Lack of Transparency, Slow Reviews, and Poor Support for International Publishing
1 Star – Poor Transparency and Slow Distribution Process and Poor Support for Foreign Languages I have had multiple disappointing experiences with Lulu. In one case, I ordered and paid for a printed proof copy, including international shipping (Order #USD-C2779074, July 2025). The proof arrived successfully, but the book was later rejected from Global Distribution. The problem was not the rejection itself, but the complete lack of transparency. Lulu provided only a generic list of possible rejection reasons instead of identifying the actual issue. After reviewing my files and metadata, I was still unable to determine what needed to be fixed. Additionally, the book was published in Arabic, and despite selecting Arabic as the language, the printed proof showed issues related to reading direction and cover orientation. This created unnecessary confusion and additional work. More recently, I paid a distribution fee for an ebook project (Order #USD-C4037630, June 5, 2026). As of the date of this review, the project has remained in "Pending Review" status for an extended period without meaningful updates or clear communication regarding the delay. I fully support quality control and content review standards. However, authors deserve specific, actionable feedback when problems are found, especially after paying for proof printing, international shipping, and distribution services. My main concern is not strict review policies—it is the lack of transparency, unclear communication, and slow processing times. For a platform that charges authors for proofs, shipping, and distribution services, I expected a much higher level of communication and accountability.