Lulu.com Troubles

I like publishing with Lulu.com, I really do, but lately they are making very difficult to consider using them for future books.

• First their so-called economy shipping is anything but economical. I needed some review copies and it cost me $15.72 for two books; the shipping and handling (this is to Canada, where I live) was $19.96. How is paying over double the price of the book cost, economy shipping!?
• Second they currently have a serious glitch with their site; my book, Chronicles of the Undead, is not showing on my storefront or in the store widgets I have on my website. Also the buy links are missing from the book's Lulu page, effectively removing it for sale at Lulu.com (and this is currently the only place to download the ebook). I have contacted Lulu, and they say they are working on it, but I'm not seeing improvement or hearing any updates on the situation.
• Third, their distribution changes just confuse me. They say their free distribution gets you on Amazon.com. Fine, no problem, but what about the other Amazon sites? I've done some checking and Chronicles of the Undead and Inside Realms seem to be on sale at some of the international Amazon sites (except for the Canadian one; I'm a Canadian author who can't effectively sell her books in Canada). So what is it Lulu, how many Amazon sites does the free distribution get you?

I wish Lulu.com would address some of these issues.

Why is Self-publishing the wrong move?

Answer: It's not necessarily wrong at all.

I recently Googled, looking for information on editor services for the self-published. I kept coming across articles on how you should not self-publish, that you should always try the traditional publishing route.

This made me angry. Why are people so against self-publishing?

One article said the self-publishing companies are just in it for the money. True. But traditional publishers are in it for the money too.

Publishing your book comes down to either fighting through the system (and it is a fight to get a traditional publisher to even look at your manuscript), or doing the work yourself with self-publishing. And if you are going to self-publish it is going to take work. But it should be your choice.

And yes, there are a lot of bad books self-published. But there are bad books published the old-fashioned way as well. I know I've read some.

I say stop bad-mouthing the self-publishing industry and try to fix it. Opportunities are better the destroying potential dreams.

How things go wrong.

I finally finished my short story collection, Inside Realms, after much delay in the last editing processes.
First a plotline just wouldn't mesh, (got it eventually), then the roofers (noise is very distracting when you are editing), and of course I must not forget the computer problems. (Never try to set up a new computer, and transfer files from the old one, when you do not have a great deal of time to spare.)
But, I persevered and at last, I uploaded the file to Lulu.com. Went through the whole publishing process, uploaded the cover design, set the price, and had it ready for sale on my storefront. I even put links on my website.
Then on Sunday, I went to my storefront to check on things, and there it was: No Book. Due to problems on Lulu, the whole thing had been deleted. They are working on restoring the book, but I may have to re-publish.
It has left me wondering what else can go wrong?