Edited by author 11-28-2005 11:34 AM
To respond to Jeffrey Yamaguchi and Trula, I work for Lulu.com, a print-on-demand provider, but I wasn't hired until after publishing a book with them and feeling VERY satisfied with the results. Regarding Yamaguchi's umbrella-ed slander against every POD provider, he is mistaken on several points when it comes to Lulu. He may be right about iUniverse, but publishing with Lulu is free. So no $99+ start-up cost. If creators want marketing, design, or editing aid, they do have to buy it, but many authors happily write their own press releases and edit/design their book themselves to avoid extra cost. Perhaps it makes more sense to feel slighted when $99+ gets you no help with marketing or design, but with Lulu, publishing is free, so the people providing these extra services must be paid somehow. Creators also have the option of buying an ISBN. Yes, we do go through Lightning Source, which feeds books to databases like Ingram and Baker & Taylor, and then those databases sell books to retailers like Amazon, B & N, etc. But many creators sell loads of copies through our online store, and feel no need for an ISBN.

Our products are not crap. They are beautiful, professional products with color covers and your choice of binding. We offer hardback and paperback printing of books of various sizes, in addition to CDs and calendars. Our printed images look crisp and impressive.

Lulu was founded by Bob Young, a co-founder and former CEO of Red Hat (ever heard of Open Source?). Bob founded Lulu after having so many extra copies of a book he self-published that he actually built a desk and chair out of them. From what I've heard, this sort of ludicrious surplus is common with most users of vanity presses. With Lulu, buying 500 copies of your own book might be more expensive, but why do you personally need 500 copies? Our buyers browse Lulu.com and order books directly. Printing the book takes 3 days, shipping it takes around a week (and much faster if you want to pay a couple more bucks), and the packaging is VERY safe. Also, until the end of the holidays, we offer free domestic and international shipping for orders between $25-$100 (ground home delivery/supersaver shipping). Feel free to email me directly if you have further questions (lmoseley@lulu.com). Again, our website is www.Lulu.com. Take the Publishing Flash Tour and realize how easy it is.