I was extremely skeptical about self-publishing when I began. I am well aware of the stigma placed on self-published books, and without a ton of money to spend on marketing, I knew I was in for an uphill battle. When I started searching for self-publishers online, it was really just for fun. I saw many that cost a bundle up front, from hundreds to thousands. I found several that were less expensive, but didn't offer global distribution or ISBN's. And some required you to use their custom made covers. After spending an hour here and there over two or three days, I came across Lulu.
Lulu sold me on self publishing. The only money I had to spend was on the copies I ordered and the global distribution package, which I believe was around $150 at the time. My total cost was under $200, including three beta prints so I could make some revisions and style changes. That is something just not possible anywhere else that I know of. The best thing is, I made my money back in the first month after the book's release.
In addition to Lulu's fantastic pricing was the fact that I could design the interior and exterior myself. This was music to my ears. Before writing, I was an illustrator and graphic designer. Being a bit of a control freak made Lulu the perfect fit for me. Before it was released, I could tweak the book until I was 100% satisfied…and it didn't cost a dime.
Does Lulu offer editorial services, and did you take advantage of them?
I cannot say for certain if Lulu offers any official in house editing services (though I don't think so), but I know they allow others to post their services on the website. I didn't use any services because my wife is an excellent editor and my professional editor from The Screenplay Workbook edited The Didymus Contingency for free.
Do all Lulu titles have an ISBN, and are they all listed on amazon.com and b&n.com?
You have to pay for the ISBN. There are two packages: Basic Distribution gives you an ISBN and adds your book to Books in Print. It makes your book accessible to bookstores, but not available online (though it would be online at Lulu). This costs about $35.
I chose to go with Global Distribution. This adds your book to Books in Print, but also enters you into Ingrams' (a major distributor) database. Your book becomes available on Amazon (in the
Article comments
1 - neal
this is nothing but a fucking ad.
2 - Phillip Winn
Neal, a check of Parker's other articles will reveal a long series of interviews with different authors of different books from different publishers, all without any apparent link to Parker personally.
Every positive review could be considered an ad, in one sense, though I see no indication that Parker was paid for this interview, and I see nothing ad-like about the interview, myself.
3 - parker
Neal, I did an iUniverse author last week, this week I'm doing LuLu. I am also currently doing an author from Booklocker.
And, I'm not getting paid by anyone, not an author, business, or blogcritics.
I agree with Phillip - anytime a CD, TV show, or book is reviewed, it could be considered an ad.
4 - Jeremy Robinson
Neal, I can see what you mean about it looking like an ad (because my answers cast a very positive light on Lulu), but the truth is I have nothing bad to say about Lulu. If I did, I would have been honset about it. And I certainly don't have anything bad to say about my book. As for why I included things like costs and program details, I thought readers would be interested to know those facts. I know I would have been before getting started.
And if you have any additional questions, ask away. Who knows, maybe I'll even have something bad to say...though I doubt it. My POD experience really has been incredible.
5 - Victor Lana
Once again, a wonderful interview, Parker. This is not an "ad" at all, but more like tangible information that will be beneficial for some of us who are in the same place as writers.
I think this series is great!
Once question: it has been said that it is almost impossible for authors with POD books to get book signings in the major stores (B&N, Borders, Walden).
Did Jeremy's past success contribute to his ability to get these signings? Thank you.
6 - Jeremy Robinson
Victor,
I would agree that it is almost impossible to get a signing at Borders or Waldenbooks (though I was able to at Waldenbooks). Their policy is something like this: The author has to be well known. Has to guarantee 26 sales minimum. Has to provide posters, etc. And a lot of other sillyness. Not many, if any, POD authors fit those categories. It was only my association with James Rollins that opened that door and the fact that I was local(same town) that kept the door open. In fact, I'm having a second signing there in Novemeber.
At most Barnes and Noble you simply need to seek out and befriend a CRM - Community Resource Coordinator. They're the ones who decide who gets a signing and who doesn't. If the store is open to consignment (and most B&N are) than a signing shouldn't be difficult to arrange (given you have a good book--if they think it won't sell they won't go for it.) This time around it helped that I knew the CRM from previous signings, but with a good book and a press kit, it shouldn't be too hard.
Both signings were scheduled before the book was an online success.
Hope that answers your question.
7 - Victor Lana
Thanks very much for the response, Jeremy. It was very kind of you to go into such detail. It's appreciated.
I wish you continued success.
8 - Joanie
Thanks for the post, Parker. I'm currently working on publishing a photography book through Lulu and I can't say enough wonderful things about them.
9 - Herman X. Hermann
Jeremy:
I like the flow of information from your interview. Your humility comes across so naturally. As you know, I do not know you in person, but I must confess that I plan to emulate your approach to success, which I believe, my turn is pretty close.
Warm Regards,
Herman X. Hermann
10 - Jeremy Robinson
Thanks for the compliments, Herman X. I wish you the best of luck with your books. Feel free to leave a link or book title so we can all check out your stuff as well.
And for all those reading this far into the notes, I'd like to add some recent success stories for The Didymus Contingency. I can officially say the book is no longer just self published. It is being translated into Romanian and into Bulgarian for publication in those countries by two different publishers. Strange that those places came first, but great news none-the-less.
