The LuLu, Smashwords, Kindle, POD information thread

[MJ Preston]

Alright, I have decided to go ahead with digital publishing on my first novel and expect (after a final edit) to start rock and rolling in the month of July. Therefore, I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread that draws on the experiences of others who have ventured into this undiscovered Country (at least for me).

If possible I am going to publish my novel with the following:

• Smashwords;
• Kindle; and
• LuLu

But I would also like to find a [print on demand] POD distributor (the most economical) so that I can make a softcover available in some of these venues and of course making the novel available at both of my websites.

So, this is where I put it out to the general public here at WF and ask for your guidance and experiences in this matter. Any and all information would be appreciated and of course this will not only benefit me, but anyone else venturing down this road.

[Sam W]

LuLu is generally accepted to be a very reputable company, and I've had no problems whatsoever in my dealings with them. The only problem I have with them is that they are expensive. You will need to set a high price on your novel to make any kind of profit on it. I retailed one at £9.99. It cost around £7.99 to print it on LuLu. That gave me a profit of roughly two pounds (which is a lot compared to what you'll get with traditional publishers). The problem I found was when an American asked to purchase the novel and had to pay upwards of $20 for it, including posting and package.

You live in Canada, Mark, so I would advise looking into the American company CreateSpace. It is among the cheapest POD companies out there.

[MJ Preston]

Thanks Sam, I am looking very hard at createspace. There are some interesting Youtube videos to help a newcomer to this. My intent is to saturate the market in the UK US and Canada. I would like to have a POD at LuLu and Createspace. I'm not sure if this is possible (considering TOS) but that way if someone in the UK wants to purchase it or if someone Canada or the US wants to purchase it they will have a more cost effective avenue. I'd like to use my websites as a hub for this.

I'm also considering buying a block of ISBN's as opposed to using the assigned ISBN from createspace. Apparently if you use theirs it limits your listing with traditional book clubs.

Has anyone run a book with createspace? Anyone know the initial start up costs for the drafts?

[Terry D]

I published my novel through CreateSpace. The only up front costs required are for your proof copies (cost of book plus shipping, in my case about $10). This will make your book available through Amazon.com and CreateSpace. For an annual fee of $39 you can make it available to all other retailers, libraries, and schools. This fee also reduces your cost per book to buy your own copies. They offer other services (editing, formating, marketing, etc.) for which they charge, but none are required, or even solicited.

I have been very happy with CreateSpace.

[MJ Preston]

I published my novel through CreateSpace. The only up front costs required are for your proof copies (cost of book plus shipping, in my case about $10).

When you buy that first proof is it complete (cover and all)?

[Terry D]

Yes it is. It is exactaly like the finished product except it has the word 'PROOF' printed on a blank page at the end.

[MJ Preston]

Yes it is. It is exactaly like the finished product except it has the word 'PROOF' printed on a blank page at the end.

Thanks Terry, that is helpful. Does anyone know if LuLu does the same sort of thing?

Oh, and if anyone knows anything about templates regarding cover art, I'd sure appreciate any insight. I already have a cover image I would like to use, but I am pretty sketchy on dimensions and all that.

[Misa Buckley]

You can buy a proof from Lulu.

What I did with a novella of mine was publish solely to myself (private link) for proof-reading purposes. If I'd chosen to, I could have then set the book to public.

At the moment, given the very negative experience I'm having with an ebook publisher, going independant is looking very attractive.

[MJ Preston]

Well folks here is where I am at with my novel. I have received two proofs from Lulu which had some minor errors in them. Somehow I got the page numbers on the wrong side, so I have opted to center them. Other than that the cover design on both the hardcover and paperback look good. I have been bugging Baron regarding Royalties and still haven't quite grasped that end of it.

Createspace is another ordeal altogether. Being Canadian I have to get to file a form with the IRS, otherwise they will withhold 30% of my royalties.

As for the E Books. I have not even started that dog and pony show.

I'll keep you posted.

