Back in 2009, we published THIS ARTICLE, which featured numerous complaints about Lulu, posted directly to Lulu’s forum by Lulu’s own authors.
I recently surfed back to their forum to see if things have improved. Apparently, they have not. Below are quotes taken directly from Lulu’s own author forum –
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“It is a (expletive removed) pain in the (expletive removed) trying to publish via Lulu! I’ve spent WEEKS at this and I have all the time in the world…but didn’t expect it would be consumed by this. Hell, I could write three new 3-Act plays with the time I’ve spent on here.”
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“I WANT A REFUND. I have sent several emails concerning this! I DO NOT LIKE YOUR PRINT SERVICE. MY BOOK WAS NOT APPROVED AND I WILL NOT BUY ANY MORE !!I WANT A REFUND FOR GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION! NOW. GET YOUR SUPERVISOR IF YOU CANNOT GIVE ME ONE!”
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“HORRIBLE support from Lulu. When it gets to tough questions, in CHAT they leave you hanging (I’ve been waiting for 45 minutes now for a response about ISBNs and book sizes) and then ignore you or cut you off. I keep getting conflicting advice from support and totally DIFFERENT answers. It’s very frustrating. And e-Mail responses take a WEEK!!”
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“Just had postman deliver 4 books and what a blinking nightmare. My book is supposed to be pure black on the cover but it looks off black. Also in one book there is someone else’s two pages.”
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“I have been trying to request a refund for services unrendered, as my uploading issues have gone unresolved for days. Nobody has responded to repeated e-mails sent to repeated addresses, for days.”
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“The customer support here in nonexistent.”
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“I wrote a dozen emails to the staff: no response.”
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Do you think this is quality workmanship? This is a photo of three books I received as a single order from Lulu. I had never before received books that had glue stains (that’s the brown stuff bleeding up from the spine) on the edges and unevenly compressed quires (the gaps between the pages). I sent a complaint to Lulu to call this to their attention. Lulu responded that this was not a ‘workmanship or manufacturing defect.’ What do you think? Would you be happy if one of your customers received a book with this quality of binding?”
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“Filed with BBB, Lulu still refuses to refund my money!”
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“With the headache I’ve gained I will be relieved not to go the Lulu route next time.”
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“No response from Customer Service after 3 tries – PLEASE HELP!”
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“The so-called live chat has been on my desktop for over an hour, to no avail. I’m not convinced it really exists.”
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“No support, no correction, no refund. I ordered ten copies of my book for my Private View. The copies arrived on 08.26 with the black spine misprinted – it is overlapping the front cover.”
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“I’ve just received my proof, and, to my great disappointment, there are random sections of text that are garbled ‘?’ instead of the text that showed up with no problems in the ‘print-ready proof’ PDF.”
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“I purchased the book seller package from professional services. I have been waiting a week to get a reply from Lulu. I am getting quite agitated as I have sent the money and I feel like I’m being duped. Can somebody contact me or refund my money so I can go elsewhere?”
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Read a price comparison of the most popular POD publishers HERE.
Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.
About The Author
Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).
Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.
WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.
BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."
Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.
PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!
Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.
Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)
See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.
ANGELA ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AngelaHoy
BOOKLOCKER ON FACEBOOK - Provides links to free excerpts!
https://www.facebook.com/booklockerbooks
ANGELA ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/angela.hoy.750
ANGELA ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelahoy/
Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/
Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE