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Lulu.com

- Star Review

Last Updated: 9/10/2008

Lulu.com Star Rating

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Everyone has a story to tell. Now, thanks to online self-publishing services, you can have your story professionally printed and bound. The problem is, not all self-publishing websites are created equal. Some offer legitimate services while others are only interested in cashing in on your hard-earned money. The Star Reviews team decided to decide which sites were which. Lulu.com was one of the self-publishing websites we visited. Wondering how they stood up to our challenge? Here's the scoop...

What’s New:

Photo album & calendar publishing.
Tools to help you sell your published works.
Interactive community forums and blogs.

Our Favorite Feature:

Some self-publishing sites appear to be academic and sterile. Lulu, on the other hand, is appealing to just about everyone. It has options for authors and artists, businesses, nonprofits and educators, as well as families. There is even a special section for “kid’s creations” that guides you through turning your child’s artwork and writings into a bound masterpiece. We definitely appreciated the site's family-friendly feel.

The Lulu Experience:

While some self-publishing sites cater mainly the production of books, Lulu’s services extend to a many different forms of publishable media, including books, calendars, art portfolios, photo albums and more. This versatility and wide scope of offerings makes it a one-stop-shop for self-publishing services.

Lulu.com offers self-publishing services for everyone, from the domestic engineer who wants to memorialize her children’s artwork, to the architectural engineer who is writing a textbook. A visit to the site will familiarize you with the products available and guide you through the process from concept to completion.

The site is a bit slow to load, even over a broadband connection, but it is very visually appealing once it has loaded completely. The wide variety of print and digital media offered is immediately available on the first page in an easy-to-read list format. Choosing any one of the options brings you to a page that is brilliantly laid out, making it easy to understand your options and make a decision based on suitability and budget.

For the serious author, Lulu offers a myriad of services that help you edit, format, print and market your product. The site also has a section where authors and artists can list their products for sale. For individuals simply looking to create a personalized calendar, photo album, or other family memento, there are countless options, making it feasible to design one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family or capture memorable family vacations.

Lulu's pricing structure is definitely reasonable. Authors and artists can decide how much assistance they need during the various steps of the process, and can choose a level of support that fits within their budget along the way. Similarly, families documenting their memories with professionally printed products can expect to do so at competitive prices.

Lulu’s impressive ability to cater to both amateurs and professionals by creating everything from home memories to professionally bound printed material sets it apart from competitors that only offer a few self-publishing services. Anyone can visit this site and pay a reasonable price to be walked through the process of printing everything from photo albums to dissertations, making it an ideal destination for people seeking a self-publishing service.

Lulu Features:

Print books, photos and digital media creations.
Publishing for all types of customers.
A la carte pricing structure and package deals.
Marketing assistance.
Translation assistance available.
Editing services.
ISBN numbers.
Free marketing tools.

Lulu Pricing:

Books:

Publishing Pack (includes editing, formatting and custom cover): $500.
Marketing Pack (includes press release, online advertising and Clarion Preview: $350.

Pre-Publishing:

Editing: $300
Formatting: $250

Cover Design:

Custom Cover: $80
Premium Cover: $45
Deluxe Cover: $1000

Marketing & Distribution:

ISBN: $99.95
Publishing Coach: $100-$150 (depending length of session)
Library Visibility: $30 / Promotion: $50
Promotion: $50

Book Reviews:

Clarion Preview: $79
Clarion Review: $305
Kirkus Review: $400

Search Engine Marketing: $45-$1750 (depending on number of clicks)
Website Design: $600
Press Release: $175
Scanning: $149-$389 (depending on black/white vs. color and number of pages)

Photo Creations:

Artwork: quoted individually
Calendars: start at $11.29
Photo Albums: start at $14.95

Digital Media:

Videos: quoted individually
Sound Files: quoted individually

Lulu Customer Service:

Lulu offers several different ways to contact Customer Service. The site has access to a live customer support chat feature, where members can chat directly with a customer support representative about issues that they are having that are not addressed in the FAQ section.

The FAQ section itself is very extensive, covering everything from the basics, like resetting a forgotten password, to how to define the specifications for projects and order turnaround times. There are also forums where registered members can discuss ideas or issues and gain insight into the self-publishing process.

Upside:

Wide variety of self-publishing media, full publishing lifecycle support, reasonable pricing.

Downside:

Site slow to load due to graphics content.

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Lulu.com Member Reviews

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