Have any of you ever used LuLu?

Question

I saw it recommended on here a while ago, and I just wondered if it is really as free as their website makes out. I don't trust statements like that, usually. Have any of you ever used it or known someone who has? Thank you in advance for your sensible answers!

Answer 1

Perhaps someone who actually successfully uses Lulu as a printer should chime in here, as some folks are making statements of fact that are little more than assumptions.

Instead of recreating the wheel, I will simply link to the review I wrote at Epinions. it explains the pros and cons of using Lulu, and what Lulu actually does.

There is no cost to upload a document to Lulu. As a member, you are also given a free storefront. Lulu will process your sales for you and send you your money once a month via PayPal or check. Yes, POD is more expensive than going to a regular printer PER BOOK. However, remember than a traditional printer requires a minimum run. So you may have to order a minimum of say 500 books at $4, whereas the Lulu cost per book with no minimum order is $6.50. Yes, the cost PER BOOK is cheaper, but do you have $2,000 lying around? And more importantly, where are you going to store all of those books?

I suggest you read the review and visit the Lulu forums. I am a powerposter there, so if you see me lurking around yelling at people feel free to ask specific questions about the process.

Julie Dawson

Answer 2

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Self publishing has a terrible history of being really really BAD. Books are loaded with errors, cost too much and are not promoted. That's YOUR job. Check with Preditors and Editors and Absolute Write Water Cooler's Backgrounds and Bewares Forums before you send your work to a self publisher. There must be about 4 billion lawsuits against Publish America right now and others arent much better. If your work is good enough to publish, write yourself a good query letter, get yourself a copy of Writers Markets and start hitting agents. That's the way to sell a book and get it on shelves in stores.
The ONLY way. C.

Answer 3

It really is as free as it says. There is a section called the Services Marketplace which offers extras for a fee (like editting and marketing help) but absolutely none of it is necessary. I've had nothing but good experiences with lulu in the past!

Answer 4

They make up their money when you publish your book with them. They charge more per book than any normal printer. On top of that, they take 20% of your profit when you sell thru them. For instance...lets say you write a 300 page paperback book and have it printed. You will pay about 11 dollars (more or less) for printing the book. If you go to a normal printer(there are 1000s of them all over) and bring them the same book in a correctly formatted electronic file, they charge you between 2 to 6 dollars per book (6 dollars if you are printing like 100 and 2 dollars if you are printing 5000+) Quite a difference. Remember...these printers that are printing for that cheap are still making a profit, so that means lulu.com must be making at least 9 dollars or more profit for every book you have printed. More when someone actually buys it.

Remember...nothing is free my friend.

Answer 5

Lulu provides free, on-demand publishing tools to let you publish and sell books, e-books, music, images or calendars. That's for your potential answerers. I don't know anyone myself who has used it.

Answer 6

lulu.com? I don't know, but I would guess it doesn't matter if it works, but if you really want something that is free, get your work recognized by journals and magazines and publishing houses...at least try for the biggest possible dream...

Answer 7

what is it?