For publishing an ebook which is better Lulu or Amazon?
Once upon a time I wrote books, and then xeroxed them and sent them to publishers. Which guaranteed me to go broke in no time flat with the postage fees and then the wait from the publisher. So the books I wrote sat on the top shelf collecting dust, while I sold books in my bookshop. I am now getting old so if the dream is going to happen I better get at it. But the pros and cons make me dizzy when it comes to epublishers like Lulu and Amazon. I'm also on a limited income being people would rather kill brain cells playing video games, text messaging etc. And I really don't want to take a course in study of is Lulu or Amazon the place I need to sign up at...
Answers (10)
Dick M.
book editor, book designer—high-quality custom publishing for companies and individuals
Best Answers in: Writing and Editing (3), Business Development (1)
Neither. If you actually want to publish an ebook, you should take a look at smashwords.com (no connection with them—just saying it seems to be the hot site for publishing ebooks). But that requires that you have the books in electronic form, not as typewritten manuscripts. So your first step (if I understand you correctly) is to get your mss. scanned. You can contact me privately and I'll send you the email address of the person I recommend for that service.
Now if you didn't really mean ebooks but meant print-on-demand books, which, given that you own a bookstore, is likely, that's a different question. In that case, budget limitations may keep you from following through and producing the sort of quality book you'd be proud of. You would still need to begin with electronic files. You would also need to think about whether you want to hire a professional editor, a book designer, and so forth.
At that point, you're talking about self-publishing, and your best bet is going to be Lightning Source, although you might also consider Amazon's CreateSpace. Whatever you do, avoid the vanity presses.
Victoria S.
Novelist, freelance writer, and co-founder of Writer Beware
Best Answers in: Writing and Editing (14), Distribution (2), Mentoring (1), Search Marketing (1), Professional Books and Resources (1)
Writer Beware's Print on Demand Self-Publishing page provides info about this method of publishing, along with sales statistics, some things to watch out for, and links to helpful resources (including websites that offer side-by-side comparisons of self-publishing services).
Links:
I used Lulu to publish a book called Slow Time and really enjoyed their service and the quality of the product. But after doing more research, I've learned they are more expensive than most of the other print-on-demand publishers.For my next book, I'll use Lightning Source which is affiliated with Amazon. If you decide to print on demand publishing, I recommend the Yahoo Groups at pod_publishers AT yahoogroups. Full of great advice for newbies, plus a lot of technical information for more advanced users.
Gretchen H.
Writer, editor, book doctor, writers' conference speaker, business English trainer
I have six traditionally published books but didn't want to make the rounds on my newest one, Back Again to Me. All others have been nonfiction. This was a first novel, my agent doesn't place too much fiction, and I wanted to get it out there. I used Booksurge (soon to become CreateSpace) and found it to be virtually painless. They did precisely what they said they would when they said they would and were very responsive. But which is better? That depends on the amount of time you have and how much you know about layout, book interior design, etc. If you're really going to self-publish, you need to be pretty well-versed. I didn't want that. I wanted to work with someone who would take those details off my shoulders. I collaborated with Booksurge on the cover and interior, and they gave me exactly what I asked for, not the first time, but after we went back and forth a bit. They listened and on the third round, they got it. And I had complete input into those, which you often don't have with traditional publishers. Whatever route you go, please understand that if you want your book to sell, you have to get out there and be your own publicist and booker. What you don't have to do is fulfill your own orders, which is a godsend. But you can't just put your book up on your Web site and expect it to fly off the shelves. Latest figures I read were that the average self-published or POD sales are less than 100. So don't expect miracles. If you're looking for sales, be prepared to work relentlessly, identifying markets, thought leaders, blogs, reporters and then contacting again and again. While social media are helpful, they aren't the be-all and end-all. Still a lot of traditional work to do for success.
Links:
Lulu is known to everyone in the writing industry as a self publisher and printer. (Given, it's free so that's a plus when you don't want to spend a lot on cover design, editing, and all the things you should do before putting a book on Amazon.) Lulu is great for publishing family projects, but Amazon is recognized by everyone. I'll list my publishing blog below which contains links to several Writer's Digest online articles about self publishing. I publish my own work and books for others, and I can tell you it's mostly about the cover. People look at the cover and then read the description.
Links:
Debbie E.
Publishing Media Creative Incorporated
Best Answers in: Customer Relationship Management (1)
Neither.
Ashley G.
Publishing Director at Agency Editions, Inc.
Best Answers in: Writing and Editing (7), Event Marketing and Promotions (1), Conference Planning (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Events Marketing (1), Business Development (1), Communication and Public Speaking (1), Blogging (1), Computers and Software (1)
Deciding between Amazon and Lulu for self publishing an ebook is like asking which is better to carry water: a 5 gallon bucket with no bottom, or a net bag. Each service can create ebooks and POD books but neither is going to carry customers to you. You have to bring each and every buyer to their page so the buyer can buy.
Patricia L. B.
president and founder - Scottsdale Society of Women Writers and Brooks Goldmann Publishing, LLC
Try LULU - give the little guys a chance! Yes, Amazon does everything - but that can be good and bad. I know people who have used LULU - also, I do book publishing consulting - if you reposition the book and need my help let me know - a tangible book and an ebook is a good idea - how about an audio compliment too? Try Synergy too - I have heard a speaker recently talk about this company - good luck.
Does it really matter? It is six of one - half dozen of the other. Either one will get you into a digital format. What really matters is the distribution of that end product. Amazon owns Kindle and Mobi and they are now interchangable. Lulu, on the other hand offers ePub and PDF formats. The problem I have with these formats is that they appear to be transferable from your reader/computer to any other reader/computer whereas the Kindle is restricted to a single Kindle reader
For my money, even though I have 2 ebooks on kindle, a print book is the way to go. Seal
Links:
Neale S.
Owner (Author, Publisher, Editor, Game Writer, Screenwriter) at Neale-Sourna.com of fiction and nonfiction
Look at Ingram's www.LightningSource.com for both ebook [adobe, ms, palm] and print books [most bindings and interior color now, colour in UK :)] and they can link you into national and international distribution online and brick/mortars, and airport book kiosks; bring your own ISBNs [www.Bowkerlink.com].
Amazon, I believe, only takes MobiPocket [for Kindle] ebooks, which you can download, set up and upload yourself from MS Word or Adobe Acrobat file.
Your $% cut can be large or small at Ingram's--you control it. Amazon Mobi is 50/50, It think.
It is feasible, once you're in Lightning Source , that you can write, edit, and publish and have on sale within a couple of weeks--all uploaded from your own computer.
You can do all this yourself, I do--with some hysterical hair-pulling, every now and then; but, I can, publish weekly or whatever and it'll be available nationally and internationally.
Or, you can have a layout editor at Elance.com or Guru.com help you (at a price), then upload the files yourself. Price your books above the print rate for print [it's pretty much ALL yours in ebooks] with a % for all the bookstores to share, and the payments (minus the printing rate) come in monthly straight to you--if you have sales.
All this costs a lot less than having a rather printer print and stack books to get damaged in your basement.
Also, Infinity Publishing / BuyBooksOnTheWeb has good low rates to typeset your files, design a cover, and distribute for you. Call [1-877-BUY-BOOK] them for a sample book, which will have all their info for setting up with them, and latest prices.
