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T.G. (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: user-0cdf1a0.cable.mindspring.com
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006 - 10:32 pm: |   |
Does anyone here have any info or experience with "Lulu publishing co."?
I know they're supposed to be a kinda self-publishing outfit, but beyond that
I know nothing. Any imput would be appreciated.}}} |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
2733
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 12:56 am: | |
Hang in there T.G., I am sure someone will chime in tomorrow with lots of info about LuLu. Personally, I don't have any knowledge of them, but there are others here who do.
By the way, welcome to the board, stick around a bit and get to know us and let us know you.
Claudia
MINDSIGHT MODERATOR
|
Jennifer Lynn
Unity Member
Post Number:
1879
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 07:11 am: | |
Just a clarification--Lulu is a printer, not a publisher. They work well for self published authors, whereas the author becomes his/her publisher.
Lulu is fabulous if you have a good handle on what you're doing. You must provide the cover art, and edited files because they print what they get. You don't have to worry about knowing how to make pdf files, because they have converters that will do it for you. You can pay a fee for an ISBN and get somewhat limited distribution, which is always helpful to a self published author, but you won't have much luck getting into stores unless you pound the pavement and visit the bookstores yourself.
The only real drawback to Lulu is the pricing. It's expensive as hell (not in upfront costs) so a book that could easily sell for say 9.95 with a print run printer would have to be priced at double that to make any money because their per book printing costs are high.
Hope that helps and I haven't muddied the waters any more than they already were! (grins)
Jenn
Jennifer Lynn
www.jenniferlynn.ca |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1711
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 01:16 pm: | |
Au contraire. Lulu is a publisher, not a printer. The fact of the matter is that Lulu farms the work out to a number of printers who may or may not be able to perform the task:
From: Henry
To: Fred Dungan
Cc: henry@lulu.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 6:50 PM
Subject: Re: grandfathering
Hey Fred, thanks for contacting us. For better or worse, our printers are continually evolving and changing, and the technology that recognizes and creates print-ready documents is part of that process. As a result, we are unable to guarantee that documents that have previously printed will continue to print.
In other words, you may sell a number of books and then suddenly get a cryptic email informing you that your book will no longer print.
Lulu is cheaper by far than PublishAmerica. My 212 page, 6 X 9 inch fully illustrated paperback, 9/11 Vigilantes, http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm, sells for %9.77 (99 cents for a PDF ebook download), at which I make a sizable profit if and when the book actually prints which is haphazard. I should also say that when it does print it is every bit as good as you designed it to be.
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1712
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 02:19 pm: | |
Sorry for the typo. It should have read $9.77.
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
Jennifer Lynn
Unity Member
Post Number:
1880
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 07:08 pm: | |
Fred, that only means that you'd have to re-upload your material, via a 'new edition'.
Lulu prints, and they print pretty much anything that comes in.
If you go with their global distribution thing, and get an ISBN from them, then yes they are going to be listed as the publisher of record. The only reason that is, is because THEY purchase the ISBN's from Bowkers. They print for self published authors.
Jenn
Jennifer Lynn
www.jenniferlynn.ca |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1713
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 09:06 pm: | |
Lulu is a POD. They outsource their printing. You can upload until you are blue in the face and the outcome will be the same. As Henry so aptly stated in his email message to me, "we are unable to guarantee that documents that have previously printed will continue to print." After having waded through the PDF, ghost script, and other manuals suggested by Lulu's technicians, I hit upon the idea of eliminating the middleman and hiring a printer on my own. Guess what? The very same PDF files that Lulu swore would only print intermittantly, printed with 600 dpi high resolution clarity perfectly time after time after time with no redos and no unnecessary uploading. The best part is that I now pocket the difference.
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
Jennifer Lynn
Unity Member
Post Number:
1881
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 07:20 am: | |
I gave up using Lulu as well. I found them to be too expensive in the long run.
