstore quality books. In other words pyxlin's prices will vary from plush leather-bound, gold embossed, thick photo quality paper journals to the very inexpensive cheap options similar to Lulu and Blurb.

Kind Words for the Competition

I don't know about you but I'm impressed when a company can and does say something nice about the competition. [Just a tad different than Ann Coulter and Elizabeth Edwards exchanges.] Here's a quote from the "pyxlin- journal smart" blog:

Overall blurb is a sweet company—located in San Fransisco— with a great name, great prices, and loads of funding. I am excited to see how they turn out against our friends at LuLu, their main competitor. Blurb is an On-Demand self-publisher that is really built primarily for authors to create and resell their books.

I'll be looking at Blurb soon. In the meantime, I would be happy to hear about anyone who has used pyxlin.