KDP vs Lulu Xpress | Which One is Better?? | Print on Demand | Publishing Journals, Books, Planners
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- In today's video I'll provide an overview of Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and the Lulu Xpress App (integrated with Shopify) - including how they compare on pricing, quality, and fulfillment. We'll also compare journal covers and take a look at some examples of damage that can happen during the printing and shipping process. Which one is better? Let's compare so you can decide which one is right for you!
I couldn’t hardly noticed much different in terms of colours but wot I’ve noticed is their lettering fonts are visibly different. Also, I was fortunate enough from Amazon shipping handling, I’ve never received any damaged (yet) so far. But the only thing is that, when u order/request from Amazon’s proof, which u have forgotten to mention/include on pros n cons, they put this “not for saleable” around the book page cover, while with LULU, I’ve ordered or requested my proof from them, they do not put any sort of ‘seal’ around the book that tells ‘not for saleable’ But I still personally prefer Amazon KDP b’coz they’re very conveniently reasonable in their pricing but so far so good for me, as I haven’t received any damages from most of the books I’ve requested either from AMZON or LULU…I have no problem, but they both have long delays in shipping tho.
NOTE: I use the AMAZON Australia btw instd of US. Cheers👍🏽😊 from Gidget, Melbourne🇦🇺
Thanks! This is a very informative and detailed review video! Thanks for taking the time to do this.
You bet, thank you for watching, I appreciate it!
I love the video, good info, but I had to turn don't the volume every time you put the music on. Maybe just try to adjust that.
Thank you for sharing your insight and feedback, will do! And thank you so much for subscribing and watching, I greatly appreciate it!
Thank you for your video, it’s very informative. Am I able to sell the same book on Amazon as well as Lulu? I am seeking to create more visibility for my books
The last time I looked on lulu (a few weeks ago) they did provide an ISBN number but they did not auto fill it on my cover. I had to download it and place it on myself.
Thank you, McKenzie! Lulu Press does provide an ISBN, but the Lulu Xpress Direct App doesn't. I wish I had provided more clarification on that in this video! Thank you so much for watching and sharing your experience, it is very much appreciated! If you or anyone else reading this is interested in comparing Lulu Press with The Lulu Xpress Direct App here is a video I made to highlight the differences and outline the pros and cons: ua-cam.com/video/jrzITvhsD48/v-deo.html.
@@HarleyByrd Good point. The ISBN (and barcode) are only needed for libraries, bookstores, and some other limited reasons. I guess that an individual buying a book from Express would not need either of them.
I published on LuLu. The shipping is astronomical.
Can you elaborate with examples?
Thank you for this video! Very helpful. Can you list on Amazon and print from Lulu?
Thank you for your question, Alicia! There are a few options - you could purchase an independent ISBN and list your book with both publishers - which would allow you to list/print with both. Or, you could list your book on Amazon and then place a separate order to print your book through Lulu.com with out an ISBN. Or, you could list your book on Amazon and also sell it on your shopify website via Lulu Direct App (this is because the app doesn't require an ISBN, so there is no conflict with Lulu). But, you couldn't publish a book via Lulu.com with an Amazon KDP issued ISBN. There is more to this conversation, though, and I am in the process of vetting out other possible paths as preparation for an upcoming video that covers this topic. Thank you so much for watching and for your question, I truly appreciate it!!
Great video! My question is: can you use both?
Very informative, thank you. My only complaint is that the music between clips is SO loud. I feel like I'm playing with the volume all through the video
Thank you for watching and for your feedback, I appreciate it very much!! The sound has been adjusted for future videos, thank you!
You REALLY need to work on matching your header, and sound effects to the volume of your content. It is hard to focus on what you are saying with such volume changes.
Thank you, Jerry, this is great feedback! This won't be an issue for future videos, it has been fixed. Thank you, I appreciate it!