I think they're a viable place for a newbie to start, but if you're serious it isn't the place to stay. Their software can be 'quirky' at best. And if you live outside of the continental US, shipping is atrocious.
I'm glad you found what works for you. I'll bet your per unit cost is much cheaper too, so your profit margin went WAY up! That's always a bonus.
J
Jennifer Lynn
www.jenniferlynn.ca |
Todd Hunter
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
3318
Registered: 02-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 02:21 pm: | |
I've thought about (in the event I ever self-publish) using this place, which is semi-local...
Mindsight Moderator
Aston's Blog
Midwestern Writer |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1717
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 09:58 pm: | |
Why not put it up for bid? Lots of printers have print on demand capabilities. I receive quotes from all over the world.
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
Jennifer Lynn
Unity Member
Post Number:
1882
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 01, 2006 - 07:32 am: | |
I've used BLITZPRINT, which is an outfit here in Calgary. They're professional, cost effective and helpful as hell.
Doesn't hurt that my rep is darn good looking either!
J
Jennifer Lynn
www.jenniferlynn.ca |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1718
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 01, 2006 - 04:42 pm: | |
"shipping is atrocious"
The devil is in the details. The bids you get from printers do not always include shipping costs. There is a world of difference between the services offered and the rates charged by the United States Postal Service, United Parcel Service, and Federal Express. USPS Media Rate is the least expensive by far (50% less than the others even when you add the cost of insurance). UPS ground and Fed Ex ground come with tracking, which I suppose is important when sending controlled substance pharmaceuticals and irreplaceable treasures, but is of questionable value when shipping books.
You can't pump a dry well. Take the time to realistically assess all of the costs involved before committing to a project.
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
T.G. (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: user-0cdf1a0.cable.mindspring.com
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 04, 2006 - 01:12 am: | |
So I guess the bottom line here is, cost, cost, and more cost depending on who's making what from whom. I suppose i'm asking this question overall, is
self-publishing more likely to bring you more profit than traditional publishing? Maybe I should just leave earth and start my own company on the
moon. Author of Ledgend's Prophecy and 1st Thoughts-Tyrone Godfrey.
P.S. I haven't been here in a long time. I kinda miss you guys(smile). |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
2741
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 04, 2006 - 09:32 am: | |
Hey Tyrone,
Where ya' been and welcome back? You should have maybe made your question a bit clearer. I don't think that this is specifically cost, cost and who is making what on the work, I think it had more to do with the ability to promote said work as to what a person can expect on overall cost. With LuLu, you get books, with another prirnter-publisher, you get books, as many as you can pay for, you get lots of books; but you don't get the publicity, the advertising, the push to get into stores, and all the other stuff. With a real publisher like Time-Warner, you get all the stuff, the bells and whistles, so to say. I think that is the crux of all the stuff about money and how it is made or spent. I think any one of us here would be totally satisfied with a real publisher who gave us a contract, printed up 50,000 books and gave us all the rest of the bells and whistles, even if we didn't make a whole ton of money on said book. At least we would not be the ones fronting the cost of hte books, the cost of the publicity, the cost of the advertising, etc.....
I think that the majority of us here want to get books, but we want to get them into stores on the shelf more than to just have the books in our trunks of our cars or on the front door step to sell by ourselves.
So, what else have you been doing these last months-years since we haven't heard from you in so long?
Claudia
MINDSIGHT MODERATOR
|
Todd Hunter
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
3328
Registered: 02-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 04, 2006 - 01:19 pm: | |
"I suppose i'm asking this question overall, is
self-publishing more likely to bring you more profit than traditional publishing?"
Depends on your personal situation (such as what genre you're writing in, and your planned audience), how hard you're willing to work (self-publishing is a lot of work, more so than with conventional publishing where the publisher takes care of the business side of writing), and how much you're willing to spend in order to make that profit...
