Sadly, Emma, this sort of weasel-wording (which is common in the world of vanity publishing) seems to be sneaking in all over the place. I'm not surprised to hear that Lulu is now using it: but I am disappointed. I've always thought that Lulu was very up-front about the limitations of the POD service that it offers: this indicates otherwise. A shame.

It is disappointing that this has been communicated badly. Sad, too, that self-published authors are getting over-excited, especially those who have no ISBNs attached to their books.

The email also doesn't explain to authors how they can actually find their books on amazon so that at least they could link to it from their web sites.

Initially I thought lulu had done a good deal with amazon, because any marketing of books must be a good thing. This does not now appear to be the case, unfortunately.

R

This is a shame. Previously I think Lulu managed to differentiate themselves from the pack by their honesty. They provided a "does what it says on the tin" service. All too often author service/vanity press companies are the "unscrupulous taking money from the unsuspecting". Up until now I felt Lulu had managed to steer clear of any suspicions that they were that type of company due to their honesty, so this sort of hype is disappointing.

Unfortunately, as can be seen by the response of the 5 authors, there are lots of people out there who don't know any better. It can be a lucrative business model. The trick is usually to give the impression of offering more than is really being offered, without actually saying anything substantive.

Lulu do have a bit of a track record of poor communications, as they had a big issue a couple of years ago with UK price raises and how they were handled. Maybe this is just bad marketing, but it's still bad.

On a more mundane Lulu matter - I ordered one copy of a novel draft for editing. It cost nearly £20 and by the time it arrived, six weeks later, I had already revised the ms and just threw the Lulu copy in the bin. I won't be bothering with them again.

Lulu don't do any of the printing themselves, so I'd recommend going straight to the printer anyway. Lightning Source are still the best bet (IMO) for single copy and ultra short run, but MPG Biddles is also worth a look (for 100+ unit digital short run printing). POD should fit nicely in the life-cycle of a book; for pre-pub proofs etc. on frontlist titles, and then for backlist supply.

Thanks, Factotum - that's very useful info.

Sarah

I've been fairly satisfied with Lulu, but disliked this ploy and withdrew immediately from their so-called programme. I'll have a good look at Factotum's suggestions, though, since I'll be PODing my new novel Corvus within a fortnight.