Authors Under the Sun

As the sun beamed down, LA locals came out to the LA Times’ 28th Annual Book Festival on the UCLA campus.

From children to the elderly everyone was excited to learn new things about reading and writing. This was Lulu’s second year exhibiting at the festival and it was another great turnout. With the enhanced Border’s Partnership giveaway (http://publish.bordersstores.com/publish_public.html) and some featured authors in the booth we attracted much attention.

Realizing that some of our authors are LA based, we invited them to spend some time in the booth to talk about their Lulu experience with potential authors. Below you will find exclusive interviews with all four of our LA authors: Audrey La Chance and Frances Rostick (authors of Miss Match: A Seriously Funny Look at Dating), Robin Kilgore (author of In Her Bathrobe She Blogged), and Mitch Earle (author of Discovering Self-Worth Through Love Lost, One Man’s Journey). These authors played a large role in explaining the ease of Lulu’s services.

We’ll be looking for more local authors while visiting Austin, TX, San Diego, CA, and Cincinnati, OH. See you then!

Earth Day Every Day

In honor of Earth Day, I would like to share three simple and easy suggestions on ways you can help the planet all year long.

Light bulbs!

Did you know if every U.S. household replaced just one light bulb with a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CLF), that it would prevent the same amount of pollution equal to removing a million cars from the road? Not only that, but CFLs last longer than your typical incandescent bulbs (approximately 5-6 years), use less energy, and save you more money on your energy bill.

Go Organic!
Organic foods are produced naturally, without man-made pesticides, fertilizers, or irradiation. Animals raised organically are free of antibiotics, they eat organic feed and have access to the outdoors. While organic farming decreases toxins in our environment, it also reduces the levels of pesticides in our bodies. Not only that, but studies have shown that organic foods tend to be higher in antioxidants. In my opinion, organic food just simply tastes better.
Publish and shop with Lulu.com!
Yes, it’s true! Print on demand (POD) is a far better way to reduce waste than that of the traditional publishing process. Instead of printing a large quantity of books that are hoped to sell, print on demand makes it easy to only print books as they are ordered! POD also reduces the energy usage associated with storing books in large warehouses and shipping them from the printer to the warehouse to the bookstore to the customer. This is just another reason why people who use Lulu are some of the brightest CFL bulbs in the bunch!

Earth Day Every Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I would like to share three simple and easy suggestions on ways you can help the planet all year long.

Light bulbs!
Did you know if every U.S. household replaced just one light bulb with a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CLF), that it would prevent the same amount of pollution equal to removing a million cars from the road? Not only that, but CFLs last longer than your typical incandescent bulbs (approximately 5-6 years), use less energy, and save you more money on your energy bill.

Go Organic!
Organic foods are produced naturally, without man-made pesticides, fertilizers, or irradiation. Animals raised organically are free of antibiotics, they eat organic feed and have access to the outdoors. While organic farming decreases toxins in our environment, it also reduces the levels of pesticides in our bodies. Not only that, but studies have shown that organic foods tend to be higher in antioxidants. In my opinion, organic food just simply tastes better.

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Publish and shop with Lulu.com!
Yes, it’s true! Print on demand (POD) is a far better way to reduce waste than that of the traditional publishing process. Instead of printing a large quantity of books that are hoped to sell, print on demand makes it easy to only print books as they are ordered! POD also reduces the energy usage associated with storing books in large warehouses and shipping them from the printer to the warehouse to the bookstore to the customer. This is just another reason why people who use Lulu are some of the brightest CFL bulbs in the bunch!

Earth Day Every Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I would like to share three simple and easy suggestions on ways you can help the planet all year long.

Light bulbs!
Did you know if every U.S. household replaced just one light bulb with a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CLF), that it would prevent the same amount of pollution equal to removing a million cars from the road? Not only that, but CFLs last longer than your typical incandescent bulbs (approximately 5-6 years), use less energy, and save you more money on your energy bill.

Go Organic!
Organic foods are produced naturally, without man-made pesticides, fertilizers, or irradiation. Animals raised organically are free of antibiotics, they eat organic feed and have access to the outdoors. While organic farming decreases toxins in our environment, it also reduces the levels of pesticides in our bodies. Not only that, but studies have shown that organic foods tend to be higher in antioxidants. In my opinion, organic food just simply tastes better.
Publish and shop with Lulu.com!
Yes, it’s true! Print on demand (POD) is a far better way to reduce waste than that of the traditional publishing process. Instead of printing a large quantity of books that are hoped to sell, print on demand makes it easy to only print books as they are ordered! POD also reduces the energy usage associated with storing books in large warehouses and shipping them from the printer to the warehouse to the bookstore to the customer. This is just another reason why people who use Lulu are some of the brightest CFL bulbs in the bunch!

