*New Storefront Creation Wizard
*Enhanced Customization of Colors, Fonts, and Themes
*Upgrade Old Storefront to the New Design

Lulu Storefronts serve a number of uses for our creators and are a great way to display content you’ve created on Lulu to get both you and your work noticed by the rest of the world. Several years ago, Lulu rolled out its first creator storefronts, which would later become the tried and true design that’s still being used by many of our creators today. Early last year, we decided the time had come for us to revamp storefronts and began development on our second version of them. Shortly thereafter, we released a preliminary design, which we initially made available only on new creators accounts. Unfortunately, while these new storefronts were cutting-edge in their appearance, they still lacked some customization features our old storefronts had. In the last few months, we’ve made several key improvements to the backbone of this Storefront design including the addition of several basic options for themes, the ability to select the order your content is displayed, and a variety of other minor enhancements.

In our next site release we plan to include several additional improvements to the general layout and formatting of the updated Lulu storefront design. These improvements far surpass previous implementations by allowing users to create unique, highly customizable storefronts in ways never before possible! With the introduction of a new Storefront Wizard, you will now be able to take advantage of more detailed theming options, allowing you to change the colors, font options and formatting of your storefront’s text, buttons, backgrounds and more! By either selecting from one of our new preset themes or creating your own custom theme from scratch, you can now create a professional looking storefront page on Lulu that incorporates your unique branding and style.

In addition to the aesthetic improvements to the new storefronts this release, we are also happy to announce that we’ve created a new Storefront Migration tool that will allow users, still using the old storefronts, to upgrade to the new design. To upgrade your old storefront, all you have to do is go to your storefront editor and click the “upgrade” button. Please note: Once upgrading your storefront to the new design, this change cannot be undone. For more details, or to post questions and comments on these new features, please go to our Storefront Discussion in the Lulu Forums.

Posted on Monday 05 of March, 2007 [13:10:44 UTC]

by Stacey Cochran

We have four Meetups scheduled for the coming two months. If you’re in Charlotte, NC (March 10), Raleigh, NC (March 17), Greensboro, NC (March 31), or Richmond, VA (April 28), we’d love to have your participation.

I’ll also be doing bookstore/author events at Chatham Books (Chatham, VA, April 21), Quail Ridge Books (Raleigh, April 29), Pomegranate Books (Wilmington, NC, May 5), Francis Auditorium at the Charlotte Public Library(Charlotte, May 19), and Osondu Book (Waynesville, NC, May 20).

For driving directions and times of events, please visit www.staceycochran.com.

We would love to set up a Meetup and a library or bookstore event in your area. Please contact me through my website if you are interested. Thanks so much!


Stacey Cochran teaches writing at North Carolina State University. He has published four books with Lulu, including The Colorado Sequence and Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone. Stacey was recently interviewed for the Lulu podcast about his work both with writing and organizing Lulu community events.

Posted on Tuesday 27 of February, 2007 [20:36:09 UTC]

For those of us looking forward to warmer weather comes this month's Lulu-Vision. Says photographer and author Paul McGoran, "Here's a photo that says 'Spring' to me. I took it in someone's backyard in Wickford, a village in coastal Rhode Island."

Posted on Friday 23 of February, 2007 [20:33:46 UTC]

Hello from the Global Fulfillment team! If you have one of our Published By You or Published By Lulu distribution services, or if you're thinking of purchasing one, read on.

We have enhanced the pricing step for books with our distribution services. The new process will establish one retail price for all retail sales, on Lulu, on Amazon, and through other bookstores. Your royalty on sales through the Lulu Marketplace, however, will be significantly higher than the royalty on sales where the retailer buys at a discount from Lulu.

A single retail price is not only a better business practice, it ensures that our retail partners are not selling your title at a disadvantage, and it is compliant with markets who operate under a "fixed-price law".

We're dedicated to providing you with the best distribution services possible, so if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at retailprice@lulu.com.

Best wishes,
The Lulu Global Fulfillment Team

Posted on Friday 23 of February, 2007 [20:15:31 UTC]

UK author Lara Shombery is 24 and has just published her first novel, Filling The Gap, about the messy consequences when a group of rich and privileged teenagers find themselves with too little to worry about and too much time on their hands.

