One of the reasons I love using Blurb for photo books, is the variety of ways to make a photo book. You can make a book entirely online with Bookify. You can use the Book Module within Lightroom so you’re using only 1 program to organize, edit, and print your photos. You can use their downloadable free programs, BookSmart or BookWright. Finally, you can even use a plug-in for Adobe In-Design to create stunning custom layouts and print with Blurb.
As Barry Schwartz writes in the Paradox of Choice, sometimes having more choices makes it difficult to actually choose any. And that’s how I feel when it comes to which free downloadable Blurb software you should use for your next book. I’ve put off giving you my thoughts on BookSmart or BookWright for a while – partly because I’m mixed.
Bookwright Blurb
Blurb's BookSmart software for creating photobooks was first released in 2007, while BookWright was released in 2014 as a beta, and publicly released in February 2015. BookWright can import photobooks in several other formats, including Blurb's BookSmart format and Blurb's Bookify format. According to Blurb, 'Because BookWright is brand new, we have new technology available to us to make the. Hardcover (Matte) & Dust Jacket (Gloss) — EPUB / MOBI. PDF or downloadable software (BookWright and Indesign) PDF or downloadable software (BookWright and Indesign). More than 320,000 books, ebooks, and magazines have been made with BookWright. Built-in Tutorials BookWright features videos, instructions, and tips built right into the application so you’ll have everything you need right at your fingertips.
Being completely honest and transparent here, there are some advantages with their new program BookWright that I love. But they didn’t put everything that I love from BookSmart into their new program. So when it comes to giving a recommendation….I have a hard time telling you to use one versus the other.
But I know this can be a big sticking point for some so I’m going to provide a few considerations to help you make your decision. If you want to go even deeper and learn how to use BookSmart or BookWright for your next photo book, I hope you’ll sign up for my Intro to Photo Book Design Workshop. I cover both programs in more depth (with screenshots and videos) so you can make the best decision for your book and know exactly how to use the programs.
Custom Layouts
While you can’t create custom layouts in Bookify or the Lightroom Book Module, Blurb’s free downloadable programs offer the ability to design custom layouts to fit your photos. Within BookWright, it’s extremely easy to add the photo and text boxes you want on the page and save it to your library. While it can be done in BookSmart, it’s a little more cumbersome and takes extra time. You have to utilize a separate work space to customize your layouts. Essentially, it adds another layer or process, distancing you from the actual context of your book.
Advantage: BookWright
Text Styles
If you want to use text for your photo book – even as page numbers – it’s easier to set up the characteristics of each type of text you want to use (headings, captions, and page numbers) in order to have consistency throughout your book. This is not as easy in BookWright. Each type of text you’ll want to include will require separate formatting….or copying and pasting each time.
Blurb Bookwright Tutorial
Advantage: BookSmart
Alignment
One of the best ways to make your book look more professional is to align your photos. It’s even better if you can align them between the left and right page. In BookSmart, you have to use a grid on each page to align the photos. BookWright makes alignment extremely easy and intuitive with guides showing you when you align your photo boxes.
Advantage: BookWright Want to see how these two programs look?
Bookwright Ebook
So, if you are offended by Blurb content you might want to skip this film. Or, if you already know how to use Blurb BookWright then you are probably good. Someone reached out and asked me to make this film. I take for granted a lot of things that might be roadblocks for other folks. Like using software, editing images, sequencing, choosing materials, making test books, etc.
This is by no means a comprehensive walk-through of this software but it will show you a few things to get started and that is really the point. People waiting for perfection don’t make things. They just wait for a time and circumstance that doesn’t exist. Also, a reminder. All of this should be FUN. If you take your bookmaking and photography so seriously that it drives everyone around you a little bit wacky just back off and take stake in the idea that the vast majority of people in the world are simply looking for food, water, and shelter and to do best for their family. They do not and will not ever care about your work. That’s called perspective.
BookWright is a good piece of software. I use it a lot and have for years so I know how to use it and when. If you haven’t used it just remember it is far easier than something like Photoshop or Adobe Premiere. And way more fun than Excel. What’s not to like? Any issues let me know. https://www.blurb.com/bookwright