When Lulu burst onto the scene, it gave artists a unique resource for producing their work and getting it out there. Didn't cost a dime if you did the production work yourself. Long without competition, Lulu found it when suddenly Amazon entered the arena with Create Space. I've been test driving it on a couple old projects -- two books and the DVD of last summer's shorts -- and I must say, I think the interface and service at Create Space is superior to Lulu's, plus there's the added advantage of automatically being a part of the Amazon database.
It's still difficult, if not impossible, to find the good, serious work at venues like these. Family home movies and semi-literate diaries are "shelved" right there with impressive indie films and books with strong writing. But on the positive side, these sites give homes and availability to good work with small potential audiences, which is especially important in times like ours when Homo Consumerus is King and the traditional publishing/producing institutions are focused on big sellers to an extent never seen before.
The hype quotient today is about a zillion times greater than when I was starting out as a writer. I hope a good author is working on a book about all this. I hope it's published when I'm still around to read it.
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