Lulu Report Card II

[patches]

My first non-fiction title published through Lulu came in the mail today and I do have to say that the print version looks exactly like I hoped it would. It's something that I can be proud of instead of dropping my head and saying it was the best I could do.

The cover is excellent. In person, it looks as if it is done in pastels, even though it is a tad simplistic.

The print quality is great and I noticed something else. Some of the other POD publishers use a 'white' paper instead of the 'cream colored paper' that Lulu uses. A freind of mine self-published his book through a different company and even though he has more pages, my book is thicker. In a book-table situation such as a book fair or even on the shelf, my lower cost book will appear the better value.

I'm sending my first copy off for review this week. I wanted to make sure that the book wasn't something I would be afraid to admit was mine before I started asking for reviews.

Now that it is actually in print, my husband is excited.

I've got to get sample chapters done for my site and for Lulu.

Steph

[Keith Wallis]

Thats the answer then - padded pages !!!
Well done - now get the reviews you deserve.
Keith

[ProfessorAlan]

A number of my NANO friends took advantage of a free ofer from Lulu and are IN LOVE with their books; impressed and excited.

[BrotherDave]

Just got my last order of books, just 2, from Lulu. Oops. I thot I ordered 6X9 copies, but received 8 1/2 X 11. Turned out to be my fault. I now have two "Melilot" workbooks. Praise the Lord!

brotherdave

[patches]

Thats the answer then - padded pages !!!
Well done - now get the reviews you deserve.
Keith

No it is just that, that 'friend' who was so egotistical and prideful in his choice of POD vanity publisher sneered at my choice, and of course he has big bucks and dumped a lot of money into it and has tried his darndest to make me feel bad. He had stated during a half hour diatribe, "If you don't have the money to do it professionally, you aren't trying hard enough or you haven't prayed enough."

Never mind that my hubby had congestive heart failure and is on disability. Never mind that he and his wife are swimming in greenbacks and we never held it against him that he comes off superior a lot of times.

But he berrated me on the phone and I bit my tongue. I sure wasn't going to tell him that we manage to live on $50 to $80 a month groceries and that I wasn't taking my grocery budget and pouring it into a vanity press owners pockets.

So, yes, I am tickled pink that although he dumped tons of money into his self-publishing venture and he still hasn't got all of the problems ironed out, my choice has been a good one. One, that I believe the Lord lead me to choose.

And personally, the price of the self-published books do seem a tad high in some respects. It depends upon what you are comparing them to, but I was just a little concerned that the book was going to look like a skinny minny.

Steph

[patches]

Just got my last order of books, just 2, from Lulu. Oops. I thot I ordered 6X9 copies, but received 8 1/2 X 11. Turned out to be my fault. I now have two "Melilot" workbooks. Praise the Lord!

brotherdave

I'm sorry to hear that Dave. How in the world did you format a book to 6 x 9 and end up with an 8 1/2 x 11 on Lulu????

Yeah, Praise the Lord anyway! It's probably to keep you from making the mistake later when it would be a bigger problem. Each time I make a mistake I try to remember it so I don't repeat it.

But other than the format, how did it turn out?

Steph

[FMeekins]

Have you been able to sell any of your books? :)

[FMeekins]

No it is just that, that 'friend' who was so egotistical and prideful in his choice of POD vanity publisher sneered at my choice, and of course he has big bucks and dumped a lot of money into it and has tried his darndest to make me feel bad. He had stated during a half hour diatribe, "If you don't have the money to do it professionally, you aren't trying hard enough or you haven't prayed enough."

Never mind that my hubby had congestive heart failure and is on disability. Never mind that he and his wife are swimming in greenbacks and we never held it against him that he comes off superior a lot of times.

But he berrated me on the phone and I bit my tongue. I sure wasn't going to tell him that we manage to live on $50 to $80 a month groceries and that I wasn't taking my grocery budget and pouring it into a vanity press owners pockets.

So, yes, I am tickled pink that although he dumped tons of money into his self-publishing venture and he still hasn't got all of the problems ironed out, my choice has been a good one. One, that I believe the Lord lead me to choose.

And personally, the price of the self-published books do seem a tad high in some respects. It depends upon what you are comparing them to, but I was just a little concerned that the book was going to look like a skinny minny.

Steph

Long as you have it in print, it's in print !thumbsup!

[patches]

Have you been able to sell any of your books? :)

I haven't tried to sell the first one yet. I'm working on getting some reviews for the backcover.

I got my website built and I have another title I want to post to Lulu before I get people visiting my site.

Next month I will get my bookmarks and business cards printed and then we will see what happens.

Steph

[patches]

Long as you have it in print, it's in print !thumbsup!

Thanks!
Steph

[FMeekins]

Do you know if Lulu books are available through Amazon.com?

