I have supported Lulu as an alternative to Amazon print publishing from the very beginning. I have had quite a number of my books – plus every single issue of my 12-year quarterly literary magazine, Mused, published through Lulu. I was thrilled that they were a viable, worthwhile option to the Amazon behemoth.
Not any more.
I often tweak my books yearly to keep them fresh. I make minor changes, tweak the cover, you name it. I can do all of these things on Amazon completely for free.
Lulu now REQUIRES A PHYSICAL PROOF COPY ORDER for every single little change.
Yes. Every. Single. Change.
Their mandatory requirements as of January 2021 now read:
Proof Copy
Every print book submitted to our Global Distribution service must first be reviewed and approved by you. Doing so helps minimize delays when submitting your work to our distribution partners and ensures you have reviewed your project.
Each time a change is made to the interior file, cover file, or book specifications, for a project using Global Distribution, you will be required to order a physical proof copy to approve the changes.
…
Yes, I’m serious. You make a tiny tweak to the cover so that the ribbon is a little bluer? You have to pay them money, order a proof copy, wait for it to arrive in the month-long snail-mail delay, and only then will they let you put your new version live.
I realize that they want to ensure the author puts eyeballs on the book. But they already provide a fully online experience to see every single page exactly how it is going to print. If an author isn’t going to spend the time to go through that, are they really going to read every single print page?
All this does is generate revenue for Lulu while creating a HUGE hassle for authors.
Maybe they figure people won’t publish unless they’re really serious about it, if they have to pay that fee for every little change. So are they trying to actively DISCOURAGE authors from printing? Making sure rich authors can print, while poor authors can’t afford it?
I am extremely upset by this proof copy requirement. You can bet that, as much as I dislike Amazon having control over the Multiverse, that I’m going to transition my remaining paperback books out of Lulu and into the Amazon system.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.