In the wake of all the lay-offs, Lulu founder Bob Young did a big interview with TechJournal South.
“The reality is,” [Bob Young] says, “Lulu has proven its economic model.” In troubled economic times, however, he says, “It’s back to business 101.” . . .
It sounds like, in the future, CDs and DVDs are taking a back burner to books, books, books.
Although Lulu “toyed” with a variety of media, from framed art to CD ROMs, the company’s focus going forward will be books, Young says.
“We think the big opportunity is actually in books. Books are a funny sort of duck. It took me a few years to understand this about books, but they’re a work of art that has been authored. I don’t care if the book is about a piece of software or a fantasy novel by J.K. Rowling. The author has to have the ability to tell a story.”
Books will be up to 97 percent of Lulu’s business in the future, he says.
Now, I’m a big fan of the printed book and a very avid reader but, are printed books going to still be a big part of our future or are eBooks the next wave? Is Lulu putting its eggs in the wrong basket?
I’m frankly not sure. What do you think?
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I think that is a fascinating question. I adore books, it is an inherited trait and I have thousands. For real.
Printed books are readable 20 years or a hundred years later. No doubt e-books are tempting but look at the VHS format to see where I am going. Will it be possible to read a CD ten years down the road? I just tossed a bunch of beloved cassette tapes.
Every time Microsoft comes up with a new OS I am forced to buy (eventually) a new printer, scanner etc. I am completely at the mercy of whichever manufacturer made my peripherals as to whether they are going to upgrade the drivers to the very latest OS. Best and simplest scanner I ever had was not upgraded from Windows 98. Nothing wrong with it, I just can’t use it.
So for me, yes, the printed word, and the eternal dusting which never gets finished because I get sidetracked into rereading an old friend.
I think that is a fascinating question. I adore books, it is an inherited trait and I have thousands. For real.
Printed books are readable 20 years or a hundred years later. No doubt e-books are tempting but look at the VHS format to see where I am going. Will it be possible to read a CD ten years down the road? I just tossed a bunch of beloved cassette tapes.
Every time Microsoft comes up with a new OS I am forced to buy (eventually) a new printer, scanner etc. I am completely at the mercy of whichever manufacturer made my peripherals as to whether they are going to upgrade the drivers to the very latest OS. Best and simplest scanner I ever had was not upgraded from Windows 98. Nothing wrong with it, I just can’t use it.
So for me, yes, the printed word, and the eternal dusting which never gets finished because I get sidetracked into rereading an old friend.
My biggest thing with eBooks is that anything that reads eBooks is going to be too expensive for me to treat like I book. I read in the pool. I leave books on the sand while I go swimming. You can really abuse a book and it works just fine.
I’m not going to leave a $500 ebook reader unattended and wouldn’t even risk getting sand in it. To me, that is the biggest obstacle.
My biggest thing with eBooks is that anything that reads eBooks is going to be too expensive for me to treat like I book. I read in the pool. I leave books on the sand while I go swimming. You can really abuse a book and it works just fine.
I’m not going to leave a $500 ebook reader unattended and wouldn’t even risk getting sand in it. To me, that is the biggest obstacle.
Have you got any news on how you do business with authors? Do you have any deal where you aren’t ask to be paid? I have a number of scripts. but am not interested enough to do more than write. So, unless there is a system that makes it interesting to me, nothing will get published. You know where to reach me. Ciao Attila
Attila,
I don’t know who the “you” is in your post exactly as I am not Bob Young but publishing on Lulu is completely free, even to get it in stores like Amazon.
As someone who has used them to distribute a play, I highly recommend them.
Have you got any news on how you do business with authors? Do you have any deal where you aren’t ask to be paid? I have a number of scripts. but am not interested enough to do more than write. So, unless there is a system that makes it interesting to me, nothing will get published. You know where to reach me. Ciao Attila
Attila,
I don’t know who the “you” is in your post exactly as I am not Bob Young but publishing on Lulu is completely free, even to get it in stores like Amazon.
As someone who has used them to distribute a play, I highly recommend them.