Self-Publishing with Lulu.com
While it is great to be published by the big name publishing house with a million dollar deal, many of us aren’t that lucky. In today’s world, publishing a book, fiction or non-fiction has gone beyond the quality of the material. Market potential of the subject and the author sometimes get more attention than the writer’s talent. How many of you have read a book and put it down after reading some pages, feeling that you can write much better? I know I have done that once or twice, and I also know that my chances of being signed for a book deal by HarperCollins or Penguin is somewhat low. So I decided to jump into the self-publishing trend.
Of the many writers who decide to self publish, some do it to escape the lengthy waiting period for being picked up by the established publishers, some are new and instead of waiting for years to break into the scene have decided to do it on their own. What I have seen among the fellow writes at Lulu is that, these people genuinely want to write. For them, getting a book published is not just for vanity.
www.iUniverse.com , www.AuthorHouse.com , www.Xlibris.com, www.CafePress.com, www.uPublish.com also offer self-publishing service. The reason I choose Lulu is that, I don’t have to pay anything; the company makes money only if my book sells. So there is no minimum fee or maintenance fee. There isn’t even the minimum order bracket, a big help for a first timer.
Getting started with Lulu
Sign Up
Once you decide to use Lulu to publish your book, sign up to use the site. There is no sign-up fee, non maintenance fee and no minimum order. Lulu makes money after your book is sold. Before that you don’t pay anything.
Select the publication type
For the purpose of this article, we are discussing publication of a paper back book, but with Lulu you can publish: CD/DVD, Brochure, Calendar, Hardcover Book, Digital Media, Image, and e-Book.
Fill in information
In this section you have provide the name of author, category of the book, copyright information and the intended audience.
Upload the files
After submitting the required information, you can upload the file you want to include in the book. The file can be a word or a PDF file. After uploading, Lulu converts the file to PDF format.
Binding options
Once the files are uploaded, you can select the binding options. There is a spine calculator you can use for this purpose.
Cover Art
If you have designed a cover art, you can upload it now to be used. Not artsy type? No problem, select one from the samples provided. Once done with the cover art, decided the price of the book and you are done. You can select different prices for the download and printed version. I have seen that downloadable versions are priced cheaper than the printed. If you need to edit the files or the information you provided earlier, you can do so even after you have put the book up for sale. The readers get the latest saved version of the book.
After you have complete all the steps and you book is ready to be with your readers, sit back and congratulate yourself. But don’t forget that you have put some effort into spreading the word. Otherwise the book would just sit their waiting for audience.
If you like some help in marketing you can buy the author marketing kit from Lulu for $49.95 within US and $59.95 in or use the free services for a press release.
