Is Lightning Source Inc. (LSI) the answer to the conundrum faced by self-publishers (or other small publishers)?
Well, that depends on exactly what the question is. And what your goals are. And the specifics of your book project.
What does LSI do for the little guys (aka indies)? Quite a bit, actually. For example:
- True print-on-demand publishing (one copy or hundreds, or even thousands) at affordable unit costs (affordable meaning you can manage to offer reasonable discounts and still make a profit)
- A side-door entry into the Ingram Book catalog (making your books readily available to retailers and libraries)
- Instant availability on Amazon.com (so far, Amazon has not tried to remove buy buttons from self- or micro-published books despite their recent attacks on the subsidy press businesses)
However, merely being in Ingram’s catalog with a reasonable discount may not be enough. You probably need to make your books returnable. And, as Shakespeare put it, “There’s the rub.”
Scenario: You gloat over multi-book orders from some bookstores and ship them right out. Your LSI account shows those sales and your profit on them. Three months later, LSI puts that money in your checking account. Great, right? Run right out and spend it supplies and such, right?
Not so fast, bubba. Three, or six or more, months after that money hits your bank account, bookstores may start returning the ones that didn’t sell. And your LSI account will start showing chargebacks. As Ron Pramschufer notes in his Bookstore Distribution—Self Publishing Dream come true or The Emperor’s New Clothes? article, “Books are returnable FOREVER.”
So, is LSI the answer? Well, it can certainly be part of the answer, but you have to carefully weigh all the variables and options (learning as much as you can about how the industry really works and how your decisions may affect your business).
Besides, LSI need not be considered instead of other printing options. It can just as easily be used in addition to them. For instance, you might use LSI for printing books destined for Amazon and libraries (and some bookstores who prefer to order through Ingram), while printing some copies with an offset printer for direct-to-consumer, back-of-the-room, and/or distributor sales. You don’t have to treat the decision as an either-or one, but rather as an either-or-both decision.
Evaluate the options carefully. Consider how much you can risk (i.e., afford to lose). Run the numbers with as many what-if scenarios as you can think of.
Then decide. Not before.
Do you know what percentage LSI takes of each book. Is there a formula of much there cost is. That is the big the question for me, and I can’t seem to find the answer on their website or in cyberspace.
Your question leads me to think there is a basic misunderstanding here.
LSI is NOT a publisher. They are a printer with some great distribution partners of value to self- and micro-publishers (Ingram Book, Amazon, Baker & Taylor, etc.).
As a printer, LSI only charges you the printing cost. You determine the wholesale discount paid by those distribution partners. LSI will pay you the difference between the wholesale price and the printing charge. LSI’s printing charges are slightly higher for books you buy for yourself (for resale) and those purchased through the distribution partners.
Why doesn’t LSI post their pricing data on the public portion of their website? You’d have to ask them.
However, LSI is one of the lowest-price digital printers in the U.S.
Maybe I will write a new blog post to clarify this and, I hope, eliminate the confusion.
Hello sir I located your blog on the following site:
http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2009/05/29/getting-an-account-with-lightning-source/
you had some informative and interesting things to say i`m a aspiring writer currently doing some research before about publishers and how the game works. Is there any advice you could ofer to us novices on the matter such as where to start, best route, thinsg we’ll need to know and have before hand…ect Hopefully I did’nt bother you and your response would be greatly appreciated.
There are no shortcuts in this business, if you are serious about it. If you’re just dabbling, it probably makes little difference how you get your book published.
Here are some links to relevant articles on this blog:
Here’s a link to some excellent resources on book marketing that I strongly recommend novices buy (or borrow from your local library) BEFORE spending any money on actual publishing:
And by all means, buy a copy of Dan Poynter’s excellent The Self-Publishing Manual, which I believe is now in its 16th edition.
I also recommend that you join the Self-Publishing group on Yahoo, which is sponsored by the Small Publishers Association of North America. . I recommend that you spend a week or two just lurking and reading the posts. You can also research the archives for specific questions.
Once you have read a couple of the books and a week or two of Self-Publishing posts, only then ask the questions you may still have.
Whatever you do, don’t jump into this with blazing checkbook until you’ve educated yourself on what’s involved. Skipping the step can prove very costly and usually disheartening.
And please to read the collection of blog posts on my “ISBNS” page: . Understanding ISBN is crucial to anyone jumping into this business.
Book marking those links (thanks) cureently reading Author 101 and the everything gets published book 2nd edition. Education of any venture is most important which is why I desided to send a comment, afrer reading a few threads.
