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Post by BlueAndGold on May 7, 2021 13:10:34 GMT
Bug Fixes:
1. Missing Contributors - Fixed a bug that was not displaying any contributors in the Search Results page or Product Page heading when no "Author" role contributor was found on the product.
2. eBook Project stuck on File Upload - Fixed a bug that was preventing users to upload an eBook file because the upload session was stuck on "Your File is Uploading."
3. Cover Generating Issue - Fixed a bug that was preventing users to generate a cover because of the use of special characters (@, &, <, +, etc.) within the input fields.
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ec20
New Member
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Post by ec20 on May 24, 2021 0:31:32 GMT
Any idea why an ebook project can get stuck in "Pending" for months on end? Months ago I had issues with my book Pea Body not showing on Amazon, then the tech got it to show but the reviews were gone, so they fixed that but then it showed the book as #2 in the series (it's the first). When I asked the tech about that issue she said it was in the metadata and I had to retire the version that was live, change the metadata in the file and re-upload it, which cost me their new fee of about $5 to upload the "new" project. Since then it's been "pending" and I have no idea why.
I've been a Lulu user since 2009 but published my most recent book (a short manual) on Draft2Digital just to see how that went -- it was easy-peasy. So I'm wondering if I should just shift all of my ebooks to D2D....
Does anyone know if there are known issues with this "Pending" or am I missing something critical I should be doing but am not aware of?
Thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2021 8:56:57 GMT
Any idea why an ebook project can get stuck in "Pending" for months on end? Months ago I had issues with my book Pea Body not showing on Amazon, then the tech got it to show but the reviews were gone, so they fixed that but then it showed the book as #2 in the series (it's the first). When I asked the tech about that issue she said it was in the metadata and I had to retire the version that was live, change the metadata in the file and re-upload it, which cost me their new fee of about $5 to upload the "new" project. Since then it's been "pending" and I have no idea why. I've been a Lulu user since 2009 but published my most recent book (a short manual) on Draft2Digital just to see how that went -- it was easy-peasy. So I'm wondering if I should just shift all of my ebooks to D2D.... Does anyone know if there are known issues with this "Pending" or am I missing something critical I should be doing but am not aware of? Thanks! Did you validate your epub elsewhere before uploading to Lulu? Try that and see if it comes up clean. If it does, write to Lulu again and ask them what the problem is. |
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Post by uptimejim on May 27, 2021 12:44:22 GMT
Months ago when Lulu changed with website, there were plenty of problems, no response from Lulu and long waits. Eventually, I retired all but one of several books I had on Lulu and re-published three of them elsewhere (D2D). The process there was easy and quick. The only thing missing at the time was print versions - now resolved. But one glitch remains there - D2D cannot do color printing. The one book I have left on Lulu requires it for several color figures.
In the original project on Lulu, there is one error. My cover artist used the word "Forward" not "Foreword" and I didn't catch it at the time. The book was loaded onto Lulu using their old system and it appears that I cannot make that one simple change to the cover art file any longer (maybe I'm missing something). That one change now appears to require that I redo the entire project on Lulu's new system (which is still underwhelming) and I'm not keen to redo the whole project for a single minor change.
Questions
1. Has anyone been able to edit covers in an older Lulu project without having to reload the whole project? If so, how?
2. Does anyone know of a service like Lulu's that can handle color print? I'm unwilling to publish anything else on Lulu given the bad taste it has left me with.
Any insights are deeply appreciated.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2021 13:06:12 GMT
Months ago when Lulu changed with website, there were plenty of problems, no response from Lulu and long waits. Eventually, I retired all but one of several books I had on Lulu and re-published three of them elsewhere (D2D). The process there was easy and quick. The only thing missing at the time was print versions - now resolved. But one glitch remains there - D2D cannot do color printing. The one book I have left on Lulu requires it for several color figures. In the original project on Lulu, there is one error. My cover artist used the word "Forward" not "Foreword" and I didn't catch it at the time. The book was loaded onto Lulu using their old system and it appears that I cannot make that one simple change to the cover art file any longer (maybe I'm missing something). That one change now appears to require that I redo the entire project on Lulu's new system (which is still underwhelming) and I'm not keen to redo the whole project for a single minor change. Questions 1. Has anyone been able to edit covers in an older Lulu project without having to reload the whole project? If so, how? 2. Does anyone know of a service like Lulu's that can handle color print? I'm unwilling to publish anything else on Lulu given the bad taste it has left me with. Any insights are deeply appreciated. If I remember correctly, you can move to the cover stage without making a single other edit. There was a tab bottom right. I had to revise the covers for all my books. Only at the very end did I realize that I could do this without revising the whole project. However, should you wish to try another POD for one project I recommend Ingram Spark. Great quality. The first book setup is free with SELFPPUB (it used to be) coupon code. You can Google it. |
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Post by uptimejim on May 27, 2021 13:47:42 GMT
Months ago when Lulu changed with website, there were plenty of problems, no response from Lulu and long waits. Eventually, I retired all but one of several books I had on Lulu and re-published three of them elsewhere (D2D). The process there was easy and quick. The only thing missing at the time was print versions - now resolved. But one glitch remains there - D2D cannot do color printing. The one book I have left on Lulu requires it for several color figures. In the original project on Lulu, there is one error. My cover artist used the word "Forward" not "Foreword" and I didn't catch it at the time. The book was loaded onto Lulu using their old system and it appears that I cannot make that one simple change to the cover art file any longer (maybe I'm missing something). That one change now appears to require that I redo the entire project on Lulu's new system (which is still underwhelming) and I'm not keen to redo the whole project for a single minor change. Questions 1. Has anyone been able to edit covers in an older Lulu project without having to reload the whole project? If so, how? 2. Does anyone know of a service like Lulu's that can handle color print? I'm unwilling to publish anything else on Lulu given the bad taste it has left me with. Any insights are deeply appreciated. If I remember correctly, you can move to the cover stage without making a single other edit. There was a tab bottom right. I had to revise the covers for all my books. Only at the very end did I realize that I could do this without revising the whole project. However, should you wish to try another POD for one project I recommend Ingram Spark. Great quality. The first book setup is free with SELFPPUB (it used to be) coupon code. You can Google it. Thank you Maggie. I'll have a look at the skip to cover first. It would certainly save a lot of effort. |
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Post by uptimejim on May 27, 2021 14:03:18 GMT
Maggie - tried that. Doesn't work. Still pushes me back to the design of the book content pages. The interior pdf isn't a problem but the cover is a nightmare. It wants me to do something with a template. I do not see why I can't just upload the cover art (it's in the right format). I get a message about it being too small. I give up on lulu. They suck.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2021 15:51:10 GMT
Does Lulu give you the option to Download the Print Ready files for your Project? Not sure if it will generate these for Projects built with the old cover system so worth looking and hoping it does. If so:
Download the files, take the cover PDF, edit\replace what you want, create new PDF, upload as new cover.
