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Lulu Book Creation Review
I am in the process of using lulu.com to self publish the science fiction series I have been working on for the last ten years. This week I received the first hardcopy of History of a Galaxy: Book I, Redbrick... it sure was exciting to finally see it in print.
Overall, the process submitting the copy to lulu was fairly straightforward. Their site is somewhat disorganized, but overall it wasn't too difficult. The word to PDF conversion they did for me appeared perfect save for one line where an extra line break was inserted, but I should have caught that on the PDF and it will be easy to correct.

> Update: There is clearly a bug in Lulu's Word to PDF Converter: It occasionally inserts extra line breaks, or repeats the same word across page breaks. Proof the entire generated PDF!

Shipping was very fast, and well packaged (though it is clear from the $3.99 shipping cost that you are paying for it).
The book cover printed very well, with perfect centering and very high resolution. The inside pages were centered much worse, with almost every page centered 1/8th inch off in varying directions depending on the page number. It looks like a few flats/sheets were offset when printed. Since each run could be different, I will just have to increase the center margin a bit (to make it more readable) and hope for the best in future prints.

> Update: After receiving several books, the margins have been off by as much as 3/16 inch in either direction. There is no fix but to make larger margins.

The paper quality is okay, but it is just plain white paper, and very thin, creating a different feel than the majority of paperbacks out there. The thin paper makes the book feel smaller than comperable works.
The print quality on the inside pages is decent, though it looks much like the 'draft' setting on my HP printer at home. The text is clear and legible, it just looks somewhat light as if the printer was trying to conserve ink.
I did choose lulu over createspace as createspace is not currently offering the pocket size. The lulu website is also much more straightforward to use.
In the end, for about 10$ plus shipping, others will soon be able to purchase their own copy of my novel, and ultimately, that is reason for me to celebrate! Overall, the book looks fine, and I'm excited to have finished my first work!

> Update: I have since tried Createspace as well. I feel the lulu book had a better 'feel' to the paper/cover - but createspace had better printing alignment. Neither is well built - after 2 reads, the covers flake on the edges.

The specs - Book 1:
Pages: 258
Words: 64,210
Years to complete: 11
Manufacturing Cost: $9.66 (before lulu/author comission)
Size: Pocket (about 4x7)

More details and purchase information for 'history of a galaxy' is available at: www.historyofagalaxy.com

Created By: amos 9/27/2009 6:24:06 PM
Updated: 9/30/2011 11:29:49 AM