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Post by tasmanianartist on Jun 8, 2020 1:40:43 GMT
I stumbled upon Sweek (dot com) - a Dutch POD publisher in Holland (Rotterdam), easy to navigate and get a book up. No up front cost like some that charge like a wounded bull. Has anyone had dealings with them? Good? Bad? Reliable? I'm giving it a try because I don't want ISBN, and they don't hide the fact that you don't require an ISBN if you only -sell yourself / -sell on their own website/online shop. Cheers
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2020 3:54:30 GMT
I stumbled upon Sweek (dot com) - a Dutch POD publisher in Holland (Rotterdam), easy to navigate and get a book up. No up front cost like some that charge like a wounded bull. Has anyone had dealings with them? Good? Bad? Reliable? I'm giving it a try because I don't want ISBN, and they don't hide the fact that you don't require an ISBN if you only -sell yourself / -sell on their own website/online shop. Cheers
Yes I found Sweek too and after studying it carefully made ehquiries here. benziger told me it was a Dutch company. I was considering it but I think I'll go with KDP. I'll wait until the end of June to make a decision then it will probably be "Au revoir" Lulu |
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Post by Winterisgone on Jun 8, 2020 3:54:50 GMT
I stumbled upon Sweek (dot com) - a Dutch POD publisher in Holland (Rotterdam), easy to navigate and get a book up. No up front cost like some that charge like a wounded bull. Has anyone had dealings with them? Good? Bad? Reliable? I'm giving it a try because I don't want ISBN, and they don't hide the fact that you don't require an ISBN if you only -sell yourself / -sell on their own website/online shop. Cheers
There are quite a few. Streetlib, Ingrams Spark, KDP, and more. |
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Post by Winterisgone on Jun 8, 2020 3:57:25 GMT
I was really trying to hang in there and stay at Lulu but I'm thinking of leaving soon too. My books are starting to show as out of stock on online stores. Why? Still no report yet, promised on Friday. No refund on proof, one of my books retired without my permission that I wanted to be on Amazon. It's just crazy.
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Post by tasmanianartist on Jun 9, 2020 5:59:47 GMT
The more I look at others, the more 'same' it all becomes. Sweek.com equals Mybestseller.co.uk equals Bookmundo.de ... they are triplets (there's probably others, too, from the same litter). And then looking at the 'new' Lulu ... which looks now like a cousin of the three triplets. (As long as it isn't Amazon ... personal pet pieve - each to his own ... I just don't want to be dictated to paying money first, or have every man and his dog dip his paws into my earnings, no matter how small). I think the triplets are worth a look - reminds me of Lulu a la 2008, when things were running easy.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2020 10:02:58 GMT
The more I look at others, the more 'same' it all becomes. Sweek.com equals Mybestseller.co.uk equals Bookmundo.de ... they are triplets (there's probably others, too, from the same litter). And then looking at the 'new' Lulu ... which looks now like a cousin of the three triplets. (As long as it isn't Amazon ... personal pet pieve - each to his own ... I just don't want to be dictated to paying money first, or have every man and his dog dip his paws into my earnings, no matter how small). I think the triplets are worth a look - reminds me of Lulu a la 2008, when things were running easy. You can do Direct Sales only at Ingram Spark. When they send you the email to approve your book, you have three options. Select the one without distribution. INGRAMSPARK2020 coupon code for free setup. |
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Post by benziger on Jun 9, 2020 14:25:46 GMT
I did not find any information in the FAQ:
- What's it like to have your own ISBN. Can mand use them there?
- For sure: ISBN costs (a little) money.
- There are no landscape formats and only one big square (called quadrilateral?!).
I published in the last weeks new books with IngramSpark and Maggie's coupon (see link above, until end of June) for free. Unlike Lulu, the proof copy is delivered electronically. This is not 100% comparable, e.g. in terms of colours, but free of charge.
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Post by tasmanianartist on Jun 10, 2020 1:29:39 GMT
The more I look at others, the more 'same' it all becomes. Sweek.com equals Mybestseller.co.uk equals Bookmundo.de ... they are triplets (there's probably others, too, from the same litter). And then looking at the 'new' Lulu ... which looks now like a cousin of the three triplets. (As long as it isn't Amazon ... personal pet pieve - each to his own ... I just don't want to be dictated to paying money first, or have every man and his dog dip his paws into my earnings, no matter how small). I think the triplets are worth a look - reminds me of Lulu a la 2008, when things were running easy. You can do Direct Sales only at Ingram Spark. When they send you the email to approve your book, you have three options. Select the one without distribution. INGRAMSPARK2020 coupon code for free setup. First thing IngramSpark wanted to know was my business (I'm retired) and the second, my bank details. Why do US outfits always want to know everyone's bank details? No Paypal at IngramSpark? Couldn't go any further to find out without entering my bank details. Not for me. Also, it seems that without a coupon, a book setup is not free. I'm not one to pay for the privilege of having worked hard before I see a book. |
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Post by tasmanianartist on Jun 10, 2020 1:32:15 GMT
I did not find any information in the FAQ:
- What's it like to have your own ISBN. Can mand use them there?
