Borders Challenges Amazon Create Space
March 12, 2008 by Jacqueline L. Jones
Just when I had resigned myself to moving my book to Amazon.com’s Create Space for more visibility, Borders announced it’s new partnership with Lulu.com, the company I currently use.
The biggest problems I have with folks at Lulu are 1) their marketplace can’t compete with the big guys in online sales, 2) they charge too much for a single ISBN (International Standard Book Numbers), which is required to sell books through other online retailers, and 3) their order process only works with the most up-to-date web browsers, a fact they don’t state on the site.
Despite those problems, the Lulu publishing wizard is incredible and easy to use. This new partnership with Borders will give Lulu publishers much more visibility and allow them access to Borders and other online retailers at a reasonable price of $49 for an ISBN. Why pay more when you can get 10 ISBNs for $275? Editing and other services are available at additional cost.
Neither Lulu nor Borders charge anything up front if you have no interest in retail distribution. Lulu subtracts the cost of printing and a small fee from each book as it is sold.
Learn more about the program by clicking the following link to the Borders site.
[...] After gushing about the new partnership between Borders and Lulu yesterday, I decided to do some further research. At present, the publishing process is still too dependent upon the Lulu system for my taste. [...]
Thanks for the great info! Are you certain that the price of an ISBN will be $49? When I last checked (earlier this week) Lulu wanted $99. I have one book published through them (a poetry book) but haven’t made the jump to publish my Magnum Opus (I’m not egotistical, really!) there. I still have zero sales through Lulu, but then a book of Haiku isn’t exactly mass market material. Any suggestions?
The price is definitely $49. I double-checked this morning. Create Space is always an option, and the ISBN is free, but sales are limited to your eStore and Amazon.com, and they take higher royalties from Amazon.com sales. Amazon.com is about the only place I buy books, and I’m sure I’m not the only person who shops there exclusively. That exposure may be enough for you.
I’m not interested in learning how to format my book for Create Space. The simplicity of Lulu may have spoiled me forever.
Both Borders and Create Space limit choices for trim sizes. The production costs for Borders/Lulu are also higher. You’ll have to weight what best fits your needs.
Neither option is ideal for me. I’ll have to pick the lesser of the two evils because these are the most affordable plans available
If you haven’t already, you might want to research and market directly to Haiku groups on the net.