Today’s post is in response to blog reader Todd Fonseca, who asked about my thoughts on the Borders/Lulu relationship. For those who may not know about this, please visit the website, Borders Personal Publishing. The Podpeep review site also touched on it briefly, and I have to say I agree with their viewpoint. My biggest problem with the relationship lies in the fact that Borders admits they don’t have in-store placement for books published through their own services. Lulu is an online bookstore and website, and while it is much easier to offer countless numbers of books online for purchase which have yet to be printed, it would be like Lulu opening a chain of bookstores and then charging their own authors for physical shelf space.
If a brick and mortar book company like Borders wants to finally tap into the POD market, they should be willing to promote it in store, even if it was just with select titles. When Barnes and Noble invested in iUniverse, they at least devoted a section in store to a few noteworthy titles on a monthly basis. When I worked for B&N in 2000, I remember changing these shelves out each month. Granted, we only stocked about 10 titles, and only about 3 or 4 copies of each, but they were there in the store and readily available and on the first row in the fiction section all faced out.
I think this relationship works more in Lulu’s favor though. They have the possibility to reach a broader market, and new customers, with Borders linked to their name. People who may have never heard of Lulu, but certainly have heard of Borders, may tap into it. It’s all about branding. Would you trust a lil online company called Lulu that you know nothing about, or are you more apt to go for a big name bookstore at your local shopping mall which you pass by every day?
Let’s take a look at the services they offer:
ISBN Registration: $49.00
Interior Page Design and Formatting: $249.00
Editorial Evaulation: $299.00
Professional Copy Editing: $599.00
Standard Package: $299.00 includes Interior Page Design and Formatting, 1 Free Proof Copy, ISBN Registration, and a free self-publishing guide (whatever that is). A total of one dollar more than the individual prices listed above.
Premium Package: $499.00 includes Editorial Evaluation, Interior Page Design and Formatting, 1 Free Proof Copy, ISBN Registration, and a free self-publishing guide. A savings of actually 98 dollars from the individual prices listed above.
I also see this as a way for Lulu to finally start strategically competing with other POD companies who have publishing packages like this starting at $900.00, but without having to upset its fans and supporters so far who have enjoyed its completely free services. After all, the “publish your book” link on the Borders site redirects you completely to Lulu.
Lulu has nothing to lose except for customers like Podpeep who may not be happy with this new team, but shame on Borders for not shelving the very books they are trying to profit from. If you can’t give up a shelf, one single three foot shelf with a lil sign saying “Fresh New Faces” or something of the like, then get out of the POD picture! C’mon! How many booklights, and coffee mugs, and blank journals do you really sell? I pass hundreds of skus and chachka, a mere puzzling eyesore of dump bins and boxes of candy, on my way to the register when all I came in for was a book. So sell me a book already. You are a bookstore, right? Speak book then. Speak book!
“Where do you keep your books?”