Earth Day Every Day

In honor of Earth Day, I would like to share three simple and easy suggestions on ways you can help the planet all year long.

Light bulbs!
Did you know if every U.S. household replaced just one light bulb with a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CLF), that it would prevent the same amount of pollution equal to removing a million cars from the road? Not only that, but CFLs last longer than your typical incandescent bulbs (approximately 5-6 years), use less energy, and save you more money on your energy bill.

Go Organic!
Organic foods are produced naturally, without man-made pesticides, fertilizers, or irradiation. Animals raised organically are free of antibiotics, they eat organic feed and have access to the outdoors. While organic farming decreases toxins in our environment, it also reduces the levels of pesticides in our bodies. Not only that, but studies have shown that organic foods tend to be higher in antioxidants. In my opinion, organic food just simply tastes better.
Publish and shop with Lulu.com!
Yes, it’s true! Print on demand (POD) is a far better way to reduce waste than that of the traditional publishing process. Instead of printing a large quantity of books that are hoped to sell, print on demand makes it easy to only print books as they are ordered! POD also reduces the energy usage associated with storing books in large warehouses and shipping them from the printer to the warehouse to the bookstore to the customer. This is just another reason why people who use Lulu are some of the brightest CFL bulbs in the bunch!

Spring Break Photo Book Contest!

How many people can honestly say that they don’t have a bunch of Spring Break pictures lying round in a box someone around the house? I know I can’t! Well that just why Lulu has decided to hold a contest to see who has the best, craziest, most hilarious Spring Break pictures ever! This contest isn’t just for college students either-everyone is welcome to participate.

The first ever Lulu.com Spring Break Photo Book Contest will begin now (March 28, 2008) until April 30^th, 2008! We will be taking completed photo book submission and include them on the list of competitors for the contest. All photos must follow Lulu’s guidelines in our member agreement (http://www.lulu.com/about/member_agreement.php) and be submitted before midnight on April 30^th. Your submissions need to be sent via email and should include your Lulu CID and contact information such as an email address, phone number and a best contact time. At the end of the contest we Lulus here will sit down and determine who’s got the best and most creative Spring Break Photo Book!

A contest winner will be chosen and spotlighted on the Lulu site. A prize of a free copy of your first book or an amazing miniature camera will be given to the winner. Not only will they win one of these prizes but they will go down in history as Lulu’s first ever Spring Break Photo Book Contest winner!

Get started now! (http://www.lulu.com/en/products/photo_books/)

A look at some new features on Lulu

Last night Lulu released several changes to the site, introducing some interesting new features, enhancements and fixes. Here’s the scope:

Lulu’s Homepage

If you haven’t noticed already, much of Lulu’s homepage and marketplace has undergone quite a facelift.

Lulu Marketplace, and Featured Content

With more and more unique, extraordinary, interesting, or just plain unusual content being published on Lulu every day, it’s about time a small portion of it gets the recognition it deserves. In the recent changes we’ve made to Lulu, a greater emphasis has been made to highlight and feature a small portion of what we consider as some of best content in Lulu’s marketplace.

With so much great content out there, choosing the features for our marketplace can be quite challenge. But don’t take my word for it. To view some of this great content yourself, check out Lulu’s Buy page to access the Lulu Marketplace. You never know what you’ll find.

Bringing back an old classic – The Services tab is back on Lulu

We understand that each author has different needs, each facing their own unique set of challenges. Everyone, regardless of their skill level could use some extra help from time to time, and whether it’s just about seeking some professional advice, editing your manuscript, designing an eye-catching cover, or simply getting your book into electronic form, Lulu provides a wide variety of services tailored to suit your needs.

In addition to the tried and true distribution services we offer such as “Published By Lulu” and “Published By You” which helps get your book into online bookstores, or the free marketing tools that serve a wide variety of the do-it-yourself authors, Lulu offers a wide variety of individual services in pre-publishing, marketing, and distribution. Here are just a few of the new service offerings available on Lulu. Please note that many of these services are only available in the United States.

