Lulu will also publish
your book for free!
Lulu will also publish your book for free, but with distribution limited to the their website. This includes a POD version and an eBook version (PDF) if you like, but it does not include an ISBN.
Again, you have to do all the work yourself; however, the company does have publishing wizards that take you step by step through the process including PDF conversion and book cover creation. That still leaves you with book design, page layout, editing, and marketing.
You can use Lulu’s PDF conversion and cover creation features to prepare you book for CreateSpace. In fact, there is nothing wrong with publishing your book in both places.
Once you have your ISBN from CreateSpace, you need to include the ISBN on the copyright page of your Word manuscript, and then go back and remake the PDF with the ISBN in it.
If you opt for one of the company's publishing options, be sure to include their ISBN in the their book and the CreateSpace ISBN in the their book.
Advantages
The publishing package provides full distribution for $99.00. It is a terrific value. The ISBN is included. So is distribution through Ingram and online bookstores.
Having a distributor does not guarantee that you book will be placed in book stores. Store owners simply will not take a chance on new or unknown authors. However, it does insure that consumers can order your book. A lot of people still don’t trust the Internet for commerce.
Disadvantages
This company has all the disadvantages that CreateSpace has plus their books are more expensive, so you will make less per book.
Recommendation
I recommend that you use both companies. Most of your sales will come from Amazon.com via CreateSpace which should provide you with a healthy profit. With Lulu's distribution package, customers will be able to order your book through their favorite bookstore.
And, you will have an eBook for sale. Buy any books for yourself, your friends, or for sale to others from CreateSpace. Authors buy their books at terrific prices and make a terrific profits. You can sell your PDF version on your own website, and keep all the profit. Be sure it doesn’t include anyone else’s ISBN.
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