I've published my book, but now what?.....

[(anon)]

You’ve written your book, you’re good to go and get published but now what? The Secret Weapon – ‘Published by You’

This really follows on from the UK-Published by You (PBY) post on the forum at the moment. It’s just a brief explanation of what Publish By You is all about rather than sifting through 10 pages of posts!

Around 10-15% of UK publishers on Lulu go on to purchase ‘distribution’.
This basically means that they purchase the right to sell their book on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. Without a distribution package you can only sell your book on the Lulu marketplace. By purchasing a set of ISBNs (an internationally recognised identification number) you are paving the way for additional sales!

The process is so simple.
You purchase the UK Published By You package online for £79.95.
This gives you a set of 10 ISBNs that you can use for future projects. Distribution packages can only be used for publishing certain books; you can view what is eligible here: http://www.lulu.com/uk/help/index.php?fSymbol=distro_eligible .

Within a couple of days of purchasing PBY Lulu support will be in touch telling you what to do next.
You’ll be sent a form to complete asking for some details, including the publisher name. This is where you can really have some fun. YOU are the publisher, you can create any name you wish to publish your book under. We have some really whacky publishing names out there so you can be as creative as you like.

Once you send the form back we then assign you your first ISBN ( we hold on to the remaining 9 and look after them for you!).
At this stage when you log into your Lulu account you’ll see a button on you project page, saying ‘Create a Revision’, it’s at this point that you need to go in and enter the ISBN into the space provided.

Now we are good to go.
A barcode is automatically created on your back cover once the ISBN is added. Let us know when you have done this and we then inform the important people who you are. Once you are registered as a publisher and you are happy with your book ( don’t worry – you have to buy a proof copy before you give final approval ), that's when the fun begins and it gets sent out to the masses!

That’s how simple it is!
Within 6-8 weeks of you approving your book it will appear on Amazon!

That is how easy it is to have YOUR own book on sale and available to tens of thousands of people all around the world!!

To maximise sales we even offer you advice on how to market your book and increase sales:
http://www.lulu.com/uk/help/index.php?fSymbol=marketing_faq

So, if you have always dreamt of publishing your own book and seeing your name in print, ‘Published By You’ is ‘Definitely For You’!!

It is so simple and enjoyable to complete the process and takes just a matter of moments!

Go on, give it a try!

[orthodoxlibrary]

You do need to point out the downside though.

If we take out distribution then the price of our books double, often becoming way too expensive to sell, and the margin for making a profit is squeezed.

We have to weigh up the advantages with the very real disadvantages, which is why so far I have not taken out distribution on any of the volumes I am selling.

Best wishes

Peter

[uvsar]

For most PBY projects you'll need to sell 20 or 30 copies just to break even, and having a PBL/PBY does nothing to increase sales - that's down to marketing. If you're not selling copies through your storefront then buying a distribution package won't suddenly turn your fortunes around.

Quote:

you can create any name you wish to publish your book under

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Be aware of the requirements of the Business Names Act. You cannot simply 'make up a name' in the UK without declaring your true identity and address on all business documents.

[Ken Anderson]

The original UK PBY thread can still be read at http://www.lulu.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=76045

[(anon)]

In response to the posts from Peter and USVAR:

Surely by having your book available on a website such as Amazon.co.uk/com you are likely to get more hits than if it was just sat on the Lulu marketplace? Authors serious about selling books buy distribution so that they can reach the tens of thousands Amazon visitors!

People do not visit Lulu to buy books, they use Lulu to create books and publish them.
To maximise sales we recommend the PBY distribution package combined with excellent marketing and PR. Lulu doesnt proclaim to do this for you; we have services available to you if you wish to do this. We leave all that down to you. It is entirely up to you to sell your book.

You can in fact choose anyname you wish to be listed as the publisher of your book. This doesnt have to include your name, initials and can be entirely made up. Your true identity is declared when we set you up as an independant publisher along with address and telephone number, so there is no need to worry.

[orthodoxlibrary]

I don't use distribution to sell my books, but I have other websites and various marketing activities which encourage people to buy.

People don't come to Lulu to buy books without a reason, but if a website that is dedicated to a certain niche has links to books on Lulu then people follow them. I make a reasonable income each month without doing any active marketing at the moment. If I did more then I would double or treble my income.

If my books were available on Amazon then I don't believe they would generate any more sales. The books I am publishing are not ever going to be best sellers, they are serious, academic theology reprints, and editions of academic theological dissertations. If people are looking for those works then they will find my website and will find their way to Lulu.

If they found them on Amazon then either the price would be double, (and one of the aims of my activity is to produce lower cost editions of these works) or I would receive hardly any return on my activity at all, (which is one of the other aims). So it seems to me to be a lose, lose situation.

I might eventually want to get my own ISBNs to make the books easier for some customers to order, but I don't think I'd ever be likely to sell through Amazon with the present cost structure. I might even want to do some UK distribution myself. I have one wholesaler in Australia who purchases discounted editions of my books in larger quantities from Lulu direct and then distributes to Australian customers. I am happy to lose royalties per sale to get more sales. But I don't want to increase costs, reduce sales and massively reduce profit.

Just because lots of people visit Amazon doesn't mean that any of them are interested in my books. Marketing requires that the right message be put in front of the right people. Using a website, a newsletter and other more personal methods of marketing seems to produce a good result as far as I can see.

I am serious about selling books, but in my case I don't believe Amazon is a serious answer.

Best wishes

Peter

[uvsar]

Quote:

People do not visit Lulu to buy books, they use Lulu to create books and publish them.

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Interesting take on your business model. So, because only a tiny fraction of the Lulu projects have PBL/PBY, you're saying nobody ever buys them?

A distribution deal is entirely pointless unless the book has customers, as Peter points out. POD titles are never shelved so the only thing that changes when you buy PBL/PBY in terms of a book's publicity is that it appears on a few websites. If people are looking for it, the Lulu website already appears in those results, and if they aren't then they won't find either. People don't spend an afternoon browsing Amazon with a cup of coffee in their hand; they search for a keyword or a title because they already know what they want. PBL/PBY allows a wider possible range of purchase options but they remain that - possibilities - unless the book is marketed it simply will not sell, no matter where it's listed.

As to using "anyname you wish to be listed as the publisher of your book", with respect I think you need to be careful what statements you make about UK (not US) law. A false declaration of business identity is illegal and using a false name or address can cause no end of problems in any subsequent court action, as the publisher is a legal entity responsible for everything from legal deposit to libel damages. People don't sue authors - they sue publishers.

[tremennekpubs]

Is it to be inferred from what posters are saying that it would be illegal to use just a made up publishing name plus a PO Box number on the copyright page of your work?

[(anon)]

"Colin Langley" wrote:

Is it to be inferred from what posters are saying that it would be illegal to use just a made up publishing name plus a PO Box number on the copyright page of your work?

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I'm wondering about this too. I contacted Companies House and they said there was no legal obligation for me to officially register the name I've chosen as a publisher. They said I could choose any name which didn't include specific words, such as 'national', which misleads the public into thinking you're something official and approved in some way. The message I got was that as long as I chose a name which didn't include such words, and used an address I could be reached at, such as a PO box no., I could use any name at all.

[tremennekpubs]

Gina,

Thats good to hear. Good luck with your publication.