Events

by AJ McDonald Public Relations
November 13, 2009
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Lulu Takes Manhattan! – Sponsors Self Publishing Book Expo

In Events, Lulu Blog — Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

November 7th Lulu sponsored and attended the first annual Self-Publishing Book Expo (SPBE) at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers.  While the event drew a modest crowd, SPBE offered a great chance for Lulu to speak with the community both one on one and through our various workshops and executive-led panels.  All of the Lulu staff involved were proud to be a part of something that inspires creativity while informing authors of all their options.  Even our CEO Bob Young made it out to the event to discuss Lulu’s exciting transition into open-publishing!

Lulu had a great presence at SPBE.  We had a sizable booth space, and passed out reusable tote bags.  At one point, people in the hotel lobby asked where they could get one of the “cool orange bags”.  We had a contest and gave away some bose in-ear headphones and a Primer Publishing Pack.  From 9:30 am – 5:00 pm, Lulu staff manned the booth to field questions, educate people on the Lulu process, and offer demonstrations.  Nick and Harish gave a well-attended panel on how social networking will change self-publishing.  I think everyone learned a lot from the experience on both ends.

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For me, the event reinforced why I work at Lulu.  At its core, Lulu is about sharing ideas and spreading knowledge.  We understand that you’ve worked really hard to get your content out there and you want to get it in front of as many people as possible.  Things like Lulu’s non-exclusivity and extensive distribution options are things that should go hand-in-hand with self-publishing.  When I explained all the things we currently do and plan on doing to help make an author’s self-published book more visible, people’s jaws honestly dropped! It was a great feeling, and I look forward to more opportunities to interact with customers face-to-face.

We got some great ideas in New York while introducing people to the idea of open-publishing.  Lulu hopes to continue to be a part of events like SPBE that give us the opportunity to just talk with people.  If you have suggestions of events or community gatherings you think Lulu should be a part of, please don’t hesitate to send them in!

by AJ McDonald Public Relations
March 30, 2009
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Building Up Lulu

In Events, Lulu Blog, Lulu News — Tagged: , ,

Lulu has always been an innovative company, but I didn’t realize how much so until I started working here.  I am still a baby at Lulu (only in week three of my employment as I write this), but I have already witnessed a great deal of progress in my short time here, namely in the new building that serves as Lulu’s headquarters.img_04952

For months after I graduated from North Carolina State I would drive down Hillsborough Street, stealing glances into what had been an abandoned North Carolina Equipment Company factory.  Now, instead of dust collecting on unused parts and piles of ambiguous boxes, there was quite a stir in the red-bricked Raleigh landmark.  A small sign eventually appeared on the outside that said “Lulu.com.” I had heard great things about Lulu and their unique approach to publishing from some of my classes at NCSU.  I kept Lulu in the back of my mind.  I took that sign as a calling – I had to work there.

The infamous yellow tractor

The vision behind recycling an old, worn down building and making it a center for industry again is one that not enough companies maintain these days.  Revitalizing the 28,800 square feet of space was certainly an ambitious move. Graffiti, weeds, trash and the like all needed to be cleared out.  The building was more or less gutted, adding collaborative work spaces, skylights, art from local galleries, and well-stocked break rooms.  However, the pieces that give the building integrity and character remain in place.  Lulu simply modernized and expanded upon the behemoth, keeping the greatest part:  the signature yellow tractor that sits atop the roof. But what really catches the eye now is the new entrance. What used to be a simple, rusty garage door is now a giant arching wood ceiling supported by massive steel beams.

Lulu invites local technoloimg_03011gy and publication groups to utilize the new space for meetings.  Guests will immediately be able to see the thought and planning that went into the company’s main facility, and will be pulled into Lulu’s brand of style and innovation as well.

The building has created hype all around town and has rejuvenated people’s interests in this area of Hillsborough Street. Whenever I mention where I work, I always hear,  “Oh the tractor building?  Cool!”  It’s impossible to miss.  The excitement the structure has created also energizes the employees within.  The building is a symbol for Lulu’s growth and success.  You can tell from the outside that things are abuzz in this facility, but it’s not until one enters that it becomes truly evident of how much is really going on.

by Adam Guida
November 7, 2008
Comments (1)

Lulu Site Highlights

In Events, Lulu News —

Last week we made several exciting changes to the site, rolling out some new features and a few new publishing options we hope you’ll enjoy.

Here are some highlights:

New Publisher Grade Paper – A new lower-cost paper option is now available for Lulu users. Books published in 8.5″ x 11″ B&W or the brand new “digest” trim size of 5.5″ x 8.5″ B&W will now have an option for this new economical paper. If you’re a cost conscious author wishing to reduce the cost of your books, while still maintaining the high quality you’ve come to expect from Lulu, then you’ll want to consider Publisher Grade Paper. Specifically, the Publisher Grade Paper is a little thinner than our Lulu “Traditional” paper, resulting in a thinner book with pages that may be slightly more transparent. After seeing some side-by-side examples of books produced with this paper for myself, the differences appeared rather marginal with the Lulu Traditional paper comparative to what you’d find in any bookstore. Click here for more information on using the Publisher Grade Paper option for your next Lulu book.

