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I was listening to a tech podcast by Leo Laport today, and he mentioned a website that allows self-publishing of books, images etc (http://www.lulu.com/). It's free for users to upload their content and set their own prices, with Lulu taking a 20% commission on items when they are sold.
Has anyone else used this site or similar self-publishing sites? I wonder how well they work in getting things sold (images in particular, in my case). I suppose the big thing is not the content itself (assuming it's saleable in the first place), but how to promote it to a wide audience.

Frank

I've published one book using Lulu: am working on another at the moment.
If your book is B&W text and diagrams you can get it put into the US publishing system so it's distributed into bookstores everywhere (including online sites such as Amazon). With colour it won't go into the same distribution channels, and you need to do most of the marketing work yourself.

Unfortunately once you add in the international shipping to get the books over here the price/copy becomes appreciable, and it's not a cheap way of getting physical books in Australia.
It is however a cheap way of getting published: if you don't put an ISBN on the book then it doesn't cost you anything to publish. You only pay for the copy/ies you get printed, and other people can order prints off Lulu's website.

They do a bunch of things including calendars, but I've only used their book services and have been happy with the quality of the printing (although a bit of care in setting up your files can help).

Before I posted what appears below, I thought I'd do a search of the forum to see if it had been discussed before, and I discovered that I had posted the only thread earlier this year! So, in answer to myself ...

After my Canadian Rockies trip, I thought I'd use some of the best images for a calendar for Christmas presents. So I created one in Lulu and took a chance and ordered 10. They arrived today (13 days from order to delivery), and I must say I am very happy. The quality of the calendars and the reproduction of my images are wonderful - I'm thrilled and can hardly wait to hand them out at Christmas. I'm now considering putting together a photo book, mainly so I can collate my best images in one place, now that I know the quality is very good.

Here's the link: http://calendars.lulu.com/content/501853

I thought this might be useful for anyone else who may be considering this self-publishing option.

Frank

Frank,

What was the cost of these, delivered to you?

gstark wrote:Frank,

What was the cost of these, delivered to you?

Gary,
they ended up being $30 each, delivered. Not cheap, but considering they're going to be Christmas presents, not too bad. And these are the premium calendars, which are quite large and impressive looking.

Frank

Frank,
your calendar looks great, I'm sure your giftee's (if there is such a word) will be very pleased this Christmas.

Awesome calendar and a great idea! I was going to make my own calendar and print it at the local printers but this seems like another good option. Can I ask how much you've made from selling your calendar online ?

Alpha_7 wrote:Awesome calendar and a great idea! I was going to make my own calendar and print it at the local printers but this seems like another good option. Can I ask how much you've made from selling your calendar online ?

The possibilities are endless and a good way to get work initially published. I think this is a great idea. Thanks to Frank for the original posting and follow-up!

Alpha_7 wrote:Awesome calendar and a great idea! I was going to make my own calendar and print it at the local printers but this seems like another good option. Can I ask how much you've made from selling your calendar online ?

Well, there are lots of zeroes involved...actually, they're all zeroes Actually, they've only been online for a couple of weeks, and the main idea for them was for my own personal use, although any sale would be a buzz. In comparison to other calendars on Lulu, my price is a bit higher, mainly because I created a premium calendar instead of the more common standard calendar. I've now made a standard version using different images, but again this is mainly for personal use as Xmas gifts - my wife and I were so impressed by the first lot that we decided to make a cheaper version for some more gifts.

Frank

Hi Frank,

Curious to know what you mean by using different images ?

I have a Business name registered as differentimages and it's the name of my Website as well ?

Is that the different images in the states ?

Just curious.

Thanks Mic.

mic wrote:Hi Frank,

Curious to know what you mean by using different images ?

I have a Business name registered as differentimages and it's the name of my Website as well ?

Is that the different images in the states ?

Just curious.

Thanks Mic.

I get the feeling that he used a different set of photographs for the standard calendar as opposed to the premium calendar.

Is setting up an ISBN for your publication much more useful in terms of mass productions or sales??

How does that work regards to ISBN stuffs?

bwhinnen wrote:

mic wrote:Hi Frank,

Curious to know what you mean by using different images ?

I have a Business name registered as differentimages and it's the name of my Website as well ?

Is that the different images in the states ?

Just curious.

Thanks Mic.

I get the feeling that he used a different set of photographs for the standard calendar as opposed to the premium calendar.

ummm, that's what I meant

Frank

Sorry Frank

Had a few beers that night, must have been a bit Paranoid.
Funny how a person can read a sentence different.

Cheers,

Mic.

Frank

That whole Lulu site is quite interesting. I just wonder if anyone actually makes reasonable $ out of it.

mic wrote:Sorry Frank

Had a few beers that night, must have been a bit Paranoid.
Funny how a person can read a sentence different.

Cheers,

Mic.

One inversion too many?
No problem

Frank