Author Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor is a marketing genius with a heart of gold.

Having worked as a channel marketer for several top-tier companies such as Nortel and iContact over the years – Taylor started noticing a lot of common trends across all industries.

“Customers today want more than a product,” says Taylor.  “They need an experience or a  personal tie to a product and companies need to bigger than what they’re selling to build meaningful, lasting customer relationships.”

Taylor highlights exactly what he means in his new book Bigger than the Widget, available on Lulu.com.  And he has even taken his own advice in marketing his work by attaching it to a recognized brand and a good cause:  The V Foundation for Cancer Research.  All proceeds from Taylor’s book will be donated to the organization.

“If you want to have any success, if you truly want your product or service to be bigger and do bigger things, you have to be aware of the present trends and work to create an emotional connection with your customers,” says Taylor. “My family has been touched by cancer and the V Foundation was the most logical choice to associate with my book.”

Available Now on Lulu.com

When coming up with the idea of his book, Taylor was surprised by how many people tried to tell him it wouldn’t work.  But Jeff knew what his true motivation was:  this book was for his grandfather and he couldn’t be stopped.  He even considered going the traditional route first but couldn’t ignore the speed and customization self-publishing offers authors.

“The world of publishing is changing very quickly,” says Taylor.  “Companies like Lulu are so clearly the gatekeepers of the this new era of publishing.  I was honestly shocked at how easy it was to get to the right people and get my work done – even when it came to approaching organizations for sponsorships.  People are willing to help, you just have to know how to position yourself and be committed to your ideas. Then, you can accomplish anything.”

For more great marketing tips from a true professional, be sure to pick up a copy Bigger than the Widget by Jeff Taylor on Lulu.com and help support important cancer research today.

Fundraising can be particularly difficult.  Most charitable organizations are non-profit and constantly face the question:  ”How do we raise money to support our cause?” Well, Lulu has an answer.  Our photo books, calendars, and cookbooks make for the perfect holiday fundraisers.  Just ask folks like Joe DeBono of the Silver Shield Foundation, who used Lulu to create a calendar to support the higher education of children whose parents have honorably served the New York Police and Fire Departments:

“Lulu made the project possible through its print on demand capability – there was no capital outlay required to launch and they provided a collaborative, literally, one-stop shop, where we could tweak our calendar as much as we needed to, which just made sense.  We are using Lulu for marketing distribution, order fulfillment and payment collection.  Lulu truly is the best turn-key solution for non-profits that are cash poor and content rich.” – Joe DeBono

Or how about Suzanne Dorsey of the Bald Head Island Wildlife Conservancy.  In tight economic times, gift shop sales were plummeting, long-time sponsors cut contributions and demand for an island directory — one of the conservancy’s most important fundraisers — dwindled. Suzanne worked with Lulu to create an updated directory with more information and better color at lower cost and fundraising is expected to rise 67% as a result:

“We are grateful to Lulu for saving a revenue source that had been decreasing and probably would have completely collapsed.” – Suzanne Dorsey

At Lulu, stories like this never get old.  We’re always thrilled to hear of the new ways organizations like Silver Shield and the conservancy use our services to help make the world a better place.  What are some of your fundraising stories?  We’d love to hear about them in the comments and who knows, maybe it’ll help spread some holiday cheer.  For more information, visit www.lulu.com/publish.

But wait, we’re not done yet.  Post a picture of your spookiest, most hilarious, jaw-dropping, or straight up awe-inspiring pumpkin on our Facebook page and our expert panel of pumpkin carving experts will pick a winner (cough…bonus points to the person that incorporates the Lulu logo…cough cough).  Best pumpkin gets $50 off their next purchase on Lulu.

Happy Halloween!

The maximum savings for this offer is $50. Sorry, but this offer cannot be applied to previous orders. You can only use this code once, and unfortunately you can’t use this coupon in combination with other coupon codes. This great offer expire on December 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM, so don’t miss out! While very unlikely, we do reserve the right to change or revoke this offer at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is against the law to do so.

If this holiday season is

Still on the fence? Well, we’re decking the halls early at Lulu this year and slashing our industry-best 80/20 revenue split on eBooks so you can reach more readers, sell more books,
and earn even more revenue this holiday than
ever before – tis the season right?

For a limited time, all creators publishing new eBook projects will receive 90 percent of the revenue from those projects through January 31st, 2012.

In an industry where most companies work off a 70/30 split or more, we take pride in being a publishing solution built entirely towards author success and freedom.  We want you to be able to share your stories and ideas with the world and, more importantly, make money while you do it.  You pick the price.  You keep the profit.  Just like it should be.

So spread some joy this holiday season by publishing an eBook.  You can sell it to all those folks who got a shiny new iPad® or Barnes & Noble’s NOOK and your tree won’t be the only green you see.

