Not Happy With Lulu & Global Reach ISBN

[judicoltman]

I'm not thrilled with Lulu lately.  I would like to unpublish here and take my books elsewhere, but I have the Global Reach package.  If I leave Lulu, do I lose my ISBN or do I take it with me?

[sonia666999]

You can take it with you. But the book has to remain exactly the the same.

[Belinda D'Alessandro]

If it's a Lulu free ISBN, then no you can't take it with you. It's in Lulu's name.

If you got the ISBN in your (or your imprint's) name from your local ISBN agency, then yes, you can use it at any printer.

Hope that helps.

[judicoltman]

I got the ISBN through the Global Reach program through Lulu, which is why I am confused.  I paid $79 for the number and their distro to Bowker, Baker & Taylor, BN and Amazon.  So, yes, I paid for it but I bought it though Lulu.

[matthewcchiversathotmaildotcodotuk]

I'm still waiting for my 2 raised tickets to be delt with by their help team.

Says a response is normally between 2-4 days.

It has now been 12 days. Unfortunatley I have invested too much time into it to consider moving (having also paid for GlobalReach on two of my titles).

Within these 12 days, over 6,000 tickets have been qued. Many complaints, it was not like this before the upgrade.

[jojokitty72]

I too am unhappy, and  have used LuLu for a long time.  The process one has to go through these days  to get a simple question answered  is not only time consuming but discouraging.  I get that LuLu is SELF-publishing, and I appreciate all the tools provided, but it seems like there should be some better support system especially for those of us who did purchase the global distribution plan.  I paid 99 dollars  at the time that I purchased it and took great time and care with my book, so that I did not approve it for distribution until two years after applying for the ISBN.  I was not expecting to be the next J.K. Rowling or anything, but I did expect that my sales would increase at least to some degree.  Instead my sales dropped, almost from the day I put my book into distribution.  They went from a fairly steady stream that provided me with  a more or less reliable source of pocket change to virtually nothing.  It has been several  months now , and  sales have picked up a little but are not what they were.  I am feeling a little ripped off.  Additionally,  the e-mails from the support team  inevitably jump to the conclusion that the publisher does not know what they're doing, even when the question asked  explicitly indicates there are technical difficulties with a tool on the website.  I waited over a week  for this last question of mine to be addressed and when I finally got a response, it did not answer the question.  I  also am starting at this point,  regrettably, to think about going elsewhere for my publishing needs or at least investigating the options, though I have been a stalwart supporter of LuLu in the past.

[matthewcchiversathotmaildotcodotuk]

That is worrying Jojo...

I have also noticed nothing coming through to my revenue, since December in my case - and both of my titles have global distribution...I have put this in my two tickets (one for each book) as I know friends have ordered my copies from Amazon - but nothing has appeared (they aren't the type to lie) since December, and they have bought them this year too.

I have revised my projects a couple of months ago to sort out errors or just to update the editions - I am wondering if this is a underlying cause - because I know the project numbers change on Lulu when you do a revision (which can be a right headache with links) - so I'm wondering if all the revenue is getting stuck at that project number - which obviously means that the system is not sending the revenue to the right people.

If Lulu have noticed a massive jump in revenue, they it may be because the system isn't dishing out anything to paypal accounts...but only they would know.

And ontop of all of this they have been having massive problems since upgrading - another issue that could be to blame.

I haven't had a problem ordering the products myself...but I'm unsure if anyone has bought my titles from Lulu from another account or no account...nothing is showing unless I personally buy them in bulk to sell them at book stores.

Rankings have also disapeared.

I am hoping this is being looking into! If you moderators want my ticket numbers here they are:

00694429 & 00694430.

[judicoltman]

Well this is just depressing! I have been a Lulu supporter for several years but my last book took almost 5 months to hit the Amazon and BN list. I kept inquiring at Lulu about what the hold up could be and was always given the canned answers. It took a very heated and pointed email to get a response not digitally generated and a resolution. I am no longer patient enough to deal with glitches here.

Please let us know if any of the above complaints get resolved and if ANYONE knows whether I can take my Global Reach isbn with me, please let me know! Thanks!

[rsbraynin]

Hi All,

Thanks for your concern and details about your recent experiences.  This helps us focus on issues that are affecting our customers.

Amazon revenues are due to be posted today (Friday 6 April) and should be updated in your accounts by tomorrow at the latest as the file processes.

The Customer Voice team is behind in the queue and are working to catch-up.  We are targetting to be back to a 24-48 hour turn around by next Friday at the latest.  We are having a higher volume due to the recent release related to the shopping experience updates.  Our teams are focused on addressing and fixing these items as quickly as possible.

Thanks to you and the community for your continued support, and supporting each other.  This is very much appreciated.

Rachel Braynin

Manager, Customer Voice

[jojokitty72 · Accepted solution]

Hi Judi,

You should be able to take the ISBN with you if you paid for it. My understanding is that , that, along with being able to lawfully publish your book elsewhere, is the main benefit of purchasing the ISBN verses using LuLu's free distribution service which gives ownership of the book (as long as it is published) to LuLu for a long period of time. I had to read through the agreement a couple of times when I purchased my ISBN to make sure I understood, but that was my conclusion, and ultimately the reason why I too purchased the service. Thank you for posting your comments. It's good to know I am not alone in my frustration. I am fond of LuLu and do hope they can get things together.