Independent publishing,
done properly.
Imprint is a platform for independent authors who want their books in readers' hands — not just on a hard drive. Upload your manuscript, set your price, and we handle the rest: professional print-on-demand, global delivery, and real royalties paid directly to you.
The idea
Most publishing platforms are built for one side of the transaction. Amazon KDP is built for Amazon. IngramSpark is built for distributors. Imprint is built for the relationship between a writer and a reader.
We believe good books exist outside the traditional publishing system. They always have. What's changed is that there's no longer a good reason for those books to stay invisible. We print them on demand — one copy at a time, only when someone orders — so an author never has to warehouse stock, and a reader always gets a fresh copy.
How it works
01
Upload
Submit your manuscript and cover as PDFs. Our reviewer checks print specs and flags anything that would cause a failed print job — before you go live.
02
Publish
Once approved, your book appears in Browse and is searchable by title, author, and genre. Set your own sale price; we show you the royalty before you confirm.
03
Sell
When a reader orders, Lulu prints and ships directly to them. Your royalty lands in your account monthly via Stripe. Your rights stay with you, always.
Annual
The Imprint Writing Competition
Every year, Imprint runs an open writing competition. Entry is free for any author with a published book on the platform. The prize fund is built from 5% of every sale made throughout the year — so every reader who buys a book contributes to it. The winner gets a premium print run, a full month on the homepage, and a share of the fund.
Learn more →Imprint is an independent platform. We're not a publisher — your rights stay with you, always. We take a small margin on each sale to keep the lights on; the rest goes to you. Books are printed and shipped by Lulu Direct, one of the world's leading print-on-demand services.