Lulu?

[anamardoll]

I searched but couldn't find anything in the archives, so...

Does anyone publish (eBooks or POD) on Lulu? Are they just a distributer or are they a vanity press that requires some kind of ownership, exclusivity, etc?

[teh603]

I've thought about it but don't have enough content quite yet. I'd also need to find a way to get GIMP to handle CYMK colorspace, which it just doesn't do yet.

That having been said, I've heard very few complaints and a fair bit of good stuff about their POD services.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I searched but couldn't find anything in the archives, so...

Does anyone publish (eBooks or POD) on Lulu? Are they just a distributer or are they a vanity press that requires some kind of ownership, exclusivity, etc?

Lulu is in the same niche as Smashwords, only with a focus on POD instead of ebooks. Same kind of arrangement... you provide the content, you set the price, they take a cut. For POD, they take a substantial cut, so prices run a bit high. For ebooks, they take a percentage (I forget exactly how much), and you can also set the price as $0.00.

Lulu used to have PDF only; they've expanded to allow ePub, but still mostly do PDFs, because that's what's sent through their POD system. (And some of the PDFs are *atrocious.* Kinda like some of the Smashwords authors would do if they could play with custom fonts and colors.)

[M T McGuire]

I publish POD on Lightning Source which is the company LuLu use to do their printing. On Lightning Source, the quality is good although the interface takes a little getting used to.

Lulu has a nice user friendly interface but their prices for paper books are way too high to be tenable. If you wanted a shop to take your book you'd have to offer a LuLu copy to them at cost to make the price competitive.

I haven't tried selling e-books through them - might be something I could do with the nice clean e-pubs I produce but can do nothing with.

Sorry that probably doesn't help much but if you are thinking about doing POD I can really recommend Aaron Shepherd's book Aiming at Amazon. It walks you through the Lightning Source process and was probably the difference between me using them rather than LuLu and getting my book into the local book shop as a result.

I hope this rather random wittering helps.

Cheers

MTM

[anamardoll]

I've been looking at CreateSpace for POD, which is through Amazon. Their "book cost estimate" is surprisingly low; I think it estimated my book would cost ~$3 to print. If I mark it up a dollar or two, that's still under the cost of most paperbacks, if the customer is ordering through Amazon.

I can't find anything on Lulu about prices at the moment, though.

[Elfwreck]

Choosing a "free" publisher: Lulu vs Createspace (Article from 2008; prices have probably changed.)

Lulu v Createspace pricing calculator--possibly last updated in 2009

CreateSpace royalty details and royalty calculator

Lulu pricing calculator (and you're right; it's buried... I clicked around several places at Lulu before giving up and just googling for it.)

[anamardoll]

Thank you!!!

[M T McGuire]

It depends where you are, too. Createspace isn't really geared for anyone outside the States.

[Gerlyn]

I have just uploaded one epub book to Lulu to see how the process works. I am surprised to learn today that after Lulu accepts it and it is "Listed" with iBooks and Nook on their site, it still takes 6-8 weeks to appear on iBooks normally. But chatting with a rep at Lulu today, they said expect about 12 weeks as Apple is 4 weeks behind.

Lulu was easy to work with, but the Apple side of life is frustrating.

[VydorScope]

Well, I have used Lulu for a very long time now. I used to put out a science magazine through them, and have released many print books. For full color hardcover books, I have not found a better source.

Prices are high, but my primary market now is ebooks so the print books are for the very few people that demand them. I am planning to look in to Create Space soon though last time I looked at them they did not do hardcover at all (or I did not see it).

Their quality is great, and they even get you on Amazon as "fulfilled by Amazon, Prime Eligible" so you look more trustworthy to the average buyer. Free ISBN, free UPC code, and etc.

Though honestly... I want to pull out of the print biz completely, and would right now but my family members all want a hardcover of my book for their self to show off, and are willing to pay Lulu's prices for it.

Pricing of my books (Since cant link there with out Mod's freaking)

(I do NOT use them for ebooks at all, Smash is superior for that)
All my books have full color covers

Book II, in Hardcover(casewrap 6x9) - 282 pages, my cost $18.64
Book II, in Perfect-bound Paperback (6x9) - 229 pages, my cost $9.08

If you buy in bulk and get coupons going you can get say 100 copies a decent price, but one offs are always gonna be pricey.

I can get you prices of my full color photo hardcover books I have put out also if you want.

Hope that helps!

[VydorScope]

So I just built a book out on Create Space (my third book) to compare. It is in "review" right now, so I will now more after I order my proof copy, but as far as user friendly? It was much much easier of a process then Lulu ever was.

Cost..
Page Count:350
Binding Type:US Trade Paper
Trim Size:6" x 9"
Break even cost - $8.42

Same book on Lulu would have a break even cost of $11.50.

[anamardoll]

VydorScope, I can't thank you enough for your insight on this thread. I'm still going through the process, too, and this is invaluable.

[VydorScope]

So file came back from review in around 12 hours, BUT I was not happen with how it looked in "Digital Preview" so I have re-worked the cover and re-submitted.

The only are charging $5.05 for a proof copy, which is way below the $8.42 that you get 0 royalties at, which is cool. Lulu would have charged me the 0$ royalty level for the proof.

So now I wait again. Once I am happy with it in the digital proof, I'll order the physical proof and report back.

[Rick G]

I stopped using lulu a while back. While I like the fact their eBook requirements are much tighter than smashwords, I found that they were starting to get too tight. Ie ePub books that I tested out on a variety of devices (including nook) were being kicked out for being outside of specs, however, their updated system wouldn't tell me what specs I was violating. Considering how little I was selling through them, I came to the conclusion that they were taking far too much effort for too little reward.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

So file came back from review in around 12 hours, BUT I was not happen with how it looked in "Digital Preview" so I have re-worked the cover and re-submitted.

The only are charging $5.05 for a proof copy, which is way below the $8.42 that you get 0 royalties at, which is cool. Lulu would have charged me the 0$ royalty level for the proof.

So now I wait again. Once I am happy with it in the digital proof, I'll order the physical proof and report back.

So looks good in the "Digital Proof Tool" order a physical proof copy.

Subtotal $5.05
Shipping $3.59
Total Price $8.64

Thats for "standard" shipping, which is estimated to arrive on Mon 4/9. I will report back on how it looks when I get it (assuming I do not forget ...)