Lulu.com
By ashleymosq
@ashleymosq (44)
United States
January 16, 2012 1:44pm CST
Is anyone familiar with this site? So far from what I have read on it, I am liking it. I have looked into different self publishing sites before, and was not able to find anything that I liked or that I felt was right for me. I am looking into this site now. I am looking into the e-book part of it. I figured since so many people have switched from printed books to e-books, then maybe that should be the way to go.
Anyone have any experience with this site?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@SpikeTheLobster (6403)
•
16 Jan 12
It's just another self-pub site for ebooks, like Smashwords or KDP.
I've used it before and it's fine. Easy to get through the editorial filter, layout's simple, handles PDFs pretty much. No special rules or anything, unlike (for example) KDP which needs everything to be formatted specifically for the Kindle.
The one big down-side of self-publishing with ANY site is that you have to do all the marketing yourself - and that's a lot of work.
Personally, I used CreateSpace for POD services and KDP for digital. But that's because I wanted to be listed on Amazon, really.
1 person likes this
@ashleymosq (44)
• United States
16 Jan 12
I was looking into creatspace too. My problem is I don't have that much money to invest. My husband is in the process of making a game. We are about to do the copyright part of it and until that is done, that is where our extra money is going to be going.
2 people like this
@SpikeTheLobster (6403)
•
16 Jan 12
CreateSpace and KDP cost nothing, same as Lulu or Smashwords (or any legitimate self-pub offer) - they make their money on sales.
1 person likes this
@crimsonladybug (3112)
• United States
3 Feb 12
"The one big down-side of self-publishing with ANY site is that you have to do all the marketing yourself - and that's a lot of work."
The fact is unless you have proven yourself as an author who will consistently sell millions of copies of your works, you are going to be largely on your own for marketing yourself with a media mega publisher as well. They have done away with the midlist, meaning you're either on the top or the bottom and they don't invest marketing energies into their bottom tier authors. So you might as well go the indie route, cut out the middle man and publish your work the way you want to, since you're going to have to market it either way.
1 person likes this
@crimsonladybug (3112)
• United States
3 Feb 12
I've used Lulu for several projects and have been very pleased. Their publication process is very user-friendly and quick. It is a print on demand service which means when someone wants a paper/hard copy of your book, it takes a little bit longer than if they were ordering something that was printed in bulk but it also means you don't have to manage inventory. You can order in bulk and sell inventory to local stores, if you want but it is not something you are required to do, they way you would be with a vanity publisher.
You set the price of your book, depending on how much you hope to make by selling it. They set a minimum list price (on one of mine it's $8.72) which includes a percentage for them and the production costs and then you decide from there what you want your profit to be. If your book is then sold through Amazon or Barnes and Noble or another third party bookseller, they get a portion of your profit so it's more profitable for you to sell directly through Lulu than other distributors but it's easier for people to find your work if it is listed with other distributors. Kind of a 6 of one, half dozen of the other scenario.
And having an ISBN makes your book available to customers of brick and mortar bookstores as well (providing they are willing to place special orders).
@SpikeTheLobster (6403)
•
3 Feb 12
Same setup as just about every self-pub setup. The thing I liked about Lulu is that it's one of the easiest from the formatting point of view, if you're only going electronic. Create PDF, upload, done.
Most of the others have specific formatting requirements, though their intention is good: to sell on every possible format in Smashwords' case and to hit the Kindle market in KDP's case.
Like you say, swings and roundabouts, six of one... 
@sakerxfalcon (109)
• United States
8 Feb 12
I used it for my first publishing but... I was a bit of a noob and had uploading problems. Remember to export your document in to a PDF using your processor instead of uploading it as a document BECAUSE it sometimes messes up the file!
I did find a couple people to be rude... But maybe I was just oversensitive?
I use createspace now.
@dlpierce (495)
• United States
30 Mar 12
It's easy to set up an e-book there. But unless you do all the foot work to let people know it's there even a good book with a cheap price won't sell. I put one up a couple months ago about savings tips to help people know how to get through a recession. I listed it at $5.99 as it's only 13 chapters. I haven't promoted it yet and haven't sold a single copy.
