As a free, print-on-demand publishing service, Lulu does not pay advances against an author’s future work or potential sales. Instead, authors are paid based on the actual sales of their published work. This quick reference guide provides an overview of how Lulu collects, displays, and pays you for your remarkable work.

 

When publishing a project, you will be prompted to set a Payee for your book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Are Creator Revenues?

Creator revenue is the total money you earn from the sale of your published material. Creator revenue includes Royalties and Other Revenue.


Royalties

When a creator uses a Lulu distribution service and their material is assigned a Lulu-owned ISBN, Lulu becomes the publisher of record and all earnings are regarded as royalties for that material, regardless of delivery format. The creator revenue generated by sales of material with a Lulu-owned ISBN meets the true and legal definition of a royalty. Royalties are reported to the IRS and are subject to withholding according to United States of America tax laws.


For more information about tax withholding, see: Tax and Withholding: The Basics


Other Revenue

If your book does not have a Lulu-owned ISBN, then your earnings are not royalties but simply, "Other Revenue," which is the amount of money you make on each sale of your published material. "Other Revenues" are not subject to withholding and are not reported to the IRS.

Where Can I View My Sales and Revenue?

Creator revenues from all distribution channels (Lulu, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBookstore, etc.) are displayed in My Projects > Sales & Payments.



From this page, you can view your sales and your total estimated unpaid revenue prior to any tax withholding based on today's currency conversions. To view your upcoming payment in detail, click on Payment Overview.

Why Are My Revenues Displayed as Estimates?

The payment creators receive is calculated based on the officially posted currency conversion rates on your "payday" – not the day on which the title sold.


The displayed revenues are estimates based on retail sales and the creator revenues associated with each work. However, since all works are offered in all currencies, the exact amount paid to the author may vary slightly from the displayed, estimated revenue total. This is due to daily fluctuations in international currency conversion rates.

How Are Creator Revenues Paid?

Lulu pays creator revenues by either check in USD or directly into a PayPal account, as defined in the Pricing & Payees section of your project.

 

NOTE: Depending on the type of PayPal account you have, PayPal may deduct a service charge for disbursing your Creator Revenues. PayPal determines this fee. Lulu has no control over these fees.


For more information, see the Lulu Membership Agreement.


How can I set PayPal as my preferred method of payment?

  1. In your project, go to the Pricing & Payees step
  2. Click on Create a New Payee
  3. Enter the Payee information and select the currency in which you want the Payee to be paid. (PayPal payments are made in the following currencies: USD, CAD, AUD, EUR, and GBP)
  4. Select PayPal as the method of payment
  5. Enter the email address associated with the Payee’s PayPal account
  6. Enter a Tax ID number (optional)
  7. Upload a tax form (W-9 or W-8 BEN) to forgo tax withholding by Lulu
  8. Click Add Payee


How can I set Check as my preferred method of payment?

  1. In your project, go to the Pricing & Payees step
  2. Click on Create a New Payee
  3. Enter the Payee information and select USD as the currency
  4. Select Check as the method of payment
  5. Enter a Tax ID number (optional)
  6. Upload a tax form (W-9 or W-8 BEN) to forgo tax withholding by Lulu
  7. Click Add Payee

 

NOTE: Changes to your remittance information may delay payment of creator revenues.

Reasons Why Lulu Was Unable To Pay You

  • The payment info you've provided us is either incorrect, invalid, or outdated
  • Payee PayPal email address is a non-email format (PayPal.Me links or links to your PayPal profile are not valid)
  • The email address for your PayPal account may have typos
  • Payee email hasn't been confirmed within Paypal
  • Funds were never claimed via Paypal or a physical check
  • Update your mailing address
  • Check PayPal payment email address for your Payee


How to fix it:

  • Update your Payee Information so that it is accurate
  • Contact Support for further assistance

How Do I Change Payee Information?

Payee information is added and updated when publishing or revising your project.


A new Payee profile can be created for each project or a single one can be set up once and linked to multiple projects during the publishing process.



If you only have one Payee profile linked to all the projects in your account, you can access it through one of those projects to make the necessary changes and it will be reflected with all the other projects linked to it.


Previous unpaid revenue or royalties will remain associated with that Payee and continue to be consolidated with additional sales until the next scheduled payment date for your chosen method.


To edit your Payee information:

  1. Sign in to your Lulu account
  2. Go to My Projects and click the title for the project in which you wish to edit the Payee information
  3. Click Pricing and Payees in the project header
  4. Scroll down to Payees for your book and click the Edit button to make your desired changes to the existing Payee
  5. Click Save once you have finished and then proceed to the Review step
  6. Review and confirm each section as needed and your information will be saved for future revenue payments


NOTE: If you have submitted a W-9 or W-8 BEN tax form, your payment information will be locked. You must submit a new tax form with the updated information and our accounting department will update your Payee's contact information. Please submit all tax forms in PDF format.

Can I Delete a Payee?

Unfortunately, a Payee cannot be deleted once created. If you created a payee you don't want to use, you can modify the name with something like "Inactive" so you don't mistakenly use it later with a new project.

How Do I Split Revenue With Multiple Contributors?

