Toward the end of 2019, I decided to gather up some of the more meaningful blog posts from my first year of blogging in an effort to preserve them in print form.
After doing a bit of research on different photo book services, I chose Mixbook, went for it, and created a book.
It was fun to see those written memories in physical, tangible form—so much so that toward the end of 2020, I decided to do it again for the blog's second year.
Mixbook's platform and interface seemed almost exactly the same as last year, which I suppose is okay. As the saying goes, If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Maybe some other sites (cough-cough blogger cough-cough) would do well to keep that saying in mind.
Anyhow, after getting accustomed to how Mixbook's interface works, arranging the text and images becomes pretty straightforward. I'll spare the details here, and instead refer you back to the post I put up last year if you're interested in doing a similar project with some of your blog posts.
Another thing that didn't seem to change very much from last year was the cost. My 2020 book was very close in price to the 2019 version, for a similar number of pages.
Briefly put, there's a flat charge for the blank book, varying slightly with the sizes and types you can choose from. Regardless of which style you choose, each book comes with 20 fresh pages for you to fill. There's a per-page charge for every additional page you add after that. (Be on the lookout for coupon codes that'll give you big discounts—they're often available and advertised right on the home page.)
Whether you use Mixbook or one of the many other photo book services out there (such as Snapfish, Apple, Flickr, and Shutterfly), I highly recommend giving it a try. I stuck with the blog posts that held special childhood memories, or ones that I just thought turned out really well.
So why not go
through your blog history, choose 5 or 10 entries (or more) that hold
special meaning for you, and consider making a print version? It's a
great way to look back
on some of the work you've done, especially if you've been blogging for
years. You'll be preserving some of that work in print
form, and there's nothing else like it.
If you are indeed thinking about doing a project like this, do any specific blog posts immediately come to mind?
Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading, as always.
What a cool idea! I'm definitely going to have to research this idea. I'd love to create a couple of these to give to my grandsons when they get older.
ReplyDeleteThanks bbcardz! Nice idea to gift some copies to the grandsons, too.
DeleteVery cool idea. The thing holding me back would be flipping through all of my posts trying to figure out which ones I'd want. It'd be more likely for me to just pick a series like my Flea Market Finds and spotlight a few of those.
ReplyDeleteVery good point, Fuji. You could definitely have separate books for separate series. (Now I'm thinking about doing a separate book for my custom cards.)
DeleteStill haven't done this yet. Still scolding myself for not doing it.
ReplyDeleteMuch easier for me, as I've only got 52 posts to choose from each year. You've got hundreds and hundreds! But it would be pretty cool to see which posts you'd choose and why. (Fodder for a future Night Owl blog post, perhaps?)
DeleteI'm with Night Owl here. Loved the idea when I saw your first post about these mixbooks and looked into it but didn't follow through. Yet.
ReplyDeleteI like the "Yet" at the end there, Chris!
DeleteAll the contents you mentioned in post is too good and can be very useful. I will keep it in mind, thanks for sharing the information keep updating, looking forward for more posts.Thanks cinema
ReplyDelete