• Library Visibility – Gets your book included in the Library of Congress

• Book Scanning / Vintage Publishing – digital reproduction and reprint of original books.

• Online Search Engine Marketing – Gets your book prominently listed on major online search engines such as Google, Yahoo! Or MSN.

• PDF Conversion – Takes the guesswork out of converting your manuscript to digital PDF format for print on demand.

And much, much more…

For increased value, Lulu also offers heavily discounted bundled service packages which include a number of individual services starting at just $300.00.

And don’t forget, Lulu still offers a wide variety of high quality publishing services provided by our official Lulu Service providers. For more details please check out of Services page.

 

Distribution – 40% off revision fees for PBY and PBL books

 

Those of you who have a distribution package associated to your book will be happy to know that the cost of revision fees for books in distribution just got cheaper! Revisions to books with Published By You or Published By Lulu distribution are now only $49.95.

 

Lulu Celebrates the The National Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Cherry Blossom Festival, taking place in Washington, DC is just around the corner. To celebrate this occasion, Lulu has created a new theme for our Lulu Studio™ Photobooks.

 

Celebrate the occasion by creating and sharing your own Photobook on Lulu.

 

As always, we hope that you like what’s going on at Lulu. Please let us know what you think about these new changes by commenting in Lulu’s Community Forums.

 

Regards,

Adam

 

 

 

 

Heatin’ Things Up in Miami!

The eighty degree temperatures didn’t deter students and teachers from coming out to this year’s Miami-Dade Day Conference. There was a recorded 2,600 attendees at this year’s event. Dedicated to bring new technology to the college, the conference turned out to be the colleges best one yet.

Our events team, having experience with other educational shows, understood the importance that Lulu can play in the classroom. Giving students the ability to gather theses in a professional manner was a huge appeal to those who stopped by the booth. There were even some who came prepared with written manuscripts! As the day went on it was evident that attendees were happy to see us there.

The show lasted for just a day but in that short time we managed to spread an awareness of Lulu to all who stopped by. As people left the booth more would stop by and we certainly acknowledged the fact that it was a great indication of where we’re going in the educational world.

Take a look at who we met at the show!

And the winner is… Contest time!

You’re a self-published author (Thanks Lulu!) but are you wondering how to take your book to the next level? What if you were an award winning self-published author? Yeah, that has a nice ring to it.

If you are interested in earning some accolades, here are a few contest and award opportunities for self-published, independent publishers (this is great for Lulus with a “Published By You” ISBN – you’re the publisher), or niche books.

The 2008 News Generation Indie Book Awards:
• Open to independent authors and publishers worldwide
• Cash prizes and fabulous awards!
• Click here for more information and to enter
• Deadline: March 21, 2008 (you need to hurry and publish your book if you already haven’t!)

The “IPPY” Awards (Independent Publisher Book Awards)
• All independent, university, small press, and self-publishers who produce books intended for the North American market are eligible to enter titles copyrighted or released in 2007. Independent authors using print-on-demand publishing services are welcome to enter their books themselves.
• Regional and National level awards in 65 different categories
• Click here for the scoop and how to enter
• Deadline: April 1, 2008 (a few more weeks… but still you might want to get a move on it)
•
16th Annual Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards
• Searching for the best self-published books form the past few years
• Over $15,000 in prizes
• Click here for the details and how to enter
• Deadline: May 1, 2008 (you have a month and some change to get your book together).

So don’t hide your light (or in this case, your book) under a bushel. Enter and see what happens. We’re rooting for you here at Lulu!

Get Creative…Get People to Your Lulu Creation

Now that you have published on Lulu, it is time to get some people to buy what you have created. The Lulu Search Marketing Program can get your creation on the major search engines, but there are many other ways to get traffic to your Lulu storefront.

-Post on Internet Forums

Internet forums are a great way to let people know about what you have written. Find a website that relates to what your Lulu creation is about and become an active member. Make sure each post has a link to your Lulu storefront. This is a great way to get people who are more likely to buy your item to your storefront.

-Bookmarks and Postcards

Lulu offers a great service to help budding authors promote their creations. Get bookmarks, postcards and even business cards to help you promote your book. I had some made for my Lulu creation and left some at the coffee shops around the area. Click HERE to learn more.

These are just a few ways you can get people to your Lulu storefront. Visit the Lulu Forums for more great ideas.

-Dan