Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

James81 · 05-12-2010, 08:46 PM

I once bought a book from that site (knew a girl who published a book there), but I thought I'd ask if anybody else has used it.

What was the process like?

Did you earn out the moola that you put into the publishing package?

How was your sales?

John Griggs · 05-12-2010, 11:31 PM

James - I've actually used Lulu for self-publishing a few years ago. An ex-girlfriend and I wrote a children's book and published it there.

We sold a few hundred copies (mostly to friends, friends of friends and family), but then we broke up, and sales dwindled down from there.

If you have a good, unique book and market it well, you may be able to make some money from it. Each time someone purchases a book, you get to keep whatever is leftover after Lulu's printing costs are paid. You can actually determine how much profit you make. Also, if you order books for yourself, you pay less than what other people would pay. One big challenge is that purchasing a book from Lulu will cost someone more than if they bought a book printed from a traditional publisher.

What kind of book are you working on?

John Griggs · 05-12-2010, 11:36 PM

You had one other question I didn't address in my last message.

The process for publishing a book on Lulu is actually really easy. You just use Microsoft Word or your favorite word processing program to write your book. If your book is illustrated, just use Photoshop or something similar. Then you convert it to a PDF File, upload it, and that's pretty much it!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

MiBeloved · 05-13-2010, 12:26 AM

I published about 5 books at Lulu
Right now I have about 4 books there.
They have to be given credit as the first company to do print on demand publishing

You can pdf your file or have their software do it for you.

MyEyeIsOpen · 05-13-2010, 02:20 PM

Lulu is fine for people with little experience or technical knowledge, but you're going to pay for the hand holding. Createspace is a little better, but a little tougher to use since they expect a minimum level of technical competence. If you know what you're doing and want the best POD prices, go with Lightning Source.

elucidate · 05-13-2010, 09:45 PM

I'm a member of Lulu but have not as yet used it to publish my kids book, so this is interesting for me to get peoples feedback as well.

05-12-2010, 08:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
James81 Banned Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 12,690	Has anybody here used Lulu.com for self-publishing? I once bought a book from that site (knew a girl who published a book there), but I thought I'd ask if anybody else has used it. What was the process like? Did you earn out the moola that you put into the publishing package? How was your sales?

05-12-2010, 11:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
John Griggs Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 13	Lulu for Self-Publishing James - I've actually used Lulu for self-publishing a few years ago. An ex-girlfriend and I wrote a children's book and published it there. We sold a few hundred copies (mostly to friends, friends of friends and family), but then we broke up, and sales dwindled down from there. If you have a good, unique book and market it well, you may be able to make some money from it. Each time someone purchases a book, you get to keep whatever is leftover after Lulu's printing costs are paid. You can actually determine how much profit you make. Also, if you order books for yourself, you pay less than what other people would pay. One big challenge is that purchasing a book from Lulu will cost someone more than if they bought a book printed from a traditional publisher. What kind of book are you working on?

05-12-2010, 11:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
John Griggs Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 13	Process for publishing on Lulu You had one other question I didn't address in my last message. The process for publishing a book on Lulu is actually really easy. You just use Microsoft Word or your favorite word processing program to write your book. If your book is illustrated, just use Photoshop or something similar. Then you convert it to a PDF File, upload it, and that's pretty much it! Let me know if you have any other questions.

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05-13-2010, 12:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
MiBeloved Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 863	I published about 5 books at Lulu Right now I have about 4 books there. They have to be given credit as the first company to do print on demand publishing You can pdf your file or have their software do it for you.

05-13-2010, 02:20 PM	#5 (permalink)
MyEyeIsOpen Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 700	Lulu is fine for people with little experience or technical knowledge, but you're going to pay for the hand holding. Createspace is a little better, but a little tougher to use since they expect a minimum level of technical competence. If you know what you're doing and want the best POD prices, go with Lightning Source.

05-13-2010, 09:45 PM	#6 (permalink)
elucidate Banned Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 12,751	I'm a member of Lulu but have not as yet used it to publish my kids book, so this is interesting for me to get peoples feedback as well.

Personal Development for Smart PeopleTM Forums

Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums