[Publisher] Lulu.com

[maestrowork]

Re: www.lulu.com...anybody know about their trustworthiness?

Lulu does a decent job printing and shipping the books -- I believe they use Lightning Source (POD), too... The price is cheaper than Cafe Press and the turn-around time is decent. They're just a printer -- so you do your own layout, design, etc. and garbage in, garbage out. They seem to be very up-and-up about their business model. They do list your books on their website for sale (not available anywhere else). But if you purchase the ISBN service, they will put you in Ingram. Still you're the one responsible for selling and distributing your own books (e-books are also available as PDF files).

You set your own "royalties" so if your cost is $8, you can sell the book for $12 + shipping and pocket the $4.

 

[TravellerRose]

Lulu.com

Lulu.com takes a percentage of every book sold. The only thing you actually have to pay for at the start is the IBSN, and you don't have to get one of those if it's an ebook or a magazine.
Like everything else, Lulu has pluses and minuses. Publishing your book is as cheap as it gets, you set your own price and Lulu deposit the money in your Paypal account from the sales. So far, I have had no trouble there.
Yes, you do have to do all the hard work of publicising your book, and getting people to actually go there and buy it, but it's a product, you would expect that. I sell only ebooks, so I have no idea what the print quality is like. That is pretty much up to you, to make certain in the planning stages of your book that it will look OK, although they do tell you if the cover is too small or whatever. There are lots of advice screens for people who want a printed product.
Overall, I have nothing to complain about. Lulu is exactly what the site says it is, and I have published craft books and a scrapbooking magazine there. What I like about it is having control of the whole look of the book, and designing my own covers.
I think it is a good way to publish ebooks, but I don't think it will replace traditional publishing - I have a print book coming out next year and I went the traditional publishing route with that.
Hope this helps - there is really nothing to fear from Lulu, what you see is what you get, and they pay your earnings from the books you sell with no trouble, I've found.

Gail Kavanagh

 

[arainsb123]

Re: Lulu.com

You don't even have to buy the ISBN if you don't want to. And they are a LOT better than CafePress in terms of paper quality, cover quality, and turnaround time.

 

[maestrowork]

Re: Lulu.com

Part of the problem I find, though, with Lulu is that it automatically puts your book on site for sale, whether you want it or not. It needs to be "available" for sale for you to order prints, but it also is available for the general public. You can't just say "it's only for me and a few people I tell." So if you don't want someone accidentally finds the book and gets it, it can be a problem.

With Cafepress your product is not automatically put on some online catalog or search list. So, a person has to know your "store ID" in order to find your book.

 

[Julie Worth]

Re: Lulu.com

"Part of the problem I find, though, with Lulu is that it automatically puts your book on site for sale, whether you want it or not."

Not true. You can set it so your book is only available through a direct link...although it's still possible for someone to stumble across the link, I suppose. And I suppose some lunatic might even buy it. (The chances of that happening are less than being eaten by an octopus while watching television). To be absolutely safe, you can order whatever copies you want, then make the book unavailable. Even with the link, no one can buy it until you make it available again.

 

[WritingChick]

Re: Question about lulu

For those who have used or are using lulu to sell their work...do you also sell on your own author website? Or do you only use lulu and if so, why not also sell on your author website? Thanks!

 

[schnootzie]

Re: lulu

I also use them and I think they're great. As above, you only get what you send in. Grammer, typos, etc., are in the final copy. Warts and all! But, if you're willing to do all the scut work, and it's a lot, the final product is wonderful. Quality covers, great print, etc. I've used them for books for family, etc. and am very happy with them.
schnootzie

 

[schnootzie]

Re: lulu

PS. There is absolutely NO charge unless you purchase a copy and then it's really very nominal. I think a 100 pg book is about 6.00. Like any POD you do all the work inc. publicity, etc.
schnootzie

 

[Ralyks]

Lulu

Part of the problem I find, though, with Lulu is that it automatically puts your book on site for sale, whether you want it or not. It needs to be "available" for sale for you to order prints, but it also is available for the general public. .

This is not true. Lulu gives you the option to "Make Public" or "Make Available Only to Me."



I use Lulu to print up copies of my books for editing, because I enjoy editing a hard copy printed in book form. I catch more that way. I don't consider these books "published," since I am the only one buying them.



I may use Lulu to sell a poetry book from my own website as well. Lulu is more costly than a short run printer, but you don't have to pre-print and stock and deliver the books yourself. They are printed one at a time as they are ordered, and they are shipped by Lulu.



The print quality is comparable to any other POD. Any problems with layout are due to errors made by the author; the author is in complete control of layout and content and the cover. It's a do-it-yourself POD.



I probably wouldn't publish a book through them that I wanted to sell to a large audience via Amazon.com or B&N.com. The cover price would be too high. But if you are selling books from your own website only, to a small audience, it's a good option. That's why I am considering it for my poetry book. I have a small fan base, but I don't expect to get a book contract for poetry. It's very difficult to do, because poetry just doesn't sell. Most poetry books these days are published through competitions; and you have to pay to enter those contests.

 

[Topsarge]

Lulu

Xerox had a contest for an unpublished manuscript last month and they used Lulu as the publisher. I entered the contest but it took me about three weeks to get evrything formatted and in their data base. Waiting now to hear if I won. lol.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Lulu.com

Lulu is a printer rather than a publisher.

See http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4279&page=1&pp=25 for more.

 

[IReidandWrite]

Lulu?

If I go to Lulu Publishing, will I be paid?

 

[Aconite]

If I go to Lulu Publishing, will I be paid?

I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but there are already two threads on Lulu (the Index sticky'd to the top of this page is really handy for searches):
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=904
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839

 

[victoriastrauss]

Moving to the longest Lulu thread.

