A d v e n t u r e s | i n | S e l f - P u b l i s h i n g

When choosing a company to self-publish FC, I bounced through the many options out there. After all of my researching, I settled on Lulu.com. But no company is perfect. One of the big turnoffs that many express concern about is their lack of quality control. Even I wasn’t spared the perfect printing of my book. Before I finalized the printing of FC, I sent off for a test copy. Everything looked great...except for one issue with the ink. The printer that made my book was low on ink apparently, and it shown on every fourth page. I took pictures and scans of the problem and emailed Lulu’s customer service. I promptly received a reply and they apologized for the inconvenience and sent me another copy free of charge. This copy was printed beautifully. After I made a few cosmetic changes, I sent for another copy. This one was printed beautifully, as well.

The following are the photos and scans of the printing issue that happened to me.
The ink issue. (Photo)
The ink issue. (Scan)
How it should look.

The text appeared to be blotted on the outside and became sharper near the gutter.
Sample 1
Sample 2

The cover printed too dark on the first copy. But I later adjusted the image and fixed the problem. The second copy looked much brighter.
First test cover

I'm no professional when it comes to designing a book, but I am pleased with the final product. I know that I didn't catch all of my mistakes in the manuscript. I'm no copy editor. But I tried my best. If you happen to catch any of these mistakes, let me know. With all of the "catches" everyone sends in, I'll add them to the manuscript. I will then update the files at Lulu when I gather enough to warrant a revision.

Q: Are you doing any marketing?
A: Aside from word-of-mouth, no. I’m too busy with other manuscripts and projects to promote my work. It’s a bad choice, I know, but I don’t have the time. If you like my silly ramblings, then tell others about it! You are my street team.

Q: Will you be getting an ISBN?
A: No. Not right now, at least. If I wish to make any changes to my files at Lulu, I can do them for free. But if I had an ISBN, I would be charged a fee to make any changes.

Q: How much do you make off of your sales?
A: For the $11.99 print version, I make $1.05. For the $3.00 download, I make $2.40. I’m not in the whole writing scene to make money. I even entertained the idea of making the download free. But after several conversations with friends and family, I was talked out of it.

Q: How many books have you sold?
A: I hate to even say. It sounds pathetic, I know, but as of March 6, 2009, I’ve sold a total of eight copies. This is another reason I wanted to make the download free. I prefer to have more readers. I don’t care about making money, I just want to entertain others.

Q: Do you recommend Lulu to others?
A: I most certainly do. When it comes to control, quality, and price, Lulu stands out above the rest. Though they have some drawbacks, overall, they have no major complaints from me.