Thanks again Herman.
Jeremy Robinson
11 - Shelly Hadley
Great job, Jeremy. I have been following your success since your first post in the Lulu forums (another great aspect of Lulu). I have self-published a cookbook through Lulu and I, too, have only wonderful things to say about Lulu. The first guy (Neal) is probably just jealous that he doesn't have anything good to say about anything. It's obvious with his use of verbiage here. It's dispicable that he would write something that nasty on such a wonderful review. Some people are clueless! He will get what he deserves and he wont get what he thinks he deserves!!
Keep up the good work, I am proud of you!! I am glad that you are sharing your success stories with us, it gives hope to all writers.
Shelly Hadley
12 - manuela
I had my book reviewed by Gloomwing magazine which is published by LULU. All I can say is for everybody to stay away from LULU and GLoomwing magazine. Gloomwing gives teh worst reviews ever and the guy who owns it harassed me like crazy and LULU supported him all the way. I had such a sour and bad experience with both LULU and GLoomwing. LULU is also the worse when it comes to self-publishing. It is viewed the lowest in the self-publishing ranking. There are better self-publishing companies than LULU. Plus the forums on LULU site are full of egocentric writers who will make any novice writer feel unwelcomed and stupid! stay away from LULU and Gloomwing!
13 - Miles Evans
Here is another lengthy interview with Jeremy Robinson I just published if anyone is interested:
Props to Jeremy for being so open ;)
14 - Michelle
This article was very interesting and useful. I am wondering one thing. It appears key that in order to get reviewed you need to have galley copies (also then you can put review snippets on the book cover or back)...but I don't know if any POD companies allow for this. Did you need galley copies to get reviewed and were you able to get them?
Michelle
15 - S William Shaw
Great interview :)
16 - Faith Dwyer
I am considering LuLu for my genealogy book. I have accumulated data on my entire family since 1630 (not just my branch of the family!). I played with the LuLu website and it was asking me to give them an estimate on the number of pages so they could send me a cost quote. I have no earthly idea how to estimate that. If I printed all the text data off my website onto 8x11 paper it would probably amount to about 1500 pages and that would not include pictures. Can you give me some tips? I think I would end up having to publish in volumes. Also, were there any downsides to LuLu I should be aware of? Their contract sounds pretty scary. Thank you!
17 - Andrew
Faith - The only downsides I've had with Lulu is that their printing doesn't allow you to include color pages in a B&W print, so if you want color pictures, the whole book has to be in color which is expensive. Their B&W print is like most standard paperback books I've seen, very good for text and illustrations, but only ok for photos.
I've done the text formatting myself on all the projects in Adobe InDesign and uploaded a PDF. You will want to format the text in Word at the least.
There is a maximum # of pages per book, I think It's in the 700s. You will retain ownership of the rights to your book, and you can always cancel the project and take your book to another publisher if you wanted. Also, Lulu allows you to keep your book private until you are ready to release it. Or , if you only wanted to make copies available to your family, you can generate a private URL that is not listed anywhere but you can send it to people.
18 - Lorina Stephens
Very informative and uplifting article. Thank you. Although I have two book printed by a conventional publisher (Touring the Giant's Rib: A Guide to the Niagara Escarpment, Boston Mills Press; Credit River Valley, Boston Mills Press), I opted to have my recipe book, Recipes of a Dumb Housewife, published through Lulu. I'll be releasing my historical novel, Shadow Song, this fall, also through Lulu.
Found your comments on marketing quite useful. And the fact an agent contacted you after the fact, inspiring.
Regards,
Lorina Stephens
19 - David
Writers...something to think about..It is now Oct. 22, 2008. Why would a company still have a 'success' story from over three years ago still running on their homepage? Is it because they have had nothing else to promote? Think about it.
Jeremy Robinson's success came from his initial hard work and his name was already quite known in the writing world, which we all as unpublished writers know, is the hardest obsticle to overcome. I am very happy for him and his apparant success, but be realistic writers. One or even a few successes doesn't make for a fantastic company. Even if he hadn't had the success, he would have still been charged for the services. Again, think about it. I too have a series of books I'm trying to publish, and yes, I even have one here at LuLu that is only for my viewing. I have nothing bad to say about the company. They served their purpose well and I'm very pleased with the outcome of the book form. However, writers, again I implore you, think. Don't waste a lifetime of work just to see your book in print. You can do that on your computer.
20 - jan bennett
I found this article very informative and as newspaper writer and journalist, I think the author did a complete service discussing costs, marketing, etc. This is not an advertisement...this is a article aimed at professional writers so what kind of a piece would this have been without that kind of information? thanks for the detailed article...I for one appreciated it...jan
21 - Bhavish
Nice comments are above all
22 - Bhavish
Great interview.lots of information.thanks for sharing........
23 - Russ maggio
I am considering publishing with Lulu. I did due diligence with many of Lulu's competitors and think maybe thier higher prices are just profit driven. I don't have enough info to choose between publish by me or publish by Lulu. Anyone have experience with this?