From author to publisher: a Lulu blog post & interview
You have a dream. Go for it! You might just be surprised at how simple it is to achieve. Read the latest blog from Lulu Publishing, a company who have supported me for the longest time, as a writer, author, and now business owner. Becoming the CEO if Limelight Publishing was a dream come true for me. And while the process was not easy or simple, the rewards outweigh those memories. This blog will give you some insight into that process and how it may be able to work for you!
https://blog.lulu.com/2019/01/18/from-author-to-publisher
A Lulu.com interview with Lynette Greenfield
Q. Who are your customers?
A. At Limelight Publishing our customers are both writers and readers. Because we recognize how quickly the publishing industry is changing, we are constantly searching for new and innovative ways of improving our business to help our clients create quality books for loyal readers. In other words, our focus is on the entire publishing process; the whole picture, from manuscript to print, and from marketing to sales. Limelight began after I had been self-publishing my own books through Lulu Publishing and reached a turning point in my career. In recent years, I found myself in a position where I was constantly being asked how I got to where I am, with my writing. Through those conversations I decided to help others by starting my own company. And while a new business is not easy to get off the ground, I strongly believe that there are two ingredients that ensure success; passion and a strong support network. Our team at Limelight Publishing are a group of amazing people. They are trusted, driven, and transparent. James Greenfield, for example, who is our chief project manager, is also an artist himself, so he can easily shift his focus to see things from the writer’s point of view. The same can be said about our chosen distribution and print company, Lulu Publishing. Lulu have always been an incredible support base because they stay engaged, which means they know what writers need. As an author and now a business owner, surrounding myself with reliable, dependable, driven teams, is what I believe will define our long-term success and ensure that Limelight Publishing always and accurately reflects our client’s vision.
Q. How did you choose your printing company?
A. To create store products, Limelight Publishing uses a print-on-demand service, which allows us to print products as they are ordered without carrying any inventory. The big opportunity of print-on-demand is to produce the many excellent pieces of work, that may never sell in the huge quantities that the consolidated publishing industry requires to stay afloat. In the POD model, the authors can simply and easily get paid for what they produce, not what they have the potential to produce. When we were deciding who to use for the POD service, we carefully evaluated companies to ensure that, not only did their style fit with our brand, but also that we have a good working relationship with the company. Understanding each other's working style was key in making the process move more smoothly. Like any good business, we did our homework, testing and trialling companies, but there were always limitations and imperfections in terms of print quality, and especially cost. That is, until we decided on Lulu Publishing, because they passed all the tests. Qualities you are potentially investing in, need to be considered and heavily scrutinized. Crucially, when we were evaluating print-on-demand companies, we did not base our decision simply on price. We based it on the entire process; the cost, the delivery speed, print quality, company reviews, and reputation, as well as superior customer service.
Q. What features do you most appreciate?
A. Starting a company is exciting, but it is also an extremely crucial time in terms of ‘getting it right’. The Lulu xPress app was one of the major contributors in the success of Limelight Publishing, transitioning from an idea to an actual business. Maintaining the Lulu presence as one portion of our business model aspect, meant that we could still distribute worldwide to all the major, popular book chains. As I was already familiar with Lulu’s process and reliability as an author, I was, and am confident that we made the right decision to continue to utilize Lulu Publishing and their Lulu xPress app for our print and distribution needs.
Q. How print-on-demand facilitates Limelight Publishing
A. The book publishing model has many challenges, most notably how the established system of author advances, large superstore pre-orders, and returns, limits what will be published. The idea behind Limelight Publishing is to break down those barriers. For established publishers, consolidation has made it more difficult to gamble on new authors, so a significant portion of publishing has become about pumping out more of the same from well-known writers with celebrity status. In the beginning, as a writer this saddened me. For the longest time, I dreamed of being approached by a publisher and handed a book deal. After all, isn’t that a writer’s dream? Sad yes, until I recognized how the industry was changing and how my company, Limelight publishing, could benefit from these changes. The reality is, that nowadays, in order to earn six figures, a contract is not the essential ingredient, simply, because we have print-on-demand. Print-on-demand services come with a clear set of advantages. You aren’t burdened by the costs associated with producing and storing inventory. There are no up-front bulk production or manufacturing costs, and you don’t need to pay for storage space. Depending on how you’ve implemented a print-on-demand model, you’ll also likely benefit from near-immediate production and order fulfillment. All this can free up time to focus on more important orders of business, and for the Limelight team, this means more time to help people cross off that ‘write a book’ item on their bucket list.
About Lynette Greenfield, founder of Limelight Publishing and a Lulu Publishing author
In 2018, Lynette Greenfield launched Limelight Publishing, an independent publishing company of all genres. A writer of fiction, fantasy, poetry, and children’s titles, all of Lynette's work is based on life events and her work has often been described as, honest and intensely passionate. Lynette has over 27 years’ experience in creative and business writing, self-publishing, as well as project management and IT positions in global corporations. Lynette recently made an author appearance at the Book Expo America in Chicago, 2016 in New York City 2017, and again in New York in May 2018, to showcase her latest book, The Day it Rained Forever; a fiction novel which is currently being adapted to film. Limelight Publishing was created through Lynette's desire and passion to help fellow writers achieve their own literary goals & dreams. You are invited to join Lynette’s network on Linkedin