14 August 2007

Amazon Goes Lulu

I'm a big fan of Lulu.com, the self-publishing company, not least because the man behind it, Bob Young, also co-founded Red Hat, and is one of the most passionate defenders of the open source way I have come across.

So the news that CreateSpace is going into the on-demand publishing business is interesting - especially since the company is a subsidiary of Amazon, which means that self-published authors will be able to hitch a ride on the Amazon behemoth. But as far as I can tell, Lulu still offers a more thorough vision, with its global reach and finer-grained publishing options. But if nothing else, Amazon's entry into this space will serve to validate the whole idea in the eyes of doubters.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:38 am

    I tried it the other day. Got my book up on Amazon in about 5 days. No charge to set up and very competitive print costs vs lulu. Book looked professional as well. I like Lulu too and have used them but its not the first time an innovator's idea has been taken on by the leader. wordperfect anyone?

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  2. Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure there's room for more than one company here.

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  3. I published a book on lulu.com 2 months ago. Book looks great but it is still not available on Amazon. Is there some trick to getting it listed on Amazon?

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  4. I'm afraid I don't know the details: have you asked Lulu directly?

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  5. Apparently I have to buy the US distribution package to get on Amazon through lulu. $100 in the USA.
    http://www.lulu.com/en/services/marketing/isbn.php?cid=en_services_main_isbn

    Without paying for the distribution, the book is only available on lulu marketplace.

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