Definately want to get it done properly of course without breaking the bank or my heart in the process.
thanks again for all the info
LSI is famously RUDE to small presses in the application process. Do not ask a question or they will respond like the Seinfeld Soup Nazi: NO questions! NO soup for you! It is hoped that Baker and Taylor will get their act together with the equally obscure application process for their POD printing service, Textstream, as the web shows numerous complaints regarding service before and after completing the application for an account.
We have been working with LSI for the past six years and have never, not even once, run into any rudeness from LSI employees. We have had several assigned account reps over the years and all have been knowledgeable and willing to help.
I also know a LOT of other very small publishers and self-publishers who use LSI and only a couple have ever had any problems getting questions answered properly (all due to inexperienced, new reps). Referring the question up the chain has always gotten the problem resolved. I have never heard any of them complain about rudeness.
OTOH, LSI is not willing to do a lot of handholding. They assume their clients are professional publishers who have taken the time to know how to produce files meeting their specs. There are people and companies (like our own Five Rainbows Services) that can guide you through the process your first time in the arena…for a fee, of course.
Have you considered that maybe you are inserting unnecessary emotion into your questions and, as a result, getting some testy replies? Just a thought.
Having dealt with B&T (we used to have an account with them), I want nothing whatsoever to do with them. I gave up on them years ago after having to write-off an invoice as a bad debt. Now, B&T can get our LSI-printed books from LSI (they have a partner arrangement to do that) and others direct from us but only on a prepaid basis.
Hello-
Came across your page from a Google search. You seem to have experience, and I just have a quick question. I’m a final proofread away from submitting my first project to Lightning Source. How log does it take to hit catalogs like amazon.com or bn.com?
First you need to realize that uploading the files to LSI is not really the last step. It will go through what they call “premedia” that involves making sure the files (interior and cover) meet their requirements. If they don’t they will reject it, and you will have a message when you log in directing you to contact your CS rep.
Once it pass premedia, they will generate the proof and send it to your CS rep. Once the rep OKs it, they will ship the proof to you via UPS Overnight (for your first book with them you must order a Proof for $30). It might take 7-10 days for the book to work its way through to this point, although sometimes it takes much less.
After you have reviewed the proof and decided it is ready to go, you log in and approve the proof. Assuming you properly set up your account for wholesale orders, it should go “live” in their system within 24 hours.
It might take another week or two for the book to show up on Amazon, B&N, etc. as available. Sometimes, Amazon shows it initially as “ships within 2-3 weeks” for a while before showing it as “ships within 24 hours.”
Until you have approved the proof, I recommend checking your account daily to make sure no problems have arisen during the “premedia” phase.
Thanks for the informative post. Here’s my question:
I publish my POD books through CreateSpace. CS hase a marketing agreement with Ingram, as does Lightning Source. But when Ingram sells my CS books to the retailers, Ingram only offers the retailers a 25% discount on the book’s List Price. The retailers are used to getting a 40% discount. And of course, CreateSpace’s books are NON-RETURNABLE, which, as you mention, is a significant issue.
Do you know what discount books printed through Lightning Source receive when Ingram re-sells them to retailers?
Thanks much. Again . . . very good post.
Cheers!
John
If what you’re saying about CreateSpace is true then that is one more reason to avoid them.
With LSI, you can set any wholesale discount you want between 20% and 55%, and you can set a different discount for each title if you wish and different discounts for each market (US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia) for each title.
If you set a discount below 55%, buyers through Ingram will get less than 40% since Ingram will keep 15%.
Regarding returnability, you can set your titles with LSI as returnable or non-returnable (by title and market).
Don’t misunderstand, I can offer different discounts to whomever I wish — including Ingram. I just didn’t know that their standard percentage was 15%. That’s good info. So If I want to give the bookstores 40% thru Ingram, I’ll just make sure they get a 55% discount from CS.
I believe the 40% discount CS gives to Ingram by default is just their standard practice at CS.
Thanks again for the good info.
John
As far as returnability, I could easily be the go-between with Ingram to facilitate this service. But for reasons you mention in your post, I am reluctant to do so.
BTW, I don’t know what the “Author Cost” is for a basic, color cover, trade paperback novel from LS. I pay $4.78 for 328 pages and $3.68 for 236 pages. Those prices seem reasonable to me. Do you know how LS would compare?
Thanks again,
John
http://waltshiel.com/2008/08/27/pricing-your-book-on-lightning-source/
Does Lightning Source offer a menu of card stock choices for paperback covers? The ones I’ve seen strike me as shiny and cheap-looking. I’d prefer to bind my books in something more matte.
You really don’t have a choice of stock for LSI covers. However, you can choose either gloss or matte lamination. The choice depends on the cover, target audience, and aesthetics. We generally use gloss since most of our books have either large color photos or full-color artwork, both of which usually look better with gloss. However, our last print book — my Rough War — uses matte since that seemed to be best with the vintage B&W photo and muted background color.
