Wow have royalties dropped

[AlaskaJill]

I published a book on Lulu back in 2008 and have neglected to really track my royalties for the past couple of years. Basically, I notice the small deposit I receive from Lulu each month but didn't really keep track of the exact number of books I've been selling. Today I went in to check the details on my first book and realized that my Amazon royalties are down to less that $1.50 a book, for a $16 paperback. They used to be close to $3. Direct Lulu sales, which only come in trickles these days, are also much lower. I realize that the cost of printing, shipping, etc., has gone up in the past three years, but it seems to me — knowing the other options out there — that Lulu has nearly ceased to be competitive. It's just a bit sad, as they've been a consistent producer of quality printing. But for those royalties I could go to "other" printers and price my book for substantially lower, or price it the same and receive more than $5 in royalties per paperback, on Amazon. Of course, with the infrastructure of Lulu's distribution system, I'm not sure it's even possible to republish my book elsewhere and still maintain the same links, reviews and search engine availability. I already cancelled distribution for my second book; I only published it on Lulu for direct sales. The reasoning was based entirely on royalties — $1.50 per book is a lot less than $5, regardless of customer service or other benefits of using Lulu. I'm curious how many others are considering jumping the Lulu ship. 

[jsblume]

Printing costs are the primary reason I started my own independent publishing company and contracted with Lightning Source to do my printing. I must say, though, that Lulu was the best place for me to start on the path of self-publishing.

[pctadventure]

How come your royalties have dropped?  Particularly the Lulu ones. Isn't the amount set by the author? I'm getting the same amount per book  now as I did  in 2007 and haven't adjusted anything. The Amazon return is also the same per book as it was a couple of years ago. 

[AlaskaJill]

I assume my royalties went down because the retail price of my book has not gone up while the costs of printing have. I was really pleased with my first experience with Lulu, but not so pleased when I realized I would have to price my second book, a 350-page book, at $19.95 to make any royalty at all, and even then it's only about a dollar from Amazon. 

It's interesting because since I published my book here, I've made a fair number of direct sales through Lulu at $17.16 even though the book is only $12.20 on Amazon right now (they placed it on sale, down from $16.95.) I think my readers just go to Lulu looking for my book since my first one was published here. That's fine with me, but interestingly my direct Lulu sale royalties at $17.16 are still lower than my Amazon royalties (from a version published by a different printer) are at $12.20. In my opinion, this seems backward, and is indicative of the poor royalties that Lulu offers.

[durenda]

who would you recommend. I'd love to know. most likely i'll join you

[johng]

Does any body know why that my book is $287.88 in a couple stores from lulu after I had my international radio interview? And why are they not paying me my royalties, in addition why don't they have any number to contact support.

[Ken Anderson]

If your book has an ISBN then anybody can offer to sell it at any price they want to.
It doesn't mean that they will.

If they do sell a copy then they will probably buy it themselves either direct form Lulu or from Amazon.

The only thing you can guarantee is if they do buy and sell a copy you will receive just the standard royalty.

That's business!