Question about rights...

[Leisha]

Hi,

I've been considering using lulu.com to print out one copy of my novel, which isn't for selling purposes, it's just so I can read through it (and use it for editing purposes) without having to print 500+ pages manually. What I'd like to know is: If I do that (and have no one but myself able to purchase my book), would I have used up my first printing rights? I've read that some editors won't take you on if the work has already seen some form of publication.

However, I'd really like to buy a copy for my own personal use. I'm just afraid I'd compromise my chances of getting published if I do use a POD this way.

Has anyone any experience with this?

Thanks!

^_~

[Steve S]

Hi Leisha,

The rights that Lulu.com has over your book depends on its status. I've pasted their position on this:


The publisher of record depends on which service you require.
If your purpose is to use Lulu.com as the sole retail site for your work, then you are the publisher.
If your purpose is to sell your work on Lulu.com and outside of that marketplace on Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com and other online retail sites, then Lulu is the publisher. This service is called Published by Lulu.
If you would like to be publisher of your work and sell your work both on Lulu.com and on other retailers’ sites, then you may select Published by You as your distribution option.

On the whole I've found publishing with Lulu.com a good experience although it takes time. If you have any further queries regarding Lulu please post them and I'll advise as best as I can.

Hope this is helpful

Cheers

Steven

[Teresa Edgerton]

It's only published if you make it available to the public, or some segment of the public. If you print up one copy for yourself via lulu, it's no different in that regard than if you printed it up on your computer printer at home.

Just make sure that you set things up with lulu so that they don't sell the book through their store.

However, it seems like it would be easier and less expensive to edit loose sheets off of your printer.

[Leisha]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure if any of these points are what I'm looking for. You see, I don't actually want to sell my books anywhere -- Amazon, lulu, etc -- I just want to print out one cheap paperback copy for myself. Once I've checked it and am happy with everything in my book, I'll want to try sending my manuscript to agents/editors to (hopefully) accept.

But, again, I don't want to compromise my rights.

It's all so very confusing!

[Leisha]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

It's only published if you make it available to the public, or some segment of the public. If you print up one copy for yourself via lulu, it's no different in that regard than if you printed it up on your computer printer at home.

Just make sure that you set things up with lulu so that they don't sell the book through their store.

However, it seems like it would be easier and less expensive to edit loose sheets off of your printer.

I've already printed my full manuscript off a few times, and at 500+ pages, I'm using a lot of ink and paper!

I already know about setting lulu up so no one else can purchase my novel, so that's fine.

Maybe if my rights aren't affected, I can still go ahead, then?

[Steve S]

Hi,

Sorry if I rather missed the point earlier (not a terribly unusual experience for me!).

I can't see any problem with printing off just one copy, certainly you'll be fine if you follow Teresa's advice which is spot on.

Not quite sure why, but I find editing easier working from a sample book than from loose pages (and certainly better than editing on a computer scree), so I can understand why you want the single copy. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Best of luck with the book!

[Leisha]

Thanks! I've worked it out, and lulu say they can print me my full work for roughly £8.00, whereas if I print it out on my printer at home, it uses five hundred sheets of paper and one and a half cartridges of black ink! (Which are £10 each!) So I'm actually saving the environment and saving money too! What could be better?

Thanks everyone, for all your help.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Hmm, I don't seem to have made my point clear before.

Printing up a book and binding it, whether you do it at home or through lulu or anywhere else is not publishing it.

Publishing means releasing something to the public, spreading it abroad, making an announcement, etc. Commonly the word is applied to the written word, and especially to books and periodicals. By extension, the word is used of the process by which the book is made ready for sale.

One copy, no intent to sell the book -- no publication. Therefore, your rights are in no way compromised. It's the same as if you punched holes in your manuscript and put it in a notebook. Publishers only worry whether or not a book has been published before.

So yes, by all means go ahead.

[Leisha]

I understood you the first time! But thank you again.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, that's fine then. You're saying that you weren't sure any of the points Steve or I made were what you were looking for left me in doubt.

[Leisha]

Oh no! I was actually replying to Steve's post, not yours -- I didn't see yours until after I'd posted Steve's reply! Sorry, should have cleared that up!

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by Leisha

I've already printed my full manuscript off a few times, and at 500+ pages, I'm using a lot of ink and paper!

Will that not be cheaper anyway than getting someone else to publish it??

[Leisha]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Will that not be cheaper anyway than getting someone else to publish it??

Nope! For every print out I do of my full manuscript I use one and a half ink cartridges (they're only 5ml each). And since I can only use proper HP cartridges in my printer (not the cheaper brands), I'm paying out £20.00 for inks, then the cost of the paper too. As silly as it sounds, using lulu is going to be cheaper!

But as long as everyone thinks it's fine, I don't see a problem in doing things this way. And as it is, my manuscript has been proof read and edited for the last year, so there won't be too many mistakes in it (hopefully!).

[scalem X]

One does what he or she wants I guess. I personally feel like a copy center would be the cheapest. They charge you close to nothing (1 cent for a page or something like that). Then again £8 for a single copy doesn't seem that expensive.

[Leisha]

Well, in the end I couldn't use Lulu anyway -- their printer couldn't read my pdf, and I needed to create my own PDF (as opposed to getting it produced online using their software) because I had to embed my fonts.

But, no matter which PDF program I used -- including the ones lulu recommended -- none worked; they either couldn't be read by the printer, or my story would come out all wrong-sized. Ah well, maybe I just wasn't supposed to use lulu...

I've since learnt to self-edit on screen.