Monthly Archives: June 2008

by Cary Allman PR Intern
June 30, 2008
Comments (1)

Dust off those photos…

In Howto, Lulu Blog — Tagged: , , , ,

My European Adventure

If you’re like me, then you probably still have all the pictures from that fabulous vacation you took last year taking up memory on your digital camera, or if you were really productive, then you might have transferred them to your computer. Now they’re sitting in your “My Pictures” folder, and you’re wondering what to do with them.

Fortunately, we have an answer; publish a photo book on Lulu!

Recently, I took the pictures from my trip to Europe last spring (yes, as in 2007) and made a book using the Lulu studio. I was amazed at how easy it was. The entire process took less than two hours of my time, and most of that was choosing which pictures I wanted to use. Did I mention I had a lot of them?

With the Lulu Studio photo book tool, you can control

  • The binding and trim size
  • Which of the different themes you want to add to the style and look of your book (ex: modern, wedding, summer vacation, holiday, etc.)
  • The various formats for each page complete with allotments for captions and text.

Once you’re done, voila…you have designed and published your very own photo book. Not to mention, freed up a little more space on your memory card.

Helpful Hint: Remember to edit your pictures, if need be, before uploading them.

by Adam Guida
June 24, 2008
Comments (10)

A couple recent happenings here at Lulu…

In New Features — Tagged: , , , , , ,
  • Free ISBNS and Expanded eligibility – Did I stutter? No, seriously! For a limited time only we are offering our PBL (Published By Lulu) ISBN service w/ retail distribution, free of charge! Click here for more details.

In addition, we’ve also just recently introduced a new expanded eligibility plan for distribution which should allow more published content into our distribution programs than ever before. Check to see if your book is eligible and sign up today!

  • Lulu users in the UK will be pleased to learn that we’ve expanded our payment options to allow payments using the Visa Electron in £ (GBP). In the coming months, we hope to offer even more payment options in both £ Pounds Sterling as well as the € Euro.
  • For Photo book creators we’ve expanded on some image editing features in the Lulu Studio™ allowing users to rotate the angle of their images within a photo book. If your digital photos were taken at an angle that prevents them from displaying right side up, simply hover your mouse over the image to display a “rotate” icon which will allow you to rotate your image 90 degrees at a time.

ls_rotate.JPG

Lulu Studio now allows you to rotate imageswithin your photo book.

 

  • Flash Previews are now available for Lulu Studio™. We’re happy to announce that we are able to offer the same Flash-based previews for Lulu Studio photo books that we offer for our full line of book products.

previews2.jpg

 

  • Lulu’s Community Homepage has had a bit of a makeover. While aside from appearance, not a whole lot has changed, we think you’ll find the new layout much more appealing and user-friendly.

communityhomepage2.jpg

 

Additional release notes and other fixes have also been posted here in the forums.

-Adam

by
June 20, 2008
Comments (6)

Lulu in Sixty

In Lulu Blog, Lulu on the Web — Tagged: , , ,

Lulu TV

Lulu wants to hear from you, and see you, too!

As much as we would love to pack up our camera equipment, get in the car, and stop by your house, we just can’t. Gas prices are too high, and who would run the blog while we were gone?

That’s why we’re asking you to come to us, or more precisely, to our blog. If you have created a product on Lulu, make a video telling us about it. Be creative, be inventive, but please, keep it clean. And not too long—thus Lulu in Sixty, like seconds. Our assembled team of expert bloggers will pick the ones that make us laugh, cry, or just scratch our heads, and post them on the blog!

Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Tell us about yourself and your Lulu project

• What inspired you to create your project? [And/or] How did you first become interested in the subject of your project?

• How does Lulu make possible for you what previously might have been impossible/very difficult?

• Are there any colorful, unusual/offbeat, surprising, amusing details, facts or stories?

• Fill in the blank: One thing that few people know about me is ________________.

• What do you do to bring out your inner muse?

• If you were being sent to a deserted island, what three things would you take with you?

Send us a link to your video to socialnetworking@lulu.com.

Enough blogging for now, let’s start vlogging!

by Dan London Director of Online Marketing
June 18, 2008
No Comments

In Memory of Lulu Author Kit Gleave

In Author Spotlight, Lulu News — Tagged: ,

Lulu lost a good friend and a great author on May 23rd.

Kit Gleave

Kit Gleave, author of the Stone Messiahs series passed away in Bath, England last month. I never met Kit, but corresponded with him numerous times about marketing his writing.

I was born in London and enjoyed, or more to the point, detested the cheapest education money could buy. Luckily this fiasco didn’t last long and six weeks after my 15th birthday, proudly holding my diploma for swimming 100 yards, I was sent to No 10 Downing Street where, in recognition of this accomplishment, I was given the task of handing tools to the guys who hung the doors in the corridors of power.

After three years of mind bleaching boredom I quit carpentry and started life afresh. Fortune smiled and I landed the lead role in Duffer, a well received independent movie. This led to stage management with the Quipu Theatre, the infamous Angie Bowie Road Show and Crisis Cabaret. But painting had always been my great passion and after marrying my wife, Isobel, and moving to the heritage city of Bath I dedicated more and more time to it.

