I prefer the thicker paper that Lulu uses. To me it signifies better quality. The thicker paper has more longevity (shelf life/permanence) and doesn't yellow at the edges like so many of the commercial/traditional printing companies these days.
After years of promising myself that I would publish something I wrote, I'm finally getting to a point where I'm ready to take that plunge. I'm leaning towards KDP, but I have been briefly considering Lulu. I actually like the concept of thicker paper, though the pricing is a little intimidating for me. Then again, writing is mostly a hobby for me, and I'm not sure how "famous" I really want to be (sometimes fame can be a curse as much as a blessing . . . I had an uncle in the country music business, and he attested to that). Not sure if you'll see this comment, but your videos have been a wealth of information for me. Thank you for your efforts.
This is a great alternative for graduate students who need to turn in a book of their work to a university. I only needed one and other alternatives where way to expensive. Lulu's options put my book (200+ pgs., it's an architecture thesis so most of the pages are drafts and drawings, and renders) at around $50-60. Other alternatives put my book around $100-150.
The quality of the spiral bound books from lulu is not very good. I ordered one for a planner once, and never again. Lol. Thanks for this awesome Lulu overview and novel printing review!
I prefer the feel of Lulu paperbacks for sure. My KDP paperbacks feel warped and cheap. Glad to see I’m not alone in thinking this! Think for my next book I’m going to try them for both the paperback and hardcover editions.
I published with Lulu a year ago and am very happy with how my book turned out. The print quality was great, though the bar code they supplied did not come out as crisply printed but as a later-generation image (fuzzy). My only real issue with them, which is probably typical of ALL such publishers, is the lethargy of communicating with them. Their slow turn around for communications, measured in days not hours, was unacceptable in my opinion. Should I publish again I'm likely to go with another source.
Thank you so much for doing this video. I'm learning about self publishing novels and have heard Lulu, but never that it's so expensive to print! I'm looking forward to watching your other video with all the comparisons side by side. Cost is such a huge factor. Thank you for doing this video.
Good review. I just got my first copy from Lulu for my first book "Queens Of Real Estate Chicago". I actually love the quality of the full color images. I took stills from my Red Dragon 6k camera and I used the normal cropped headers, seeing this video I'm glad I thought better than to trust a any printer with my edges
Very informative video, Mandi. Thank you for your time and effort in sharing this. I am still considering the option of using Lulu to print my first novella. So far I have come across mixed reviews for Lulu. Their web site seems good and informative.
I published an autobiography via Lulu in 2009, and found the whole process difficult. In all fairness, that may have just been my inexperience, as it was my first time using a POD service. You do not have to have a barcode if you're not using their distribution system. My book does not have an ISBN or a barcode. Thanks for the price comparison info. I'm planning on switching to KDP for both a revised edition and for future books.
Good video, subbed. I've been considering Lulu as they are the only POD that does coated paper. My first proof copy for a non-fiction (120pgs, std color, coated, paperback) was excellent and print cost is
The book looks so crisp! The price is so high!!!! Is there an option on print on demand companies to choose the weight of the paper? Do you know where Lulu does the printing? US, China, etc.? Great info!
The biggest thing I was getting out of Lulu was global reach- getting books into all kinds of online stores (Amazon, Ebay, B&N) but the last time I tried five of my books were immediately rejected. It's their policy for you to first buy and review your book. I was cheating for so long, approving them for global reach an hour after I bought them. I guess you can't do that anymore?
You're young so you may not know but traditional publishers have gone "cheap" just like everyone else. So the book pages you think feel normal based on the fact that it's what traditional publishers are using is well... a silly way to view that (I'm a traditional publisher btw). Books used to be printed on heavy quality paper which is why you still have books around that are 100+ years old. It's only recently (since like the 90s) that traditional printers are really wanting to use cheap paper in books. The heavier paper is superior.
I looking to print a family genealogy history book to distribute to family members (about 25 copies), not for resale. To me, LuLu's price per book is very reasonable. Are there any hidden costs if you don't plan to do marketing through them?
I have used lulu to just print one book for myself, and it doesn't come with the kdp banner "not for sale" before publishing it. It's decent but they don't understand your "mate" order.
