We have a paperback book published by a publisher who doesn't use Lightning Source....?

Question

We have a paperback book published by a publisher who doesn't use Lightning Source....?

Answer 1

As an antidote to a really discouraging day struggling with InDesign, I've decided to put together a guide to the most popular print-on-demand services used by self-publishers. At least two of you folks here might be interested by this information. :)



(Those of you who are knowledgeable, please correct any mistakes I've made.)



Currently, the Big Three are Lulu, CreateSpace, and Lightning Source. All three services take care of printing and distributing books for self-publishers, for fees that range from moderate to zero. All three are recommended frequently enough to suggest that they're reasonably satisfactory services. I've only used Lulu myself, but I've hung out at forums where CreateSpace and Lightning Source self-publishers post.



Types of services: Lulu is divided into three services: Basic Distribution (in which the books are distributed only at Lulu's Website; this service is free), Published By Lulu (in which the books are distributed at Amazon.com, with Lulu as the publisher on record), and Published By You (in which the books are distributed in a variety of places, with the self-publisher as the publisher on record). In most cases (though not all), CreateSpace offers better profits than Published By Lulu and Published By You. However, CreateSpace only distributes to Amazon.com, so Published By You is an option for self-publishers who want to be distributed widely but don't want to deal with Lightning Source.



The remainder of this entry is about Lulu Basic, the free Lulu plan that provides the most profits to the self-publisher.



Extent of distribution: Lulu e-store only. In other words, people are unlikely to stumble across your books while looking for something else; you will have to do more extensive marketing to readers than if you chose other services. (Lulu seems to be changing this at the moment by allowing its Basic books to be sold through Amazon Marketplace, but that information isn't yet available in their Help menu.)



Friendly to international customers? Yes and no. Lulu has several printers around the world, but anyone living outside those countries may need to pay hefty shipping fees.



Customer support: Primarily through Lulu's very active forums, though one-on-one support is available too.



Minimum level of technical expertise needed: Beginner. Lulu offers the option of cover templates and automated translation into PDF. On the other hand, if you're an expert, Lulu will let you do everything from scratch. Its publishing process is simple.



Fees: There is no set-up fee for the Basic plan. Lulu takes twenty percent of the profit from every book sold. Its printing fees are higher than that of the other services.



Profit per book: Moderate, under the Basic plan.



ISBN needed? Since the books are only sold at Lulu, an ISBN isn't needed, unless you're selling the books through another self-publishing service too. That lack of an ISBN can save you a lot of money, and you can still be listed at Lulu as the publisher on record.



Pros and cons: Everyone agrees that Lulu is the ideal service for very small distribution - say, if you're likely to sell your book to under a hundred readers. It's also great for creating review copies.



However, Lulu Basic won't get your book onto the sites of online booksellers (except, maybe, Amazon Marketplace, depending on how that experiment goes), and the other two Lulu distribution plans cost so much per book that you'll have to price your book uncompetitively high, in most cases. However, if you're not interested in big sales, or if you're a total neophyte and don't want to spend a lot of time learning how to publish, Lulu is a good choice.

Answer 2

Paperback



Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or cardboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples.



Use



Paperback editions of books are issued when a company decides to release a book in a low cost format. The lack of a hard cover, stitched bindings, and frequently the use of cheaper paper, contribute to the inherent low cost of paperbacks, especially when compared to the average cost of hardcovers.

Paperbacks can be the preferred medium when a book is not expected to be a major seller, or in other situations where the publisher wishes to release a book without putting forth a large investment. Examples include many novels, and new editions or reprintings of older books. Publishers must balance the larger profit to be made by selling a small number of hardcovers with a large profit per unit -- against the potentially larger profit to be made by selling a large number of paperbacks with a small profit per unit. Many modern books, especially genre fiction, are first editions in paperback. Only the best-selling books, such as 2003's The Da Vinci Code, can maintain sales in hardcover sufficiently to delay a paperback edition for longer than a year.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperback -

Answer 3

People who have worked in the publishing industry in any capacity are often dubious of the claims made for the print-on-demand publishing model, because it violates the "rules" of publishing as they know them. Our best answer to the critics is to start off with a case study of a year in the life of an actual POD book, published by the author through Lightning Source, including the actual sales, profits, and trends. It's important to get an overview of the whole process and costs at the outset. If you have trouble following the discussion the first time through, just keep an eye on the dollars. This case study appears in my book about print-on-demand publishing, available for $14.95 through Amazon.



"Start Your Own Computer Business" was published by Foner Books in December 2002. The book is a 6" x 9" paperback at 168 pages, and Lightning Source charges Foner Books $3.09 for each copy printed for distribution. The first thing that will occur to anybody who's been involved in traditional publishing is that the same book could be printed on an offset press for around $1.00 each in large quantity. Here's where the print-on-demand and traditional publishing models diverge. There never are "large quantities" involved with POD, no tons of books to warehouse or thousands of dollars to tie up in inventory. Even more important for a small publisher using Lighting Source, there's no shipping cost for books sold into distribution.