Mark

[Baron]

On a couple of anthologies I've helped produce I tried to set the pricing on Lulu so that they would sell at cost. It can't be done. At best it can be set so that you receive minimal royalties from other retailers.

The tax problems with Createspace are a nightmare for anyone living outside the USA.

[Sam W]

Well folks here is where I am at with my novel. I have received two proofs from Lulu which had some minor errors in them. Somehow I got the page numbers on the wrong side, so I have opted to center them. Other than that the cover design on both the hardcover and paperback look good. I have been bugging Baron regarding Royalties and still haven't quite grasped that end of it.

Are you submitting the manuscript in PDF format, Mark? If you are, your proofs should be exactly the same as the file you submitted. Not sure what's going on there.

Createspace is another ordeal altogether. Being Canadian I have to get to file a form with the IRS, otherwise they will withhold 30% of my royalties.

Yeah, that's the major rub with CreateSpace.

As for the E Books. I have not even started that dog and pony show.

I'll keep you posted.

Mark

I wish you the best of luck with it.

[J.R. MacLean]

I've done the ebook with smashwords and kindle and am doing the hard copy with Create Space. Good experience so far, though challenging as far as the formatting goes. Steep learning curve, as I learned to type on an Apple IIe and so got into bad habits of hitting the return key to space stuff out etc. The easiest and most user friendly of the ebook publishers was Smashwords. They also offer the best royalty stucture. I've shown my CreateSpace proof to experienced and published writers and they have been favorably impressed by the quality. I too have to get than TIN number or whatever it is from the IRS. Kindle actually has the necessary forms available for printout, but I haven't brought myself to fill them out yet.

Good luck with your publishing adventure!

J.R.

[MJ Preston]

Are you submitting the manuscript in PDF format, Mark? If you are, your proofs should be exactly the same as the file you submitted. Not sure what's going on there.

Well actually I submitted in word doc and converted it it to PDF. What happened with the proof is that Lulu inserted a blank page before mine. I think? Screw it, I'm blaming them. Actually, everything worked out except the page numbering. The easiest way to avoid this issue is to center the number at the bottom of the page. A lot of books are laid out that way anyhow.

Yeah, that's the major rub with CreateSpace.

I am still going to use Createspace, they do have the forms, it's just stupid bureaucracy. The fact that they don't use Paypal is another issue.

I wish you the best of luck with it.

Thanks,. I'm halfway there. I am forecasting a late July release.

Then I just wait for the trucks full of royalty money.

LOL

[Ditch]

I used Createspace and learned a few things. The first thing to do is download "Openoffice.org" it's a free word processing program and it's a lot better than MS Word or Works in my opinion. In order to submit a book to Createspace it needs to be sized to actual paperback size, 8" X 5" and with Open Office it appears just like a paperback on your screen with two separate pages. When you do go back and edit, you can properly get each new chapter and title in the right place on the page at the top and center.

The tool bar at the top is book maker friendly, you choose the "format" option then "paragraph" and "page" to set your spacing and size. Most of my work had been double spaced as agents require so they can make notes and edits between the lines and actual books are single spaced. Open office makes this easy. Then, when you are finished, you choose "edit" > "Select all" > "File"> "Export as a PDF file" and it is converted for you to a required PDF file.

The ebooks profit well at 70% of list, you can and will get raped on the paperbacks as I learned, I sold 8 copies and made 21 cents while the books sold for up to $14.73. That's because Amazon and Createspace both take a big cut after printing costs. Luckily, both sites have a help option with a "call me now" choice. They are prompt and will tell you how to create a direct link to your estore. Once you drive traffic to your estore they are buying direct from you. My profits now will be over $6.00 on the lowest priced paperback.

Then your next step should be to create a website. If you put direct links to your estore and explain why, people will buy from there. Weebly is free and very user friendly. Today I'm going to try to add key words to my website to drive traffic there. Heres an example, my website. The Pirate's Cove - Home

[Ditch]

I found an even better and easier website, Yola. Check out my new site..http://thepiratescove.yolasite.com/