Re: [Axiom-developer] publishing the axiom book

[Nate Daly]

Hi,

I've looked into some of the questions that have come up about
publishing with lulu.com and these are the answers I've gotten:

1. What formats do they accept?
------------------------------------------

Short answer: They accept many different formats but they print
PDF files and anything submitted in a non-PDF format will first
be converted to PDF.

The full list of acceptable formats (for conversion to PDF) is
available here: http://www.lulu.com/help/node/view/48

But I have faith that between the lot of us we can generate the PDF
ourselves and ensure that it will look the way we want. :-)


2. Will they do on-demand publishing for a book+cd combination?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quoted from: http://www.lulu.com/services/custom/book_cd_dvd.php
> Books with Companion CDs or DVDs
>
> Trying to provide your content in multiple formats? Are you
> looking for a print on demand solution for both your printed
> book and its companion CD or DVD? Lulu offers our Book + CD
> combination to all current and new Lulu authors and publishers.
> Books with companion discs are now available for minimum
> print runs of 100. Production time is 15 business days from the
> final approval of your content and cover artwork.
>
>  - Available with paperback or hardcover books
>  - Disc can be affixed to the back cover in a sleeve or packaged
>     separately in a DVD box
>  - CD face can be screen printed in 1-, 2-, or 5-color options

Pricing for this is apparently done on a more case-by-case basis
and there is a form supplied on the same page (see above) where
you can specify details about book size & binding, cd packaging,
quantity, etc. and have a sales associate contact you to provide
details on pricing.


3. How does the ISBN system work with multiple revisions of the
   same book/publication?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before dealing with that question, I think it's important to know
_why_ we want an ISBN. As far as I can tell, the only real advantage
we gain by having an ISBN is that book retailers could, in theory,
then sell the book. But if we're planning to sell it ourselves through
lulu.com, I see absolutely no advantage to having one. And it's not
free. The basic ISBN package costs $34.95, and that's basically just
to have the number. The ISBN Plus package is $149 which would
add us to the Ingram's book database (Ingram is the largest book
wholesaler in the US) which would automagically allow book
retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders to sell the book.

Also of note is the fact that with the ISBN Plus package, the printing
will be done by a different firm and they do NOT do color printing!
My memory is fuzzy, but I seem to recall there being many beautiful
color illustrations in the original Axiom book. If that is still the case,
then the ISBN Plus package is out of the question.

That being said, in order to retain an ISBN across multiple revisions
of a book you are only permitted to make what they call "minor"
changes.

quoted from: http://www.lulu.com/help/node/view/91
> Minor revisions include fixing typographical errors, misspellings
> or cross-references, adjusting fonts or replacing a cover. If your
> changes go beyond this, you must create a new book project,
> publish it and purchase a different ISBN.

Non-minor changes include:
> Substantial changes to content or organization of material, such as:
>  - Adding, removing or moving text
>  - Adding or removing chapters or an index
>  - Changing the sequence of chapters
>
> Changes that differ from how your book is listed in Books In Print:
>  - Title - No changes can be made.
>  - Author(s) - You cannot add or remove authors.
>  - Publication year (the copyright year you entered on Project Details)
>  - Page count
>  - Edition (the version you entered on Project Details)
>  - Category

So basically I think most of the changes we would want to make
would require a new ISBN, at least as far as lulu.com is concerned.


Anyway. I hope that helps some.

-Nate