Selling Through the Lulu Bookstore

What this route means

The Lulu Bookstore is Lulu’s own online shop. Readers buy on a Lulu product page and Lulu handles that checkout and print fulfillment. This is separate from Global Distribution. A book can be available in the Lulu Bookstore without appearing on Amazon, and an eligible product can use both routes.

For a coil-bound cookbook or a magazine, this can be a practical route when the format is not eligible for wider retail distribution. Confirm that the product and purchase options you need are available for your readers.

Set up the listing

1. Choose the retail-sales goal and Lulu Bookstore option in your project. A personal-printing project does not automatically have a public purchase page.
2. Enter the customer-facing title, contributors, description, category, and other required details. Proofread these as carefully as the cover.
3. Set the selling price and assign the payee who will receive earnings. Review the cost and revenue figures for each currency shown. Complete any account/payment/tax information Lulu requests directly in your own account.
4. Choose access carefully: General Access allows bookstore browsing/search; Select Access requires your direct product URL; Private Access permits purchases only by you from your account. Select Access is link-based availability, not password-protected membership.
5. Review your proof and final listing settings. Complete Lulu’s publication steps when you are ready. Copy the actual product-page URL, rather than a project-editing link from your account.

Put a purchase link on your website

Add a button such as Buy the Coil-Bound Cookbook or Order the Print Magazine and link it to the finished Lulu product page. This ordinary link does not require building a shop on your website. The visitor leaves for Lulu to choose available purchase options and check out.

Test the link in a browser where you are not signed in to Lulu. Confirm the correct title, edition, binding, price, and purchasing access. Check the shipping estimate for your intended destination without assuming delivery is free or included. A link to a private project will not give customers a working purchase page.

ISBN and recurring publications

Lulu says an ISBN is not required when selling only through its bookstore. Eligible book Global Distribution does require one. Recurring magazines and journals need a different identifier discussion: read Lulu’s periodical/ISSN guidance rather than assigning a book ISBN automatically. An identifier does not itself create a listing, delivery service, or recurring subscription.

What this does not promise

A bookstore page makes purchasing possible; it does not guarantee discovery, sales, bookstore stocking, or automatic subscriptions to later issues. Keep links clear about which edition or issue the buyer will receive. After a revision, revisit the published product page and confirm it still describes the current files.

Official help and current specifications

Lulu project setup ↗ · ISBN and periodical guidance ↗ · Creator revenue guide ↗

Completion checklist

0 of 4 checked

• My listing details and price match the intended edition.
• I chose General or Select Access intentionally.
• I tested the customer-facing purchase URL while signed out.
• My website button identifies the correct edition and sends readers to Lulu checkout.

Selections save on this device only. They are not synced or backed up.