This might be old. I am setting up an account at Lulu for my books, and they offered me an ISBN number for free (so far, but I'm still in the middle of signing up).
I wanted to offer my picture book in hardcover but KDP doesn't have many options for sizes in hard cover :(
OK. Having watched your entire video, there is something you did not address. KDP uses LOUSY paper and a binding that sucks. KDP books tend to fall apart if used with anything but kid gloves. The paper also bleeds anytime someone attempts to use anything other than a ballpoint pen on it. This means that KDP journals, coloring books, etc., stink to high heaven. But does Lulu do any better? You might do a video addressing the paper and binding quality of the two services.
This is such great feedback, Corbett, thank you! I will definitely make a video that covers this and outline how they compare. Thank you for watching and subscribing!
@@HarleyByrd Hi there! Do you have a video for this coming out soon? :)
@@kayleewilson6346 Surprisingly, the short answer is, it might be a few weeks! As it turns out, this topic appears to be much more nuanced than I originally expected. In order to provide a full perspective - I am doing research to help clarify common print quality issues across popular publishers as well as issues that seem to be specific to KDP. Thank you for your question and for watching, Kaylee, I truly appreciate it! I will be sure to tag you when the video is up, too! :)
@@HarleyByrd thank you so much! I can’t wait!
@@kayleewilson6116 Hi Kaylee :) The video is up! I think a part 2 (and maybe 3?) will be needed to provide even more perspective. --> KDP vs. Lulu vs. Printify (journal unboxing and quality comparison): ua-cam.com/video/HxJL4QnZASE/v-deo.html. If you have thoughts or questions feel free to share and I will take note for future videos!
I'm planning on self-publishing my next book with Lulu.
15:10 that looks more like the machinery damage they used it was off center or something. The workers like whatever send it out.
You can integrate it if you create an affiliate account and link it
Thank you so much for sharing your insight! This is very helpful information, especially for people looking to sell KDP books/journals. I will plan to make a video so that people can see what that looks like and the steps to make it happen. Thank you for watching and for sharing your wisdom, I greatly appreciate it!!
Super helpful, thank you. Hey can you explain why there are more returns with Lulu? Is it related to damages? Thanks!
Can I sell my children's books via KDP and LULU Xpress? I will connect the LULU Xpress account to my shopify and sell the book on my website. Your thoughts and expertise are greatly appreciated.
Hi, I found your videos really enjoyable and informative. I found the music a bit too loud in between audio on my TV though! You might want to tone music down a little for future videos.... Thanks
Thank you, SinamKhattak! I am so glad it was enjoyable and informative! Thank you very much for the feedback on the audio! I appreciate your watching and commenting, thank you so much!
Thanks for this video. Appreciate it. ❤
Is it difficult to terminate the business relationship to pursue other options with LULU and Amazon KDP?
I have completed a book on commercial real estate, and I have gone through all the editing and formatting processes.
I have received an author's proof from KDP, and an author's proof from Lulu, and will be getting an author's proof from IngramSpark soon. What I need is some advice as to what print on demand company I should use, and some of the glitches that I am finding, (examples: KDP’s interior paper is too thin, my hardcover and paperback covers that were professionally formatted are not working on KDP, etc.).
I would rather have someone do all of this for me. I need to speak to a real person!
Can you recommend anyone who can take the ball from here and complete what I need to have done?
I started this book more than 3 years ago, and I have put much time and effort into it.
At this point, I will pay anything to get this to the goal line.
I am hoping you can help me in some way with advice and or a recommendation. Thanks, Dan.
Thank you for this video. 🧡
Thank you so much for watching, Heidi, I truly appreciate it!! ❤
Just watched other Videos that state that Lulu DOES provide an ISBN for books.
They may have been referring to Lulu Press (lulu.com), which does provide an ISBN. The Lulu Xpress (Lulu Direct) App with Shopify doesn't provide/generate ISBNs. Thank you for watching and commenting, I appreciate it very much!!