When and why did you start writing?
I suppose like all authors I’ve always loved writing. I remember using my mum’s typewriter when I was about 10 to write short stories. I first got into the idea of writing a novel when I was 15 or 16. I gave it a try and came up with something truly awful – but at least it was a start. I started writing Filling The Gap when I was 18. I decided to write a novel because, at that age, I had real trouble finding fiction that was interesting and relevant to me. Teen fiction was too immature – all about first kisses and fitting in at a new school. Chick lit, on the other hand, was too grown-up – all about finding Mr Right or career success. I thought I’d take matters into my own hands and write something about real people of my age.

Who do you write for?
I write for older teenagers and the university student age-group. I think it’s a group that are very under-represented in fiction. Perhaps you could describe Filling The Gap as ‘young adult chick lit’. Although, whereas the goal in chick lit is often to find Mr Right, the goal for a younger age-group should, I think, be the exact opposite. Chick lit typically ends with a sense that the perfect couple have just got together. I was very keen for Filling The Gap to have an ending where things seemed more temporary and about enjoying the moment – as is always the case at that age.

How do you write?
Filling The Gap took me a very long time to write (I’m 24 now). I think this was important though because I needed to be able to include a more adult perspective that I wouldn’t have had at 18. I write when I feel like it, when I’m feeling inspired. For example, one of the key parts of Filling The Gap is a local pub and the network of teenagers that go there. I used to sometimes come home from my local pub, a little bit drunk, and turn on the computer to make the most of all the conversations and thoughts I’d had when I was there.

Why did you come to publish at Lulu?
It has, so far, been the only option I’ve considered. As I said, I don’t think there’s much commercial fiction our there for the 16-24 age-group so I was always wary of trying to find agents or publishers who could be convinced it was a good idea. When I found out about Lulu, it immediately seemed like the perfect solution. I do plan to attempt a commercial publishing route but that could take a long time and, for the moment, I just want to get my book to its readers, it’s already been six years in the making!

Filling The Gap can be found here.
If you would like your content featured in a Lulu newsletter, please email me at ahooper@lulu.com with all your details.

Posted on Thursday 22 of February, 2007 [14:34:50 UTC]

I am a photographer in Tampa, Florida and I was born and raised here. Photography was not always my passion. Certainly, I was exposed to it at a young age, but not at the level at what would be considered professional. My father was an avid amateur and he dabbled in it, buying large, expensive pieces and photographing whatever he could find. I have albums full of what he liked to capture.

It wasn't until I was in my mid 20's that I really found my niche and comfort zone with a camera and it spawned because my attractive sister wanted to be a "model". Armed with one of the cameras that my father gave me, I gallavanted my sister out to the beach, which Florida is famous for, and we tried a photo session with her. From what I had accomplished, the prints turned out pretty good and I received lots of compliments on them at the time. I enjoyed being behind the camera, so I thought that it may be a good idea to understand it a bit more. I checked with the local colleges and found small programs that I could take to learn a bit about photography technically. I have always been the kind of person who needed to know the technical in order to become better at the aesthetics. I met a local photographer through one of my classes and I started helping him at a few weddings, assisting mostly in holding canisters of 220 film. In exchange, I was allowed to use his darkroom as long as I brought along my own paper. I was in love with the darkroom and produced all of my own black and white negatives and prints.

I can't say that I ever really knew the more artistic side of photography until very recently. I eventually graduated into running my own small (very small!) business, photographing weddings and commissioned portraits. The work was few and far between and consisted of wholly traditional work. My sister spent many moments in front of my camera, being my model and muse. I knew eventually, as digital started to take a hold on the market, that I would want to sway. I had an even stronger background in computers and at about the same time, I was a graphic designer in training. Digital photography meant that I could become more creative and take more risks with my imagery. My life was starting to come to the point where I knew where I was supposed to be professionally and artistically - that was about 5 years ago. From 2000 to 2003, I was an Editor at a magazine and had been involved in publishing for close to 7 years. Written word had always been a secret passion, but photography was the quickest way I knew to get a point across. I really started to hone my business and it has slowly, but steadily gained momentum.

One of the wedding photography forums I belong to had a post submitted by a photographer showcasing a Lulu book. So many of our peers loved the look, that we quickly signed on board with Lulu. My first proof book that I created and ordered through Lulu was very impressive and I knew that there was even more potential. It is very impressive when presented to my clients as a portfolio of my wedding and portrait work.