On Lulu.com, you have the option to split revenue between multiple contributors.


For each contributor that you wish to receive revenue, a Payee must be created with their physical address, tax forms (if applicable), and the payment method they wish to be paid.


Each Payee can be assigned a percentage of the revenue. The percentage total must add up to 100%.


When Will I Get Paid?

PayPal

If you select PayPal as your payment option and your accumulated Creator Revenues amount to $5 or more, and all of your tax and address information is complete (if required), you will receive your revenue monthly. If the payable amount is less than $5 (or €5, £5, etc, depending on the chosen currency) the revenue will carry over to the next month.

 

For example, you will receive payment on or before the last day of February for revenue earned in January.

 

PayPal payments are made in the following currencies: USD, CAD, AUD, EUR, and GBP.


Check

If you select paper checks as your payment choice and your accumulated revenues amount to $20 or more, and all of your tax and address information is complete (if required), you will receive your revenue quarterly, disbursed within 45 days following the end of the quarter. Paper check payments are made only in US dollars.


Here are the payment periods for check payments:

  • By February 15 (for October, November, and December sales)
  • By May 15 (for January, February, and March sales)
  • By August 15 (for April, May, and June sales)
  • By November 15 (for July, August, and September sales)


The $20 threshold must be met for sales in that revenue period. For example, your revenue for sales through March 31st must total $20 or more in order to receive a payment by May 15th.

Why Aren’t My Retail Sales Displayed in Sales & Payments?

Print and ebooks sold on retail sites such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the iBookstore do not immediately display on your Sales & Payments page. These sales are provided to Lulu through periodic sales statements received from each retail site. All sales from retailers are reported once a month.


Retail print book sales can take from six to eight weeks to post in your account, depending on when in the reporting cycle they are sold. Once Lulu receives the retailer's sales report your sales will appear on your My Projects > Sales & Payments page as one consolidated sale for each retail channel.

 

Ebooks

Ebook sales made through Lulu.com are displayed on your My Projects > Sales & Payments page once the payment is approved. Sales are reported monthly, but depending on the time within the reporting cycle your book sold, the sales numbers may be reported up to 8 weeks following the purchase.


NOTE: When you select Kobo and/or Kindle distribution, Barnes & Noble converts to the reseller revenue model meaning your sales will be reported by the Ingram Distribution method. At this time, Amazon Kindle and Kobo distribution is not available to authors residing in Australia.

Why Doesn’t Lulu Immediately Pay My Creator Revenues?

Creator Revenues are based on payments actually received by Lulu for your content. This means that your revenues may be adjusted for refunds or fraudulent orders for which we do not receive payment.  Lulu makes a good-faith effort to pay you using the payment contact information in our records. If you change your payment information, it may delay your Creator Revenues payment. 

 

Additionally, retail sites may hold funds collected for sales made on their sites for up to 160 days. Since Lulu feels this is an unreasonable length of time for you to wait for your payments, we pay creator revenue based on the monthly sales report prior to actually receiving funds from the retailer.

When setting the price for your print book, there are a few factors to consider when it comes to distribution. The list price for all currencies must cover Print Cost, Lulu Share, and Distribution Fees. You can set your price in 5 separate currencies, US Dollar (USD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), British Pounds (GBP), Euros (EUR), and Australian Dollars (AUD).


Here is a breakdown of how the revenue total is calculated:

  • Print Cost: This is a set cost. Your list price must be at least twice the print cost in order to cover production and Distribution Fees.
  • Distribution Fees: 50% of gross revenue goes to distribution channels. There are no Distribution Fees for books sold on the Lulu Bookstore.
  • Gross Profit: Revenue remaining after Print Cost and Distribution Fees.
  • Lulu Share: 20% of Gross Profit
  • Your Revenue: 80% of Gross Profit
  • Set Price By Fixed List Price: This option allows you to pick a set price in each currency (AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, USD) for your book. It must cover the minimum of Print Cost and Distribution Fees. 
  • Set Price By Revenue Goal: This option allows you to set a price for your book based on how much you want to earn in Your Revenue per sale.

Ebook Distribution Pricing

You may notice that your ebook revenue amounts change based on the retail sites you select to distribute your book. That is because some retailers (Lulu, Apple, and Barnes & Noble) act as sales agents meaning they sell your ebook at the price you set and then take a commission based on that price. Other retailers (Amazon, Kobo) operate as resellers. This means they pay the wholesale price to a distributor when your ebook sells. Since these retailers are buying your book from a middleman at a set price, they can resell your ebook at any price they like, including a discounted price. Under the reseller model, you will always make the same revenue as displayed in the retail pricing step for each book sold by that retailer, regardless of the sale price.


NOTE: When you select Kobo and/or Kindle distribution, Barnes & Noble converts to the reseller revenue model.

How to View Your Creator Revenue & Sales

Sales information is accessed from My Projects > Sales & Payments. Authors can view their sales using a date range and filters to generate a list that can be downloaded as a CSV report.

How to View Your Payments

Payment information is accessed from My Projects > Sales & Payments > Payment Overview.

 

You can generate and download a list for All Payees or select a specific Payee. You can filter by a date range, All time, last 30 days, or a custom date range.