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Home/Blog/Books
Frida Saal
Fanfiction
| Lulu | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manuscript screening: | No | ||
| Kind of contract: | Non-Exclusive (assumed) | ||
| 2+2=5 | Their publishing contract as such doesn't seem to be available online (in fact it seems to be made of three separate elements, only two of which are available) though their membership agreement suggests it is non-exclusive. Their 'Terms of Service' would seem to suggest that they reserve the right to modify their agreement. Gray areas when it comes to the contract are never a good thing though. | ||
| Distribution: | Through their site and online retailers mostly | ||
| Basic fees: | Paperback publishing | Paperback design fee is $999.00. | |
| Hardcover publishing | Hardcover design fee is $2,999.00 (I think, though when it comes to their design packages they don't list a hardcover option other than the combo) | ||
| Combo publishing | Combo design fee is $2,999.00 (see above) | ||
| Color publishing | Color design fee is $1,199.00 for a paperback, and $3,199.00 for a combo. | ||
| eBook publishing | Included. Royalties are 80% of net receipts. | ||
| Royalties: | Royalties are 80% of net receipts. | ||
| Author's discount: | Authors can purchase copies of their book paying only their printing costs (a word of caution here: their printing costs are more expensive than those of other companies). | ||
| Break-even point: | Between 500 and 700 copies sold via external channels if you opt for a somewhat competitive retail price. | ||
| Basic retail price: | Up to the author but the fact that you are starting with an inflated printing cost tends to balloon nicely (according to their own example it is $21.00 for an average length book, though this example also features a less-than-realistic royalty). | ||
| Layout: | Included in their design packages. | ||
| Graphics: | Up to 10 included in their basic package (25 for color books). | ||
| Cover options: | Included in their design package. | ||
| Trim size: | A wide range of choices (though not all of them are available for all paper grades), and a number of alternative bindings. These options are narrowed down significantly if you want distribution beyond their site. | ||
| Pros*: | *Good royalties. *Good distribution (if you pay for their distribution services). *You get to choose your own retail price. *You can buy copies of your book paying only your printing costs (though these costs are on the high end of the spectrum). *A number of alternative bindings (though more often than not these come at the expense of distribution). *A fairly competitieve eBook publishing deal (no, it's not the best but if you want a one-stop-shop publisher covering both print and electronic version Lulu does offer a reasonable deal). |
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| Cons*: | *Very expensive setup fee for their design packages. *Contract as such is not available online though chances are that there is a huge problem with it. *Very expensive retail price based on their own example (though realistically you can get it down to a more reasonable level by scaling back your royalties). *Their printing costs for books that qualify for external distribution are too high, making it hard to set up a competitive retail price. |
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| Comments*: | Their site may seem very professional at first glance, but trying to make sense of their FAQ section to find the relevant information is a nightmare, a situation that may well hide some surprises. There used to be an option to publish using the DIY option while purchasing external distribution for $75.00, the link leading to that information now goes to a 404 error page (though the information is still there if you dig through their knowledge base). They have bundled their design options into a couple of overpriced packages that feature a number of extras that are unlikely to do you much good. If you can take care of the design elements yourself, and don't really need external distribution, this may be a good option, otherwise the design fees and the printing costs may well prove to be deal-breakers. |
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| Visit the publisher's site | |||
| Last updated: 04-01-2013 | |||
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