Revised Volume (BULK) Pricing Structure – We’ve just rolled out a new volume pricing structure, meaning better discounts for you at lower quantities. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to update our Book cost calculator before including these discounts, but for more information please check out this page in our Help section.

Updates to Lulu Studio – Development on the Lulu Studio publishing platform continues. Here is a list of some of the most recent improvements we’ve made:

  • Preview Functionality – Users can now preview their photo book prior to publishing.
  • Two-Page Spread Navigation – The Studio interface now shows a two-up spread view with a page navigator. Navigation controls are also improved.
  • Undo/Redo – Single-action undo/redo functionality is now available.

  • New Studio Cookbook themes with page numbering and a table of contents. After trying out these new themes for myself, it was really hard to  describe just how much these themes have improved Cookbook design and made it easier  to publish a book of recipes. If you’re looking for a unique personalized holiday you really need to check this out for yourself.

Price Changes – As you may recall back in September, Bob Young, Lulu’s founder and CEO announced some Price Changes to Lulu’s product catalog. With the rise in cost of raw materials, freight and shipping, we have made a number of adjustments to production and shipping costs.   If you’re interested in how these increases may affect you,  please check out the newly updated Lulu Book Cost Calculator which has now been updated to reflect these price changes:

If you’d like to learn more about recent changes on our site, please check out the Developer’s Log in the Lulu forums for more details.

Regards,
Adam

by Lauren Parker Senior Communications Specialist
September 10, 2008
Comments (7)

What Makes a Good Press Release? How to get the word out in 5 steps

In Events, Lulu News, Lulu on the Web, Marketing Tips, Tips and Tricks —

In the world of blogs, tweets and social networking, creating buzz around your book is easier than ever. But how do you reach reporters from traditional media? The traditional press release is still a great way to let people know of your newest book project.

Wait! How to I achieve fame and fortune with a traditional press release you ask. We can’t guarantee fame and fortune but with these five steps and a little elbow grease, you will be well on your way.

Try these steps when putting together your next release:

1. Keep the editor(s) in mind. Hundreds of releases vie for their attention each week, so make yours relevant and accurate.

2. Write your press release!  Keep these things in mind while crafting your release-

  • Be catchy! Write a headline that grabs attention and summarizes your main point. Then, because the first paragraph is often the only one that’s read, make sure it covers who, what, when, where, why and how.
  • Be brief. Keep your release to one page or 400 words. The end.
  • Be current. Highlight something about your product in your release that’s relevant to current events.
  • Be available. Make sure you put your current contact information (E-mail, phone number, fax…) so that those that are interested can reach you.

3. Create a relationship! With your local lifestyles, arts section, book reviewers, local bookstores and editors. The more they know about you and your book the more willing to read your press release.

4. Send it out! Either to a targeted list of regional and local reporters or an e-press release over a news wire service – choose a list that you can handle when following up.

5. Ask for help. If you’re having trouble, visit Lulu Services and look into a professional press release.

by Nick Popio Community Architect
August 6, 2008
Comments (21)

iRead, You Read, We All Read On weRead

In Events, Lulu Blog, Lulu News, Lulu on the Web, New Features — Tagged: , , ,

logo_wereadWe have some great news, Lulu has teamed up with weRead! If you aren’t familiar with weRead yet, you might recognize it under it’s previous name, iRead, the popular social networking application for book lovers.

Now, in addition to publishing your books on Lulu, weRead will enable you to connect with well over two million readers across a variety of social networks. You can even create your own author page, and  interact with your fans!

Another feature of weRead is that it has the complete catalog of all books in print. Readers will be able to rate your mystery and adventure book against “The Da Vinci Code”, and your period romantic comedy can be easily compared with “Pride and Prejudice”.

weRead’s discovery and recommendation engine allows users to find the types of books they will be interested in quickly and easily.  Who doesn’t want more people finding, reading, and sharing your book?

weRead works on many of your favorite networks including:
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Orkut
• Hi5
• Bebo
… even your own blog or website!

To get started, you can either:
•    Go to http://www.weread.com and register for an account, or
•    If you already belong to a social network listed above, simply follow the link to install the application on your profile

To help you get more familiar with weRead, and what you can do with it’s features, we will be doing a series of posts focusing on how you can use weRead to promote your work and interact with the largest possible audience of consumers. Some of the topics we’ll be covering include tips for setting up an author page on weRead, and using weRead to market your work.

I hope you’re as excited as we at Lulu are about our new partnership, and be sure to keep an eye out for more Lulu and weRead tips & tricks.

by
July 15, 2008
Comments (2)

Ice Cream Dreamin’ at Lulu.com

In Events, Lulu Blog, Lulu News — Tagged: , , , , ,

Hey, Lulus! Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month? Of course it is! Who doesn’t get excited about the thought of a big ol’ ice cream cone during these hot hot summer days? We at Lulu understand this, and want to do our part to ensure that you can locate and create content for all of your ice cream desires.