FAQs:

Q: What is a new Publication?

A: New publications are defined as a new project in your “My Lulu” account with a new ISBN.  This also applies to any conversion of an existing print title into an eBook.

Q:  How long will this offer last?

A: This limited time offer ends on January 31, 2012. Once you publish your eBook, you’ll continue to earn 90% of the Suggested Retail price through January 31, 2012. Please note that Lulu reserves the right to end this promotion at any time.

Q:  How do I make my paperback book into an eBook?

A:  We have provided you with step-by-step directions to convert your existing DOC, DOCX, RTF, and ODF document into an EPUB here or you can take advantage of one of our handy conversion services.

Q:  What is the Suggested Retail Price?

A: The Suggested Retail Price is the price at which you want to sell your eBook.  You set the price. We provide you with some guidelines but the decision is yours.  All eBooks set at a price of $1.24 or higher earn royalty; you keep 90% of all amounts earned, after retailer commission.

Q:  Can I sell my book anywhere and still get the 90% or is it for sales on Lulu only?

A: When you publish your title with Lulu, any newly published eBook qualifies to earn 90% royalty regardless of where it sells.   You can choose to distribute your eBook through one of our distribution services or sell it only on Lulu.com.  If you choose to make your eBook available for distribution, you will receive 90% of the Suggested Retail Price after the retailer’s commission.

Q: Can’t I just sell my eBook on the Lulu Marketplace?

A:  Of course! All your sales on Lulu earn you even more since we cut out the middleman.  You can change the price of your eBook or choose to sell through one of our retail partners at anytime.

Q:  Why does my book have to be priced higher than $1.24 to qualify for the 90% royalty?

A: At Lulu, you’re in control of your works and can even give away your eBook for free if you want.  For authors who want to sell and collect creator royalties on eBooks, we’ve added a $0.99 base price to cover our credit card processing and hosting expenses.  Applying Digital Rights Management (DRM) is optional and adds an additional $0.25 to the base price to offset the licensing fees Lulu is charged by our DRM provider.  To reiterate, authors never pay to publish, these fees are reflected in the list price and are only charged to the purchaser when they buy your work.

Q:  What is “retailer’s commission?”

A: If you choose to make your eBook available in the iBookstore ℠, on Barnes& Noble’s NOOK, or other retailers, the retailer earns a commission on the sale of each eBook.   The commission varies by retailer but it is generally 30% of the Suggested Retail Price.  Your royalty will be calculated based on the Suggested Retail Price after any retail channel commission.

Q: Do all eBooks qualify for distribution?

A:  No, not all eBooks qualify for distribution. Each retail channel has its own set of guidelines for accepting content.  To make sure your title qualifies please review the distribution requirements here. You may revise your eBook to meet the guidelines at any time.

Q:  May I reuse an existing ISBN?

A: No, your eBook must have a unique ISBN. ISBNs may not be reused as they identify each title and version available for sale.  Each version (print, eBook, or edition) must have its own unique ISBN.

Terms and Conditions for Limited time promotion

Lulu is offering a limited time offer for all new eBook publications (some limitations apply).  All new eBooks with an ISBN published after September 6, 2011 will earn 90% of the Suggested Retail Price, after retailer’s commission, if any.  Your eBook must meet the following requirements:

• Your eBook must be a new publication.  It may be a revision of a previously published eBook or printed title.
• Your eBook must have an ISBN
• Your eBook must be priced in higher than  $1.24
• Your eBook must meet all distribution guidelines, if you choose to make eBook available for distribution.

Lulu reserves the right to end this promotion at any time.

Lulu and retail channels may reject titles for distribution for any reason.

For authors who want to sell and collect creator royalties on eBooks, pricing must include $0.99 base price to cover our credit card processing and hosting expenses.   Applying DRM is optional but highly recommended, and adds an additional $.25 to the base price to offset the licensing fees Lulu is charged by our DRM provider.

Thanks to the Internet, the world is getting smaller everyday.  People are more connected now than ever, which means there is more competition to stand out than ever.  In a CNN article titled Why Just Being Good at Your Job is Not Good Enough, journalist Mark Tutton talks about how getting lost in this ocean of noise can even have a direct impact on your career.  With so many people so readily available, proving your relevancy may seem next to hopeless.  But it’s not.

Right now, at this very second, you have at your fingertips all the tools and resources you need to do anything. Really.  We live in an age where you can just wake up one morning and decide to cut an album, make a movie, or publish a book and can unleash your remarkable ideas upon the world in an instant.  Gone are the days where you had to maneuver around the various barriers into these industries.  Now, you just have to have some motivation and know where to start. You’re reading this blog too, so you’re already looking in the right places.