Thank you so much for the information
Thank you so much for watching and subscribing, I greatly appreciate it!
It's my pleasure.
very helpful good job
Thank You for you video. Subscribed, and liked also. My main question and concern is with Amazon they ship and they handle all of the customer service, and they take payments. However on the Lulu express app, or any of their services, do they take care of everything, and the customer mailing, as well as, do they take the money and give your your payment part. Or is it all drop shipping, and you take the money from your customer, on your website, then send them their money. This part, is what gets very overwhelming for me, and stuck. This is what stopped me, with their FBA, well, horror stories, by some people. But, it gets complicated, when put into practice. If someone, is doing the customer fulfillment. But, even if not, it is the money part, it would be like drop shipping, correct? It can all, be very intimidating, and fearful. I have never dealt with a Shopify Store, just websites. Thank You, once again.
Thank you for watching, liking, and subscribing, Ekaterini-Kathy! Yes, the Lulu Direct App is like drop shipping. When a customer purchases a Lulu product on a Shopify website then Lulu fulfills that order - they print and ship the book/journal/planner directly to the customer. Payments are processed in this sequence: Shopify collects the money from the customer at check-out, Lulu withdraws money for the printing costs, and Shopify deposits the money from the sale into your bank account.
I feel for you, there are so many details and things to consider. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and questions - I will plan to make a video that goes more in-depth on what getting paid through various publishing platforms looks like. You are not alone! There are many other people who have similar thoughts, hesitations, and concerns.
Here is a video you might want to watch, it compares the Lulu Xpress Direct App (print on demand) to Lulu Press (self-publishing): ua-cam.com/video/jrzITvhsD48/v-deo.html
You might also consider checking out this video: The Official Shopify Tutorial for 2021 - Setup Your Store The Right Way: ua-cam.com/video/u-Qfdn44rB4/v-deo.html - which provides a detailed perspective of what setting up a Shopify website is like. Thank you for sharing, Ekaterini-Kathy, and feel free to ask questions that come up along the way!
I just watched a guy set up on Lulu and they supplied his free ISBN. Another guy reviewing KDP vs Lulu criticized Lulu's and KDP's bubble envelope packaging as insufficient for books. FYI
This is such great feedback, thank you! I didn't know Lulu sometimes uses bubble envelope packaging, I've only ever seen the sturdy cardboard book mailers. I agree, bubble envelopes are insufficient for books. I will make a note to look into this further for the video on book cover / interior quality. Thank you so much for sharing your insight on that, I greatly appreciate it!
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for watching!
Thanks for this video.
Thank you so much for watching!
Looking into publishing some books and ran into your video. I want to start with a cookbook. My biggest problem now is where to start DESIGNING the book (for free... is it even possible?), where to actually write it, what software to use so it can be sold either digital (ebook) or an actual printed book. Can I use Lulu for this? Can their digital format/s (PDF?) be exported wherever I want? Even to Amazon? My website? Can I do the whole thing without paying a dime upfront on Lulu? What about Amazon? I would appreciate some initial guide for someone like me who is lost in sea of information... Thank you!
I use an adobe subscription and InDesign.
Any experience if Hardcover or Paperback sells better?
I thought you could only use amazon kdp based on their Ts & Cs
Hey, thanks for the tips. Was curious though...can we have a website with a link to the Amazon store(your site within Amazon via kdp)
I found out recently that you can embed a link on your website to an individual product listed on Amazon (one benefit of this is that it displays your amazon product on your website with a "buy button"), but I haven't looked into wether or not something like that can be done with an Amazon store/Author Page. I am preparing for an up-coming video that will highlight different ways to sell your book, planner or journal and I will be sure to look into that as well. Thank you so much for watching and for your question, Richard. I greatly appreciate it!
Lulu offered me free ISBN today (Jan 27 2023) for a low-content book.
