… Amazon owns a company that is determined to make self-publishing easier. That company is called CreateSpace.Using Amazon, you can print your book in paperback form. You can also upload it into Kindle format. Kindle formatting doesn’t mean the reader has to have a Kindle to read it. I read Kindle books on my iPad because I have a Kindle app. But if you want it available in both formats, you have to upload it to Kindle Direct Publishing and Create Spacde. But, and this is a big but, the article says:
In my experience, both formats are relatively easy to use.... Just about as easy as pie.The author of the article, Theodore F. di Stefano, says:
As people ordered books, they were printed. When I wanted a pile of books for a book signing, I would merely order the books at author's prices and the books would be at my doorstep within a matter of a few days…Plus, if he needed assistance, he hit the “call me” link and talked to a technician.
‘Course, once the book is printed (or put into e-form), it’s up to you to market it, although CreateSpace can help you with that as well – I assume for a fee.
It’s a good article to read and might ease your fears about trying to self-publish.
Any of you used CreateSpace? What did you think of it?
Several of my clients have used CreateSpace and been very pleased with it. Some who have done print runs with offset printers are using CreateSpace for their second printings or even using CreateSpace to fulfill Amazon orders while they continue to sell out the first print run in other venues. They can actually make more money, and it's a lot less hassle when they let CreateSpace handle the shipping and billing to Amazon.
ReplyDeleteepublishing is appealing, but I've always been hesitant about self-publishingin print. I'm going to give it a read and see what they have to say for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lillie. It helps to have a real person give it a thumbs up.
ReplyDeleteLaurita, I agree with you. It seems like we're at a point where a monumental shift is taking place. That's something to be hesitant about!
Hi Helen .. I know a few bloggers recommend CreateSpace .. good to know about .. especially Lillie's addition about the handling of the shipping and billing to Amazon.
ReplyDeleteTimes are changing - but offering so much to so many who have the nerve to go with it ...
Cheers Hilary
I love Create Space. I find it easy to use, but formatting can be tricky if you don't know how to do headers and footers in Word. I'm glad so many people are getting their wonderful books out there.
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A little advice for those who are hesitant to use Create Space. Get your manuscript uploaded and try it out. There's a great wizard for setting up your cover and you don't actually have to "publish" the book if you don't want to. A proof will cost around $8 with S&H (depends on the size of the book). Take the plunge and at least give it a try. Once you have the cover set up you can also use it for the e-book.
ReplyDeleteAnn
I haven't used CreateSpace yet, but I will check it out. Thanks for sharing >:)
ReplyDeleteCold As Heaven
Never used it.
ReplyDeleteI love CreateSpace. Formatting though is a pain but I'll try to do it myself. But I like that I can price the book myself, keep it competitive, and still make a profit.
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ReplyDeleteI used Createspace to self-publish a novel under a pen name I use when writing paranormal, fantasy, romance, and erotica. This novel fit all four of those genres, plus suspense/thriller. I went this route because 1. It was my first stab at paperback authorship. 2. I could not seem to find a single genre in which to sell the novel.
ReplyDeleteI would say Createspace was, in my opinion, the best choice among POD publishers. I agree with most in that the formatting was not quite as easy as stated in the article above, but it was doable.
I opted for the "Pro" option in order to get expanded distribution (still not sure what that means) and achieve the ability to price my book low enough to keep it somewhat competitive with similar paperbacks. I sell the novel (about 225 pages and 59K words) for $8.99 on amazon. It only sees a couple sales per month with many more sales coming in ebook format. But it allows me to offer the novel in multiple formats through KDP.
I must say though, the best profits come from buying the books at the author discount, and selling them by hand. I made enough profits from hand-selling (local and website) to cover the cost of editing, cover photo, and purchase of proof copies.
Overall, I would say my experience with Createspace has been good. I have friends that published using Lulu, and they have their books priced so high that I can't afford to buy them. Also the quality of the books published elsewhere did not seem up to par with that of Createspace. But, keep in mind the quality and price may have been from the author more than the publisher.
