When publishing a book, whether print or digital, an important part of the process is knowing how to utilize the platform you have chosen to publish with! This article covers the basics of publishing on Lulu.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Types of Files Can I Upload?

Files accepted for books:

  • PDF (Portable Document Format)


Files accepted for ebooks:

  • EPUB (electronic publication)
  • PDF (Portable Document Format)


Files accepted for book covers:

  • JPG (Joint Photographics Expert Group)
  • PNG (Portable Network Graphic)
  • PDF (Only for One-Piece Covers)


Files accepted for calendars:

  • PDF (Portable Document Format)
  • JPG (Joint Photographics Expert Group)
  • PNG (Portable Network Graphic)

How Large Can My Files Be?

We technically do not have a file limit for projects; however, the larger a file is, the longer it will take to process. We recommend keeping your interior file below 1 GB to lower processing times for the file.


If you are publishing an ebook in Global Distribution, online retailers will often reject files over 100 MB.

Why Can’t I Upload My Book Content as a Word Document (DOC or DOCX)?

With years of experience, we have determined that uploading PDFs for print book interiors preserves the integrity of your content. This allows you to make any necessary edits and formatting changes to your file before you start building your book in the Project Creation Tool.


In most cases, the application you used to create your interior content has the capability of saving the file as a PDF.

How Do I Enter a Title, Subtitle, and Author for My Book?

While creating your project, you will be asked to enter the identifying information, or metadata, for your book. This includes the following:

  • Start Page - Enter your book title in the Project Title field.
  • Copyright Step - Enter your subtitle and all contributors you would like to recognize on the book cover. This may include contributors such as the author, translators, illustrators, editors, etc.

How Do I Set the Retail Price of My Book?

Print Books

You will set the retail price of your book on the Pricing and Payees step. The minimum retail price will be displayed. You can then choose to either add a set amount of revenue per book or set a fixed list price.


The pricing step includes a real-time calculator to help you work through the retail price and revenue combinations in all supported currencies. You may set any price equal to or greater than the minimum retail price.


Minimum Wholesale Price = Production Cost + Revenue + Lulu Commission


If you are selling your book through Lulu’s Global Distribution partners, you will also see pricing and revenue for online retail sites. In this case, it may be simpler to set a retail price and let Lulu calculate your revenues.


On the retail pricing step, you can:

  • Enter a Retail Print price, and Lulu calculates your revenue and the Lulu commission.
  • Enter a Target Revenue amount, and Lulu calculates the retail price and the Lulu commission.
  • Enter $0 in the Revenue field to reset the price back to the minimum.


IMPORTANT: The retail price is a suggested retail price. You have the option of pricing your book even higher, which will allow for more revenue per book; however, if the book is overpriced or "priced out of market," it may not sell as many copies as it would at a lower price.


Once your Book is published, you can view and edit your retail pricing.


To edit your book price:

  1. Go to My Projects and click the Revise button for the project title.
  2. Click Pricing and Payees in the project header.
  3. Update prices as needed and continue to the final Review step, where you can review and accept the price change.
  4. Review and confirm each section.
  5. Click Publish to update your online book prices.


Ebooks

Once you have uploaded your ebook and entered your book's details, you can set the price and choose the retail sites on which you would like to sell your book. Our retail price calculator allows you to offer your ebook for free or at any price above $0.99.


Note: If you deselect Lulu from the distribution list, your ebook will be published in Private Access. It will not be displayed in the Lulu bookstore and will not be returned in search results.


You may notice that your 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 and 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 an intermediary 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 ebook sold by that retailer, regardless of the sale price.


Once your ebook is published, you can view and edit your ebook's retail pricing and distribution options from the My Projects page.


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

Can I Send My Files to Lulu Instead of Uploading Through The Site?

Lulu does not accept files by any method other than being uploaded on our site when creating a book, book cover, ebook, calendar, or other publications.

Can I Upload or Store My Files Before I Start the Publishing Process?

Lulu does not provide a file storage service. You will only upload files when publishing your book or calendar.

Can I Enter HTML in the Book Description Field?

HTML is not allowed in the description field. You can, however, add links to other sites, including social media accounts, from your author spotlight page.

How Do I Delete a Draft Project?

As the creator, you can delete projects in draft status by going to the My Projects page of your account. Once there, locate the item on your Project List and click the Delete button on the right of the project panel. 


A pop-up window will appear to confirm your choice, and the status of the project will be refreshed immediately after you click Continue.


Please note: Deleting a Draft project is permanent and cannot be reversed.

Can I Have a Certificate of Publication for My Book?

Congratulations on your new publication! To receive a certificate of publication, please create a support ticket. One of our support agents will create a certificate for you.

In What Languages Can I Publish My Book?

Publishing an Ebook

Only English-language ebooks meet the criteria for Global Distribution. However, if you intend to publish your ebook exclusively on the Lulu Bookstore, you are free to do so in any language.


Publishing a Print Book

Print books in Global distribution would require the metadata to be in Latin characters; however, all languages are accepted. You can publish print books in any language on the Lulu Bookstore. Learn More About Metadata.

Can Lulu Publish My Book for Me?

Our Support team members cannot manually publish your content for you, but are happy to assist you as you proceed through the process by answering any questions you have.


Our site offers the tools and resources for authors to create and distribute their content. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide advice on aspects such as formatting, editing, illustration, translations, design, or marketing. 


If you still want to hire a pro, go to our partners' page to view the different partners and what services they provide.

What Are the Page Requirements for My Book?

The page requirements for your book will be determined by its binding type. Page requirements for each of our available bindings are listed in our Products page as well as below: 


Paperback

Perfect Bound: 32-800 pages

Coil Bound: 2-470 pages

Saddle Stitch: 4-48 pages


Hardcover

Casewrap: 24-800 pages

Linen Wrap (Dust Jacket): 24-800 pages

How Long Does it Take to Publish a Project?

Publishing a project on Lulu can be done in a matter of minutes. To make the publishing process quicker, you can have your files prepared to our specifications before you start.


Projects published and listed for sale in the Lulu Bookstore are available for purchase in a matter of minutes. Be sure to set your book to General Access if you'd like it to be available in the Lulu Bookstore for anyone to purchase.


Projects published and submitted for retail distribution are reviewed for compliance before they are listed for sale on retail sites like Amazon. Once approved, they will be available for purchase in 12 weeks or longer on retail sites.

How Do I Publish My Book as an Ebook and as a Print Book?

To offer your book in different formats, like ebook, hardcover, or paperback, you will need to create a new project for each format. Though they may share the same title and content, they will each exist as separate projects in your account and will be listed as separate products in the Lulu Bookstore.


Please Note: If you plan on assigning an ISBN to the book, each project will need a unique ISBN.


You can visit our help articles for instructions on creating your Print Book or your Ebook.

How Long Can I Keep My Project in Revision?

You can keep your project in Draft status for as long as it takes you to get it ready for publication.

How Many Books Can I Publish?

There are no restrictions on the number of projects you can publish on Lulu and sell in the Lulu Bookstore.