Thanks for sharing! Do you perhaps know if they removed the option of choosing a release date? And the option for pre-orders? I am waiting for the proof copy and I can't see this option anywhere.
Thank u so much for the detailed info. I was thinking of publishing with lulu after printing thru kdp. But now i won't have second thoughts on this bcoz i find it just a waste of money!
Those extra costs for global distribution are from the outside distributors (Amazon, Barnes and Noble). If they seem too high, it's because those outside distributors are greedy.
Thankyou for an honest review. I am wanting to publish coloring books with spiral binding and perforated pages. I thought Lulu looked good for that as regards quality.
The book looks absolutely flawless and I totally love the cover image, however, I was wondering which size you chose for the book, searched up on Amazon and it says the book is 5.5 x 8.5 which on Lulu these dimensions are the size of Digest. But I wanted to confirm the size with you before jumping into conclusions !! :D
I don't actually use LuLu to distribute my book. I was just testing it out. My book is distributed through Kindle Direct Publishing and the size is 5.5 x 8.5
Don't do Magazines through Lulu if you can avoid it. The quality is less than stellar. I publish a quarterly magazine called The Cloven Hoof, and I've had so much bad quality control from Lulu that it is ridiculous. I've also been publishing through them for years and am now planning to go to a new set of publishing platforms to lower the outrageous costs of my books. Honestly I wish I had found your channel before I ever began using Lulu 10 years ago. Now because I'm trying to get off the platform I have to republish everything from scratch to make it all affordable because I used the lulu ISBN, and not ones I bought myself. Lesson learned. My advice with Lulu is use the platform with extreme caution and care, or you could find yourself in a bit of a pickle.
@@MandiLynnWrites Because the author's name is "1" (the number 1). In their emails they stated, "The author's name (1) might be too confusing to their customers." ... Automated bots are stifling our creativity!
@@kasiakuzma430 *"Amazon KDP is crazy"* ... The automation is the problem. You can't have an automated "bot" deciding what types of creativity is best suited for humanity.
@@0-by-1_Publishing_LLCidk if you solved it it's been a year but i've heard that writing "please have a human read this" in emails makes the bot redirect to employees
I have a notebook that is just an extra for one of my book series, that I have through Lulu. It’s spiral bound and only available through my website, or in person at events. Every time I order, the color (and sometimes the matte feel) on the cover is different than the last. I added a generic barcode that I generated for free online to the back, but it is only for me to scan during checkout, or when entering inventory. My price for each notebook is $5.00 and I am able to sell them for $8.00 to my customers. I think Lulu is good for small add on items, but I wouldn’t use them for my books.
Thank you for sharing about the notebooks! I was defiantly wondering how the pricing was for the other items they offer, but I think you're right about Lulu being good for add on items.
I've never heard of them. I don't think Id use them to publish my book, but I may use them for their other services as that sounds cool. Would you be covering Creatspace in your beginners guide videos?
Createspace no longer exists. It had been bought out/replaced by Kindle Direct Publishing. I have a KDP video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_Z4UCeblBpg.html
Hi Mandi, I'm thinking of publishing an Art Instructional Book through Lulu. Do you have any suggestions on what I should do? It has a lot of photos and I'm thinking of self publishing a hard cover with full color pages. Also, would creating an e-book be significantly cheaper? Also, would I own the rights to an ebook? Lot's of questions as a first time publisher.
Please I just created my Lulu account but I don't know how to add my bank account details to receive payment, I need your help please, I don't know if you can make a video of it
Hello! I am wanting to add full colored illustrations(not like the ones you'd see throughout the book) in the very front and back of my book, is lulu or any on demand publishing companies good for this or should I just go with an actual publishing company as the on demand publishing companies don't have options for this? thank you
Ordered 2 small books (40 odd pages), it’s been about a week, not sure if it’s been shipped or they’re still printing it, first time printing the book and I’m located in Europe. I believe they have printers in UK France and Poland though so it shouldn’t take long to receive, UK and France are very close to me.
I have a question, if a page image or words run into the margins on Lulu then with that page be cut off at the margin when printed? I'm finalizing a children's workbook and 6 out of the 105 pages barely cross into the margins. Do I take the time to adjust the 6 pages to fit in the margins or will it still print the full page?