No templates, no starting from scratch and there is plenty of free or restricted PDF editing software that will let you make a simple graphical change. (Assuming that is it generates a proper Print Ready cover for you.)
As long as you make sure the size of the new PDF you Upload is exactly the same as the Print Ready one you Download then you should be alright.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2021 17:21:17 GMT
Maggie - tried that. Doesn't work. Still pushes me back to the design of the book content pages. The interior pdf isn't a problem but the cover is a nightmare. It wants me to do something with a template. I do not see why I can't just upload the cover art (it's in the right format). I get a message about it being too small. I give up on lulu. They suck. We all thought the same thing and suffered to figure it out but we did. For me it's been a while. BlueandGold, do you remember? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2021 17:23:51 GMT
Does Lulu give you the option to Download the Print Ready files for your Project? Not sure if it will generate these for Projects built with the old cover system so worth looking and hoping it does. If so: Download the files, take the cover PDF, edit\replace what you want, create new PDF, upload as new cover. No templates, no starting from scratch and there is plenty of free or restricted PDF editing software that will let you make a simple graphical change. (Assuming that is it generates a proper Print Ready cover for you.) As long as you make sure the size of the new PDF you Upload is exactly the same as the Print Ready one you Download then you should be alright. Hmm... Ken had found the new download location a while ago. Ken, do you recall? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2021 17:27:39 GMT
Maggie - tried that. Doesn't work. Still pushes me back to the design of the book content pages. The interior pdf isn't a problem but the cover is a nightmare. It wants me to do something with a template. I do not see why I can't just upload the cover art (it's in the right format). I get a message about it being too small. I give up on lulu. They suck. You can. Just hold tight. I don't want to risk damaging one of my projects so we just have to wait for BlueandGold or Jesus Ninja. I'm sure they remember. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2021 17:29:37 GMT
Maggie - tried that. Doesn't work. Still pushes me back to the design of the book content pages. The interior pdf isn't a problem but the cover is a nightmare. It wants me to do something with a template. I do not see why I can't just upload the cover art (it's in the right format). I get a message about it being too small. I give up on lulu. They suck. It's an entirely different size. You can just prepare the cover and re-upload. Download the template from IngramSparks. Same thing. |
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Post by BlueAndGold on May 28, 2021 1:35:56 GMT
If you go My Projects and click on the title of your book it will take you to Project Details. Right there at the top right is a gray button to download your files. That is also where you can scroll down and revise Copyright, Promotional details and Pricing and Payee information. I too am reticent to risk an unwanted revision of one of my projects right now, but if I recall all you have to do is click the project's Revise button then across the top you will see several choices as to what you want to edit. One of those is for the cover and interior files. If memory serves (big caveat) you will have to scroll almost all the way down to the bottom of that screen and you will find where you can upload the new cover. No need to upload a new interior (even though it might ask).
I never use the template. I just use DoPDF to precisely size the cover image to the requirements then upload that. The new uploaded image will appear in the preview window where you can verify the trim sizes and such.
I hope that helps. It's been a long day and my memory is a little fuzzy from the last time I did a cover.
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Post by uptimejim on May 28, 2021 10:17:09 GMT
Thank you all. Your memories are correct. There must have been some problem with the file format. Ended up creating a cover (front back and spine) on MS Word, saving as a PDF, then uploaded that. It worked!
The good news (for Lulu) is that that book (which requires color figures) will stay on Lulu. If this book gets revised though - it will get B&W artwork and move away. All this should not be needed for a system that users should be able to use easily.
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Post by carolyn on May 30, 2021 17:09:43 GMT
I'm still havnig difficulty revising EPUB files... keeps telling me that file is being processed before I even try to upload. Annoyed that they say this is fixed but it's not. Told me that they were closing the ticket and would let me know when it's fixed. Anybody got any better intel on this situation? Also... am unable to revise PDFs... on at least two titles. Let's me upload, but won't let me tick any boxes when I get to the review stage. Help!!!
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