Please let us know what other classes you would be interested in seeing in our course catalog.

April 5 @ 7PM EST- Red Hot Internet Basics: Touring Yourself Online
If you’re ready to market your book online but don’t know where to start, you’ll love this class. We’ll look at creating and launching your very own Virtual Author Tour. During this class we’ll look at:

• How to find sites to pitch yourself to

• How to set up a social networking page

• How to find bloggers and contact them

• Crafting your pitch

• Networking online, how to do it and why you *must* network with bloggers

• What is social book marketing and how to use it

Come with ALL of your Internet questions, this class will get them answered! Please note: emails are sent out the day of the event with instructions on how to log in to the webinar.

Recordings of previous Lulu University Webinars are below:

March 8, 2010 - Red Hot Internet Publicity 2.0
March 22, 2010 – Red Hot Internet Basics

That’s right, we will give you a Free iPad with the purchase of any All-Inclusive Package between now and April 10, 2010. Choose from three options —  3 Star, 5 Star or  7 Star — all carefully crafted to meet the varying needs of our authors.

You’ll work with the industry’s best — a publishing consultant to guide you through the process, professional designers to create your cover and format your manuscript, and our team of editors to fine-tune your work.  Throw in 125 books to get you through your first book signing, and you’ll be inspired to write your next bestseller.

While we’re working together to get your book published, you can be the envy of all of your friends and enjoy reading your favorite ebook on your new iPad.

We offer three different All-inclusive Publishing Packages, so take a look and see which one fits your needs. If you’re ready to take the plunge AND you want the Free iPad, choose from one of these options:

3 Star iPad Offer

5 Star iPad Offer

7 Star iPad Offer

This promotion cannot be combined with any other offer.  All-Inclusive Packages are available to US customers only.  Customers outside the US who are interested in our All-Inclusive packages should fill out our online form to be contacted by one of our publishing consultants and we’ll build a personalized package for you.

Marketing your book at a book fair is a great way to get exposure to booksellers, librarians, agents, the media, and more.  Your book is displayed at the show and is also included in the book fair catalog.  This catalog is a valuable tool that book buyers use when they’re making their annual purchases.

If you’re ready to publish and were going to use one of publishing packages anyway, why not get some extra icing on your cake?  Not only will we help with editing, formatting, cover design, and ISBN distribution, with our book fair offer you’ll get a great marketing push as you introduce your work to the market.

This promotion cannot be combined with any other offer or discount. Author is responsible for cost of shipping 2 books to be displayed at the book fair. The $150 coupon is applied toward a book fair service, but may not cover the entire cost of the book fair. When selecting a book fair, the publisher should consider the time it will take to go through the pre-publishing process.

photo: Unhindered by Talent

One of the most common questions I receive is, “Why isn’t my book selling?”  The answer is usually painful to hear.  Avoiding that question altogether lies in tackling another question early in the publishing process, “What will prevent my book from selling?”

Editing is one of the absolute factors that will influence your book sales. The degree to which you personally edit your thoughts and writing, combined with the degree to which you invest in professional editing will ultimately play a large role in developing reader comfort.  A great edit will not ensure your book sells, but it will definitely eliminate one of the largest potential detractors that might prevent book sales.

Some authors decide against getting their books edited.  It takes time, can be expensive, and can be emotionally invasive.  After putting your heart and soul into something, it can be very difficult to hear what needs to be fixed.  By definition, editing is critical, so it’s not at all uncommon to see authors avoid it like the plague.  When I wrote my first book I did not initially have it professionally edited, and it was one of the larger mistakes I made in my first foray into publishing.  I thought that I was saving money and time, but in the end I was mistaken on both counts.  It did not save me time and ended up costing me more in the long run.

The truth of the matter is that even extremely experienced writers have their works professionally edited.   Traditional publishing houses put every book through a minimum of two edits.

Professional editors are trained to put their own personal feelings aside and focus on enhancing your work.  There is a significant difference between having a professional do the job and letting a friend edit your book.  Friends have a tendency to be less critical than is helpful.  Although they may have the best intentions, their ability to ensure the essence of your book is conveyed properly generally falls short.

