[Axiom-developer] Lulu publishing

[Page, Bill]

Tim, et al.

This is my last "inspiration" of the day, I promise, but ...
it's a lulu :)

Have you heard about Lulu, the new "print on demand" book
publishers? They are for real and quite serious. I have a
friend who is publishing some very serious physics monographs
this way. Just to get an idea, see his books here:

http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=42530

Dr. Kiehn is retired from the University of Houston and enjoying
the good life while he (finally) gets a chance to write the
books that he had always planned to write. But scientific
publishing being what it is today, he has had a very hard time
finding a publisher with whom he can agree on things like
royalties and exclusive copyrights etc. When I discussed it
with him recently he assured me that he was sure that he had
finally found the solution - Lulu. Now he can offer his books
for sale and expect a reasonable return to supplement his
retirement and he doesn't have to give up the chance that his
books might be published in the mainstream someday when people
begin to realize that topological thermodynamics is a really hot
subject.

See more about Lulu at the end of this email.

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Anyway, so here is my idea:

  I think the Axiom Foundation should publish the book that Tim
Daly has recently finished updating and revising:

       "AXIOM - The 30 Year Horizon"

http://page.axiom-developer.org/zope/Plone/refs/books/axiom-book2.pdf

This book is the essential replacement for the original book:

 "AXIOM - The Scientific Computation System"

by Richard Jenks and Robert Sutor and published by the
Numerical Algorithms Group, in Springer-Verlag, (c) 1992.

The new book weighs in at over 1000 pages and a dauntingly big
download and print job of anyone! But Lulu to the rescue...
Now anyone can order a convenient printed copy of the book
for a very reasonable price.

The Axiom Foundation (with Tim's and possibly NAG's approval
of course) could offer the new book for sale through Lulu.
Profits from the sale of the book could go to help fund the
Axiom Foundation initiatives that we have only just begun
to consider such as Bounty incentives for Axiom development
work.

Based on the cost and commission figures at

http://www.lulu.com/static/on-demand-books2.php

I think that setting a price of say $50 per book (quantity 1)
could yield a net royalty of about $20 for each book sold.
This could help promote Axiom is more than one way at the
same time.

Now, that is not all! Lulu now also sells software. (See more
below.)

So, the Foundation could also use Lulu to offer Axiom CDrom
"boxed sets" for end-user installation. Ok, so maybe that is
a bit premature right now, but I think we will get to that
stage pretty soon now.

(Does all this sound like a "too-good-to-be-true" sales pitch?
maybe I am getting just a little too enthusiastic, but I do
think that this might work.

As usual I look forward to your comments.

Regards,
Bill Page.

References:

http://www.lulu.com/static/pr/11_03.php

Press Center

Lulu Brings the Power of On-Demand Publishing to Software
Open Source Developers Use Lulu to Sell Software CDs and Books

November 3, 2004 (Raleigh, North Carolina)-On-demand publishing
is not just for books anymore. Lulu, the company that gives
independent publishers free access to powerful tools for
publishing and distributing books, music and other digital
content, announced today that it would begin to provide those
same tools to independent software developers.

The first five software sets available on Lulu include popular
open source projects OpenOffice.org (an alternative to Microsoft
Office), Fedora (a version of the Linux operating system), Slash,
and Bugzilla. Also available is a preparation program for the
Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) test.

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http://www.lulu.com/static/on-demand-books1.php

Publishing a book through Lulu is easy, quick, and free.
Once you register and go through the process of uploading
your book and book covers, you or your customers can order
your book any time, in any quantity, and receive the real
thing by mail within a week.

Make your book available in paperback or ebook format through
the Lulu marketplace for free.

Lulu handles all transactions, order tracking, and shipping
on book orders. 

State-of-the-art print-on-demand technology allows each book
to be manufactured as it is purchased.

Purchase ISBN assignment through Lulu for retail distribution
through vendors like Amazon.com and BN.com.

Publishing a book requires no set-up fee, no minimum order,
and no exclusivity.

Set your own royalty. You earn the full amount of your royalty
for every book sold.

Lulu pays you monthly through PayPal. We earn only a 20%
commission on each sale. 

Choose between black and white or full-color interior printing.
All covers are full-color.

Three trim sizes: 6" x 9", 8.5" x 11" and 6.625" x 10.25"

Select perfect, saddle-stitched or spiral binding.

Bulk order discounts are automated in our shopping cart.

Hardback books, custom trim sizes and more are available in
quantities of 100 or more through Custom Orders.

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