One of our customers, GrillJunkie, is using Lulu to publish his new book on Grilling Recipes, so I finally got around to checking them out. It's was impossible to find on the website, but after a quick chat with a Lulu rep., I learned that they offer "print on demand" publishing. I have been looking for a solution to this for a while and it looks like we will end up using Lulu.
This is a great option for self publishers that don't want to fund the printing, stocking and shipping of their books. We may have some 40 books published by the end of the year for Grace Lee International Publishing, and we consider Lulu a viable option for us, at least until we begin selling more than 1,000 books per month for our customers.
So to save you time looking through the Lulu site, I have documented what I learned from my short chat session with Viswa from Lulu! And if you know me, I tend to get to the meat of the matter fairly quickly.
Chat Started: June 26, 2010
Viswa: Hi Teo
Viswa: Thank you for contacting Lulu Support.
Viswa: How are you doing today?
Teo: fine thanks! hope you are doing fine too.
Teo: I have several books I would like to sell online - does Lulu do that for me?
Viswa: I'm fine, Thanks! Yes you can sell your books through Lulu.
Teo: How does that work? What are the logistics of this?
Viswa: You need to publish your book on Lulu. IF your books are sold on Lulu then you could receive creator revenue for your book.
Teo: So, Lulu accepts the payments from book buyers?
Viswa: Yes.
Teo: Are the books printed one at a time, or do you stock books?
Viswa: No we will print at time. since Lulu is a print on demand company.
Viswa: Once the order is placed on Lulu then your books will be printed
Teo: What is the turn around time between purchase and shipping?
Viswa: Usually paperback books will take 3-5 business days for printing and hardcover books will take 10-12 business days for printing.
Viswa: I'll provide you the link which is having full info regarding shipping methods and times.
Viswa: CLICK HERE for the link, if logged into Lulu to access this page.
Teo: I am looking at the pricing page - is there a pricing calculator on the website?
Viswa: Yes we have book cost calculator. you can calculate your book cost.
Viswa: Please go to Lulu home page and click on the "Help" tab , There u will see an "Book cost calculator" on the top right under "Resources" section. I request you to try calculating with this calculator and get back to us if you still have problems. While calculating set your paper type as "Standard". CLICK HERE for the link, if logged into Lulu to access this page.
Teo: So we set our own retail price and Lulu takes out the cost of printing. Is that right?
Viswa: Yes.
Teo: Is there a discount for ordering multiple books for myself?
Viswa: Yes. Lulu provides bulk order discounts for authors.
Teo: Does Lulu work with eBooks?
Viswa: Yes. You can publish ebooks also in Lulu.
Teo: What is the Lulu percentage for an eBook sale, since there are no printing charges?
Viswa: Lulu's percentage is 20% and the authors revenue percentage is 80% for ebooks.
Teo: Are there tracking systems available so that I can see how many people visit the "buy now" page for an eBook or book?
Viswa: No. Unfortunately we do not have tracking systems for that, but you can check your sales under "My account" on your Lulu homepage.
Teo: Can I include the "buy now" buttons on my website - we have these kinds of statistics available on our websites. (Quick Plug: See Website Design and Hosting from BuzzStandard.com)
Viswa: Yes you can add the "Buy now" buttons to your website
Teo: Thats perfect. Also... how does money come back to us? Check, PayPal, etc?
Viswa: We have two payment methods. Check and Paypal...
Teo: And how long does it take to get paid when sales have been made?
Viswa: If you select paper checks as your form of payment then you will receive your revenue check in the basis of quarterly payment. For example: payment date - May 15 (for sales in January, February, and March)
Teo: and for paypal?
Viswa: PayPal payments for each month are made on or before the end of the following month. For example: payment for January sales are made by the end of February, payment for February sales are made by the end of March, etc.
Teo: One more thing... is there a quick start tutorial you would recommend on the site? - I have an eBook that I can set up and test in the system.
Viswa: Yes, could you please bear on hold for a minute.
Viswa: CLICK HERE for the link, if logged into Lulu to access this page.
Teo: Thank you so much for your help today. You answered all my questions!
Viswa: You're welcome!
Viswa: Lulu values excellence in customer service. As part of our ongoing efforts to improve this service we encourage your feedback. You will receive a survey which will allow you to rate your experience. Please do not hesitate to contact us again, if you have any questions. Thank you and have a nice day!
Note that you must provide your contact information before the chat will begin, but I was very glad to be interacting with a real person in less than a minute!
