In case you haven’t checked your email lately, or perused Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram this week, Lulu is getting ready to drop an enormous site update. Today we’re going to take a sneak peek at one of the big changes coming with that update; we’re closing down our paid services program and offering an open marketplace for service providers to advertise instead.
Saying goodbye to our service packages was not an easy decision to make. We know that countless authors have used our services to complete their projects. After carefully examining the program and talking to countless authors, we think this new format will be the best way to help you get the services you need.
What This Means For You
If you’ve purchased a service package from Lulu and you’re waiting on editing, cover design, or anything else; DON’T PANIC. Though we won’t be taking on any new service customers, we will fulfill all open contracts. Nothing will change; you’ll still work with our team of editors and designers to finalize your project.
But once our updates go live, the marketing and publishing services pages will no longer be accessible. With this change, we won’t be taking on any new contracts.
Refocusing On What We Do
One contributing factor to our decision to end our service programs is the plethora of amazing editorial, design, and marketing options and providers you already have out there. These people are great at what they do, so why not support them?! At Lulu, we’ve historically done one thing really well; print and fulfill book orders all over the world and we’re going to stick to innovating in that space.
Editing and designing book files are, of course, an important part of getting to the point where you need to print and ship books. We have a vested interest in you being able to design your files for printing, which is why we introduced our paid service offerings in the first place.
Times have changed. From freelancers creating one-off designs to organizations like Bublish, who offers full-service packages for authors, we decided to leave the file design, editing, and marketing services to dedicated providers.
What Is The Lulu Services Marketplace Page?
Our partner’s page is a virtual marketplace for service providers we’ve built relationships with over the years, as well as plenty of newcomers who have proven to be quite adept at their craft. Please understand that we have made every effort to make sure all of the providers listed are great at what they do and trustworthy, but they ARE NOT employed by Lulu. Any arrangements made between you and a provider are your responsibility.
We’ve pulled together companies and organizations that provide a wide range of services you might need. Now you can find exactly the services desired, work with professionals who understand how to best meet your project’s goals, and get your files ready to use Lulu for your printing, selling, and distribution!
There are a lot of benefits to switching our model, but the most significant one is to help foster and build a stronger author and creator community. We all do our best work when we can focus on the things we do best. When we work together, everyone succeeds! Rather than selling you a packaged set of services, we’re providing more options for you to make the right choices for your book.
Better Publishing For All
By focusing on the things we do best, we’re free to work with other professionals for the services we no longer provide. And you’ll have more control to make decisions about how your book is created, edited, and marketed. If there’s one thing we’ve heard from authors time and again, it’s that they choose independent publishing to be in control.
We feel that this shift of focus will allow us to go “all in” on our automated print-on-demand technology and fulfillment solutions, thus expanding your options for getting your content to your audience. And by connecting you to professional service providers, you’ll be sure to get the best services for your book while expanding your network of professional connections in the publishing world.
Por favor, puede decirme dónde está el lugar donde yo podía ver antes los libros que tengo publicados en Lulu?
Are you no longer doing eBooks?
Hi Nolan,
We do still allow you to create an ebook! You can convert a DOCX file just like we used to offer and our distribution options haven’t changed.
If you’re looking for help converting your file to EPUB, I recommend any of our Full Service partners. They can offer the same conversion services we used to provide.
Okay, good to hear the do-it-yourself model is still in place. But upping your game by creating an online digital platform marketplace for sellers of various complementary services does make some sense. You do need to carve out a distinct niche given amazon’s reach and dominance.
So Lulu goes from being a provider of do-it-yourself self-publishing from spup to nuts to being a clearing house for independent service providers and writers collaborating independently to produce manuscripts which Lulu provides end point digital print and distribution services?
Hi Stuart,
Lulu has always been and continues to offer free, DIY publishing and revisions. Nothing about what our site provides has changed. We’ve just decided not to offer paid services any longer, in favor of a marketplace for other professionals to offer those services.
Well said