Lulu Book Publishing Reviews: Hardback Book Unboxing

About this video

Dale unboxes and reviews Lulu’s hardback print-on-demand books, converting one of his own paperback titles to hardcover and judging only product quality, shipping, delivery time, cost and profit, not the book’s contents. He prefers hardbacks because they take more abuse and last longer than paperbacks. The 6x9 book with white pages felt sturdy and the interior print was good, but covers were problematic: stretching his paperback cover to hardback specifications cut off the title near the binding, and reusing a cover formatted for Barnes & Noble Press left a black bar at the top, cut off his author name at the bottom and looked slightly blurred, so hardback covers need their own precise formatting. He also warns that image-heavy interiors with heavy headers can saturate the paper, leaving pages looking a little wavy. On delivery, ordering in December during quarter 4, the first book arrived in about 4 days with rushed shipping and the second in about 6 days with economy shipping, though he cautions a proof may take a week to two weeks. Rushed shipping cost $9.99 versus $4.99 for economy. The wholesale cost was $12.49; priced at $29.97, he calculates a profit of $2.52 through retail distribution but $13.98 when sold through Lulu itself, and he notes Lulu offers expanded distribution to Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Both hardbacks arrived in corrugated cardboard, which he praises after a previous book arrived in a bubble wrap envelope. Overall he is straddling the fence on Lulu hardback quality pending better cover formatting, while saying he is completely in favor of Lulu for paperbacks.

Key takeaways

• A paperback cover cannot simply be stretched to hardback specs: Dale’s attempt cut off the title at the binding, and a Barnes & Noble Press cover still bled imprecisely on Lulu.
• Image-heavy interiors can saturate Lulu’s pages and leave them slightly wavy; text-heavy fiction or non-fiction is less affected.
• Delivery in December took about 4 days with $9.99 rushed shipping and about 6 days with $4.99 economy shipping; the wholesale cost was $12.49.
• At a $29.97 price, Dale calculates $2.52 profit via retail distribution versus $13.98 selling through Lulu directly.
• He is undecided on Lulu hardback quality overall but praises the corrugated cardboard packaging and endorses Lulu paperbacks.

Episode details: published March 23, 2019 · 10:35 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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