Is Lulu Press Self Publishing A Good Idea?

Get the free printer comparison: KDP, IngramSpark, Lulu and Blurb side by side on one sheet.

Yes, Lulu is a good idea, mainly as a second place for your hardback books and as income that does not depend on Amazon. KDP now offers hardcovers too, so Lulu is now mainly a way to diversify. For ebooks and paperbacks, other services do the job better. Here is where Lulu fits in the set of platforms I use, what it costs, and the downsides.

Why did I not use Lulu at first?

When I started I had never heard of Lulu. Amazon takes all the focus, and if you put your books on Lulu they can end up on Amazon anyway, so what was the point? I put my books on Kindle, then on CreateSpace (now KDP Print), then my audiobooks on ACX. I thought I had every format covered.

Then I learned that some readers only buy one format. Some only read hardbacks, some only listen, and some only read on a Kindle. If your book isn’t in the format they want, they buy someone else’s. Hardcovers weren’t an option on KDP Print then, and Lulu was the easiest place to make them. I started putting out hardbacks and saw royalties come in. KDP has since added hardcovers, which I cover in how to get started self-publishing hardcover books, and Lulu is still a good second home for hardbacks.

What does Lulu give me?

• Distribution beyond Lulu. Lulu’s help pages say Global Distribution makes your book available on Amazon and other online retailers at no additional cost, and creates an Ingram listing so bookstores can order it. The book can show up next to your other formats on Amazon, and you can ask Amazon to link them.
• A free ISBN. Lulu supplies one, as KDP does. IngramSpark’s free ISBN is for US authors only and IngramSpark owns it. Lulu says free Lulu ISBNs are only available for projects eligible for Global Distribution. Lulu’s ISBN agreement says “Lulu.com will be listed as the publisher in all bibliographic feeds”, so if you want your own imprint, buy your own ISBN.
• Income away from Amazon. If Amazon flags or closes your account, which I have seen happen for reasons that aren’t always clear, Lulu, IngramSpark, ACX and the other sites keep paying you.
• Simple templates. Lulu gives you cover templates. I use the free program GIMP for the cover. The cover is the hardest part.
• Your KDP Print interior PDF works. You can reuse the same interior file, so you don’t reformat. For formatting I recommend Atticus.
• A professional look. A hardback next to a Kindle book, paperback and audiobook shows the book probably has higher quality, because few people take the time to do all of those.

What are the downsides of Lulu?

• Proofs. Lulu says you must buy a proof of the latest version and approve it before submission, and each revision needs a new proof. When I started, a proof cost me about $18 to $25 depending on the book, so check Lulu’s current price. I think it also keeps people from dumping low-content books at volume.
• A one-time review fee of $4.99 for the first print or ebook submission, per Lulu’s Global Distribution guide.
• Slow. Lulu says Global Distribution takes at least 12 weeks from start to finish, and retailers decide whether to list the book. Sales usually show in your account about 6 to 8 weeks after purchase. Once you sign up, here is where to log in to Lulu and find your books and sales.
• Hard-to-follow reporting. They have changed their system, and many authors complain.

Every downside has an upside. A barrier to entry means fewer authors, so fewer books compete with yours. I compare the two in Lulu vs Amazon.

Where should I publish each format?

This is the optimal set for me today, to reach as many people in as many formats as possible, without relying on one site.

Draft2Digital says it sends ebooks and paperbacks to “all the major retailers online, plus hundreds of storefronts worldwide.” IngramSpark is more technical, and outside the US you need your own ISBN. Check what it charges before you start.

My base prices are about $5 profit on a paperback and $3 on a Kindle book, with $1 more for each additional manuscript. I raise them by $1 for every 5 to 10 sales. That is my method, not a rule.

How do I start with Lulu?

Start with your best-selling books and learn the cover step by step. Don’t spend months searching for the perfect place: decision fatigue means you publish nothing, and not shipping is the real loss. Publish somewhere, then add the rest. Is self-publishing worth it? covers the bigger picture. If you want a hardcover edition without doing the files yourself, the print option on my book formatting page gives you a print-ready interior PDF that serves the paperback and the hardcover at the same trim size.

Have you published on Lulu? Tell me how it went in the comments.

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