I've used Createspace for 3 books now and really like it. I do make certain I order a proof copy each time for eight bucks or so, and check it out carefully before finalizing the book. Each book, of course, has gotten easier, but none of them were too difficult for me. Let me add, as a caveat, I spent over 30 years as a software engineer and technical writer, so formatting might have been easier for me than the average person.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing about the formatting is to remember to keep it simple. Use a popular font (Times New Roman, anyone?), use the ENTER key for paragraphs, and the indent for paragraphs. No tabs, no extra spaces, no weird margins. Simplicity makes life so easy.
I first became aware of Create Space after the Literay Lab used it for NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND ANTHOLOGY. I've since exlored it a bit....looking into the Breakout Novel Award thingee.
ReplyDeleteI've done the self pub for Kindle but I haven't tried Createspace yet.
ReplyDeleteI have published my novel, "Ben's Challenge", through CreateSpace. I found it quite easy to use, even the formatting, and I am not good at that stuff.
ReplyDeleteI live in Australia, and my order takes about a month to get here, but the cost of printing and freight for 50 books at a time still allows me to sell at a good price.
I have also published it as an e-book, through CreateSpace with KDP for about $69, and there was no problem transferring the print format to e-format.
Overall, I am happy I published the print book with CreateSpace, because I can sell it locally. I have sold only one print and one e-book through them and Amazon, so marketing is obviously the major problem in self-publishing.
I've used Createspace for all of my books, except for the two novellas. I love the simplicity of it and the quality.
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ReplyDeleteI used to have these 'nightmare' thoughts that "what if my publishers went out of business" (though they are growing, so this is just a stress thought) and what if I couldn't find another publisher to take on my books- oh oh oh ohmy!
ReplyDeleteBut, now-a-days there are other options.
I do caution writers to make sure their books are the best they can be, polished and edited, before they self-publish, and to perhaps try a small press; however, I know of authors who are quite happy with their self-pub results!
I'm over here from Linda's place, by the way.
I had queried agents/editors for two years or more, pitched my book at conferences, and had pleasant comments. Yet, more and more houses weren't taking on new clients, etc. I decided to take control of my own product and destiny with CreateSpace (following Ann Summerville and others from Trinity Writers Workshop). Formatting is tricky, and yet it's user friendly and both CreateSpace and Kindle want you to have a professional product. It is up to YOU to edit and ensure that YOU are producing the best book possible. It is YOUR name on that cover.
ReplyDeleteI like that authors have more avenues for their careers these days, and it'll probably be good to have a few more print-on-demand options, as that'll hopefully lead to competitive prices.
ReplyDeleteI also would consider using a service like this during my later stages of edits. I spot lots of different problems on the page that I just don't pick up on screen, and vice-versa. An author on my LJ reading list mentioned that she always has a copy of her manuscript printed on Lulu.com as a book before she sends it to her agent, so she can see it as it might eventually look when it's finished and get a feel for the structure on the printed page. I love that idea, and will be employing it with my own stuff before I query agents.
In short, even if you're not planning to self-publish these sites can be extremely useful in other ways.
Ann, I used to have no problem with Headers and Footers, but my new Word 2010 is giving me fits.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for all the tips and tales of your experiences! I have not self-published nor e-published, but I am taking notes, as I bet a lot of others are!
I'll endorse 'em. They pretty much provide as advertised ... maybe a little pricey for some of the services, but not overly so ... and they don't try to push anything on you ... wouldn't do 'em any good in my case, anyway.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christopher.
ReplyDeleteappreciating your header pic...so breathable.
ReplyDeleteI used Create Space for Raising Abel and was completely satisfied with the quality, speed, and customer service. My book is about 330 pages and the proof cost me $5 plus shipping. The only problem I have with self-publishing is the marketing, marketing, marketing. But, since most publishers make you do that anyway, you might as well go the self-publish route.
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