Thank you Patricia, that makes sense! Lulu Press (lulupress.com) provides ISBNs but the Lulu Xpress App (now known as Lulu Direct) with Shopify doesn't - it is designed to function as a print and ship on demand service.
Do I have to register with the same gmail and publisher name on these platforms?
Thank you so much awesome video
Thank you so much Robin, I am so very glad that this video was helpful! Thank you for taking the time to comment, for watching and subscribing! I greatly appreciate it!! :)
What if you just want them printed proofs? I don't want to publish a journal I want them printed and shipped to me so I can sell them on my website and ship to my customers. Quality is very important. Does LuLu have a phone number? I would like to get something other than an automated answer!
Congratulations on your journal!! That is such an exciting milestone! Yes, Lulu.com does allow you to print a journal without publishing. After placing an order they will ship them to you and then you can sell your journals from there. I agree, automated responses are not great! Hopefully this helps - I did not find a phone number but this appears to be their email for bulk ordering: bulkquote@lulu.com . In case you, or anyone else reading this, is interested - here is the link to place an order on their website - it's the initial "get started" page: www.lulu.com/create/print-books?_gl=1*1ac74er*_ga*MTg0ODM3OTg1OS4xNjQ4NTk2ODYy*_ga_E4HSQJ4YSL*MTY0OTgyMzg3OC4xLjEuMTY0OTgyMzkzNy4w&_ga=2.14708661.282453043.1649823879-1848379859.1648596862
Thank you so much for your question and for watching Estee, I greatly appreciate it!
Thanks a lot for this great video. Subrscribed and liked. I am currently writing a Hardback prompt/success journal and I'm struggling to decide which to go through. I have never published before so I'm really confused.
From my understanding, if I publish with Lulu, they will also distribute it to the amazon website. Doesn't this mean that it is better to go through lulu since you're potentially covering Amazon ground + more?
I'm not sure on the royalties or how to calculate them with Lulu. Would love to find more information on this.
Congratulations on creating your journal, that is awesome!!
Great questions - Yes, Lulu.com (which is different than the Lulu Direct App that integrates with Shopify) does partner with platforms like Amazon, Ingram Spark and Barnes & Noble to distribute books / journals that are published through Lulu.com. I will plan to make a video comparing the Lulu.com publishing service to the Lulu Direct App print on demand service - in the meantime I created a blog article that answers your questions and that links to resources, including how to publish a book/ journal on Lulu.com. The blog also has links to the KDP Royalty Calculator and Lulu's Pricing Calculator.
Here is the link to the blog in case you, or anyone else, is interested in checking it out: www.harleybyrddesign.com/blogs/youtube-blog/kdp-vs-lulu-xpress-which-one-is-a-better-publishing-service
Thank you so much for your questions and for watching and subscribing, I greatly appreciate it!
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for watching and subscribing!
Since when does KDP offer hardcover book printing ? This does not seem accurate ?
Since 2021, here is KDP's informational resource on hardcovers, in case you or anyone else viewing this is interested in knowing more: kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GAVW3FZZAKA2KY3B. Thank you so much for watching, I appreciate it!
Does Lulu platform accept Payoneer payment?
Is it possible to use both in publishing a book? Providing the same book with more access to finding customers
Thank you for your question, Karol! The short answer is yes, you could sell your book/journal through the Lulu Xpress Direct App on your Shopify website and through a self-publishing service, like KDP. The Lulu Direct App does not issue ISBNs, so there would be no conflict there.
As it happens, I am making a video that compares Lulu Press (self-publishing) with the Lulu Xpress Direct App (print-on-demand app), and included in that video are some of the challenges associated with ISBNs issued by self-publishing companies. In short, it does look like there have been cases where people published their book multiple times with different self-publishing companies, which appears to have led to continuous ISBN conflicts.
Thank you for watching and for your question, Karol, I greatly appreciate it!
If you publish to kdp first and get the isbn can you just use the same one and publish on Lulu too?