- For sure: ISBN costs (a little) money.
- There are no landscape formats and only one big square (called quadrilateral?!).
I published in the last weeks new books with IngramSpark and Maggie's coupon (see link above, until end of June) for free. Unlike Lulu, the proof copy is delivered electronically. This is not 100% comparable, e.g. in terms of colours, but free of charge.
I think I've made my choice - all three belong to the same world-wide outfit, and have come back to me with 'human' contact via email. No ISBN needed for personal selling or selling on their website shops only, and they have Paypal (no pesky noseying into my bank details). What I don't know yet is the quality of the printed book. But that will come in time. |
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Post by JesusNinja on Jun 10, 2020 1:50:31 GMT
Tasmanianartist look into StreetLib. They pay with PayPal. I've contacted them today. They said no fees or limits to get paid that way. They have U.S. and Italy outlets. Only the Italy one does paperback. The U.s. store does ebooks only but seems to have a great distribution. There is also a dashboard to monitor sales unlike Lulu. You will also get an email from them each month asking you to approve the amount of sales and money. Then you get paid. Again not at lulu. You can also publish in any language it seems. Another plus. www.streetlib.com/ |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2020 2:16:07 GMT
You can do Direct Sales only at Ingram Spark. When they send you the email to approve your book, you have three options. Select the one without distribution. INGRAMSPARK2020 coupon code for free setup. First thing IngramSpark wanted to know was my business (I'm retired) and the second, my bank details. Why do US outfits always want to know everyone's bank details? No Paypal at IngramSpark? Couldn't go any further to find out without entering my bank details. Not for me. Also, it seems that without a coupon, a book setup is not free. I'm not one to pay for the privilege of having worked hard before I see a book. I just Googled if Ingram Spark pays through PayPal. They do. They also have free setup for more than 6 months a year. Write to them if you have questions. They are extremely professional and even have phone support. Just say writer as your profession. I highly recommend them. Lower printing prices, bookstores order your books. They treat you with respect as opposed to just a desperate self publisher. |
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Post by benziger on Jun 10, 2020 5:46:34 GMT
First thing IngramSpark wanted to know was my business (I'm retired) and the second, my bank details. Why do US outfits always want to know everyone's bank details? No Paypal at IngramSpark? Couldn't go any further to find out without entering my bank details. Not for me. Also, it seems that without a coupon, a book setup is not free. I'm not one to pay for the privilege of having worked hard before I see a book. I don't want to prevent anyone from not having the money transferred directly from bank account to bank account, but to take the detour via a less regulated provider, which also has its margin again (e.g. Paypal).
I am on the board of an association . After a fundraising campaign our Paypal association account with several thousends was blocked there on December 29, 2019 due to suspicion of money laundering and although we did everything Paypal asked for (upload a passport copy of the person in charge; apparently EU passports are not accepted passports for a US company as 5x refused, etc. etc.), the money is still blocked in June 2020. The financial supervision of the respective country has been on board since February and supports us to get our money back. Apparently this is not an isolated case when you ask consumer protection organisations in Europe, Australia and the USA. If this happens, the account is often frozen for 6 months or even more. Therefore my tip: If you have to use Paypal, always keep the account balance absolutely low; withdraw the money.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2020 15:07:15 GMT
Sweek.com equals Mybestseller.co.uk equals Bookmundo.de ... they are triplets (there's probably others, too, from the same litter).
I tried Mybestseller but they told me that the minimum number of pages for my book is 57. I had fewer pages, so i couldn't use Mybestseller. Also they charge for an isbn number.
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Post by Rob on Jun 14, 2020 11:34:54 GMT
I put a couple alternatives up on Lulu`s facebook page and promptly got banned for doing so. Glad to have found this resource.
I`ve yet to find an alternative that offers the same things as lulu, I did find it extremely easy to use in its old format and customer service was helpful on the two occasions I used it.
Like Tasmanianartist, I don`t like giving bank details out so would still prefer paypal as a means of payments.
During the early stages of covid lockdown I managed to start on three projects, but the state of play at Lulu has really stumped my motivation.
Personally I think Lulu will collapse at some point in the near future, their income must have dropped immeasurably.
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Post by benziger on Jun 17, 2020 11:08:40 GMT
I put a couple alternatives up on Lulu`s facebook page and promptly got banned for doing so. Glad to have found this resource. That would have been the case with us until the end of last year. But since Lulu wanted to close the doors of the forum, we made ourselves independent. Some authors have come along, some new ones... voilà. Rob, if you like, you can publish your contribution here again. Most people here would probably prefer to just stay with Lulu, not change anything. Depending on the situation of the individual author, one or the other feels compelled to consider an alternative in view of the technical problems or the continuing uncertainty.
NB. If you write thematically appropriate articles or answers in a respectable tone, nobody here will lock you out. (only misinformation related to the COVID-19 outbreak are forbidden by our hosting company)
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