Monday, March 06, 2006

self-publishing service

http://www.lulu.com/

from the web site:

Founded in 2002, Lulu is the web's premier independent publishing marketplace for digital do-it-yourselfers. It's the only place on the web where you can publish, sell and buy any and all things digital — books, music, comics, photographs, movies and well, you get the idea. We simply provide the tools that leave control of content in the hands of the people who created the content. You see, Lulu is a technology company, not a publisher. So you can use Lulu to publish and sell any kind of digital content, and no one here is going to ask you to change anything. Ever. Your vision is entirely YOURS.

There is no set-up fee and no minimum order to publish and sell on Lulu. We manage the online business, including printing, delivery and customer service. You set your own royalty for each piece of content, and at the end of each quarter, we'll mail you a check for the royalties your content generates. Lulu makes a small percentage from each transaction, which means that we only make money if you succeed in selling your work.

Lulu was founded by Bob Young, who was also the co-founder of Red Hat, the world's leading open source company. We mention this only because, like Lulu, open source software is based on putting users in control of technology. In much the same way, Lulu believes in putting authors and independent publishers in control of their digital content, from content creation to pricing to royalties. Lulu simply brings creative content to the world and gives our talented publishers and web visitors the venue to buy and sell independent works. Publishing through Lulu leaves control of content in the hands of the people who created it. Pretty revolutionary, really.

What's In a Name?
For goodness sake, what is a lulu? Well it's not your grandmother's kitty, that's for sure. Ever hear the phrase "Boy, that's a real lulu"? Well, even if you haven't, we think of the word lulu as an old-fashioned term for a remarkable person, object or idea. And quite frankly, that's exactly what Lulu, the company, is. Think of us as an open marketplace for digital content. The web's version of a fresh air market. An on-demand publishing tool for books, e-books, music, images, movies and calendars. A remarkable idea, person or place. Most importantly, Lulu is you.