The two questions that are probably on your mind at this point are, “How much editing do I need”, and  “How much is it going to cost?”   Every manuscript is different.  Fortunately there is an inexpensive way to address both questions: an Editor’s Analysis.  Lulu offers this professional service; designed to help authors get a feel for how professional editing can enhance the quality of their works and, ultimately, improve the reader comfort level.

So whether you’re just starting your work or wondering why it isn’t selling the way you would like, it’s always a good time to think about editing.

Happy Publishing!

Mr. Wideman is the inaugural customer of this program, which provides white-glove service to premiere authors. It’s our most customizable offering, executed by industry-leading professionals who have helped drive the success of A-list authors. Each title receives the highest level of attention and each author retains complete control over the process, from cover design and editing to online marketing and media relations.

Indeed, our new VIP Services program provides everything a traditional publisher can offer. We launched the program to help authors gain more control over their own publishing process and recruited an experienced team of professionals with traditional and bestseller experience to lead the way. We’re extremely honored that Mr. Wideman decided to use Lulu for Briefs and that our VIP Services are part of his journey.

Our goal is to expand the visibility of authors’ works and maximize their success through red carpet treatment, personalized attention, and quality, publishing-house services at their fingertips. We’re confident that authors and agents alike will find comfort in the professionalism of our VIP Services program.

Email us today at vipservices@lulu.com for a free consultation.

Lulu now offers ePub conversion services to take your book into the future.  Get your book ready for the iPad, Sony Reader and other electronic devises with our ePub conversion service.  We offer three service packs depending on the number of pages  in your manuscript.

Our ePub service includes the following:

1. Tagging and linking of the Table of Content (TOC)
2. Proofing of the illustrations to make sure they’re resized properly
3. Removal of the original page numbers and page headers (to prevent them from appearing in the middle of the page)
4. Re-flowing of the text by chapter and re-pagination of the entire book

*Proofing and correction of your manuscript file beyond the beginning of the 1st chapter is NOT included in the service.

ePub conversion takes between 4-6 week.  In some cases, conversion may take longer at which point we will provide you with a time line for your file conversion.

Our service pricing is based on your book page count:

• 250 Pages or Less $175 Buy Now

• 251-500 Pages $350 Buy Now

• 501-750 Pages $495 Buy Now

The Small Print: Only books published through Lulu are eligible for the service. There are no refunds on the ePub conversion service. In the case where the complexity of the manuscript file requires work outside the scope of our service, we reserve the right to decline to do the conversion with a minimum charge of $100 an hour.  A quote at a rate of $100 minimum will be provided to the customer if additional work and fees apply.   Creating an ePub version of your book will not guarantee distribution on 3rd party external e-readers.

When I began writing many years ago, I found that the complexities, trials and tribulations of publishing distracted from the joy of writing. Like most authors, I began my quest to get published long before I actually finished writing my first book. Cover design, editing, formatting, ISBNs were all new to me, and although they were essential topics, I often wished that the publishing system was simpler. I just wanted to finish my first book and get started on my second. I was fortunate to stumble across Lulu in my search for publishing help and still remain thankful. I was rescued from the deep abyss of “I’ll never get published.” Working with Lulu truly empowered me as an author by reducing frustration and minimizing distraction that consumed so much of my creative time. On a very practical level, Lulu also helped me get published much quicker and allowed me to sell quite a few books. In turn, this allowed me to eat something besides Ramen noodles and tomato soup. I so enjoyed the experience that I actually came to work at Lulu in August ’09 so that I could help others.

If you’re new to publishing or have published before and just need more information on the variety of services available, then you’re in the right place. In each of my upcoming posts, I’ll take an in-depth look at everything from editing and cover design, to finding an agent and marketing your book. As an author and publishing expert, my aim is to cover topics in a way that will provide a balance of valuable insight and knowledge to help you constantly improve your work — and minimize distractions.

My virtual door is always open, so please send me your thoughts and questions on publishing, marketing and anything book-related that you would be interested in reading. Right now, I am in search of a few authors that would be interested in sharing your “story behind the story.” If you’re interested, please post a link to your Lulu storefront in the comments section below, and I will get in touch.

You might have started your work alone, but Lulu is here to help you finish.

Happy Publishing!