Lulu.com

Lulu is a print-on-demand publisher with its headquarters at Morrisville, North Carolina. In addition to printing it also offers online order fulfillment. The brand name is derived from the concept of a lulu as an old-fashioned term for a remarkable person, object, or idea. The company's CEO is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young.

The creator retains copyright. Optional services include ISBN assignment and distribution of books to book retailers who make specific requests. Returns are not accepted, which severely limits distribution to physical bookstores. Electronic distribution is also available.

Overview

Lulu gains material to publish when authors upload files through Lulu's web site. While the focus tends to be on novels, works of non-fiction, calendars and other print publications, this isn't necessarily the case, as Lulu also accepts digital media such as music CDs, videos and ringtones. The author then selects from a series of options corresponding to the media type - for example, an author uploading a novel would select binding, layout style and cover art - and sets the amount of profit they wish to earn on each copy. If the document is not already in PDF format, Lulu converts it to a PDF file, which can be downloaded by the author and reviewed. A price is determined based on factors such as the page count, type of binding, and the user's choice of margin. From the margin set on each copy, 80% goes to the author and 20% to Lulu, although Lulu doesn't claim a commission if the work is offered free of royalty. Copyright typically remains with the creator, but this varies depending on the distribution model. Lulu provides technical support via online forums and live chat features.

When an order is placed by a customer, a copy of the work is printed on demand by several third-party companies, including Colorcentric in the United States, Publidisa in Spain, and Antony Rowe in the United Kingdom. In addition to offering a number of book sizes, Lulu also offers black and white and color printing, photo books, CDs and DVDs, calendars, and hardcover books with or without dust jackets.

While Lulu doesn't charge authors to upload their material, they do offer a number of services for a fee, including ISBN assignment, cover design, marketing, and making the publications available through Amazon and other online retailers. They also maintain their own online store, Lulu Marketplace, offering the publications for sale on their website (at no up-front charge to the author), collecting payments and tracking royalties.

Lulu offers three different levels of distribution services, called "Lulu Marketplace", "Published By You", and "Published By Lulu" (formerly known as Global Distribution). Books shipped to retailers under these Published By plans are printed by Lightning Source. Depending on the level of distribution, Lulu may or may not require exclusive rights.

Lulu first first turned a profit in fall, 2005.

Publishing model

It is unclear whether or not Lulu should be regarded as a vanity press or if it represents a different publishing model. While some commentators have described Lulu as a variation on traditional vanity press publication, or perhaps simply as a more respectable version, others have described it as sitting somewhere between a vanity press and a printing company. For example, David Rani notes that, unlike vanity press publishers, Lulu doesn't charge authors an upfront fee, but also notes that they don't offer editing or sales promotion - services that mass market publishers, such as Random House, offer their authors. Thus he determines that they come somewhere between the two. Similarly, Linda Stilborne denies that Lulu is a vanity press publisher, as Lulu relies on publications selling to customers, (presumably as opposed to authors), while in Click lit - There are no more excuses for unpublished authors, The Times also denies that Lulu is vanity press, stating that it is "a collision of the web, new printing technology and a universal yearning to vent and dazzle" instead. On the other side of the debate, many (including Larry Finlay, managing director of Transworld Publishing) point to the lack of "editorial arbitration" and thus define Lulu as vanity press. Lulu themselves go so far as to deny that they are a publisher at all, describing themselves as a "technology company".

Licensing

"Published by Lulu" distribution requires a contract, which may be incompatible with open content, such as GFDL, or Creative Commons licenses. For its other distribution services besides "Published by Lulu," however, Lulu offers to use open content licenses. Contract term were changed in 2007, and it is not as easy to tell whether the new version is compatible with copyleft; the new version does not explicitly discuss exclusivity, but includes requirements with which the author might not be able to comply if the book was copylefted, since the author would not have control over other people's ability to publish the work independently.

Criticism

UK publications

In September 2006, Lulu came under criticism for changing the terms of its global distribution package and incurring a price rise of around 70% on all books sold in the United Kingdom. Some authors see this as effectively pricing them out of the UK marketplace.

On September 19, 2006, Lulu authors based outside of the United States received documentation informing them they would be subject to a 30% tax on their royalties gained through sales in the United States. Non-U.S. authors were told by Lulu to apply for exemption from these taxes.

Regarding this issue, the CEO of Lulu, Bob Young, has stated, "You are quite right, we messed up, badly." Lulu states that it has attempted to mitigate the problem, that it has no choice but to follow US tax laws, and that part of the issue has been currency exchange rates.

Wholesale policies

Lulu, unlike most publishers, does not accept returns of unsold books from bookstores. In addition, the wholesale discount is much smaller than most bookstores are accustomed to — as little as 5% at typical quantities of less than a hundred. These facts may make it difficult for authors to have their books carried in bookstores, though they're not an issue for online book sites like Amazon.com. Lulu states that its goal is "to have a million authors selling 100 copies each, rather than 100 authors selling a million copies each."

External links

• Company home page
• Interview with Bob Young about Lulu on This Week in Tech