- Victoria

 

[Julie Worth]

If I go to Lulu Publishing, will I be paid?

The koan: you will be paid, but you won't make any money.

 

[Bufty]

I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but there are already two threads on Lulu (the Index sticky'd to the top of this page is really handy for searches):
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=904
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839

Isn't this another thread, too, or just a duplication?

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4279&page=1&pp=25&highlight=Lulu

 

[Aconite]

Isn't this another thread, too, or just a duplication?

It's another thread. I think Cao only (!) indexed the BABC board's threads.

 

[Bufty]

It's a very helpful one, too. Follows the procedure on a test run.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

If you go with Lulu.com and you sell something, you will either get paid via Paypay in the early part of the following month, or by paper check every three months.

You will be able to get hour-by-hour updates on sales if any.

Remember that Lulu is strictly a printer. Everything other than producing a physical book-shaped object is up to you.

 

[Epicman]

Look at Diggorypress.com first...

They are lower cost overall if you want to sell your book and you get 60% to over 75% royalties.

Look at the Infinity thread on Bewares thread for a penny by penny experience of my book and a lot mor info about this. There is even a $ for $ comparison of Lulu vs. Diggory there.

Epicman
Glenn S. Hamilton
http://www.cometogetherbooks.com

 

[mdin]

I haven't participated in the Infinity discussion, but Diggory and Lulu look like completely different operations to me. Lulu is a DIY type operation, and books are only one of the several things you can get printed and fulfilled. Plus their cheapest price is "free." Diggory seems to be more like a typical POD vanity press. Plus they have a pretty strong Christian slant, which is fine and/or irrelevant for many people, but it makes it unappealing for many others.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Epicman, is it necessary for you to turn every thread into an ad for Diggory Press?

You just signed up with them. Let's see how you feel a year from now, okay?

They are lower cost overall if you want to sell your book and you get 60% to over 75% royalties.

Let's see if that's true:

Diggory:

US$50 initial set-up fee
$20 for your first soft-back proof inc. postage and packing

Lulu:

US$0 initial set-up fee
Price for first soft-back proof varies by page count. For a 108 page 6x9, B&W interior with color covers, perfect bound: $6.69. Postage depends on how you want it sent. Two pounds net, the cost via media mail is $1.84.

So let's see ... lower cost overall?

$70 versus $8.53

Shall we move on to the extras?

Diggory: There will be a $20 a year file storage and maintenance charge that will be billed on an annual basis for each title.

Lulu: No storage fee.

Diggory: ISBN with barcode costs $90

Lulu: ISBN with barcode costs $34.95

Cost per book for a thousand books (108 pages each)

Diggory: $2.62 each

Lulu: $3.77

Finally! A place where Diggory is cheaper! Is anyone planning to buy a thousand copies all at once?

Royalty rate comparisons aren't really meaningful, since at Lulu you set your own royalty rate. Lulu takes 20% of the total profit (retail price minus cost of printing), so I guess (looking at it one way) you could say that Lulu gives you an 80% royalty rate.

Again, that's if you sell anything.

 

[Epicman]

Sorry James - no there are many threads I don't mention Diggory in - only threads where it is applicable. I also would never want to go up against you either - you have given me much helpful advice both directly and indirectly from posts you put up for others. For that I am truly grateful. Absolutely no disrespect is intended here so never take it that way.

In one of these threads (I mentioned the wrong one - it's in "Infinity vs Diggory" in the "POD Self-Publishing and E-Publishing" forum Post #10) there is a cost comparison done between Diggory and Lulu. I dont know how to link the specific post here or I would. I also dont wish to take up too much space by copying and pasting it here. I simply referred them to the thread for more information. I stated clearly that I was experimenting as there wasn't too much info about them and thought there may be some who may be interested.

Anyhow, if one just wants a copy or two Lulu is a great deal. If you want the distribution, listings, a human to look at your book to make sure it is formatted correctly, great author copy prices even in smaller quantities (200 @ $3.50 each at 140 pages in 6X9), ability to price your book in line with comparable titles, and they only charge $4.80 per copy (140 pages) for fulfillment which is far lower than any PoD I am aware of. When I get some time, I will do an exact comparison between what I did and what that would have cost me at the other PoD's mentioned here including Lulu - just for educational purposes.

Again James I don't want to 'get into it' or show any disrespect whatsoever but the comparison mentioned in the other thread - I did not write it - is factual based upon my experience.

Epicman
Glenn S. Hamilton
http://www.cometogetherbooks.com

 

[James D. Macdonald]

The cost comparison is at http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=298465&postcount=10

Logos1234567 is also a true believer, and also only recently published by Diggory. We'll see what a year brings.

 

[Torin]

Royalty rate comparisons aren't really meaningful, since at Lulu you set your own royalty rate. Lulu takes 20% of the total profit (retail price minus cost of printing), so I guess (looking at it one way) you could say that Lulu gives you an 80% royalty rate.

Again, that's if you sell anything.

Actually, what Lulu does is ADD another 20% for them. So if you set your royalty at $2.00, the ebook will sell for $2.40, and $2.40 is added to the printing cost of the paperback. Lulu gets their 20% of the royalty you set, you get 100% of the royalty you set and they pay quarterly via Paypal. I'm not going to get rich with Lulu, but the books are cheaper than Cafepress' and you've got complete ownership. I had one book up at Lulu for fans and when it sold to eXtasy Books, I took it down. The quality of their books is very good, too. I got my free copy for completing NaNoWriMo last year and I'm leaving it up at Lulu while I shop it around to agents. I figure if the product is going to go out exactly as I made it, I'm better off with Lulu than anyone else *coughPAcough*.