Basics of Lulu Self Publishing

Paperback Self Publishing

In our modern world the two main contenders for free self publishing of paperback books are Amazon / CreateSpace and Lulu. Lulu is generally a bit more expensive and also has far fewer members in its system. Still, it has a number of nice options such as spiral bound and hardcover which aren't available on Amazon. So there are certainly times that one might choose to list in Lulu rather than in Amazon.

I've done test runs with paperbacks on Lulu, to test their quality, and the quality is comparable. Still, I generally choose to run all my paperbacks on CreateSpace for the huge market numbers. There are now two situations in which I use Lulu.

First, I use them for spiral-bound version of my cookbooks and recipe books. It's nice to have that lay-flat spiral bound option. Lulu does well with these.

Second, back when we began publishing the Mused Quarterly Literary Magazine, Lulu was the best option for full 8.5 x 11 sized full color glossy publications. They do an awesome job with it. Amazon now has that option as well, but after so many years on Lulu it seems a royal pain to move everything over. So we just keep moving forward with Lulu for those.

Really, the main "issue" with Lulu is that most readers don't have a Lulu account. If you say "click here to buy my book on Lulu" it means they have to sign up, enter their address, enter their credit card, etc., all for one book. It's a hurdle for them to overcome. Most readers already have an account at Amazon and might even have free shipping so it's much easier for them to click to buy there. Similarly, with only a few people using Lulu, the chance of someone browsing and happening across your book is slim. On Amazon, that can happen all the time.

So, with that being said, let's look step by step at how to load a book into the Lulu system.

Publishing On Demand Step By Step - Lulu
Lulu Self Publishing - Setting Up the Book
Formatting your Book for Self Publishing
Creating a Lulu Covers
Setting the Lulu Description
Setting the Lulu Preview

Promoting your Lulu Book
Problems and Issues with Lulu


Ebooks on Lulu


Lulu Self Publishing Main Page
What Does It Cost to Ghostwrite a Book?
Lisa Shea's Editing Services
Lisa Shea Free Ebooks
Lisa Shea Full Library of Published Books

Getting Your Book Published
Writing Tips and Online Books

Lisa Shea Medieval Romance Novels
Online Literary Magazines

Lisa Shea Website Main Page