Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers

Lightning Source vs. CreateSpace vs. Lulu

Here's an interesting comparison of the three by Michael N. Marcus.

Today, blogger/book designer Joel Friedlander said he recommends that his clients use either Lightning Source or CreateSpace for POD books. I agree with his recommendation, and I posted comments about the differences I've found using three printers. I think it makes sense to publish my comments here, too.

http://bookmakingblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/lightning-source-vs-crea...

Any opinions on any of these services?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by F. E. Lockyer on March 9, 2011 at 3:49pm

I use CreateSpace. I found the proof was reasonable cost, and so is the cost ofordering of my books for local sale. Within a week it was available on Amazon.com, and more recently Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk. I always get a confirmation when I place an order and within a day or 2, I get a shipping confirmation.

Permalink Reply by Garry Edward Lewis on June 24, 2011 at 6:59am

I agree with you, I found Createspace to be the easiest and less expensive to use. Authors discount on book purchases are very reasonable as well.

Permalink Reply by Marie Symeou on November 13, 2011 at 6:54pm

Just published two books using CreateSpace and so far I'm very pleased with the results.

Permalink Reply by Humberto Sachs on December 11, 2011 at 11:36pm

In ultimate analysis, self-publishing is mostly a rip-off. They make money off the authors, instead of making money off book sales. My book, “the next genesis” is selling and it is getting great reviews only because of my personal effort to promote the book. Hence, the publisher was useful even though he did not Fulfill his contractual commitments. But the cost of promotion far exceeds royalties or profit even though the 2 Moon package cost me only 1200.00.

For more than one year I have been making a lot of research. I composed a small team and determine the root of the problem. POD is only good for retailers like Amazon. And when you do business with Amazon, and don’t provide a vehicle to market the book via the local bookstores, you do not get the visibility necessary to sell anywhere.

If you are serious about authoring, you should join Transmedia Press. Cost you nothing and you could become a co-founder. See the beginning at http://www.txgroup.org/App/Tools/36-Transmedia-Press.html#49 . Our marketing tool, the Public Voice soon will be online.

Permalink Reply by Pat Garrett Miller on March 31, 2012 at 8:19pm

Two of my books, Rosemillion, and Miracle, were printed by Lightning Source, Inc.. LSI does a top-notch, professional job and their web site is very user friendly. When the books are printed, they become available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, POD, but available nevertheless. Paperback or hardcover, your choice. The prices are reasonable and the books are high quality.

Happy creating,

http://jhelenelza.com

https://twitter.com/#!/jhelenelza

Permalink Reply by Bruce Jackson Spohn on April 9, 2012 at 2:55pm

https://www.createspace.com/3806286

This is the link to creatspace and my new book.

Permalink Reply by PJ Sterling 23 hours ago

I have been doing some serious research on Vanity Publishers/POD's and wanting to bang my head against a wall. I think it all depends on how long the book is, if there is a niche for you and "why" you write to begin with. If you have a 100 or 200 page book to get out then Createspace and DiggyPOD seem to be the best, as far as rates go, that I can find. Lulu and Lightning Source cost more... but offer more - if you are don't want to do anything but get your book out in a hurry.

As for me, I have a 750 page book sitting here and the average cost at ANY POD is $28 once they take their printing and royalty cuts (in addition to any service or package costs); so I would have to sell my fantasy/fiction novel for a retail price of $30/ea just to get $2/ea (then add misc fees & taxes - P.S. I hope you all have spoken with accountants). The current global economy is terrible anyway but $30 for a 750 page novel (which the like of are retailing for $14.99 to $24.99) is just not going to fly - not ever.

I am going to be doing some serious research this week on local print companies and their costs/capabilities/quality to see if there's a way around the POD glitter and promises.

Frustrating.

Permalink Reply by Bruce Jackson Spohn 21 hours ago

I see your point about a BIG BOOK being hard to sell at such a high price. Would it be possible to break it down into a trilogy? That would bring the size of each book into the more affordable range and could creat demand for the folow oin books. Just a thought.

I hope you can find a way to get your book published at a price you can work with.

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