Publishers sell books to distributors and bookstores at a discount off the cover price, enabling the final retail outlet and any middlemen to make a profit. The normal discount rate that distributors require from publishers, the percentage off the cover price the publisher gives the distributor for a book that they resell to a retail outlet, is 55% or more. Small offset publishers who qualify for Ingram distribution may be charged 60%, and other distributors can charge 70% or more of the cover price to stock and distribute your books. In other words, the only time a publisher is ever paid the cover price on their books is if they sell them directly to the customer, usually by mail order.



Ingram will carry Lightning Source print-on-demand books on a "short-discount" basis, a discount less than 55%. Foner Books assigned a 35% discount on the $14.95 cover price of "Start Your Own Computer Business" so the book is sold by Lightning Source to Ingram, Amazon, and other wholesale customers, for $9.72. Here's where the math really departs from the traditional publishing model: $9.72 - $3.09 (the printing fee) leaves the publisher with $6.63, which happens to be 44% of the cover price. This price was chosen to correspond with the average net for a trade publisher before expenses such as book development, author royalties, etc. This 44% of the cover is entirely hands-off, with no inventory or storage costs, no shipping and handling, and virtually no returns since the book is only printed in accordance with demand.

Answer 4

Lightning Source Inc., the industry leader for providing digital content management solutions to the book industry and Amazon.co .uk, the premier online retailer in the United Kingdom have expanded upon an already robust digital services partnership, with the introduction of a direct print-on-demand and fulfillment arrangement.



When Amazon.co .uk customers place an order for a book that is in the Lightning Source Digital Library, Lightning Source will print the titles "on demand" - whether the order is for one book or any number of books with Lightning Sources' true one-at-a-time print-on-demand technology. Once ordered, the books will be printed and sent by Lightning Source direct to the Amazon.co .uk Milton Keynes Distribution Centre for shipment to customers. For example, paperback books will be printed and shipped by Lightning Source to Amazon within 48 hours.



As a result of the new direct fulfillment arrangement, the selection of books Amazon.co .uk offers to its customers will increase. Lightning Source partners with some of the best known publishers in the world. Books from Cambridge University Press, Carcanet Publishing, Constable Robinson, Oxford University Press, Pluto Press, Salt Publishing and many others will now be orderable through Amazon.co .uk.



"Lightning Source is delighted to launch direct fulfillment services with Amazon UK", said Ed Marino, President and CEO, Lightning Source Inc. "In the United States, Lightning Source and Amazon .com currently enjoy huge success with the direct fulfillment program that is being duplicated in the UK. The model is a proven model that works and provides rewards for the entire book value chain. Everyone from authors to publishers to customers will benefit from this calibre of direct delivery. Bottom line - delivery times of books are enhanced, raising the bar on customer service and enhancing book sales."



Lightning Source currently enjoys partnerships with Amazon .com, Amazon.co .uk, Amazon .de and Amazon.co .jp providing cutting edge digital content and fulfillment solutions to the best-known on-line retailer in the world.

Answer 5

Although you said you asked your publisher ask again. If no answer look at your contract carefully. Usually there should be no problems with your paperback or hardback editions being listed but, you have to check your publisher's and Amazon's policies on ebook editions that are placed on kindle. Especially Amazon's clauses about the "look inside" edition.

Answer 6

riginally posted at Kreelan Warrior, the site of Michael R. Hicks, author of the science fiction series, In Her Name - “Fans of epic fantasy as well as science fiction lovers will find an enjoyable read here, particularly those who love to visit unique worlds with some seriously beautiful worldbuilding.”



For those who may be thinking about Lightning Source (LSI), I wanted to give you a quick rundown on what it takes to at least get your foot in the door and get an account.



The first thing you need to keep in mind is that Lightning Source is not a path for those who don’t know how or aren’t willing to do all the in-depth pre-press work. This company is geared toward working with publishers who have technical people working the nuts and bolts of getting a book to press. They’re willing to work with authors, as well, as long as you really understand what you’re getting into.



So, what’s involved? First, assuming you’re up for the technical side of it, you log onto their site and go through the account creation process. A few things you’ll need up front: your company information; ISBN prefix from at least one of your ISBNs; charge card information so they can charge the necessary fees when you get that far; and bank account information (account number and routing number) for where your royalties will go. As far as I know, they don’t verify that you’re a company, but if you’ve gone this far in getting your book published, you’re silly if you don’t at least set up a sole proprietorship or LLC so you can write off your business expenses (there are lots of other good reasons to do this as a business, but that one goes directly to your wallet or pocketbook).