[BrotherDave]

My goal right now is to get my book in to my church book store.
So, I'm giving my book to a few selected leaders, hoping for their endorsement.
Then I go for approval and acceptance into the store.

Sold one book to a good brother who did some editing and sent it back to me filled with wonderful red "suggestions." :eek: It's a much better book now.

I was almost ready to offer it to my fellow writers here, but I now need to reformat it to 6X9. Am doing that now. May have it available by next week.

brotherdave

[patches]

My goal right now is to get my book in to my church book store.
So, I'm giving my book to a few selected leaders, hoping for their endorsement.
Then I go for approval and acceptance into the store.

Sold one book to a good brother who did some editing and sent it back to me filled with wonderful red "suggestions." :eek: It's a much better book now.

I was almost ready to offer it to my fellow writers here, but I now need to reformat it to 6X9. Am doing that now. May have it available by next week.

brotherdave

That's really great to hear Dave! I'm happy for you!

How are you going to offer the book here? I thought about linking the pdf file from my site and letting people download it for free that way they wouldn't have to pay for it.

I am so isolated out here and surrounded by New Agers. Not very many readers here at all. I worked in a plant with over 150 women and they pretty much all said the same thing, "We don't have time to read!" I was asking them what kinds of books they like to read. Most of them are illiterate. A lot of them can't even do basic math.

I live in a rural farm area where education is not high on the list of accomplishments. Their focus is more on skills like carpentry and canning, crops and quilts.

Steph

[BrotherDave]

Their focus is more on skills like carpentry and canning, crops and quilts.
Gosh I'd love to be able to do those things.
Here in Vegas the people's attentions are taken with work, bingo, and boozin'.

brotherdave

[patches]

Their focus is more on skills like carpentry and canning, crops and quilts.
Gosh I'd love to be able to do those things.
Here in Vegas the people's attentions are taken with work, bingo, and boozin'.

brotherdave

LOL, we're working on it! You would be surprised how long it takes to learn to make a living the old fashioned way! It takes a lot of courage too, to stick with the old fashioned skills takes dedication and self-reliance, as well as having patience with yourself and God's timing. You don't just stick some seeds in the ground and expect a crop. You have to work it and wait.

There are some wonderful quilters around here and most people still can at least part of their yearly food supply.

I'm getting there. I managed to can all of my tomatoes this year, some peaches, apples, broccoli, jam, and last year I did my own baked beans and hubby ate the baked beans so quickly they didn't last the winter.

I've got to invest in some more jars. That's the expensive part.

Steph

[Debtfree]

My first non-fiction title published through Lulu came in the mail today and I do have to say that the print version looks exactly like I hoped it would. It's something that I can be proud of instead of dropping my head and saying it was the best I could do.

The cover is excellent. In person, it looks as if it is done in pastels, even though it is a tad simplistic.

The print quality is great and I noticed something else. Some of the other POD publishers use a 'white' paper instead of the 'cream colored paper' that Lulu uses. A freind of mine self-published his book through a different company and even though he has more pages, my book is thicker. In a book-table situation such as a book fair or even on the shelf, my lower cost book will appear the better value.

I'm sending my first copy off for review this week. I wanted to make sure that the book wasn't something I would be afraid to admit was mine before I started asking for reviews.

Now that it is actually in print, my husband is excited.

I've got to get sample chapters done for my site and for Lulu.

Steph

Congrats Steph,

I'm just wondering where are you seeking reviews? I have some ideas: Charisma Mag and other Strang Com. Mags. But, I am not sure where else to seek a review. Do you have any helpful advise?

As soon as my book is ready in mid-March I want to send it off for reviews, but I am just not sure where else or how else to get reviews where potential buyers will be able to see the review and possibly be encouraged to purchase.

Debtfree:confused:

[patches]

Still praying on it. I don't think I would want to submit to Charisma mag for a review because I don't agree with the theology that they cater to. I also would not want to be lumped in or associated with some of the ministries that they promote.

Christianity Today might be a good one.

Steph

[brilheaint]

this thread was a fun read.
I also can - and can do carpentry, but we are too high altitude to grow much
7000 feet makea short summer growing season, but we try.

[patches]

I would hate to try to adjust my cooking and canning to a different altitude. All of those cookbooks I have stashed in my bookcases would end up with scribbles in the margins, LOL

What are you growing out there? I've got apple trees, peach trees and I hope to get a heartnut tree before too long. I just grow the basic veggies. beans, corn, maters, cukes, etc. I would like to try some other stuff like the herbs and tea tree but our soil needs so much work. It's all clay.

