This article consists of content obtained from the Lulu website, as well as additional information gathered from the book, “The Fine Print of Self-Publishing: The Contracts & Services of 48 Major Self-Publishing Companies—Analyzed, Ranked & Exposed.” Information contained in this article was current at the time of publication.

Lulu uses the Print-On-Demand method for publishing CDs, comics, photos and DVDs, in addition to books. However, Lulu only manages the printing, delivery and customer service for books, while BookPros also provides design and distribution as well as publicity services through our sister company, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists.

Lulu solely uses Print-On-Demand (POD) to print its books, so it never has any books left in a warehouse (which incurs fees), but this eliminates the possibility of in-store distribution. At BookPros, we can use digital printing for our Bridgeway Books imprint but we require a minimum print run so that distribution is still possible. We also use offset printing with our Synergy Books and Bridgeway Books imprints. With offset printing, you can enjoy higher quality printing as well as distribution although it is more expensive than printing through POD.

Lulu requires the author to design and lay out the book on his or her own. While Lulu provides a list and contact information for third-party vendors, at BookPros we help you design and lay out your book through experienced and carefully chosen freelance editors and designers. We monitor the process and give suggestions to help our books conform to industry standards and have a stronger chance at being picked up by buyers for book stores. Every BookPros book has a fresh design too—we don't use templates here!

In addition, Lulu accepts all genres and submissions for printing. At BookPros, we want to make sure that the work we publish is of high quality, so we go through a screening process to ensure that we are creating books that will not jeopardize our relationships with our distributors or the media. Publicity and distribution greatly affect a book's success, so we would not want to ruin these relationships with a less than stellar product.

Lulu offers no set-up fee and no minimum order to publish and sell your book since it only uses POD. Lulu also lets you set your own royalties, so you know what you will get per book you sell. We do charge a fee for our services, but only because of the amount of work and time spent to make your book comparable to one produced by a traditional publisher. We offer a complementary media analysis for authors and publishers to evaluate the potential scope of their books in the media, and BookPros also offers in-house financing to help you create a plan to realize your goals.

For more information on how BookPros can help take your book from a manuscript to a publicized book, please visit our publishing services page, try our online chat or give us a call at (512) 478-2028.