Since I already created my book cover, all I needed was the barcode. If you’re dealing with the same issue, open up a new file and enter in your ISBN number. Once the template is created, group the barcode layers together and copy to your original file. Piece of cake.

This script is also available for CS2, in case you were wondering.

Creating front and back covers for your book becomes second-nature after several practice runs. There are two things I’ve come to appreciate with this feature: the automatic calculation of the spine and the automatic inclusion of the barcode on the back cover.

One-piece covers are a bit trickier to create because I found myself constantly adjusting the spine layer so it would butt seamlessly with the front and back covers, despite using Lulu’s calculated measurements. The second hurdle was getting the title to fit properly within the spine without distorting. The third hurdle was finding out that Photoshop doesn’t have the same text justification features as InDesign. Then I had trouble importing the text I’d created from InDesign into Photoshop. I eventually had to create a jpeg image of the text, and then change the background color on the front cover to match the back because they turned out different.

After all that was corrected, I uploaded my files to Lulu and ordered my proof, thinking that everything was okay. It wasn’t. When my book arrived in the mail, I found that the barcode was missing from the back cover. A quick search on Lulu revealed that I had made the mistake. I was in so much of a hurry to get the book published that I failed to read the directions.

Lulu does not provide the barcode for one-piece covers. I figured that I would have to shell out $80 to correct this mistake because I had already purchased the ISBN. Christmas Day, I created the barcode, tacked it onto my cover (after looking at several books to figure out where to place it), and uploaded it onto Lulu. As it turned out, I didn’t have to pay the fee because I hadn’t approved the book yet.

This morning, I found out that I had forgot to include the price in the barcode when I was writing this post. Lulu says that including the price is optional, so I won’t sweat it. You should know that if you do include the price, it must match exactly with the retail price that you set on Lulu. Also, you shouldn’t add a UK retail price to the cover because it won’t match once Lulu converts it to US currency. Check out this link to see a snapshot of the barcode placement.

I’m curious to see how my barcode will look on my final copy, because I centered it on the bottom instead of placing it on the right side. And, I just now realized that I didn’t include the smaller "9000" barcode.

If you’re thinking about designing your own one-piece cover, I suggest you download and read the free ebook that I just found. It’s called ISBN Barcode Guidance for Lulu Authors. The ebook explains exactly what each code means, provides guidance on how to create the barcode as well as where to place it and why, and gives links to tools and resources. I wish I had found this book last month, but I have it now.

After all this frustration, will I create another one-piece cover again? You bet. I think I’ve made all the "beginner" mistakes that I’m going to make with this cover. I’ll be more prepared when I set out to make my next cover.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

]]> http://self-publishingwithlulu.com/2007/12/24/explaining-my-absence/feed/ http://self-publishingwithlulu.com/2007/10/20/publishing-a-calendar-with-lulu/ http://self-publishingwithlulu.com/2007/10/20/publishing-a-calendar-with-lulu/#comments Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:37:38 +0000 Deborah Woehr http://self-publishingwithlulu.com/2007/10/20/publishing-a-calendar-with-lulu/ This week, I decided to veer away from book publishing altogether to experiment with some of the other features Lulu has to offer. As you know, I published my second photo book. I also tested out the calendar publishing feature and experienced similar setbacks.

Another frustration I had was the calendar format. They offer a standard and premium selection in the traditional wall calendar format. What I’d like to see offered is engagement/appointment books as well as desk calendars. Lulu is missing a huge market by not including these formats.

I’d like to be able to move the photo “place holders” around to create my own unique look and style on each page. Also, I would have liked to have had the option of creating my own templates. Perhaps these features will be available in the next upgrade.

I wasn’t happy with the first photo book I made (using the old software) because the top pictures were placed too close to the edge of the page. I’m hoping they have improved on this as well. Proof will be in the final copy.

Dear Lulu User,

In our ongoing efforts to provide you with the most cost-effective and easiest to use marketplace for your digital content, Lulu has recently made substantial improvements to our website and online services. These changes require us to contact you, as they affect your current and past projects on Lulu.com.

Please be mindful of these changes when visiting the site or starting new projects.

Lulu.com’s new Lulu Studio™ Photo Book publishing service is an advanced Flash-based application that allows you to create professional photo books and offers premium printing capabilities. Lulu Studio™ is a separate product from our original photo book offering. If you currently have a photo book project in draft or have previously published a photo book, your project can still be edited using the original Lulu Photo Book wizard.

To utilize the new functionality of the Lulu Studio™, please consider starting a new project by going to Photo Books under the Publish tab.

“My Lulu” has replaced the “My Account” tab where you can access your account history, information and messages. Your account information has been retained and is accessible under the “My Lulu” tab.

