CreateSpace

I haven't used it myself, but a number of folks around here have. If you do a search on CreateSpace you'll pull up some threads with useful info.

I've used them for myself (a book of shorts that was cheaper to publish POD than print off my computer -- and looks better); and for some others who I've helped with formatting setup etc. to get themselves in print. Everyone has been very pleased with the results, including me. I didn't use any of their extra services, so the cost was just the cost of the book and the shipping. There's a very friendly community to help you out if you have questions. Certainly the cost of the book is very, very reasonable. Just remember that it's up to you to be sure that not only is the book written well, but it also looks as if it's written well. I looked through the "help" community and found a lot of great information about book layout and design that was very valuable. My short story book is about 96 pages and costs me $2.79 to order and ship 10 books. I sell it for $5 in person. The shipping cost hits you when you order your proof copy (and you do HAVE to do that); but ordering in some reasonable quantity --i.e. not a garage-full -- the cost per book comes down nicely. One of the books was an 8 x 10 full color. Poems originally written for her grandchildren with her own illustrations. Cost was about $6 for the book, but it looks good (better than the plastic bound Office Max copy she'd had!) and that price made her very happy.

Oh, covers:

I did mine using their "Cover Creator" (It's called "Englewood Fireside Tales") and I like it very much. You can't see it in the Amazon blurb, but the photo (mine) is actually used as background on the back cover. You need to fool around with all the options, but you can get a very original looking result. Don't just take the defaults! The other two I did, but CS gave me a template once I'd uploaded the body text. It's sized for spine and bleed and works well. They do a cursory check for technical glitches -- like too few dpi -- and will let you know if there's a problem. If you've got more questions, feel free to ask.

Jean

I did, and I will recommend them endlessly. They're very WYSIWYG, and you have to tinker quite a bit before you can get the formatting just right, but the end result is beautiful.