Lulu is Good Alternative for Beginning Authors

While investigating a new rumor circulating in the world of Print-on-Demand (POD) publishing, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a competitor of Amazon.com has sweetened one of its offers to independent authors and small publishers.

As is standard in the POD industry, the Lulu Published by Lulu distribution plan collects production costs and a small fee from each book purchased. But for an unspecified period of time, the Lulu plan is free. It normally costs $99.95.

Like the free Standard Plan from Amazon’s Create Space, this Lulu plan includes an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), the industry standard for identifying individual books. The Lulu plan, however, distributes its authors’ works through other outlets, including Amazon. Create Space doesn’t allow sales outside of Amazon, and it just recently added international sales.

The rumor that led to this discovery was that authors who purchased Lulu’s other distribution plan, Published by You, would no longer be able to carry their ISBNs with them to other publishers. That’s not true, according to Guen S. with Lulu support. “For ISBNs for Published by You service, yes, you can bring the ISBN if you leave Lulu,” says Guen. My inquiry about the rumor helped me solve a dilemma about which POD service or publisher to use.

Since Amazon announced on March 31 that all POD publishers who sell through their site, with a few exceptions, must use their POD services, authors and publishers alike have been afraid that the mammoth company would run many independent publishers out of business. But Amazon’s target seems to be larger companies that publish works by others. I’ve heard from Aaron Shepard, publisher of Aiming at Amazon, that no independent self-publishers have been contacted so far.

Lulu is a user-friendly alternative to other POD services and publishers that usually charge setup fees. Anyone who knows how to do page layout and cover design should be able to upload files to Lulu’s publishing wizard with little or no help. An extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and online customer service are available for those who have questions. Lulu offers formatting and other services at additional cost.

Until now I had planned to use Lulu only to create a final draft of my manuscript because its production costs are higher than those of Lightning Source, the company that services most POD publishers. Create Space’s Pro Plan also offers higher royalties and lower production costs for a $39 setup fee and about $5 per title per year afterward. The Pro Plan is free through the end of this year.

But first-time publishers like me may need to purchase expensive software to submit files to both Create Space and Lightning. Lulu, however, accepts files created in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works and even Open Office, a free office suite that is growing in popularity among many home and some office users. Shepard’s Perfect Pages details how to format pages and covers in Word. I designed my cover in PowerPoint. At this stage in my publishing career, I can’t afford to buy new software. I’m not sure how many books I want to publish.

The Lulu special may continue past the end of the year, but I suspect the price will soon rise to at least $39, if not to the original price, because of the wider distribution options. Take advantage of a good thing while it lasts. You may find a new home for all your works.

For more information read the Distribution FAQ at Lulu.com.

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