The Services Marketplace is now located under the “Community” tab where you can access all pre-publishing services such as editing and proofing as well as translation. Again, any earlier Services Marketplace projects you may have started have been retained and are accessible under the Community tab.

Please be aware of minimum and maximum page requirements when starting any new book project as they have changed. For example: 9×7 color and 9×7 black/white saddle stitch books now have a maximum requirement of 56 total pages. Visit www.lulu.com/en/help/binding_types for more information about page requirements.

These changes will positively affect how you publish, sell, connect, and buy on Lulu.com. As always, we are committed to making your publishing experience as easy and as fun as possible!

If you have suggestions, feedback, or questions please email us at luluquestions@lulu.com.

Thank you for choosing Lulu.com!

Cheers,

Bob Young
Lulu.com

How does Lulu pay royalty payments? Do they send a cheque? Are they other options such as paying directly into a Paypal account?

Yes to both.

Lulu pays royalties in US dollars, euros and pounds sterling either by check or PayPal. To set your payments, click on the My Revenue tab, located in the My Lulu section. Or, click on the Change Remission Settings link near the top of the blue sidebar. You’re required to enter your address, social security number or EIN (IRS) number.

Checks will be sent to the address you provide on a quarterly basis, while PayPal payments occur once per month. Once you earn $600 or more, Lulu will send you a 1099 form so you can report your royalty earnings to the Tax Man. For more information, read the Member Agreement, which also details Lulu’s return policy, privacy agreement, etc.

I’m still trying to figure out how Lulu handles international payments. I’ll either update this post when I find the answer, or I’ll write a new one.

To publish a book with no distribution service, editing the manuscript yourself, and designing the book will cost you between $10 and $40, depending upon the size (page count and book measurement) of your book and whether you want color illustrations in your interior. The proof of God’s Last Twilight cost me $9.49 (including shipping) for 120 pages, black and white with a color cover.

Published by You

Distribution fee –>$50.00
Editing ———–>$200 - $1,700 (figure ranges from Lulu service providers)
DIY Book Design–>Free
Book Designer —->$90 - $5,000 (figures taken from Lulu and professional book designers online)

Published by Lulu

Distribution fee –>$100.00
Add the rest from the table above.

Back in June, I wrote a post called Hiring a Book Designer, which contained a listing of book designers that I thought were good as far as design capability and price. I recommend that you visit the Preditors & Editors’ Editing Services page to find a listing of editors they recommend.

Get some quotes from editors and book designers. Add their quote to your cost sheet. Don’t forget to add the costs of marketing to your cost sheet as well.

I didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t say where the title or author’s name were to be situated on the page. And…when I downloaded one of their covers to play with, I couldn’t get the font large enough so I still wasn’t happy.

I ended up letting Lulu put the title in and I included my name where I wanted it on the manipulated version of their cover. However, when I do the real publication I want to have more control. Can you discuss software you use for manipulating the cover images please? I’m not happy with mine.

I wasn’t happy with the cover preview in the book section or the photo book section for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason was the lack of design control. Lulu’s book cover templates do not allow you to manipulate the text beyond changing the font and its color.

Since I own Photoshop, I decided to use that and convert the file into a .pdf. What if I didn’t have Photoshop at my disposal? What software could I use to create a professional looking cover?

Several Lulu authors have used MS PowerPoint to create their covers. Dixie Press has templates for both Word and PowerPoint for you to use, should you want to rely on Microsoft to help you create your book covers. Speaking from experience, I would shy away from anything created by Microsoft to publish my books.

That said, a free alternative to Photoshop is Gimp. Although I’ve never tested it out, I’ve heard good things about this program. You can order a user manual through Amazon, that’s how popular this program has gotten. After looking at the screenshots, I considered downloading it to test it out on my Mac. But then I read that I had to install this X11 program in order to make it work. I decided that I was happy enough with Photoshop.

I was disappointed with this feature back in March because the Java script refused to work on my system, which meant that I had to upload each image one at a time because Lulu’s Turbo Uploader wouldn’t work. Then, after all that, I found the templates and design options were too limited. I published my photo book anyway because I wanted to see how it would look. It was okay.

Jumping back to the present, I just clicked the Revise button on this same project. My browser is still giving me issues. Since all of my photos are already uploaded, this isn’t a big deal.

Other than some extra design templates and layout options, I don’t see any improvement to the overall system. You can change the font size, but you can’t change the font itself. That’s very frustrating to me and to those who want something other than the standard for their photo books.

Verdict: I won’t be using this feature. Instead, I’ll design my photo books with InDesign and upload them as a .pdf file.