Post-Publishing Notes
Some folks have asked for me to share my experience with Lulu so from time to time, I'll post my impressions.
So far, I've had a very positive experience with Lulu -- they're easy to use, have good customer service and their PR people have been helpful. They truly make everything easy -- I doubt I would have been able to do all of this, especially not in the short amount of time, if I had to take care of everything myself.
Lulu ships the books fast and the quality is good.
I also ordered 1 copy of the book on Amazon and B&N to see what that would be like. Books ordered through Lulu and other retail outlets are done by different printers.
I ordered the book on Amazon on January 11 and despite it being advertised as "usually ships in 24 hours" -- it didn't ship until January 24. I haven't received it yet. They estimate "February 15" with the free super saver shipping. Great. Over a month for a book that "usually ships in 24 hours."
The book from B&N that I ordered on January 22 arrived today. The quality of the book is definitely not as good as the ones printed by Lulu. The cover and paper is a lighter stock, more flimsy. It doesn't look terrible, but it does feel a little cheap. So, for $4 more you'll get a lesser quality book. B&N seems to have no problem shipping it promptly -- Amazon, well, I always have trouble with them so maybe they just hate me.
That is a downside of POD right now. I believe the benefits outweigh this -- for instance, the book is available all over the world, and I've seen it on British and Korean book sites -- but I can't be sure what they're printing it on. It's a trade-off. I'm chosing the ease and affordability of publishing and distribution and am giving up some degree of control of the materials used to make the book.
NOTE: According to Clay Banes, books purchased through Ingram are exactly the same as the Lulu books. That's good news.
posted by RL @ 1:41 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
the two i got for the store from ingram are exactly the same as the one i ordered for myself from lulu.
so your notes can be complete.
I'm glad to hear that, thanks Clay.
By the way, the time from my order confirmation at Amazon to the time I got my notice saying that it had been shipped and was on the way was 21 hours and 1 minute. Just another data point. When I get it I'll let you know what the fit and finish looks like given the apperant variation there.
My experiences of publishing with Lulu.com pretty much mirror your own. The production is not for the faint-of-heart, but there's lots of help on the Lulu.com site and forums if you dig around. The Lulu-printed books were (in my opinion) better than those printed by the 3rd party printers.
Amazon.com seem to have major issues handling POD books - their delivery times for my book varied from 24hrs to 4-6 weeks and then back to 24hrs all within the course of a fortnight. Reports I've got back from people buying the book via Amazon is that delivery averages around 3 weeks from the order date.
Oh, and beware of the amazon.com "used and new" feature. One person buying my book had a horrendous experience with that option.
Thanks everybody -- yesterday I finally received the book from Amazon -- it was the same as the B&N one -- lighter stock cover and paper. It's not terrible -- it's just not as nice as Lulu. And like I said, $4 more (and, btw, I the royalty from those books are considerably less)
Post a Comment
<< Home