If summertime has you pulling the ice cream maker out of winter retirement but feeling anything but inspired by your standby vanilla recipe, check out these two books:

Of course, even if July is National Ice Cream Month, it’s still bathing suit season. For healthy and delicious recipes, there’s the The Dessert Diet. Following the same concepts as the Zone Diet and the South Beach Diet, this book has real desserts that are actually healthy!

If you think your homemade chocolate-caramel-coconut-macadamia-triple fudge fantasy or your strawberry-blueberry-blackberry-raspberry-very berry sorbet is the best thing ever, why not share it? Make your own book of ice cream recipes and sundae creations, low-fat, high-fat, all-dairy, non-dairy, whatever! Just be sure to include lots of drool-worthy pictures!

And if all of this happy ice cream fun is a little too sweet for you, check out Scream for Ice Cream for a fun summer scare. After reading it, you might want to think twice next time you hear the ice cream truck driving down your street!

by Carol Housel Marketing Communications Specialist
April 22, 2008
Comments (1)

Earth Day Every Day

In Events — Tagged: , , , , ,

In honor of Earth Day, I would like to share three simple and easy suggestions on ways you can help the planet all year long.

CFL Bulb

Light bulbs!
Did you know if every U.S. household replaced just one light bulb with a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CLF), that it would prevent the same amount of pollution equal to removing a million cars from the road? Not only that, but CFLs last longer than your typical incandescent bulbs (approximately 5-6 years), use less energy, and save you more money on your energy bill.

USDA OrganicGo Organic!
Organic foods are produced naturally, without man-made pesticides, fertilizers, or irradiation. Animals raised organically are free of antibiotics, they eat organic feed and have access to the outdoors. While organic farming decreases toxins in our environment, it also reduces the levels of pesticides in our bodies. Not only that, but studies have shown that organic foods tend to be higher in antioxidants. In my opinion, organic food just simply tastes better.

Lulu logo

Publish and shop with Lulu.com!
Yes, it’s true! Print on demand (POD) is a far better way to reduce waste than that of the traditional publishing process. Instead of printing a large quantity of books that are hoped to sell, print on demand makes it easy to only print books as they are ordered! POD also reduces the energy usage associated with storing books in large warehouses and shipping them from the printer to the warehouse to the bookstore to the customer. This is just another reason why people who use Lulu are some of the brightest CFL bulbs in the bunch!

by Lauren Parker Senior Communications Specialist
April 1, 2008
Comments (6)

Library of Congress breaks ground on Lulu.com wing

In Events, Lulu News — Tagged: , , ,

Due to the success of self-publishing, the Library of Congress has found it necessary to dedicate a new wing to Lulu.com. This “Lulu wing” is to house all self-published works. Ground was broken yesterday with CEO Bob Young and COO Bryce Boothby on hand with their shovels.

As he shoveled a pile of dirt, Bob Young said, “Self-publishing has hit the big time now. I wish this new wing could be named after each of our one million members. Their innovative ideas and creativity deserve this recognition from the Library of Congress.”

Bob and Bryce at the LOC groundbreaking

So be sure to send in your name so we can submit it for the official naming ceremony of the Lulu wing.

by Shannon Connell
February 25, 2008
Comments (4)

Celebrate Black History Month with Lulu

In Author Spotlight, Events — Tagged: , ,

As February is Black History Month, we would like to highlight some of our Lulu users and encourage others to create and share cultural content to celebrate the holiday.

Many African Americans use Lulu to celebrate their culture through a variety of forms such as art, personal accounts, cookbooks, poetry, music and more. Here are just a few examples of popular Lulu creations made by African American authors:

  • LeSean Thomas created a compilation of his animated artwork highlighting hip-hop-inspired characters that has been featured on “The Boondocks” on Cartoon Network (http://books.lulu.com/content/189605). Daytime Award Winning Producer Jeff Matsuda recognizes Thomas’ work as some of the most dynamic, unique and prolific hip-hop driven visions of today.

  • The Soumas Heritage Creole Cookbook (http://www.lulu.com/content/60871) by Panderina Soumas offers a how-to for a number of tantalizing treats that have been passed down through generations of Creole cooks. With recipes like “African Rhythm Drumettes” and “Who-Do-You-Wanna-Voodoo-Dip,” the Soumas Heritage Creole Cookbook celebrates culture through the sharing of delicious family dishes.

 

  • Another publication, The Hip-Hop Education Guidebook (http://www.lulu.com/content/656880) by Marcella Runell and Martha Diaz provides advice on how to harness the enthusiasm and energy found in hip-hop music and introduce it to the classroom. Calling for innovation in schools and engaging teaching styles to ensure the success of all American students, this guidebook has been used in numerous schools throughout New York.

There are many more cultural creations that can be found by simply browsing the Lulu marketplace (http://www.lulu.com/en/browse/).

One final way that I would like to encourage you to commemorate Black History Month is to write your own chapter of history. Lulu has all the tools you need to share your story with others and add to your already-rich traditions. Use this month to create a living history of your own experiences while paying tribute to great African American leaders of the past and present.

Shannon Connell