Lulu.com: New Author Advice Tool

UPDATE (July 1, 2012):
My apologies. I read the original article from Digital Book World in a hurry and thought that Lulu.com, a legitimate company that helps authors self-publish, had added certain 'author solutions' to its site. Unfortunately, on closer inspection, that is not the case.

As Paul pointed out in his kind comment, and as I have known for a while myself, Author Solutions has been flagged by Writer Beware a number of times and I would not recommend it.

Here is what Writer Beware has to say about Author Solutions:

Some POD services have trouble with timeliness in book production and order fulfillment. The companies owned by Author Solutions (AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris, and Trafford) are the subject of frequent complaints about customer service. Before choosing a POD service, it’s a good idea to scout for complaints, and to contact writers who’ve used the service. (From POD Service Issues To Consider)

There are many legitimate print-on-demand services (such as lulu.com, createspace.com and lightningsource.com) that help authors by enabling them to produce, distribute and sell paper copies of their work and I feel good about recommending any of these companies. Author Solutions is not a company I would recommend.

Because I don't like deleting things, my original article is below.

UPDATE (July 3, 2012):
Here is a link to another post on Writer Beware about AuthorSolutions:
Victoria Strauss -- Author Solutions Acquires Xlibris

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This is from Digital Book World:

In the continuing arms race between self-publishing platforms, Lulu.com has added a new feature designed to entice authors.

Lulu’s Publishing Advisor is designed to give authors customized recommendations on how they can most effectively create, publish, market and sell their title. The recommendations are customized based on the author’s answers to a five-question questionnaire.

Lulu.com is just one of a number of self-publishing tools recently to go to market with improved services and pricing to attract more authors.

Author Solutions is currently offering authors 100% royalties in perpetuity on books published through the site by July 4. The company is also offering authors a something called BookStubs where authors can distribute physical cards with a code for readers to download their e-book to enable in-person e-book sales or giveaways.

A new company called Your Ebook Team just launched and says that it offers authors “360 degree” service, from editorial to distribution.

Major publishing companies are also now reaching out to authors to tout their ability to serve them. Random House, for instance, recently put out a video discussing all the value it offers to authors.

You can read the rest here: Self-Publishing Site Lulu.com Launches Author Advice Tool.

5 Points To Ponder Before You Self Publish

From Mashable Business:

[S]elf-publishing means you won’t get all of the resources that a publishing company might provide, and you’ll have to pull a lot of the weight yourself. Here are some things you should consider before embarking on your journey to publication.
- 5 things to consider before publishing your book

I agree! This is the kind of article I wish I'd read before I published my first book.

1. Publishing Platform

The number of publishing platforms is increasing. Just last week, Kobo announced the creation of a self publishing portal called Writing Life. Here are a few more:

Ebooks:
- Amazon KDP
- Barnes & Noble PubIt
- Smashwords
- Kobo Writing Life (in beta at the moment)

Print On Demand:
- CreateSpace
- Lulu
- Lightning Source

The choices may seem bewildering. If you've never published a book before then I'd suggest you get your feet wet by publishing an ebook, forget about putting out a paper version for now. Perhaps you have a short story that you would like to offer for sale?

Now that we've established the format, what about the platform? It's up to you, of course, but if this is your first time I would suggest publishing on Smashwords. In my opinion the only reason not to publish on Smashwords is Amazon's KDP Select program and that is a topic for another time (see the Related Links section, at the end).

It's easy to publish your book on Smashwords IF you follow the advice Mark Coker gives in his Smashwords Style Guide. I have found the Smashwords Style Guide to be the single most helpful book for formatting (or un-formatting as the case may be) a .doc file so that the finished ebook is error free.

If you do decide to publish through Smashwords remember to download all the different formats (mobi, epub, etc.) your book has been converted into and check each one for formatting errors. For instance, a table of contents that looks wonderful in Amazon's mobi format might look terrible in the epub format.

It may take you a few tries, but it gets easier each time you publish. Also, the hints Mark Coker offers in Publishing on Smashwords apply whether you are publishing on Smashwords or Amazon. And the book is free! I know this reads like a commercial for Coker's book, but it's not just me, many self-published authors have found his book invaluable.

2. Cost

While anyone can publish an ebook at no cost--other than your time which, arguably, is the most valuable thing of all--many people chose to contract various professionals to help them with tasks like editing, formatting, cover art, and so on. The money spent can add up, and quickly, so it's a good idea to sit down at the very beginning and decide how much of the work you're comfortable doing yourself.

The Cover
First impressions count--sometimes a glance is all anyone will give your book--so you don't want your book discounted because of a cover that screams "self-published".

You could hire someone to do the cover, and if you choose this option keep in mind you can expect covers can run anywhere from $100 to $350. Of course you could get a cover for less or more, but you should be able to get a decent cover in this price range.

If you decide to do it yourself, and I'm an advocate of at least trying this before you hire someone, there are some excellent image manipulation programs available for little to no cost. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), for instance. Of course if you already have Photoshop on your computer, use that!

When I do my covers my goal is this: Don't make it ugly. I'm not a graphic designer so, for me, simple is better and I let the principle of "the absence of ugliness" be my guide. Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

Editing
Get someone else to edit your work before you publish it. Period. There is no way you will be able to catch the errors in your manuscript the way another, more objective, person can.

If you can't afford to pay an editor then get together with other self-publishers and help edit their work in exchange for someone else editing yours.

Goofy tip: Lately I've been running my blog posts and stories through a text-to-speech program, NaturalReader. It's amazing how many errors it catches! I still need a human editor to go over my work, but the cleaner the copy your human editor gets, the better!

ISBN Numbers
While doubtless a worthy investment, if you're planning on publishing your book exclusively in electronic form and only through Amazon or Smashwords, you probably don't need to buy an ISBN number. Smashwords will provide one for free, if you ask, and Amazon will give you an ASIN number. (See 'Related Articles' for more on publishing through Amazon).

3. Marketing

For the self-published author nothing can replace building a platform. "Platform" is one of those abstract words which can mean almost anything. In my opinion, you'll need to set up a website, or at least a blog, and you'll need to blog regularly. This need not be onerous, even if you blog once a month you'll start to build an audience.

Google Analytics
Google Analytics is an invaluable tool, especially in the beginning when it looks as though no one is reading your blog. And it's free!

I'd been blogging for a few months before I set up my account with Google Analytics and it was a revelation. I remember jumping around the living room because a whole 5 people had come by my blog that day.

Twitter
I'd also advise setting up a twitter account. If you don't want to do Facebook that's fine, but I suspect you would be missing out on an opportunity. I know I should do more with Facebook, but I've found the interface to be mildly cantankerous--or perhaps that's just me.

Remember: Whatever you decide to do, keep writing!

Related Articles:
- More on Amazon Select: Is exclusivity worth it?
- Amazon's Ranking Algorithm Has Changed: what this means for indie authors
- Changes in Amazon's Algorithm: An Update

Books on Publishing (Free):
- Smashwords Style Guide, Mark Coker
- Smashwords Book Marketing Guide
- The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success

"5 Points To Ponder Before You Self Publish," copyright© 2012 by Karen Woodward.