Unfortunately, Lulu won't accept a KDP ISBN. Lulu will only allow you to use an ISBN assigned by Lulu or an ISBN that you purchased independently. Thank you for your question! I will plan to cover this more in-depth in my next video. And thank you for watching, I truly appreciate it!
do you suggest to buy isbn for journals
If I create my book on Lulu, but also merge with Amazon, will my customers be able to use Amazon shipping?
Hi Lady Bug! The Lulu Xpress App (now known as Lulu Direct) with Shopify and Amazon KDP operate similarly in that they both print and ship books on demand. So if someone purchased your book through Lulu Direct via your Shopify website then Lulu would be the one printing and shipping your book. If someone purchased your book on Amazon KDP then Amazon would be printing and shipping your book.
I don't have experience with this myself, but another option could be to have Lulu Press (lulupress.com) print your books in bulk and ship them to an Amazon warehouse so you could then sell them on Amazon as an Amazon FBA seller.
Side note - Lulu Press and Lulu Xpress / Lulu Direct are both run by the same company but have different functions. If you want to know more about Lulu Press (lulu.com) here is a link to a video that provides an overview and compares Lulu Press to the Lulu Xpress App: ua-cam.com/video/jrzITvhsD48/v-deo.html
I hope this helps! If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer. Thank you for watching, I greatly appreciate it!
@@HarleyByrd Thank you so much 🌹
Hey can you give me some ways that you use to drive traffic to your website ?
You bet, I will plan to make a video on this and tag you when it's posted!
Lulu is way more expensive for the same book? How do you say they are similar?
Great question - As an example, a perfect-bound book, 140 uncoated white pages, 6x9 priced at 8.00 - with KDP that book costs 2.53 to print, factor in Amazon's cut of about 40% and we're left with a profit of 2.27. With the Lulu Direct App (which is different than Lulu Press) - the print cost is 4.57 (Lulu's cut is factored into the print cost), so the profit we're left with is 3.43.
I'm working on a video that compares the Lulu Xpress Direct App with Lulu Press, and in that video, it walks through the fees for global distribution and lulu's bookstore that can come along with printing through Lulu Press. Because of your question here, I will add in a pricing comparison to KDP as well so people have a chance to see the different calculators for Lulu Press, the Lulu Direct App, and KDP in action.
Thank you for your question, Gary!
@@HarleyByrd I had no idea there was a lulu direct vs lulu whatever. There are many comparisons to be made here… if I order books, if I sell them through Amazon etc. a chart might be easiest to understand them. Printing on lulu and selling through Amazon….
You said that you drew the cover of the journal yourself. How does the process look like turning your own painting in a journal cover?
That is such a good question, thank you Thakius! I will plan to create a video walking through this, but in the meantime the short answer is that I scan my painting and upload it to Canva.com so I can remove the background and edit / format it for the journal. From there it could be extracted as a PDF and uploaded to KDP or, usually in my case, it would be uploaded to Shopify and the Lulu Direct App. There are a variety of tools that can be used to create and edit a journal cover, this is just an example of my most common process.
Thank you for watching, for your time and for sharing your question, I greatly appreciate it!
@@HarleyByrd thanks for your answer. Yes, when your time allows it, please make such a video. :)
Sounds good, I will tag you when it is posted! :)
Volume is all wrong too low
Noted, thank you for your feedback and for watching!
Turn the music down it's annoying
Music was so loud could not watch. Speaking too quite. Had to stop watching after third blast of music.
Please can I open lulu from my country, Nigeria
Great question - I did some research and it looks like you can publish through both KDP and Lulu.com in Nigeria. Here is a link to a detailed article, written by Victor Winners (also located in Nigeria), an award winning author - he outlined the different publishing companies that you should be able to use: www.victorwinners.com/publish-your-book-free
Thank you so much, I appreciate
Speak louder or turn down the background music
Thank you for your feedback and for watching, Michael, I appreciate it!