Book Distribution?

[C.B. Haight]

I was originally going to publish my book with a small publisher, until some complications arose. So now I will be self publishing. I am curious, after looking at several online distributors I am not sure which would be the best option to go with for proper exposure. Has anyone worked with Lulu, Publisher Services, and others like them. Are these packages worth it? I want the book to be available to as many outlets as I can.

[Christine Rice]

I have published four books with Lulu. If you are looking to go with one company, Lulu is a good choice, because you can publish both a print book and an ebook with them. Though, I wouldn't purchase any of their packages (for editing, marketing, etc.), because the packages are expensive, but it's like that with any publisher/distributor. I can possibly help you with editing and formatting your book. If you would like to talk about that further, you can email me at [e-mail]. Good luck with choosing a publisher!

[kendell chad watts]

I have experience with both Createspace and Lulu. There are pros and cons with each. However both are terrific options. When it comes to Createspace, they are simple , straightforward and very quick. I place my order for a proof and get it two days later ( I am located in SC however so your experience may vary somewhat). Lulu is not quite as easy to use as Createspace- in my opinion- and not quite as cheap, but their cover creator his head and shoulders better. I agree with Christine, I wouldn't shell out the money for any of the overpriced packages. Just keep it simple and I'm sure you will be happy with either of these two companies.

[Irene Helenowski]

HI CB, I like Lulu too.  They are user-friendly and my book was available at Amazon about 4 weeks after I approved it for wide distribution -- sooner than the 6-8 weeks mentioned on their website :-)  I didn't use any of their packages though, as I had an independent proofreader.

Good luck and congratulations!! :)

[G Earle Gardner]

we did the big publisher for a year and found that all the services that we paid to have done was sent to Lightning Source and now we go ritht to them and get the same thing and save big.... https://www1.lightningsource.com/ 

check out my group if you will be on iBook?

I am looking to get iPad / iPod owners and authors so I just set up a new group. 

Apple gives publishers 50 free Promotional Codes for each book to help the Author get reviews and this group was created as a place for Authors and Publishers to post books looking for Apple owners to do reviews and as a place for Apple owners to find IBooks to read and review. To keep this group going I ask only that you do not ask for a download code if you are not willing to provide the author feedback in the form of a review.

To kick off the new group APPLE IBOOKS AND REVIEWS I have set the price for V.J.O. Gardner’s book JOURNEY HOME TO A NEW WORLD so anyone can download it and post a review for FREE, this is only until the end of the year. After that it will go back to the regular price.

 

 

[C.B. Haight]

Thank you all so much I am grateful for such a good site where I can get help with these decisions.

[Eric Cohen]

I am with Funderstanding.com - we are a new publisher of education books for kids and adults. 

In setting up our publishing offer, we spent a lot of time looking at self publishers and small publishers. One of the best resources I found is a book called The Fine Print of Self Publishing. It provides reviews of the different options and gets into good detail on things like contracts.

Telemachus.com seems to have an interesting offer if you are able to pay the costs to publishing and also handle your own marketing.

Do with that as you wish!

Eric Cohen

www.funderstanding.com

[Brandy Moss]

I have two books published with Lulu. They are extremely easy to use and provide templates for just about everything to make sure it's formatted correctly. I did not purchase any of their packages such as cover design, marketing, or anything else really simply because I design my own covers and cannot afford any of their other marketing stuff. I have yet to figure out how to make my books available on Amazon (hard copy) without buying one of their packages. So for now people can only buy kindle versions of my book on Amazon and I also have a Nook version. But if someone wants an actual hard copy of the book, they have to go to the Lulu site to get it. That sucks and I could probably get more sales if I could figure out how to make the hard copy available on Amazon without having to purchase a Lulu marketing package.

 

I will say that if you get the ISBN number through them it is a tiny bit cheaper than doing it yourself elsewhere. (Only a couple of dollars though.)

 

Hope this helps.

[steven baker]

I SELF PUBLISHED WITH BLURB.COM THEY HAVE A VERY NICE PROGRAM, JUST RECIEVED A HARD COPY OF MY BOOK DRACULA'S RING TRILOGY#1 AND THE BOOK CAME OUT PROFESSIONALY AND THEY ALSO CAN GET YOU GREAT EXPOSURE. THEY ALL KINDS OF TOOLS

GOOD LUCK

STEVE

[Isiah Hurts]

I went with lulu to publish the original version my first book Isiah Classic Food. They pretty good. All you have to pay for is proof copies. Once you receive your proof copy, you approve. Then your done. Stay away from the message board. You got some think you know it all authors on their. Sometimes i do wish i woulda stayed with them.

[Christine Rice]

Tracey,
Did you notice that the royalties for selling a book on Amazon with Lulu are so low? I'm with both Lulu and CreateSpace, and my $15 paperback book on Amazon would earn me $3 per book with Lulu and $7 per book with CreateSpace. Therefore, I use CreateSpace for my paperbacks on Amazon and I chose not to distribute my Lulu paperback to Amazon, but I still have a paperback available on Lulu's website.

[Christine Rice]

For "proper exposure" and "to be available to as many outlets as I can," I suggest CreateSpace (for print books), Kindle Direct Publishing, and Smashwords (ebooks). CreateSpace and KDP will get your book on Amazon in print and kindle formats (and quickly too), and Smashwords will get your book on the iTunes iBookstore, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Sony, and many other ebook retailers.

Like I said in my first post, Lulu is good if you want to go with only one publisher/distributor, because you can create both print books and ebooks with them. But to have the widest audience, you'd be better off going with the three companies I mentioned. After publishing four books, I now wish that my books were with only those three companies and not Lulu too, because I can get all of Lulu's distribution benefits at the other companies (except for selling on Lulu's website - that's the only additional benefit).

(Please note that I do not purchase any distribution packages. I only use the free services.)

[Luke-Dakota Massey]

I'm published with KDP as well as with Bookbaby.com

KDP is great if you have no money, but i Bookbaby is awesome otherwise. They have so many options available to authors and you keep 100% royalties. I swear by them.

 

Your book will be sold to just about every ebook outlet, but like i said, there are so many options on that site, it wouldn't hurt to check them out.

 

Bookbaby.com