Beyond using LULU for my own photography marketing pieces, I have plans for a book outlining some of my art pieces, a long awaited childrens book that I have not completed, and I would love for my daughter to create her own book. Just as I was a great reader and lover of books, she has become one as well. For my books, I rely heavily on my background as a designer in order to produce the layout and feel for my book. I use Photoshop since my book is 100% photo related. If I were to lay text out, Quark is my choice for text. I make sure that each of my Photoshop documents are the exact width and height to Lulu's specifications (including the trim) and I make sure that I give myself enough of a margin for the cut at the edge. Anything that I want to bleed, I let it run over the edge without trying to limit it. I paste my images into the Photoshop document, each as seperate layers. Each page is it's own document. If I am going to use decorative text (which bypasses my need for Quark), then I also insert that into its own layer in Photoshop. This leaves me with one document per page or cover and I can alter each page or cover until I am happy with the on-screen result. For colors that need to be precise, I use the Pantone chart. After everything has been scrutinized, I then run a batch process through Photoshop, turning my guts (internal pages) into one big .pdf document. For my single wrap cover, I simply save it out as a .pdf file. I can usually visualize what my cover will look like without having to print a sample, however for those who need to, it is a good idea to print and fold for a proof. You have to "think backwards" for single wrap covers - the front goes on the right hand side!

Right now, Lulu plays an immense role in the marketing of my business. I would love to expand that use and take up where I left off so many years ago with creating a book of my written thoughts. Lulu has become my way of self-expression that leaves a lasting impact on it's viewers - and about me as a professional.

My book is not available to the general public for re-sale. This book is not a means for profit, merely a marketing piece distributed to potential clients for review of my work.

My website is www.beckyjohnsonstudios.com.

Posted on Thursday 22 of February, 2007 [14:27:08 UTC]

Who are you?
Hi. My name is Andy Sykes and I am an award winning animator and illustrator based in Leeds in the UK. You may have seen my animations on BBC2's Homegrown Hollywood, here on Lulu, or even at various film festivals around the world.

What experience have you had with Lulu?
I have been publishing on Lulu for a year now. I published 2 books of my illustrations and a DVD of my animations in 2006. My most recent project is The Hexjibber Colouring and Activity Book, which you can see here.

The Hexjibber what?
I wanted to create a colouring book that would appeal to adults as well as children, that would encourage lateral thinking and convey my bizarre sense of humour. Inside, you will find activities which will make you laugh as well as boggle your brain. Examples include 'Colour in the Emo,' 'Find the Contents of the Lunchbox in the Wreckage of the City' and 'Rebrand the Earth'. As for the title, Hexjibber.com is the name of my website and the pseudonym that I work under.

What inspired you to make it?
I work mainly in black and white and I realised how colour-in-able my drawings were when one of my client's children was colouring-in one of my illustrations. I thought it would be fun to create my own colouring book, and like my animations and illustrations, it could appeal to both adults and kids. I had a sneaking suspicion that many adults still love colouring in, but don't have an excuse to do it.

What distinguishes your colouring book from others?
One of the most exciting parts of this book is that it offers me the chance to open up the creative process to the entire world. At the back of the book, you will find a link to my site, where you can upload pages you have coloured in, drawings you have done and activities you have completed and share your interpretations of the book with others. There are already some contributions, many of which are from the two exhibitions I have done, blowing up pages from the book and asking members of the public to colour them in. Take a look at the gallery here.

What are you doing next?
I am planning on another interactive exhibition of pages from the book and I am currently working on a short animated film, which should be ready in the summer.

Please check out my website: hexjibber.com and my Lulu store: www.lulu.com/hexjibber for more.

Posted on Thursday 22 of February, 2007 [14:14:50 UTC]

A lot can happen in a year. We launched as a viral video co-op, where shareholders bought into the marketplace, and split the revenues. We then decided we could put even more cash into the pool by sharing ad revenue. And not some namby pamby 50/50 split, we did it Lulu style. We split it 80/20. That means we put 80% of all ad revenue into the monthly pool, and if you get 1% of the traffic, you get 1% of the money. That's it. You also get larger file size uploads.