Building a successful career begins with knowing your worth.  Lulu is centered around the idea that everyone is an expert in something – no matter if you’re a model train builder, a prized physicist, a world-class chef, or a dedicated couch potato.  Your unique knowledge and experiences are what make you, you, and what better way to share that knowledge and expertise than through a published book?

“Writing a book…instantly establishes your credibility to potential customers and employers” Dan Schwabel, author of Me 2.0, told Tutton.  “You can self proclaim you’re an expert in your field all day long but the book is…your calling card.”

Whether you’re going for a job interview, meeting colleagues at a conference, or working on a big partnership, imagine how much more memorable you’d be when everyone else puts their cards on the table and you sit down your book. Or think about the lasting impression you’d leave if you said:  “Oh, you can find me in the iBookstore and on Amazon.”

“If you look at two resumes and they look the same, but one person wrote a book on the topic you’re interviewing for, you’re going to show more interest in that person,” Schwabel tells Tutton.  “Whether it’s a blog, an eBook or a published book, you’ve got to have something now, and a book has the most credibility.”

To Schwabel’s point, if writing and publishing a book seems overwhelming right now, try starting a blog or anything else that gets your name and your content out there.  You’re building a brand for yourself though, so remember to treat yourself like a business and be respectful of anyone you’re reaching out to.  For more help on marketing your work once you’ve gotten it out there, check out this recent post.

This past May, Lulu team members, along with numerous works by our remarkable authors, attended Book Expo America 2011 in New York City, the largest book convention in the United States.  Book Expos such as BEA offer great opportunities for authors to display their content, meet fellow authors, and hear insights from industry professionals.  Check out the video above of the action from this year’s BEA and see why Lulu’s booth was the talk of the show – drawing such great crowds.  If you are thinking about attending or displaying your book at a book fair, here is a list of up-coming events.  Hopefully this video will get you excited for BEA next year, as we’d love to see both you and your book(s) at the show.

One term you’re likely to come across when publishing your eBook is “metadata.” It also happens to be one of the main causes eBooks get bounced back from distribution.  In many cases, a quick revision of your eBook’s metadata is all it takes to push your content out onto digital shelves and increases your work’s marketability.

Simply put, metadata is the who, what, when, and where of your eBook.  Items such as your title, author name, volume number, etc. are all types of metadata and are what most retailers use to appropriately list and categorize your content.  When your eBook is listed on an online store, customers will see an image of your cover, which they can click on for more information about your work and to access the actual content of your work.  Many retailers treat the cover image and the actual eBook’s content as two separate pieces and it is vital that the metadata for both match (including upper and lower case letters) so your customers are linked to the correct book interior.

For example, lets say your book title is The Greatest Book Ever: A Tale of Suspense and Intrigue by Samantha Thomas. If the metadata for your cover is only listed as The Greatest Book Ever, by Sam Thomas, without the subtitle and a different author name, then the retailers can’t be sure if it’s the same work.  With the thousands of new eBooks being submitted everyday, it becomes too difficult to try to match the cover to the content.

Luckily, on Lulu it is pretty simple to ensure all your metadata matches. When you start a new project and name it, whatever you enter into the title and author fields will autofill the empty fields in the cover step. Whenever a colon is used in the project title, the system automatically treats any text after it as a subtitle. Once you get to the cover step, you can still edit your title, author name, etc. just be sure if you do make changes, you also go back and change the project information you started with too. For authors uploading a one-piece cover, again, just be sure all the text matches the project information you enter.

Be sure to check out our knowledge base for more eBook metadata tips to help you reach more readers in more markets all over the globe.

Need incentive to help you finish up your latest book?  How about if it’s on the house?

That’s right, between June 14 and July 31, 2011, Lulu is providing all authors with a free copy of any newly published book.  To get started, just visit lulu.com/publish.

Already published a book? Well, we’ve got you covered too.  Here are some ideas we’ve come up with for you to take advantage of this offer too.

• Create a hardcover version of your book – If you haven’t done so already, it’s never too late to turn your paperback book into a hardcover or vice-versa. The process is simple, and if we don’t already offer a hardcover size of your paperback, you can always reformat it for the new version.
• Make a special version of your book. For example, you could add photos or illustrations to the book that help highlight the chapters.  Or, you could take a note from author Cory Doctorow, who recently published his book With a Little Help with four different cover illustrations.
• Challenge yourself. Who says you can’t finish a whole new book by July 31st?  I don’t know about you, but I do my best work when it’s crunch time and a deadline is fast approaching. Your reward is a free copy of your brand new book. You can do it!
• Collaborate with a friend on a book. You can either write something new together or work on finishing up a book one of you has already started. Either way you get to create something together!

Just remember, this promotion is for newly published or newly formatted books and does not apply to book revisions.  Whatever you decide, we want to help. So get started!

