By Ashley Fultz

Lulu is an old-fashioned term meaning marketable person, object or idea, which is exactly what http://www.Lulu.com is, a premier independent publishing marketplace for digital-do-it-yourselfers. It allows anyone to publish and sell or buy any digital material available. The Web site currently has over 100,000 published titles and 2,500 new each week.

Bob Young created the site in 2002 to cut the red tape around publishing and to put creators in control of their work. It is a very easy solution for anyone wanting to publish books, articles, photos, music or DVD’s by allowing individuals or corporations to create high quality content products, sell them and fully profit from their work.

There is no fee required to create an account to buy or to sell. The best part is Lulu only keeps 20 percent of the revenue the content generates while the creator keeps 80 percent.

The company does not ask the creator to change anything and allows the creator to set the price of their work. Another difference between this and other online competitors is that there is no minimum order required to publish and sell on Lulu.com.

Jessica Wearren, a senior communication student at the University of Louisville said, “[Lulu.com] would be a great opportunity for students to be able to publish their work online for free.”

As the publisher and creator of the material, Lulu.com allows the creator’s vision to be entirely theirs. If a Word document is submitted to be published, the creator chooses the font, color and binding of the work (hardcover or paperback), or if a CD or DVD is submitted, the creator chooses the cover art. The creator has complete control over his or her material and is walked through the publishing process step by step.

Charity Bass, a senior communication student, said, “I might combine some of the scripts I have written at my internship and have them all together to show future employers.”

Publishing and buying online works has been made easier. Lulu.com is user friendly and very easy to navigate. Whether just browsing the existing material, adding something new or buying something, it is very accessible.

Browsing topics include top sellers, book, image, music and video genres, and when material is purchased it is sent straight to the doorstep in two to four business days.

Lulu.com also offers marketing tools on their Web site for those individuals wishing to publish materials. For a small fee, business cards, postcards or bookmarks can be ordered, and attending online workshops is another option.

The workshops teach creators how to promote their material by creating a press release, showing how to organize a book signing and how to use a blog as a marketing tool. Lulu.com also helps get publicity on their own for their creators by creating press releases for the whole company.

Gail Jordan, Director of Public Relations for http://www.Lulu.com, said, “We actually have creators who have quit their day job because they are making so much money. It can be very profitable (to publish on Lulu.com).”