Our top money maker made over $10,000 in three months and got on The Tonight Show. Another made over $3,000 in three weeks and got himself a TV development deal.

Then something really crazy occurred to us. Why not drop the subscription fee, and let *everyone* compete for the moolah. So now, anyone who upgrades to the FREE shareholder account, gets their share of the ad revenue based on traffic.

That's right, dear faithful user. You are now invited to join in the madness. If you want to get in on the cash action, just go to:

https://www.lulu.tv/submission/new_member.php

And fill in your PayPal info. YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED ANYTHING. This is so we can pay you. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Upload all your videos, tell all your friends. Get played, and get paid.

Thanks for all your support,
The Booming Voice of Lulu TV

Posted on Monday 12 of February, 2007 [20:47:08 UTC]

Hello, European Lulus! I hope you're enjoying Lulu's sleek new look and all of the improved features which we introduced with the latest release. We've been working very hard here in the London office to internationalize every feature on the site. We know we still have some work to do, but thanks to our spectacular engineering team, we're very proud to announce the release of a feature that is key to making European users feel at home on Lulu: pricing and payments in euros (€) and pounds sterling (£)!

Before this release, the Lulu publishing wizards required creators to set prices for their products in US dollars ($). Although we did our best to show you what the conversion to your currency would look like, this definitely was foreign and frustrating for many of you and your customers. Now, however, when you set a preferred currency in your Account Preferences, your whole Lulu experience will be based in this currency, from pricing to purchasing to getting paid! Here are some of the benefits of this new feature:

• The ability to price your products and set your creator revenues in your preferred currency in the publishing wizard. Your price in this currency will never change unless you decide to change it.
• If someone purchases your product using a different currency, Lulu will automatically convert your price to the buyer's currency. The exchange rates aren't going to fluctuate, so your creator revenue will stay constant, regardless of what currency you use to price your content. Your creator revenues will then appear on your account in your preferred currency.
• If your preferred currency is set to euros or pounds, you are already earning creator revenues in this currency! Payment of your creator revenues can be made via PayPal in your preferred currency. (The paper check option is still only available for US dollar payments.)

If you previously set the prices of your products in US dollars and would like to change them to your preferred currency, you will need to create a new revision of each product in order to make this change.

Even if you decide to keep your prices in US dollars but set prices of future products in euros or pounds, you will still receive a single payment at the end of the payment period. This payment will be in your preferred currency at the time our accounting department pays creator revenues.

As always, if you experience any problems with this new feature, we'll be glad to help. You can report any issues to our customer support team through this online help form. Live Help staff are also available to answer your questions.

There you have it! Seamless currency handling is just another way that Lulu is making it easier for creators all over the world to publish their content and sell it to a global audience. What will you publish next?

Posted on Wednesday 17 of January, 2007 [16:57:17 UTC]

You may have noticed Withholding on your My Account -> My Sales & Revenue -> More Details page. Please see this past newsletter article for information.

Some questions that have come up:

Q: Why is there withholding on my pending revenues?
A: Lulu is required to withhold taxes on royalties income.
a) For US tax payers: If we have your W9 form on file, that withholding rate is 0%. If we haven't yet received that W9, the withholding rate is 28%. Please make sure that the online information matches the paper form.
b) For non-US taxpayers: We are only required to withhold taxes on the US sales of your book(s) which create royalties. The amount withheld varies from 0% to 30%, depending on the tax treaty between the US and your resident country. In general, you can reduce the amount of taxes withheld by applying for a US tax ID number and using this US tax ID number to complete a valid W8-BEN form. Please email royalty-taxes@lulu.com for treaty rates or help finding the appropriate forms.

Q: Why can't I change my remission address?
A: Since the online information must match the paper W9 form we lock the page after receipt of the form to prevent changes. Please email remission changes to royalties@lulu.com and then send a new form and we'll be happy to update the online information for you.

Q: The IRS hasn't responded to my W7 application for a US tax ID number.
A: The wheels of government can turn slowly. We sympathize with your frustration and will pass on any tips we have on how to speed up the process. If you would like us to hold your royalty payments until such time that you get your US ITIN, please email your request to royalties@lulu.com.


Best wishes,
The Lulu Accounting Team

Posted on Monday 15 of January, 2007 [18:55:27 UTC]