Lulu is shipping "The Book"

[chenick]

Thanks Peter, it was a lucky shot, taken quickly while trying to keep the camera dry!

 

[RML]

HO? NE? That doesn't sound very promising! 🙂

And no, I still haven't received my book. Today is my last chance before the Easter bank holidays. If not today then tuesday earliest. Man, I hate waiting! 😛

 

[Marc Jutras]

As of this morning 121 copies sold and we're ranked 39th !! 😀

Gene

I find this very interresting. It's great for this project to have already sold 121 copies and ranked 39th.

I think this information is vital to anyone thinking of self-publishing like that. If the RFF project ranks 39th (that's 39/13421 tiltes) with only 121 sales, no one should expect to make a lot out of such an adventure. You must do it for the enjoyment only.

That means that no one should think to recover their investment in a project with the sales from the their book.

 

[Peter]

I agree with Marc, in my most humble opinion, it is almost obscene to make money from any form of self-expression! All artists should be hungry to maintain the Bohemian image! That is why I keep a day job! 😛

 

[GeneW]

Marc, Peter, I agree that it would be hard to recoup the costs of a project. What Lulu is great for is small-volume printing -- the kind we each might do individually. In a way they're like a fancy copy shop but with a very good printer and the ability to trim and bind the output and do really good covers. My wife and I are thinking of publishing a family history book through Lulu -- text and historic photos. Just enough copies for the extended family.

I think a Lulu book could also make a pretty decent 'portfolio' option for photographers. With no setup costs and no minimum purchase you could put together a very nice book of your own to show to prospective clients, galleries, etc. Just a thought ...

Gene

 

[Marc Jutras]

Absolutely Gene. It's great to publish anyproject that doesn't require larrge quantities or be produced on demand like a portfolio.

I just hope not too many people (out of the 13 something thousand) got disappointed. I also wonder what the number one's figures are...

 

[taffer]

BTW,

just a note on the address label on Lulu's parcel. On mine, almost all lines were cut and their end wasn't visible, but luckily the street name and city/country still were there
.
Once inside the university though, the staff had to open the external plastic and get the invoice to see my full name and office number.

So, in case you're going to place your first order now, better check that the address text is not too long... (mine was).

Cheers.

 

[zpuskas]

I'm relatively new to the forum and recently ordered and received your book. I was very impressed not only with the images but with the entire package. It's first rate.
As the president of a local (Santa Barbara, CA) camera group, I think our members may be interested in doing a book as well. We've toyed with the idea for a while but the costs seemed prohibitive (we have a member who is a pro-photog and publisher). I was wondering how much up front money was needed, how the selling price was dtermined, lead time, options of paper, etc. If someone involved with these items could respond I'd appreciate it very much.
Thanks,

Zoltan

 

[rover]

Zoltan, this all came together quite easily, for no upfront money. We used lulu.com to publish the book. They are an online on demand printer. Check out their site for specifics about their services. Basicly, we chose the page size, type of binding and chose to publish as a color book (we heard that the quatity of their color printing was better than B&W). GeneW did all the layout in Pagemaker and converted the final product into a PDF file. The cover photo is 600dpi, photos inside are 300dpi. Gene submitted the 3 PDF files, 2 covers and interior, and the book was almost immediately available for sale. We chose not to make any profit on the sale of our book. The final price, $21.33, is the cost of printing, and a premium charged by lulu. Again, there was no upfront cost to publish this book. If we choose in the future, or if you do up front, there is a cost to purchasing an ISBN # which will make the book searchable and in theory available at any book store. Good luck with your project.

 

[back alley]

maybe a bit off topic but are they sent by regular mail or ups or ?

joe

 

[nwcanonman]

Joe,
Mine came regular USPS, but I don't know how they send out of the USA. I know they have some strange abbreviations for different countries.

BTW - Happy Easter to those so inclined ~ ; - )

 

[back alley]

thanks h*


j*

 

[denishr]

maybe a bit off topic but are they sent by regular mail or ups or ?

joe

joe, mine arrived to Croatia via UPS...

Denis

 

[Marc Jutras]

Joe, I don't know for sure how it got here (Montreal) as it came while I was at work. When I got home, the package was suspended from my door know by a rubberband. The package has a label saying "Par avion / International / Priority Airmail / First-Class Mail / US Postage paid , etc. " I doubt the mailman had this in his regular bag. It my have been delivered by the Priority Mail service of Canada Post or Purolator which they own. There is no trace of any canadian service though.

 

[RML]

Well, so far there's no sign of my copy, whether sent by USPS or otherwise. 😛
It'll be tuesday before I'll have another chance of receiving it....

 

[peter_n]

My copy was delivered by a USPS van, not the mailman. So it is probably their priority delivery service, except for Joe and Remy of course!

 

[back alley]

i'm guessing that mine will have husky dog hairs on it when/if it gets here.

you know, within canada, i get pretty good service. really!

joe

 

[Marc Jutras]

I know. The bills always come in right on time.

 

[GermanB]

I've just ordered my 2 copies we'll see how long does it take to arrive to Colombia. 🙂
Surely it will be later than Remy's copy ...

 

[RML]

Don't count on it, Barret. 🙂 Unless the mailman has to travel a 100 miles through the jungle, cutting his own path through the undergrowth, he'll be at your door in no time. 🙂