Steph

[lgracebrooks]

Dear Patches.
I just received my second attempt in publishing with Lulu today. After receiving the first version and making the corrections and republishing, the book is much better and the cover prefessionaly done. The entire book looks pofessional. Lulu does state that manuscripts have to be properly formatted and everything before uploading and I found out they mean exactly that. I'm quite happy with the finished procdct from Lulu. I'm very proud to be able to say I weote The Asquinn twins and The Exchange Student. (This can be bought through Lulu. com or Amazon.com) I have a lot more praise for Lulu than I do some of the other POD publishers.
lgracebrooks

[Ann.English]

Lulu's OK by me.

At the risk of repeating points already made by others - anyone can publish anything, which led the Guardian (UK) to say unkindly that the authors outnumber the buyers. However, Author A's work is not disadvantaged by Author B's less tidy work because Lulu provides each author with an individual "storefront" or website. For example, www.lulu.com/AnnEnglish is mine.

Why Lulu? Because I wrote a cross-genre book - a sexy Christian romance. Christian publishers can't handle nipples, if I may put it that way, and mainstream publishers don't believe in grace, which is the breath of life to me and to my characters.

Lulu doesn't do editing, proofreading, or censorship, although the first two services are available from Lulu associates at a price. The website is free. The paperbacks, hardbacks, E-books, CDs, and calendars are in fixed formats at fixed base costs. The author must upload finished work. I found OpenOffice far better than Microsoft Word, partly because it exports PDF files. A dial-up connection is unsatisfactory. Get broadband. The quality of the books is good.

The author sets their own profit margin on top of the base cost. Lulu takes only 25% of that margin - and purchases by the author have no margin, so if you want to buy a dozen copies for your friends you get them at cost. I would be surprised, though, if Lulu didn't take a small commission on printwork.

The help forums, paid staff, and response times are good. An ISBN number - or should I say an international standard ISBN book number - can be arranged for a fee.

The thing to do oneself is publicise, publicise, publicise. I am not a speaker with captive audiences, so to my shame I have acquired skills in sending unsolicited emails, for example to every public library in my small country asking them to buy my book. Result: three hardbacks sold. It's hard work! But very enjoyable.

[David Cristwell]

I had a book I started over ten years ago. It is a collection of my memories of my travels fishing for trout and salmon, char and grayling, and so on, beginning when I was 12 in Upstate New York, fishing for brook trout. The bigger, more interesting part is that which details my four trips to Alaska in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991.

Last week I decided to re-write it and do a lulu on it, and send it to the people with whom I shared these adventures, as sort of a 166 page thank you card. I adapted one of their stock covers, and uploaded it last night. So if you run across "Char Quest" you will have found my fishing autobiography, and my only now published work that is non-fiction.

A non-fiction fish story? Well, I was particularly blessed in that talent. I am ordering ten paperback copies, so we shall see how the books look before I decide to do anything else with lulu.

[brilheaint]

anne, I do believe I will go over to lulu and spend some of my hard earned $ to see what this cross- genre is like- and to meet your characters, thanks for introducing yourself. I think Christian writers should be willing to boost one anothers products, and to keep each other going. best of all God's good blessings to you1

[David Cristwell]

Okay, I published "Char Quest." That was my collection of fishing stories as a practice run. After I figured a few things out, I published "The Bush Pilot's Daughters" with Lulu, and even with buying the big distribution package, I came out more economically than with Publish America.

They get on Amazon.com but do they get on Barnes & Noble.com? Reason I ask, is I have a book signing May 6 at our B & N. Might as well have two there, right? My opinion is that it appears that I have more books out than the person with just one. The appearance of being more successful?

[BrotherDave]

can you tell us what the "big distribution package" contains?

[brilheaint]

yes please tell us what you are getting, and giving, and congrats!

[David Cristwell]

http://www.lulu.com/help/index.php?fID=213

See if that link works. You have to have already published it to be eligible. Itook the basic one to get my ISBN number, but will upgrade Monday.

[Chramosta]

publishing with lulu,
I like lulu for what it does: NOTHING. I am serious...my books look EXACTLY as I want them to look. They read the way I intended them to read. Yes, it is all my work...including TYPOS, and sometimes wrong formatting, BUT I CAN UPLOAD CORRECTED VERSION at any time...I can change what ever I want.
I don't get free authors copy, TRUE
I have to pay for ISBN (If I want one,) but I do have my paid for copy soon as I publish it and that beats PA every time. Well, it will be interesting how many books I will sell through lulu and how many through PA. Time will tell.
Vlad
www.freewebs.com/chramosta

[Chramosta]

To David Cristwell:
Thank you David for dirrecting me to this wonderful BB
Vlad
www.freewebs.com/chramosta

[David Cristwell]

Welcome aboard, my Canadian friend.

It's nice to be among the good people here. Several have been, like ourselves, PA authors.

David