How to Revise a Project on Lulu

Posted on September 1, 2007
Filed Under Copyediting, Self-Publishing with Lulu |

Cheryl at Blooking Central asked me how an author would go about revising a project once it’s posted. You can revise a project as many times as you need to before you buy an ISBN number. Once you’ve bought this number, you still have the option to revise your book, should you notice a gross error (examples: a misrepresentation of a fact or missing pages) that could potentially damage your book’s success. Be aware that Lulu will charge you for this revision. I’ll talk more about that in a later post.

For now, I’ll assume that you haven’t bought an ISBN number yet and that you’ve just combed through the pages of your first proof. You’ve caught 58 typos in Chapter One. Plus, something is going wrong with the headers. For some reason, the title of your book isn’t showing up. The most challenging aspect of self-publishing is catching every single mistake. You won’t be able to, I promise. If you can’t afford to hire an editor, ask your family and friends to proofread your manuscript. Bribe them with Starbucks or free babysitting, if you have to.

After you’ve combed through the entire proof and corrected each error, you’ll be uploading a new file into your project. In the Projects screen, click on the Red Pencil icon in the Revise column.

The one thing I don’t like about the Lulu interface is the revision process, which forces you to start from the beginning. Let’s say you’ve completely filled out your book’s description form. You won’t have to fill out everything again, but I’ve found myself retyping the edition and copyright information every time. That’s annoying.

Fill out any empty spaces you see. If you didn’t enter your book’s description and keywords, now would be a good time to do it. Click Save & Continue. When you get to the File Uploading screen, click on the red “X” to delete the old file. Then upload and convert your new one. Click Save & Continue when you’re finished with the conversion.

In some cases, the author’s manuscript file is fine but they aren’t satisfied with the cover. If that’s the case with your book, then you can bypass uploading a new manuscript file and click through the Cover Preview screen. Upload a new file or experiment with the typeface. When you’re finished, click the Publish button. Lulu will send you to their options screen, where you can purchase a proof, promote your book, etc.