TL;DR: KDP Print ISBN options are the same as they were with CreateSpace. If you choose the free ISBN option, be aware of its limitations. As always with ISBNs, the devil is in the details and usage depends on your goals. Details below. KDP Print ISBN options are the same as CreateSpace CreateSpace has offered 3 ISBN options since 2016 and those are: A free ISBN. The name of your publishing imprint is CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Purchase 1 ISBN for $99 in the name of … [Read more...]
How to Use IngramSpark to Personalize the First Page of Your POD Book
Should I use CreateSpace or IngramSpark? is a question I often hear. They both have their advantages and drawbacks. But IngramSpark just added a new feature that I suspect will take some time for Amazon’s CreateSpace to match (if they even care): the ability to personalize individual copies of a book. There are all sorts of reasons and opportunities to personalize books: Thank you gifts to people that helped you. Like those you thanked in the acknowledgment section, or who wrote a … [Read more...]
Case Study: Tips for Updating a First Book to Market Your Second
Anyone who has published one book knows how hard it is to build an audience. Everyone starts here. For those that persevere, a second book is a way to leverage all that hard work of audience building. It gives your fans something else to buy from you. At the same time, launching a second book always attracts new readers. Some may buy that new book. Some may decide to start with book 1. Either way, one of the best investments you can make is to ensure the two books cross-market each other. As … [Read more...]
Amazon KDP Print or CreateSpace for Paperbacks? 2018 Update
September 2018 Update: Also see my article about KDP Print ISBN Options: How to Choose and Converting from CreateSpace. Don't be fooled by the notices Amazon is mailing out regarding your CreateSpace books. The convenience of managing your Kindle eBook and paperback in a single account is undeniable. Using a single login, you can upload book files, access sales reports, create and manage AMS ads (Amazon Marketing Services) and manage book metadata using KDP Print. But is using KDP … [Read more...]
A Rapid Publishing Checklist for Authors in a Hurry to Release a Book
Rushing a book to market is not something we often recommend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Many AuthorImprints clients are eager for one reason or another to launch their book on Amazon as quickly as possible. Maybe they need a book for an event, or to meet a season or current event-driven timetable. Then there is the book-as-a-business card reason—it’s less about sales and more about promoting yourself, so sooner is better. If you find yourself in one of those camps, here are … [Read more...]
How to Manage a 99designs Book Cover Contest
I consider book cover design to be one of the most challenging steps in the process of producing a finished book: It is critical to the marketing of a book. Everyone you ask for input seems to have a different opinion. Good covers are often a big investment. (Big might be a relative term.) You might have an idea but communicating that vision is another story (for most of us). If you are self-publishing, you may be the wrong person to judge the ideal design. Take your pick, it … [Read more...]
Book Barcode Basics When Using CreateSpace or IngramSpark POD
If you are planning to use a POD printer you probably do not need to buy a barcode. I say that because most new indie or self-publishers use print-on-demand printers like CreateSpace and IngramSpark (or sister Lightening Source) and these printers provide the ISBN barcode free. The book cover you submit to these POD printers will have a blank (white) rectangle on the back—this is where their printing presses place the barcode for your specific book at the time it is printed. Said another way, … [Read more...]
eBook Distribution for Indie-Publishers Using IngramSpark: A Case Study and Lessons Learned
Where does an indie publisher turn if they want their eBook available in “all” eBook retailing stores? Vook? They distribute to 6 retailers. Bookbaby? They reach 12 retailers. Smashwords? 15 retail stores. IngramSpark? 63! Before we take a deeper look into the IngramSpark eBook distribution process it is instructive to consider two confounding facts: The reality is that many Indies can reach the vast majority of eBook buyers in the U.S. by distributing their eBook direct to the major … [Read more...]
How Much Does It Cost to Produce a Print-on-Demand Book Using IngramSpark?
IngramSpark, the sister POD service of Ingram’s Lightning Source aimed at the self-publishing marketplace, has emerged this past year as a serious alternative to Amazon’s CreateSpace. It isn’t as easy to use as CreateSpace, nor is it free, but it does offer a number of benefits and capabilities that CreateSpace lacks, notably the ability to print hardcover books and low-cost color printing. (Read my article IngramSpark vs. CreateSpace: When Color Printing and Hardcover Editions Are … [Read more...]
Comparing CreateSpace to IngramSpark: 5 Production Considerations
CreateSpace may dominate the market for POD (print-on-demand) titles from indie publishers, but they don’t offer hardback printing and color printing for large books is expensive. Authors of books with those requirements often turn to IngramSpark, the new indie-focused cousin of Ingram’s Lightning Source (LSI) launched in 2013. (Lightning Source has been re-positioned for medium and large publishers.) As with any service in this category there are many other factors to consider such as … [Read more...]
