Self publishing for little or nothing

[Dana E. Thomas]

Has anyone tried one of the self-publishing companies like Lulu or Create Space that offers free publishing?

[P. M. Morris]

I have a fellow colleague who has published with Lulu. Maybe she can shed some light on the pros and cons of this company. Gloria Jean Richmond, author of Leaving Lambert can be contacted through her website directly at Lulu.com.

Good Luck.

[Stafford Battle]

Hello. Very few services in this world are truly "FREE". There is always a catch. However, sometimes you can still benefit. Lulu and several other on demand publishing services can offer decent products if you are in need of a few copies of your books. HOWEVER, the cost per book can be quite high. Also, you need to accomplish much of the real work (writing, editing, designing, promotions, delivery, etc.) on your own or pay a high premium.

Be sure sure to read my comments on "Why Your Book Won't Sell" to get further ideas.

Good Luck. Keep writing.

[Diane]

We use Lulu, Blurb, and others to create low cost galley versions for our authors. Sometimes you just need one or two books and these services can do that for you. The prices are a bit high and you will not be able to mark up the book too much. However, if you are mindful of good pricing strategies this will not be a problem. Please remember - NO normal-sized trade paperback should sell for $20. That's outrageous and non-competitive. Depending on page count, it should range between $7.95 and $14.95.

Please do not think of these web services as free. They are more like wonderful web a la carte publishing menus. But they are definitely not free. The costs rack up when you enlist them to really help you create a decent book. These web 2.0 publishing services are great if you already have:

1.) Proper editing and proofreading
2.) Designed your typesetting and page layout
3.) Designed your book cover.
4.) Created your own marketing plan
5.) Bought your own ISBN and barcode

You NEED these services to make your book salable and professional. Scrimp on this and you will scrimp on any royalty or profit you hope to make from your title. Make it real. Make it good. Make it real good. Well written and well made books sell.

Another benefit of these web services is that you instantly have a website to direct potential buyers. As an example, Stafford L. Battle & Rey Harris uploaded their book "AfroCyberspace" to Lulu. Rey has been directly selling from that site and when he gets folks who don't want to buy on the web, he buys 10-20 copies.

Lulu is not going to make you millions because it is P.O.D. However it's a start. Just don't throw anything into a pdf and expect it to be a bestseller. Crappy books don't sell. Your immediate goal should be to sell 10,000 copies of your book; and you sure don't want to do that piecemeal through a web 2.0 publisher. A better idea is to use this as a springboard to greater sales. Once you create your Lulu account and upload your finished book, create an authors blog, register with Amazon, start getting reviews and testimonies, and start pumping the promotion.

Use these sites to get you the money to buy at least 500 - 1000 books to get out to the media and public and really sell. However, if this is a hobby book and you only want copies for your friends and family, then these services are just what you need.

To recap:

1.) Create a professional looking book BEFORE you upload to Lulu. They along with others can nickel and dime you to death with editing and proofreading fees. Find someone here in the Black Author community to help you with this. We've got loads of really good professionals on this site.
2.) Create a web presence.
3.) List your book on Amazon.
4.) Promote, promote, promote - Direct buyers to your Lulu sales site.
5.) Use these sales to buy a larger run of your book at a printer.
And most of all:
6.) Be the great writer you know you can be. Work on your craft. When the product's good, it'll sell.

YOU'VE GOT THIS!
Namaste,
Diane W.
Publisher, 22nd Century Press

*Portions of this reply were taken from the upcoming title The Upside Down Guide to Self-Publishing, DianeWilliams © 2007, 22nd Century Press

P.S. - Now go get famous and don't forget your peeps at BAS. Lol

[Larry Chang]

I concur with what Diane and Stafford have written. Lulu and similar outfits are great when you need a few copies in a hurry. The ease of uploading files and receiving finished books in a week is remarkable, while the quality is acceptable. I did 3 test copies and they got the cover wrong; the spine imprint is off-center and they have yet to respond after 2 weeks why this was so and how it may be avoided. As a result i have not released the book for sale through Lulu until i'm assured of the final quality.

[Dana E. Thomas]

Thanks guys for your responses. I uploaded my files (interior and book cover) to Create Space and ordered copies. I let you know how that goes.

Dana

[Kyndall Brown]

I used LuLu (with my Dads help) to publish my book. I have sold about 200 books. Only 3 from the LuLu web site. The rest I sold on my own. It's hard work...