However, I also had a passion for words but due to dyslexia putting them down was a problem. Then entered the computer age and I was free to start teaching myself to write. My first full-length novel “The Stone Messiahs”, told in two parts, “A Child of Two Worlds” and “The Circle”, is the story of a lost human history and of those whose struggle it is to rekindle the promise of its ancient and unimaginable secrets.

His widow, Isobel, is currently editing Kit’s third book. Head to Kit’s storefront to learn more about Kit and his writing.

by Carol Housel Community Advocate
June 13, 2008
Comments (20)

How to create the BEST book trailer, EVER. (seriously.)

In Howto, Lulu Blog, Marketing Tips — Tagged: , , , ,

Book Trailer

Book trailers. You’ve seen ‘em and thought to yourself, “I could do that.” Perhaps you thought “I could do that better!” I’m here to tell you how!

  • First, write a book. This is the most difficult part of creating a book trailer. Once you’ve got that down, you are almost finished.
  • Publish your book on Lulu.com. This is imperative and will ensure that your book trailer will better than everyone else’s.
  • Be creative. Some book trailers have narrators explaining what the book is about, some book trailers are just words on the screen describing the book. I say make it interesting. You are obviously a creative person, you wrote a book! Use your imagination. Try asking some friends to act out an important scene in your book or maybe explain why people should buy your book using interpretive dance. What ever you do, be creative.

Avoid the book trailer pitfalls of despair:

Continue Reading »

by Lauren Parker Senior Communications Specialist
June 4, 2008
Comments (5)

Tips & Tricks: Put Your Best Foot Foward with a New and Improved Storefront

In Howto, Tips and Tricks — Tagged: , ,

How to Improve Your Storefront!

Your storefront needs to do a lot: it should be eye-catching and easy to read, and have everything a customer needs to know. With Lulu’s storefront tools, you can make your storefront welcoming and unforgettable. Here are a few ideas on improving your storefront:

  • Give your storefront a title. The title is not only the name of your storefront, but it’s also what is displayed in the top bar of your browser, and the link on which users click when they find your site in search results.
  • The long and short of it.
    • Short Description: The short description is your storefront’s meta-description and is limited to 512 characters. This description will be displayed under your storefront’s title in search results, and should reiterate your storefront keywords and summarize what your storefront is about.
    • Long Description: With the long description, you can enter as much information as you like, and use HTML. This will be displayed on your storefront, and is a good place to put in author bio, mission statement, and a complete description of your book.
  • Add a bio. If you’re an expert in the field you’re writing on, let the audience know. You can use html code here to insert images and links. Don’t forget to provide a link to your email address. This will allow potential customers to contact you directly with any questions, or praise! For a crash course in HTML coding, check out: http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
  • Make it attractive. You can customize colors and fonts when you build your storefront. Be sure to keep in the style and tone of your book. If your book is funny, bright colors are great. If it is for an academic audience, perhaps you want something more subdued.

Continue Reading »

by Nick Popio Social Networking Team Lead
June 3, 2008
No Comments

Generations of Baseball

In Lulu News — Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

By Rob Katz

There are always a few topics that are unique to each family and how they communicate with each other that invariably gets brought up at every birthday, holiday or family picnic.  For my family, one of those subjects has always been baseball.  My brothers and I played the game growing up, we watched it and maybe most memorably we debated it with my dad and grandfather for hours with no less fervor in the off-season than if it were at the all-star break in June.

Maybe it’s because Father’s Day is right around the corner, and now have two sons of my own. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading Lulu author Dan Migala’s new book, “Dugout Wisdom”. Whatever the reason, I keep coming back to the fact that playing and talking about baseball has always been an important part of my family.
Dugout Wisdom
Baseball has been called a “thinking man’s game” – a phrase probably coined by someone who over-analyzed their team’s roster, off-season trades and managerial moves – like my grandfather.  Growing up in NY, he became a Mets fan because he a) favored  the National League better, b) the Giants and Dodgers left NY and moved West and c) he hated the Yankees.  He also grew up watching the game before relief pitching became a specialty and double switches were more commonplace in late innings.  He disliked the changes, yelled at the TV and swore that the guy making the moves, Mets manager Davey Johnson, was destined to be a “second place manager for life” because of his game management.  The year was 1986 and the Mets won the World Series.  My grandfather loved every minute of it (although not once did he credit Johnson).  My grandfather passed away in 1991 and to this day, if I hear Davey Johnson’s name, I find myself thinking of my grandfather with a little chuckle.

Baseball is a game that has been a cross-generational bond over the years. With my boys, I have tried to pass on the family tradition.  Luckily, my wife likes  the game as well (and her dad and brother are now in the “debates”), so our annual tradition of skipping work and school when we lived in South Florida to watch the Marlins on Opening Day wasn’t just approved, it was expected.

This idea of talking about and playing baseball being something that families can share is one of the reasons I love “Dugout Wisdom”. Not only can you share stories and life lessons from some of the game’s greats like Ryne Sandberg, Whitey Ford, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, but with you can also add a personal message to the cover to give “Dad” a special Father’s Day gift he will remember. I know I’ll be ordering two myself. Thanks Dan and happy early Father’s Day to all.