Terms and Conditions:
Promotion runs from 6/14 – 7/31. Creators are eligible for a free proof copy of a newly published work at www.lulu.com up to a value of $25. Photo books, calendars, and eBooks are not eligible for this offer. Shipping is not included in the offer. Creator will receive a coupon code by email once the new work is published.

The only way to predict the future is to invent it.

Only seven short years ago Lulu launched what was one of the very first, if not the first, self-publishing sites on the Internet.   Since then, we’ve served millions of authors by helping sell tens of millions of their books.

But what was a great idea then is only a good idea today.  Our success has spawned a myriad of imitators some of whom, I am forced to admit, are almost as good at what we do as we are.   Competition is the least of our concerns.  The bigger trend we are embracing to better serve our customers is, of course, the explosion of eBook readers and digital marketplaces, which are changing the very nature of what a book is.

As you no doubt expect, we’ve been working hard to re-invent Lulu to offer features our competitors have yet to even dream about.   We are moving from a concept of self-publishing to one of open-publishing.   In very broad terms self-publishing is what it sounds like:  we give you the tools and you get to publish your book yourself.    The concept of open-publishing is one where we give you the platform and you are empowered to innovate the tools and solutions that best fit your needs and help you sell more books.  The Lulu platform will be of particular benefit to a new generation of publishers who can create new tools to help authors reach more readers, monetize out-of-print or back-catalogued titles, and grow their customer-base.  We will have several more major announcements coming throughout this year, the first being our exciting new Open Publishing APIs (Application Programming Interface), recently made available to the public.

With our APIs, which you can download and play with over at developer.lulu.com, Lulu is helping a new generation of creators profit by enabling them to bring their knowledge and expertise to their customers more easily than ever before. For those of you who don’t know, an API is like a Lego® block that makes a website or application work. And with Lulu APIs, authors, publishers, businesses, and developers alike, are able to create a new breed of web applications, powered by Lulu, and marketed under their own brand names – absolutely free.

So far, we’ve been blown away by the creativity and innovation we’ve seen in the sites and applications people have come up with. Some of our favorite examples are twournal.com, that lets turn your tweets into a book, and beforeigrewup.com, where you can capture your children’s life into a book and seamlessly share it with friends and family. Since its launch in late 2010, developer.lulu.com has grown to 150 registered developers, 45 applications and is live on 10 sites.

By releasing all of the great features found on Lulu.com such as document conversion, order fulfillment, and ecommerce through a series of APIs, Lulu is redefining the future for all publishers and providing our creators with even more freedom.  Now a new generation of publisher can now offer unique and innovative publishing services to their authors and the audiences those authors serve by using Lulu’s global print and retail networks, our commerce engine that can calculate royalties in a range of currencies all in real time, and our publishing tools that can help those authors turn their ideas into valuable books.

To learn more, or to tell your techie friends about it without having to learn more, visit:  developer.lulu.com

Cheers,

Bob

I confess. It excites me to read brilliant content from our creators. I also confess I see content with potential that lacks basic principles of composition.

The Editing Month festivities at Lulu last month challenged me to consider how one might break habitual bad writing habits and make significant changes to please the reader. I literally dusted off my grandmother’s copy of Strunk’s The Elements of Style in hopes of finding a few elements that would change any manuscript.

From William Strunk, Jr.’s The Elements of Style III. Elementary Principles of Composition:

• Use the active voice: The active voice is more direct and vigorous than the passive. I shall always remember my first visit to Boston is much better than My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.
• Put statements in positive form: Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language. Use the word “not” as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion. For example, rather than He was not very often on time one could use He usually came late.
• Omit needless words: Read your manuscript and see how many times you see the fact that and try to replace it with since, because, though or although. Another example is “there is no doubt but that” could simply be “no doubt.”

Too often I meet authors whose excitement of a speedy book launch diminishes the importance of a thorough pre-publishing scrub. One passionate author related the book launch to taking a child to school on the first day of kindergarten. Just as parents send kids equipped with backpacks and lunch boxes, your book should be as equipped with a proper edit. Correctness is contagious.

A professional editor can review your manuscript to determine which elements could make your book an easier and more enjoyable read. Our publishing packages provide the Editorial Quality Review as well as Formatting and Cover design. Buying services in June automatically enters you to win one of two new HP Mini laptops. Plus, use the coupon SVCWIN and we’ll take 15% off any package (maximum discount $1,425).  Offer expires 6/30/2011.

*No purchase necessary. Enter coupon code SVCWIN at checkout and receive 15% off any service package or simply publish a work through Lulu.com. The maximum savings for this offer is $100. Sorry, but this offer cannot be applied to previous orders. You can only use this code once per account, and unfortunately you can’t use this coupon in combination with other coupon codes. This great offer expires on July 8, 2011 at 11:59 PM, so don’t miss out! While very unlikely, we do reserve the right to change or revoke this offer at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is against the law to do so. Shipping destinations must be within the United States.