Mindsight Moderator
Aston's Blog
Midwestern Writer |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1721
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 04, 2006 - 08:07 pm: | |
In other words, if you are a down-and-dirty, bare knuckles fighter who prefers to take his or her chances in the ring rather than to wait upon the infrequent largesse of the insiders who make the odds (and thus determine the outcomes)in the hidebound business of print, then self-publishing is the way to give voice to your fiercely independent nature. Lick your wounds and look forward to the day that you - the eternal Spartacus - will emerge victorious from the arena.
And, if that doesn't work, move to Canada where such activities are subsidized (at least you won't starve).
http://www.dunganbooks.com |
Jennifer Lynn
Unity Member
Post Number:
1885
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 05, 2006 - 07:31 am: | |
Subsidized?? Where dammit, where??
J
Jennifer Lynn
www.jenniferlynn.ca |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1723
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 05, 2006 - 01:12 pm: | |
You don't get ISBN's at discount rates? You don't get healthcare? Don't mind me, I'm just jealous.
http://www.dunganbooks.com |
Jennifer Lynn
Unity Member
Post Number:
1887
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 05, 2006 - 04:18 pm: | |
Well healthcare has nothing to do with the publishing business, which is what I was assuming you were talking about.
No, ISBN's are not available at discount rates--they are free if you are a publishing house. Self published authors have to set themselves up as a 'publisher' to get one, but that isn't really hard to do. I think that's probably the only perk. Apparently there are lots of grants and things available (probably the same as in the US) but you have to jump through hoops to get them, and they don't think genre fiction is anything worth bestowing government money on. (sigh)
Jenn
Jennifer Lynn
www.jenniferlynn.ca |
Pacwriter
Unity Member
Post Number:
2762
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 06:10 pm: | |
Okay, here's the question
If Lulu prints a book for $4.32 which includes their 20% commission and you set the retail price say $6.00 and you don't get their package with the ISBN then the price per book remains $4.32 - how can you go wrong if writing and selling is just a hobby?
http://www.perrycomer.com
http://throughablindeye.blogspot.com/
|
Todd Hunter
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
3517
Registered: 02-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 06:15 pm: | |
If it's just a hobby, then it probably wouldn't be a bad deal.
If you want your books in stores, or available anywhere online but Lulu, I'd say it would be trouble.
I've thought about using Lulu as a free e-book distributor for (a rewritten) Hero once the second book comes out...
Mindsight Moderator and ex-PA author
Aston's Blog |
Pacwriter
Unity Member
Post Number:
2763
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 06:25 pm: | |
certainly a better deal than PA - (ouch)
but the point is the cost, if the only market the author is interested in is friends, family and those you meet here and there, then the author could afford to keep ten or so on hand and order more as needed
http://www.perrycomer.com
http://throughablindeye.blogspot.com/
|
Todd Hunter
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
3518
Registered: 02-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 08:02 pm: | |
I'd say if your only market is friends, family, and those you meet here and there, that you'd be better off directing them to lulu and having them purchase it online.
Depending on the pricing and costs involved, ordering copies to keep stocked could be a financial gamble you may not want to take.
Mindsight Moderator and ex-PA author
Aston's Blog |
Pacwriter
Unity Member
Post Number:
2764
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 09:20 pm: | |
just for the heck of it I put two books on there
http://www.perrycomer.com
http://throughablindeye.blogspot.com/
|
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1872
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 10:22 pm: | |
Exactly. The advantage with Lulu is that you are free to publish elsewhere. Please be aware, however, that Lulu changes printers almost as often as you change underwear and each printer has slightly different requirements. In other words, just because they print your book once does not mean they will be able to print it again. If you are going to go with Lulu, I suggest you acquire a first rate knowledge of ghostscript because when anything goes wrong that's what they are most likely to blame it on. Don't try and argue with Tech Support as they are mostly good-hearted volunteers and it's not their fault that they don't have the authority to get anything done.
Please don't get me wrong. Even with all its faults, Lulu offers writers a better deal than its competitors.
http://www.dunganbooks.com |
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