Self Publishing with Lulu

[Sharon Moore Stenhouse]

One day by chance I mentioned to an instructor where I work at a major university, that I wanted to self publish a book. Other than making a decision on which publisher to use, financing the project was a huge concern. The instructor said, try Lulu. Immediately I went to my browser and typed in Lulu.com.

What I found was a treasure trove of information on self publishing hard and soft cover books of various types and sizes, eBooks, photo books, manuals, CDs and DVDs. The site is loaded with information on the process including step by step instructions for covers (including the spine), manuscript pagination, photos, etc., along with the printing specs and templates.

Once armed with this information and the ability to do all of my own work, I designed my cover and using a template, worked out the layout for my 6 x 9 soft cover book. I then decided which type of copyright I wanted to use, how much royalty I wanted to earn for each book, and then calculated both the manufacturing and retail cost. Once this was completed, I uploaded the files and voila, my book was ready for a review copy. The review copy is ordered at cost and must be approved by the author before the distribution process begins. I also opted to allow my book to be available as an eBook.

The cost was nominal. At $100 I bought a distribution package, including the ISBN, and marketing options for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Google Books. There is an additional fee for library visibility listings, as well as various à la carte services. Once approved, the book immediately enters Lulu's Marketplace.

My book is www.lulu.com/content/1005541

Pros:
-Easy and inexpensive for books with 200 pages or less.
-Options for book pricing, publisher listed as Lulu or your own company.
-Distribution package with ISBN.
-Set up your own storefront if you have multiple titles to sell.
-Print On Demand (POD).
-Gallery of stock cover designs available.
-Services offered for covers, graphic and images, editing and press releases at additional costs.
-Order as few or as many books at cost.
-Fast delivery of services.
-Sales are your responsibility (whether onsite or on your own).
-Ability to sell at reduced retail when purchased in bulk at cost.
-Monitor your retail sales and royalties.
-Royalty payments mailed quarterly.

Cons:
-Purchasing a book from the Lulu Marketplace requires a sign-up and log-in.
-Prospective buyers reluctant to purchase from the site.
-Price is set and cannot be reduced.
-Bulk purchases at cost do not count as sales.
-Sales are your responsibility (whether onsite or on your own).

Would I use Lulu again? The answer is yes. I still have my first royalty check. It is worth holding onto, although I must admit that I sell more books on my own than through Lulu or the distribution package.

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For others who have published with Lulu, there may be something I have missed and I welcome your comments.

[Sharon Moore Stenhouse]

Hi Sarah, I apologize for the disappearance. I have an approval block on this blog.

I agree that my experience with Lulu has been a successful one, and I am glad to shared your positive experience as well. I am currently working on my second book of poetry and a novel that I plan to publish using the Lulu POD resource.

Amani na Mapenzi: Love & Peace
Sharon (aka) a'kihoro

[Sarah Weathersby]

I attempted to post a comment and it disappeared.

[Sarah Weathersby]

I have published two books through Lulu. The first one was actually my sister's book. At age 82, she wasn't quite up to the task of the internet task of it. It turned out to be a good practice piece for my own book that I published in May this year.

I used the publish by me option and I paid for only the two ISBN's that I wanted.

I designed the cover for my sister's book, and I hired an internet friend to design the cover for mine. Since I have a few years of activity on social networking sites, I have sold a fair number of books so far through Lulu. I keep a small inventory that I sell in person or through my website, using Paypal for the money transaction.

My website is here.

[Sharon Moore Stenhouse]

Diane,

Great! Don't forget the ISSN assignment. I just received a reminder from NSDP of the Library of Congress regarding the status of one I have.

Sharon

[Diane]

Cool - that most certainly does answer my question. I will be listing more information on ISBN's in another post.

Once again - very informative, Sharon. Lulu can also be great for galleys or sample books.

[Sharon Moore Stenhouse]

P.S.

The internal graphic error was my fault, not Lulu's. That was a learning experience for me since I did all of my work... pagination and graphics. When I use print vendors in my normal line of work I normally rely on them to make the format changes I had to make.

Sharon

[Sharon Moore Stenhouse]

Diane,

This is copied directly from Lulu's site..."An ISBN is like a zip code for a book. The first five digits of the ISBN identify the book's publisher; no two publishers have the same ISBN prefix. This "zip code" tells bookstores and online retailers where they can order a book. If you purchase Published by Lulu to obtain an ISBN, the ISBN will include Lulu's ISBN prefix and Lulu will be listed as the publisher of record. If you purchase Published by You to obtain an ISBN, you will be able to register as the official publisher. For more information on the history and purpose of ISBNs, see http://www.isbn.org."

In my case, I used the Published by Lulu simply because I didn't need to purchase the block of numbers (10 for $275) that is listed on the application. Additionally, since my first book was not something I planned, economically it was a lot easier for me to use Lulu. The cost to me was $99 for the distribution channel (which by the way had a problem with the internal graphics in my book and I found it necessary to recreate them twice) however, I have been assured that the book should appear in Bowker's in about 6-8 weeks. There is a listing on Amazon and Barnes and Noble which appeared through the Lulu distribution system. Since I knew the book had to be revised, I did upload the image on Amazon, but the Barnes and Noble image came through the channel.

Whew... with that said, anyone using Lulu must download and read all of the "how to" information prior to publishing. When you join Lulu you will automatically receive an account where you can design and print your book on a PC without ever having Lulu publish it. That would be a Published by You category book. The only thing to do at that point is distrubition.

Also, again copied from Lulu...

"What are Royalties? When a creator buys a Lulu distribution service and their material is assigned a Lulu-owned ISBN, Lulu becomes the publisher of record and all earnings are regarded as royalties for that material, regardless of delivery format. The creator revenue generated by sales of material with a Lulu-owned ISBN meets the true and legal definition of a royalty. Royalties are reported to the IRS and are subject to withholding."

"What is ‘Other Revenue’? If your book does not have a Lulu-owned ISBN, then your earnings are not royalties but simply, "Other Revenue," which is the amount of money you make on each sale of your published material. "Other Revenues" are not subject to withholding and are not reported to the IRS."

"What is the difference between creator revenues and royalties? Royalties are accrued when a book that has a Lulu ISBN is sold. Creator revenues include Royalties and other revenue which is accrued when books or other published material is sold that has not been assigned a Lulu-owned ISBN. Only royalties are subject to withholding and are reported to the IRS.

I sincerely hope I have answered your questions.

Amani na Mapenzi: Love & Peace

[Diane]

Great story, Sharon. I must ask - does the ISBN belong to you or Lulu? A colleague bought his ISBN through Lulu, yet I have yet to find it in the Bowker database with his name as the author. A good way to check is to visit the Bowker site and search for the number AND the author's name.

You can get a separate ISBN (one where you are the only recipient of royalties - not you and Lulu) from Lulu, however you must specifically request it.

[The1Essence]

I recently purchased a book from Lulu and after signing up, I found it a very very pleasant experience. I was able to purchase the e-book and the soft cover without emptying my wallet. The e-book download was soooo very easy and the novel arrived (media purchase) packaged with more care than most fragile packages. I was so impressed I am considering self publishing my next book with Lulu.

[Jill]

*Thank You* for Sharing Sharon :)

PEACE, LOVE, & BLESSINGS Jill