Publish Setup · Lulu Publishing · 1 of 6
Publishing with Lulu: Choose Your Path
What Lulu does
Lulu is a print-on-demand publishing and fulfillment platform. You can create print books, including paperbacks and hardcovers, and choose specialty formats such as coil-bound books or magazines when your size and page count support them. A cookbook is the content; coil binding is one possible way to manufacture it. The same recipe collection could be prepared as separate coil, paperback, or hardcover editions.
You do not have to use every Lulu service. Decide whether you need copies for yourself, a Lulu Bookstore listing, an integrated store, or eligible wider retail distribution before designing the files. Each route has different requirements and costs.
Lulu also offers products such as calendars, photo books, comics, notebooks, and ebooks. This category focuses on the print-book and magazine journey; those other products can have separate file and sales requirements. Explore Lulu’s product catalog ↗.
Choose the route that matches your goal
| Goal | Start with | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Copies for events, gifts, or your own stock | Personal printing | No public listing is needed; you pay for copies and delivery. |
| Readers order from a link you share | Lulu Bookstore | Lulu hosts the product page and checkout; you bring readers to it. |
| Checkout on your own ecommerce site | Lulu Direct | Requires a supported store and a separate integration; a normal website link is simpler. |
| Eligible book offered through major retailers | Global Distribution | ISBN, eligible specifications, paid review, proof approval, and retailer acceptance apply. |
Follow this category
- Choose a format: coil-bound cookbooks, workbooks, paperbacks, hardcovers, and magazines.
- Prepare the interior and cover, then inspect a proof.
- Set up a Lulu Bookstore listing and a working purchase link.
- Understand Global Distribution and its exclusions.
- Compare costs, earnings, and selling through your own site.
- Use the dedicated magazine lessons for issue-specific files and selling.
Before you begin
Click to expand for more information.
Print on demand
A copy is manufactured after an order is placed. This reduces the need to buy inventory in advance; it does not remove printing, shipping, taxes, proof-copy costs, or the work of reaching readers.
Publishing versus printing
Printing creates a physical copy. Publishing a listing makes a product available through a chosen channel. Global Distribution is a further submission and review process. Completing one does not automatically complete the others.
What Step One handles
These lessons guide your decisions and save checklists on this device. Your Lulu account, files, orders, payments, tax information, and final approvals stay on Lulu. Step One does not automatically connect a store or publish a book.
Watch the official walkthrough
Official Lulu tutorial linked from its print-book page. Watch it alongside these written steps; current account labels may differ.
Watch: Lulu’s Publishing Steps ↗
Opens an external video. Written instructions remain available above.
Official help and current specifications
Lulu project setup ↗ · Print books and official tutorial ↗ · Global Distribution process ↗
Completion checklist
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Selections save on this device only. They are not synced or backed up.
Checked October 30, 2026 against linked Lulu guidance. Screens, prices, and eligibility can change. Lulu’s current project requirements govern your edition.